Steakley actually juggles two stories here, both of which read like a novel in their own right. Then again, it’s something else entirely. It is, for the most part, a military science fiction story. That more sci-fi isn’t like Armor shows a colossal failing in literature. (Short excerpt of what he was working on.)Ĭharacters similar to Felix from different genres:Īs a whole, The Vorkosigan Saga is still my favorite sci-fi series, followed closely by The Hitchhiker's Guide.

I'm sorry you never got to finish the second book. Maybe I like him because he's what every hero should be: you, but better, and with thousands of dead aliens at his feet.

They don’t make heroes like that anymore. That’s all I can say, except that I love Felix. Suffice it to say that before the finale, Jack Crow becomes:Īgainst all odds, Felix has survived 20 drops.īanshee wants him dead, the gigantic aliens they fight begin to recognize him, and he is forced to watch as those around him are destroyed one by one.Īnd yet, like some grotesque cosmic joke, Felix lives… for a while. It's an ugly deal for the colony, and Crow begins to have second thoughts. And, being in a lot of trouble, he strikes a deal with a ruthless Captain mutineer (the main antagonist besides Banshee itself) to charmingly infiltrate and subvert a research colony in exchange for a ship and lots and lots of money. Jack Crow is a Galaxy-famous pirate and anti-hero,Ī self-centered asshole with the morals of a cockroach, Crow mistakenly believes he’s the toughest man alive. The shift is abrupt, and perspective changes to first-person. Part 2 begins the parallel story of Jack Crow, right in the midst of a messy prison escape.

He is the sole survivor, and you get more insight into his character, as it’s slowly revealed that far from a one-dimensional badass, Felix is a broken soul, his desire to die barely matched by his stubborn, masochistic refusal to do so. “Remember where you are,” Felix will say. Bleak imagery and nightmare mark the killing ground of massive, ugly bugs that outnumber the warriors a thousand to one, and nearly everyone dies.īy the end of the book, the symbolic hostility of the planet Banshee weaves a recurring theme. “Mazes,” “bunkers,” and “beacons” are about the most complex scenery beyond the scorching sand dunes. He’s a little like this:Ī soldier vomits at the breakfast-line right in front of Felix, whose attitude’s one of and-no-fucks-were-given-that-day. The invasion is similar to Normandy on D-Day, and we get our first glimpse of Felix in the mess hall the morning of the drop. He’s on a military starship orbiting a hostile planet called Banshee and about to be dropped into combat along with 10,000 fellow warriors. The story's divided into pieces and begins with Felix.

Armor john steakley audiobook