The Tasmanian's unofficial motto is et anima una, Of One Mind, and somehow the elite special forces group performs like they have one mind. Jolie understands on a subconscious level but not on an intellectual level. An important level for Jolie as she has a platoon and no stated objectives while on assignments and, therefore, easy to lose her connection with the main force. A problem that could make her unfit for the Tasmanians.
I was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, and joined the military right out of high school. I served twenty-two years in the United States Air Force as a certified internal auditor. While in the military service, I lived in seven states and two foreign countries, and obtained two degrees: a BS in mathematics and an MS in computer science.
After I retired from the Air Force, I secured a position with Digital Equipment Corporation, located in Bedford, Massachusetts, as a software course developer and instructor. I worked twenty-two years at DEC and held positions as a course developer, course development manager, software engineer, and software engineering manager.
Today, I’m retired and live in Tucson, Arizona, with my wife of fifty-three years. My daughter and two grandchildren live in Maryland. I began writing several years after I retired, when I was seventy. My first two attempts remain in my desk drawer—good ideas, but poorly written. Subsequently, I co-authored, with Jeanne Tomlin, three fantasy novels: Talon of the Raptor Clan, Scales of Justice, and All My Friends Have Wings (young adults). Talon of the Raptor Clan was sold to ePress-online Books and came out in July 2009. Since then I have written two additional novels: The Laughing Hounds (urban fantasy) and The Riss Gamble (science fiction).
My hobbies for the past forty years have been kung fu and tai chi.
An excellent collection of ‘Tasmanian’ missions, with Jolie and her Ghost Platoon, although I did think the last couple of missions had some inconsistencies. If possible I would have given 4.5 stars.
This is my favorite C.R Daems series followed by The Black Guard and the first 2 Kazak books and I just want more!
I love Luan and her brothers but am I the only one who ships Luan and Medina? I think they'd make an excellent couple. In the Kazak series it was so effortless. This would be two strong individuals in their own right. I'd love to see it but I'm here for the ride.
This was so good! I can't wait to buy it again on audible when it is released! I'll miss Art, that really hurt! The ghost platoon feels to close to my heart especially fox and Flintstone! Till next time...
This book suffers from much of what affected the last two. The main character is an insufferable Mary Sue who has almost no faults and gets along brilliantly with everyone she interacts with other than thuggish side characters who are quickly put in their place.
The missions they are sent on often seem very like Earth special forces missions which makes little sense with space-faring civilisation. "Go here and kill some mountain men with rifles who are causing trouble." "Go here and kill some sex slavers." They never use drones or high tech gear but repeatedly talk about Glocks, Rugby, Native Americans and other terms that really date the story to a time period centuries before it is set.
Every time the characters go anywhere we get the "Tasmanians don't salute and don't have rank spiel." WE KNOW! This is the third book in the series and hearing "Their minds were blown by the Tasmanian pay scale" for the fortieth time did nothing for me. Similarly with jocks walking into the bar and challenging the main character to a fight she easily wins. I think that has happened in every single bar scene.
There was one undercover mission that varied a bit from the established norms but it quickly fell back into the regular routine.
The scenes on the transport leg of any mission have to be skipped as in previous books. The dialogue is so badly written and so cringey that it will cause you almost physical pain to listen to. I don't know why the author keeps putting them in. They aren't funny but perhaps they appeal to their repetitive instincts.
We will hear how great the MC is in every section. "She is the only female Tasmanian." "She has the only permanent platoon." etc. etc. I got really tired of that too. The MC using a "pouty face" and making really girly comments all the time got old as well. Perhaps the narrator wasn't sarcastic enough. I don't know.
The whole thing is quite badly written too. You'll get plenty of unnecessary exposition, unnatural dialogue and repetition.
I thought the narrator could have used a wider range of male accents but they did quite well.
That being said, the first part did put a smile on my face and I did enjoy the book generally. It's pulp trash but most of it is quite fun and easy listening. Sort of like "White Chicks", it won't win any Oscars but there are worse things to have on while you do the ironing.
This is the third book in the series and it helps to have read the first two to understand the characters and history in this one.
This book is essentially more of the same. If you read and enjoyed the first two books in the series you will probably enjoy this one too. There is little character or plot development. It is simply a series of adventures that Joile goes on.
This is not a deep book, but it is entertaining with humour and action in every chapter. One thing I do likes that the Joile isn’t superhuman. She makes mistakes and gets punished for making them by getting injured or damaging her platoon members. There are also long stints between actions which makes sense given they are such a specialist unit. They train and help others train which helps them be as good as they reputed to be, which helps make their endeavours more believable. I also like that Joile understands that without the incredible men in her platoon she would have to work much much harder because their experience helps counteract her inexperience in certain areas. She is in charge because she sees things differently and that’s why she’s been placed in charge of her small team. Their skills allow her to give instructions about what she wants to achieve and they accomplish it without hesitation. Their bond is strong and their is a great deal of affection between them all and they are very protective of Joile.
As with the previous books, the narrator is excellent and provides much of the enjoyment for me. She conveys the different characters easily and exhibits a great deal of versatility when in comes to voices. I always enjoy Emily Woo Zeller’s work and always look for her books.
It’s a fun series and I may look into reading some of the others by this author for when I’m in the mood for action without being forced to work too hard for it.
I’m a sucker for plucky, super capable lady leaders who don’t have endless self doubt inner dialogues but do have a better plan and self-deprecating humor. I don’t care if she always “quips” or that each book repeats the motto of the Tasmanians several times and almost every chapter details the lack of rank, the odd pay scale and that they never have to salute. These repetitions are far more tolerable to me than having the protagonist continually blaming themselves for the bad things that happen to move the plot along, wonder if they aren’t capable of doing what needs to be done (again, to move the plot along) and other stupid shit that “creates psychological suspense”. There is enough meat in the scenarios to keep me on the hook and coming back for more. But, those repetitions are wearing & it would be nice if the author used a thesaurus for “quip” to mix it up a bit and didn’t lean on the same sentences to signify the elite-ness of the Tasmanians.
I have to admit I constantly refresh my search of C.R Daems for two of his series, this and the black guard. I love this series and this book is another great addition to the Tasmanian sfg series. The world build ins great and in love that like the black guard series it is not just one epic conflict, but a number of a.aller ones in a wider universe with some bits of down time in between. I will say the blurb really doesn't do justice to this book and that Luan kicks butt like usual. A great read that I couldn't put down once I started. If you haven't read this series go back to book 1 and start there,, you won't be disappointed.
The book was a fun read as a followup to the two previous books in the series. The book basically consisted of following the protagonist through a number of missions, the issues presented by each mission, and her resolution of the difficulties or issues presented by the mission. The protagonist's main virtue was being an out-of-the-box thinker which helped her having her team complete the missions whereas others involved in the missions were lead astray. As such most of the character development in the book was concentrated on the protagonist. The book stresses the virtue of independent thinking.
Daems has got women with agency who use deadly weapons down pat. Most of his books are written as episodes, with the heroine learning more about herself in each one. Here, as in most of his books, the heroine has an unorthodox way of solving problems. There is beginning to be a similarity in the problems presented in each episode, leading me to hope Mr. Daems starts a new series rather than another book in this one.
The repetitive nature is the factor the situation certain kind of formulaic. There are new challenges and they were good. The annoying thing was all the banter about previous experiences which was new and interesting in the first even 2nd book but by now it’s like, please!
I absolutely hate it when these books end. The writing is superb, the characters are perfect, and the story is always entertaining. Now, just waiting for the next one to be published.
Another excellent entry in the series. Like the rest it reads like a series of linked short stories more than a conventional novel. But it maintains good character development and the story's flow together well. Feed me more.
Fantastic series I found the first book randomly and powered through all of them and then moved onto your black guardian series also good but I am desperate for more of these characters. They’re funny and smart and action is fantastic! Please write more soon!
I love the Ghost Platoon & I hope there are many more to come in this series. The characters are well fleshed out and their escapades are fantastic reading.
Harder to suspend belief in this volume than the previous two. Not enough development of the various situations. Almost no additional development of the main character.
Another outstanding adventure into the Tasmanian world.
I have rarely enjoyed a series as much as this one. I certainly hope that C.R.D. continues writing about the Tasmanian SFG lifestyle. All four volumes have been extremely entertaining from cover to cover.
I la la la love this series, and the main character, I love the writing style of the Arthur, I have all his books of his different series, he is one of the best arthurs
I do hate catching up with the end of an unfinished series, I need book four. This book is more of the same, Jolie winning against the odds but its fun, fast and very readable. Yes yes book four please.
My favorite thing about this author is all the mini stories. While it has some evolution and growth with the main character, I find I enjoy both the day to day along with the heart pounding fights. As with many readers, I would love to see the Fox go on a date, train a new ghost team, go on more mini adventures, and find out what you have planned for the Ghost Team.
I love this series. All of the characters are amazing. The family concept within the unorthodox military unit makes for some great reading. I truly hope there will be more in this series!