Unbreakable--A Novel

October 13, 2014
This straightforward military SF coming-of-age story falls victim to the genre’s clichés. Republic Marine Lt. Promise Paen is a plucky, untested, up-from-the-ranks officer leading a band of diverse, gung-ho troopers against ruthless mercenaries and the aristocratic Lusitanian Empire. Paen, given a commission she does not want and sent back to a homeworld she fled after her pacifist father was murdered by raiders, grows into the tasks of leading her company, training militia, defeating superior forces, and winning hearts and minds, all while being counseled by the ghost of her mother. Bauers trumpets the military virtues (“Duty, Honor, Republic”) that motivate the characters, even as those ideals shape friend and enemy alike. Phrases and customs common to both the Empire and the Republic undermine their ostensible differences, and snide comments about the Empire’s lack of gender equality sit uneasily next to snide comments about the appearance of the Empire’s female Marines. Bauers’s debut needs to grow into its powered boots. Agent: Cherry Weiner, Cherry Weiner Literary Agency.

November 15, 2014
Military science fiction with a kick-butt female lead: Bauers' debut. Planet Montana, a colonial backwater languishing in the buffer zone between the Republic of Aligned Worlds and the Lusitanian Empire, is highly susceptible to attack by pirates. During one such raid, Promise Paen's pacifist father was killed. Thus orphaned, Promise joined the RAW Marine Corps-a sort of mechanized infantry-seeking revenge, even though she's haunted by the ghost of her mother, Sandra. Now a provisional member of RAW, Montana's entitled to at least a modicum of protection, and when another pirate attack devastates the world's capital and spaceport, Promise and Victor Company receive orders to clear the hostiles out. Promise succeeds, though she's badly wounded, receiving a promotion to first lieutenant and a hero's acclaim. But her orders also include staying on and making nice with President Annie Buckmeister and the planet's population of rugged individualists, who, while grateful to Promise and Victor Company, remain skeptical about RAW membership. Unfortunately, the watching Lusitanians are well-aware that Promise's devastated company has not been reinforced and decide this would be a good time to boot out the heavily outnumbered RAW forces. Past a dull start, the fast-paced narrative features plenty of outstanding action sequences and characters who, while getting the job done, aren't ashamed to weep over fallen comrades. There's plenty of weaponry to keep the techies happy and even a love interest for Promise. The ghost pops up with annoying frequency while contributing little. And that name, Promise Paen: really? Neither is there too much originality on display. Still, it's a subgenre with a well-established audience, and Bauers makes a solid entrance.

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November 15, 2014

Promise Paen, a Republic of Alligned Worlds marine, fled her home world of Montana when raiders killed her father. But when pirates attack Montana, the military brass ask Promise to return to help ease tensions with the locals as they try to keep the peace. Things go south fast once Promise arrives with a company of marines. VERDICT If readers can get past the protagonist's ridiculous name, they might still decide that military jargon and lots of "oo-RAH" yelling doesn't substitute for character development in this debut. The action scenes are plentiful; however, while Bauer sketches in the outline of the politics shaping Montana's history, a strong picture of why the various forces are fighting for control of the planet is never really conveyed.

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2014
A human colony world, Montana, is under siege from pirate raiders. Marine Corps lieutenant Promise Paen is put in charge of the military action to repel the pirates. Promise grew up on Montana, and years ago saw her own father killed by pirates. She gets her revenge now, but her troops suffer enormous casualties, and it soon becomes apparent that the troubles on Montana are just starting. Because the planet is located between the territories of two warring human empires, it's open to attack from either empire, and now is the perfect time for an attack. This is solid, well-crafted military sf (comparisons to Robert Heinlein's Starship Troopers, Joe Haldeman's The Forever War, or John Scalzi's Old Man's War are apt), although it does have its flaws, including the subplot involving Promise's relationship with her dead mother, whose voice keeps appearing inside Promise's head. It's an uneasy insertion of a supernatural element into what is otherwise a fairly traditional military story, and some readers might find it a bit too jarring. On the whole, though, a very, um, promising debut novel.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)