War Dogs

By: Greg Bear

Narrated by: Jay Snyder

Length: 8 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

An epic interstellar tale of war from master of science fiction.

One more tour on the red.Maybe my last.

They made their presence on Earth known 13 years ago.

Providing technology and scientific insights far beyond what mankind was capable of. They became indispensable advisors and promised even more gifts that we just couldn't pass up. We called them Gurus.

It took them a while to drop the other shoe. You can see why, looking back.

It was a very big shoe, completely slathered in crap.

They had been hounded by mortal enemies from sun to sun, planet to planet, and were now stretched thin - and they needed our help.

And so our first bill came due. Skyrines like me were volunteered to pay the price. As always.

These enemies were already inside our solar system and were moving to establish a beachhead, but not on Earth.

On Mars.

©2014 Greg Bear (P)2014 Hachette

Critic reviews

"Not for those who prefer their space opera simple-minded, this beautifully written tale where nothing is as it seems will please readers with a well-developed sense of wonder." ( Publisher's Weekly on Hull Zero Three)

" Hull Zero Three is a grand adventure of scientific discovery in the tradition of Orphans of the Sky and Rendezvous with Rama - by turns chilling and touching, it poses challenging questions about what it means to be human." (Charles Stross)

"Packed with adventure and incident...and conveyed with gritty realism." ( Kirkus on War Dogs)

Pidgin English from Martians a major distraction

good book but the "Martians" dialogue is difficult to follow requiring several rewinds for me to stay with the story. I don't think the print version would be as problematic.

OK

This was more like an unfinished work because there are so many loose ends left unattended. I assume the author is planning a second work to continue the story based on all these unanswered questions. Basically written in first person narrative, which gets a little tiring. Reader is fine. Not a waste of money, but not the most absorbing either.

Another Winner from Greg Bear

I can’t honestly say that I enjoyed all the foul language, but hey, the main characters are Marines, or rather, “Skyrines,” and well, I suppose you just have to expect that sort of language from them.

Cussing aside, this is (for me, anyway) a fresh take on the Red Planet/Mars and for military sci-fi in general. I really enjoyed it, especially the surprises and the mystery that Bear tantalizingly unfolds for us. Warning: this book requires your full attention; otherwise, you’re probably going to finish it feeling like you’ve missed something. Bear wisely saves the best for last (so to speak) and leaves you wanting more!

Interesting Intro to a Series

Would you consider the audio edition of War Dogs to be better than the print version?

No, nothing beats a book in your hands, but I did enjoy the story and the performance via audio.

What did you like best about this story?

I enjoyed the story line. It kept me interested and wanting more.

Have you listened to any of Jay Snyder’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I enjoyed the narrator. He did a good job with the story and the characters. So far, he is my favorite narrator.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

No

Any additional comments?

I understand other reviewers frustration with the lack of sci fi or military sci fi. The story does not contain much pure sci fi. It also is clearly leading the reader to expect more details and story to come. I found the military parts of the story a bit much at times, but that is just personal preference. It's not that it was poorly written. Those points aside, I did enjoy the story and found myself eager to hear more. It contained interesting concepts and characters were beginning to be developed more fully. I plan to continue to the next book in the series.

Great listen but only half story told

Loved what was there. Don't know if Greg Bear just ran out of energy, gave up and gave a great story an unsatisfying ending or he is planning a sequel. I hope it is the latter. This is the second book by a famous author I've read lately that reached the number of words required by the publisher and just ended.

Terrific Read

Thanks for good science along with an exciting read. I hope there will be more.

When did it become vogue to not end a novel?

Where does War Dogs rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I like Greg Bear. I like Greg Bear's writing. Why then, after about a dozen hours of listening to a captivating tale, does this author just leave the story without an ending. Did Greg get bored and decide it was time to end the book? Did he decide the word count was getting too great? Did he suddenly drop dead and leave the unfinished work for his agent to finish?Sheesh! Why do some author's feel that not having an ending is an ending?In case Greg (or any other author out there) reads this: I DON'T CARE HOW NEAT YOUR IDEA IS OR HOW GREAT YOUR WRITING IS, JUST STOPPING A NOVEL IS NOT THE SAME AS ENDING ONE!Please, people, don't let this kind of idiocy propagate through English literature. Tell the authors that you expect them to finish what they start!Great performance by the reader, well written story, just about 50k words short of a novel.

So far so good-ish

The first book was decent enough. It didn’t resolve much of the plot at any point in time for the book, so that was the -ish part of good-ish. Just writing a book like a Billy Mays pitch of, “But wait, there’s more!” for the second book is kind of frustrating. If it was a movie-ending, a lot of people would have hated it (the ending), you get me?

not bad But It is confusing.

confusing for nearly a third of the book due to plot driven effects on characters but I am still curious where it is going so I'm still gonna get the next book.

A perfect rendition

I totally enjoyed this performance. The narration completely got me into the head of the main character. Greg Bear at his flawless best for social sci-fi. Also, no more cats for me.