Stark's War

By: Jack Campbell

Narrated by: Eric Summerer

The United States of America reigns over Earth as the last surviving superpower. To build a society free of American influence, foreign countries have inhabited the moon, taking advantage of the natural resources to earn their own riches. Now, the U.S. military has been ordered to wrest control of Earth's satellite from their rivals. Sergeant Ethan Stark must train his squadron to fight in an airless atmosphere at one-sixth normal gravity against a desperate enemy. Ensuring his team's survival means choosing between which orders to obey - and which to ignore.

BONUS AUDIO: Includes an exclusive introduction written and read by author Jack Campbell.

Stark's War was originally published as "by John G. Hemry".

Battle stations! Listen to more in the Stark's War series.©2000 John G. Hemry (P)2009 Audible, Inc.

Intriguing

This story was intriguing and unique it's presentation. It's an idea that almost all in the military has dealt with when dealing with officers or senior enlisted wanting to make the next rank. I found it to be a great story the way how it played out because of how Stark is allowed to develop. I really did find some of the conversation very visual as it went on because I could see people really saying some of the responses. I did find it a little odd that I didn't see any curse since enlisted or just infantry in general likes to curse from what I have seen of them.

Great Read

Great read, went though the whole series, can't wait to see what comes next from Jack Cambell.

Noisy narrator

Narrator seemed to be dehydrated while narrating. He would make swallow noises at random which sort of ruined the flow of the story. Interesting take on what the future could hold. Highly unlikely though. Will purchase sequels to see where the story goes.

"If This Goes On ..."

This is an "if this goes on" story. Campbell wrote this while serving in the Navy at the Pentagon and this story illustrates a couple of the problems he saw. The first problem is the increasing separation of the military man and the civilian. That being if one of your parents didn't put in their twenty your didn't join the mil. Campbell takes this problem and increases it to portray the way he believes things could go in the future. The other problem is micromanagement in the military. That being the top brass sitting back in their offices and giving exact instruction the grunts on the ground and not allowing ingenuity.
Campbell expands these problems and puts them in a world were the US of A is the top dog with no one able to compete with them economically on earth. This leaves one logical alternative the moon.
However this book is not really about the war on the moon it is about the problems in the military. There is lots of action and fighting, but the book is not about that its about the culture.
I hope you enjoy Stark's War

Any time in the line and you will LOVE THIS BOOK

too much like real life if or if you every wanted to know what war really is like get this book
ME?
Gulf war
Southerner watch
Bosnia IFOR
IRAQ freedom

This is one soldier's perspective

The writer has actual military experience, according to him. I don't whether to take him at his word, or not. I suspect that he is telling you what he experienced; and that's sad. If our military operates like this, we are in trouble. I know President Eisenhower warned to beware of the defense industry. This book does make that point, too. He does make the point that there are some good military personnel, but the upper level commanders were scourged.

Yet another great series from the factory of Jack

If you liked the Lost Fleet, you will like Starks, this time its less about the galaxy, less about the human race, more about the story of a hero who has to stand up for himself, his friends and his "world"

as always Jack Cambell is about the details, everything you hear/read has meaning - dont miss a word!

Stark, as most of the Cambell heroes is nothing special, has no special powers, not smarter than others, but he can make things done.

Very Good Listen

First listened to the Lost Fleet Series and could not get enough. Finished the series and had to get more from Jack Campbell.

Stark's War, although done before The Lost Fleet, is as good and I enjoyed the whole book.

Good action, overly simplistic

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The concept of the complete ineptitude of all officers, yet all enlisted are geniuses in waiting and the world would better if only they were in charge just got old. The situation is true and does happen, but the blanket, overall assumption and presentation that it was a constant in the universe just made it hard to suspend belief enough to enjoy the story.

Had the issue been a small collection of ignorant officers (and with the remoteness of the moonbase it could have been pulled off) it would have been more believable, but by making it sound as if the entire military organization was that bad all the time it just came across as unrealistic.....and this is from someone who loves SciFi and Fantasy.

Would you ever listen to anything by Jack Campbell again?

Yes, I still love the action scenes even if the overarching story is not plausible.

What about Eric Summerer’s performance did you like?

Loved it.

Do you think Stark's War needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

If the overall theme is the same by the third book it will just be too boring.

This a good start to a really good series!

Jack Campbell/ John G. Hembry has come to dominate my library! I just can't get enough of his stories. This first book is a little jarring, mostly because it doesn't play into or off of any of his later series. So if you've listened to the likes of The Lost Fleet/Beyond The Frontier/The Lost Stars series, there are no recognizable names or places such as exists in the Genisus Fleet. But that is not a bad thing! It's just takes a little getting used to. All in all a great cautionary tale for mils and civs alike.