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Reviews of Bad Dog

Please excuse the fact that I'm posting the latest review of Bad Dog from a 20 year Navy veteran. I felt honoured to have had this man take the time and effort to write something about my work. Thank you sir.

Good sci-fi read with one foot planted solidly in the real world

Ok, I'm not a professional book reviewer. If you are looking for a critique on the art of writing, move along. I'm just a reader, and a retired military member and all of my thoughts start from there.

Truthfully, it is a pretty good story. I think it reads a bit like a short story, which I can appreciate. Don't get me wrong, I like a good Lord of the Rings style epic as much as the next guy, but now and again I like something shorter and to the point. This book scratched that itch. I found it pretty compelling from start to finish, and I can't wait for the next book to come out in print (I think it is already out in electronic format, but I like paper). I love a good near-future story where things are just different enough to make your imagination kick into gear, but not so foreign that I'm sitting around thinking "What's a flingledorp and why on Earth is this one attached to the hangwopper of a flogtrud?" Look, I want to follow the story without too much confusion. Pollard succeeded for me. I'm a 20 year veteran of the Navy and I'll say that about 99% of all the jargon, personalities, and events feel dead on which really added to my enjoyment and the believability of the story. For those of you with less military experience, Pollard does include a nice glossary in the back of the book so you don't get lost in all the TLAs (Three Letter Acronyms... military loves them).

I don't know if I have any downsides to relay, but I'm pretty easy to please. I'm hoping there is more to come soon.

And here are some more reviews...

No gung-ho and serious SF Military reading

This the author first novel and I got totally absorbed from the first page to the end.

This is SF Military but don't expect finding super-uber soldiers or extraterrestrial advanced enemies fighting each other in remote galaxies, no "Starship Troopers" rehearsal at all. On the contrary, set in in the last quarter of the XXI century, the book provides a glimpse of what could be a very realistic progressive evolution of modern tactical warfare and weapons... in a geopolitical context that will also be familiar to the reader, where a reconfigured US (called "Confederated States" but not yet explained in the book what happened) is challenged by an increasingly assertive China in a remote region in Afghanistan.

The book focuses in a Marine recon unit and the pace of the action is truly good.

The atmosphere is very realistic thanks to the extensive and thorough(full) military research undertaken by the author that you can follow in her personal blog.

After I finished reading the novel, I really eager for more. Luckily a second part is very close to publication.

I can strongly recommend the book and if the sequels are as good as the initial work, I can see Ashley Pollard becoming a reference in this writing genre

Excellent book. A fresh view on near future power armor warfare

Excellent book. A fresh view on near future power armor warfare. I felt that I was reading a good story and not the writer's opinions on how they live their own life, which is hard to find these days in any genre.

Ambushed!

This book caught me pleasantly by surprise. I had settled into the near-future military action and begun to suspect that powered suits were the extent of the Science Fiction, but then it took off in a totally unexpected direction which I won't spoil for you. I ended up thoroughly gripped and unable to put it down until I knew how it played out. I love SF and it's great to find a new writer with ideas as well as genuinely good writing. I look forward to more.

Heavy Gear Japan

 

Heavy Gear is big in Japan, which is like selling coal to Newcastle, given that Dream Pod 9s game was inspired by the VOTOMS show. Though modern Japanese mecha were  arguably inspired by Heinlein's Starship Troopers. And you know what, it's all good.

People who get uptight over cultural appropriation forget that cultural appropriation has led to such wonderful things like mecha, and of course the great British Indian curry tradition of Chicken Tikka Masala.

Anyway, I found this poster in Japanese for the game and just had to share. It's good to see that there's a growing community of modellers and players over there too.
  

All Three of Tachikoma's CASE-2X Dogs

Here, at long last, is a shot of all three of the CASE-2X Dogs I've made to represent the variants that my heroine, Lara Atsuka Tachikoma, uses in my Gate Walker trilogy.

From left-to-right: The first when she was a sergeant in Bad Dog, riding inside a CASE-2X; the second in her Strike Dog officer combat armour CASE-2XC; and finally, "loaded for bear," in Ghost Dog in her CASE-2XC: Mod 2.

And, if you've read Bad Dog, and feel like doing so, I would like to point out that my novel is eligible for this years Dragon Awards.

Vote here.

  

Arrowhead Miniatures

 

I ordered this Renault FT17 and accessory pack yesterday. It arrived today. Colour me impressed. Beautiful castings too.

Purpose of said purchase I hear you ask?

If truth be told, this is to be made up for size comparison shots with my mecha, because I like to keep things in perspective. The one thing that bugs me is the distortions made to vehicles for wargaming. It's my bugbear, I carry it with pride.

And just look at how cute the model is. Also, the accessory pack shows that in my heart I'm as much a wargame modeller as wargamer.
  

Panzer Jäger Mark One – PJM1-M1

Work in Progress: four innocent Sheridan and one AMX Takara tank models went into the making of this pile of parts.

I have a plan, given I made models for the combat armour suits in my novels, it stands to reason I will want to make a cybertank.

I want to get the idea across that my cybertanks are different from the one in Ogre/GEV universe. I presented a sketch here. The inspiration behind the design comes from the Soviet Obyekt 279, which I talked about here. All I've got to do now is put in the hours to turn a pile of parts into a representation of a Panzer Jäger Mark One.

How hard can it be?

Judging by all the pieces I've I've turned my donor models into, harder than I'd like. I've just moved onto the Miliput is my special friend when building up a tank hull's phase. I may be a while.
   
  

Chinese ZTZ-169C WIP

Work in Progress: Brass and stainless steel tubing barrel originally for a recoilless rifle I made up.

I was working on making up another CASE-2XC and made the barrel far too large. Having removed it I sat wondering what to do with it? I'd spent a bit of time cutting tubes and it seemed a shame to let it go to waste, so I put it on my Ral-Partha Demolisher tank, which I presented as an ongoing project back here.

Gribbly parts from my spares box, gunner from a Sheridan.

I then dressed the model up with bits and pieces from my parts box, and hey presto, one ZTC-169C ready to go to the paint shop.

So, even though progress has been slower than a snail race, I am managing to move models through the production line. Painting though remains a thing that I have to be in the right mood to do.

For size comparison next to a Takara 1/144th scale T95 Black Eagle.