In this science fiction the world is attacked by aliens. It tells the story of a group of orphan soldiers who go to Ganymede and destroys the aliens forward base. It follows Jason Wander's evolution from jerk high schooler to a private in the Army to the commander of the whole expedition. I do find the way the author starts and ends the book a little odd. I do love the way the author gives a real feeling of how a private in the military thinks and feels. A great read! ( )

I was looking for a new sci fi series. This one is pretty good even though I was looking for more space ships and life on planets other than Earth. I did however enjoy this story which was really a coming of age story and a war story. I thought the end was a little rushed. And because I know that this is the start of a series, the epilogue many years later just seemed odd. So the rest of the books take place after this one but before the epilogue. Still the story sucked me in. It moves along briskly and you care about the main character and there are interesting minor characters. I will read more of the series. ( )

Jason Wander, eighteen years old, with no particular skills, in trouble with the law, and with his only family killed in the alien attacks that are slowly destroying Earth's ecosystem and killing the human race, somewhat involuntarily enlists in the infantry. He does not suddenly discover that this is the life he was born for, but he does, eventually, decide that he doesn't want to fail at this, too, or let down the few people who believe in him. He makes some appalling mistakes on his way to that decision, and it's not smooth sailing after that, but Jason does start to make a foot soldier of himself. When an expedition is dispatched to take the war to the enemy, at their base on Ganymede, Jason and his squadmates are part of it.

This is a book that borrows heavily from all the great buddy war movies, as well as Starship Troopers and The Forever War, and freely acknowledges its debts. Orphanage doesn't break new ground in the genre, but it's a solid, enjoyable read. ( )

A little lighter in tone than I expected and usually look for in military science fiction. But entertaining nonetheless. ( )

Another fun military science fiction novel filled with action that I enjoyed quite a bit. This one is the story of the training and initial combat events of the main character, Jason Wander. Earth has been attacked by an unknown enemy sending projectiles to destroy earths cities from Ganymeade (Jupiter's moon). It details the personal growth that Jason go through as events unfold. Looking forward to continuing this story on the 4 additional books in this series.

4 stars for a fun and enjoyable (quick too) read. Recommended for any fan of military sci-fi action. ( )