Desperate Measures

It was a very long wait for this book. Fortunately, it was more than worth it. Things were a little slow starting out, but that was mostly because it had been so long since “Alarm of War II” that I had trouble remembering who was who for the first couple chapters. Once the story came back to me it was a race to the finish. This book can weakly stand on its own, but is so much better after reading the first two.

The final battle gets drug out over abut a third of the book. This seemed excessive, but the reason for the details of each little battle become clear in the epilogue. The epilogue was worth the price of the book all by itself. Once I became so invested in the characters, the epilogue was like a series of novellas, each one a continuation of their stories. Some authors turn out three, four or five books a year, and sometimes they are all good. Hudner is more a master of quality over quantity. A good book on its own, an amazing finish to the series.

I waited a long time for Book III. IT WAS WORTH IT!!! I couldn’t put it down, except for work and sleep. I reread “Alarm of War, Book II: The Other Side of Fear” before reading this. That left me on the edge of my seat. Book III didn’t disappoint. I felt loss at times, joyful at times, happy, sad, and every other emotion. For fans of Emily, Hiram and Cookie, you’ve got to read this. If you’re not, or don’t know who I’m talking it; read this, or better yet, start with Book I and read the whole series. A very entertaining read. Great military action, great human interaction, and some surprising interaction between Artificial Intelligence (AI) units.

I finished this after re-reading the first two books of the trilogy. This trilogy stands out among the space-opera, space-warfare genre for the depth of the characters, the intricacies of plot, and sheer compelling action sequences. You have 3 main perspectives – a space Marine, a tactical genius and commander, and an intel/strategy officer, who trained together in the first book of the trilogy. From the first book to the last, the plots and stratagems are fun to read. Unlike other authors who dragged their stories and characters over umpteen books still with no ending, this trilogy wraps it up – there is a beginning and a satisfactory conclusion. I got invested in the characters enough that the epilogue was a necessary and delightful read. This is the kind of hard sci-fi space opera/ space battle novel/series I look for.

Hudner’s third book in his fast paced trilogy was worth the wait. Once begun it’s hard to put this science fiction thriller down till the final page. And what an ending! An AI being who has a difficult time coping and understanding illogical adult behavior embarks on a ten year journey in endless deep space and comes upon an intelligence never known to our species. It simply made my mind wonder to the vastness and mysteries of the universe we live in.

The action never stops. Characters in books one and two continue their fight against the evil emperor. And boy is he a nasty, evil persona! Also not all of our well developed characters survive Victoria’s fight for survival. After reading all three books, Hudner closes nicely with an epilogue of the key players thus not leaving the reader left wondering what was life like after Victoria’s smashing victory against superior odds.

If the wonders of space and fast paced action are your thing then please read all three of Hudner’s novels. You will not be disappointed!

Tom Flinn (can’t wait for the next Hudner novel)

I found the previous two books to be very engaging and it set up a great story line. This book brings it to an exciting conclusion. Great character development; intriguing political analysis, just a rousing good story overall. I thought the PTSD issues of some of the main characters to be well dealt with; Cookie, afraid to allow Hiram to touch her because of her treatment as a POW; how she deals with this issue, and the assistance of others who understand the issue. This book was well written and very enjoyable to read. I especially liked how the author gave a postscript of what happens to the characters after the book is over, so we are not left guessing. Sort of like the end of the Lord of the Rings.

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