Of the two characters, he was the strongest to me in the time the reader spends with him and what he experiences through several respective battles. It reads like a long journey through the primary viewpoint of two characters – Felix and Jack Crow. I’m impressed in that this was the author’s first novel, unfortunately one of his few penned works before he passed away. I wish I owned a physical copy of the book with this cover because I think it’s really cool. But I was definitely drawn into this novel when I saw the cover of the audiobook version (as narrated by Tom Weiner). The novel is set to be re-released with a new cover in paperback December 2020 from DAW, for anyone who’s interested.

Then this recommendation popped up, originally penned back in 1984. (Answer: not at all, and I ended up getting novel recommendations from the “Doom” and “Dead Space” game franchises, but some of those I already had on my TBR.) Third was whether I minded the books were hard or military sci-fi (Answer: Not at all, I enjoy both of those as long as the story and characterization is strong). Second was that if I minded recs that were based on games.

First response was whether or not I had read “Starship Troopers” (Answer: yes, but honestly it’s been a while I don’t remember it enough to say other than I thought it was fine at the time I read it, but I plan on revisiting it at some point). The context: I had asked for recommendations of sci-fi novels that took place in space with an action/horror focus. I had not heard of either the novel or the author beforehand, so I went into this completely without context for the history or acclaim the novel had. I think I should start this review as to how I picked up John Steakley’s “Armor”. 3.5 stars overall unless I decide to bump it up. I’ll explain more after I collect my thoughts. I’ll have a review coming up soon for this, but have you ever had the feeling of finishing a book that you enjoyed but you’re completely exhausted after finishing it? That’s kinda what happened here, and I don’t say that as a critique but rather this book had a lot going on. Initial reaction: Holy guacamole Batman, I finally finished this 20+ hour audiobook.

Armor by John Steakley