Face of the Enemy

By Richard Fawkes, Richard Fawkes,  

The Pleasure of the Kill They strike without warning out of the interstellar depths, their only communication a burst of static--and then death. They are called the Remor, and they kill for the pure joy of killing. The brave fighting men and women of the Interstellar Defense League eagerly take up the call to arms against the Remor and their grinders--monstrous war machines that leave a trail of death and desolation in their wake. But to win, the League warriors must get inside the machines'-and the mind of their foe. Who--or what--is this mysterious enemy? Where do they come from? And why are they determined to destroy humankind? Mere courage won't uncover the Remor's secrets. Something else is needed. Something that can only be found in the untamed spirit of a renegade who long ago "went native" with the most primitive species in the known universe...

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0061057959
• ISBN13: 9780061057953
• Release Date: June 1999
• Publisher: Harper Voyager
• Length: 544 Pages
• Weight: 0.57 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 4.2" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

Excellent

This is an excellent book, especially for a new author. Fawkes tells a great military science fiction story with lots of intrigue, a very interesting and well-realized setting, and a strong sense of mystery and dread as the characters probe into the mysterious aline menace, the Remor. The characters are very good,and Fawkes does a good job of keeping you interested in them even though some of them are extremely unpleasant people. Highly reccomended.

well written

This is a well written book, complex and well thought out. Thebackground is deep enough to support a variety of follow-onstories. It is military SF for the thinking person. The bookis sequel ready but story tidies up nicely at the end.If you are looking for something stilted and mechanical readDavid Drake's latest book the Far Side of the Stars.

Complex military sci-fi with a few extras

The first 150 pages of this novel are overly complex, but don't let that deter you from reading on. The storylines finally do intersect and begin to weave together with varying rates of success. The socio-anthopological complexity that is inherent in both the human and alien cultures is strange and sometimes hard to understand, but the overall concept is fascinating, if disgusting at how mankind can be so "in-human."There are a number of mysteries generated that are not resolved until the last few pages, and there are several storylines that go unresolved making you wonder if a sequel is pending. The writing is solid, the characters well defined (if somewhat unlikable), and the pace/action moves along briskly. Recommended for those who enjoy reading a bit of military sci-fi mixed with a bit of hardcore and sociological sci-fi.

More than just a shoot-em-up!

The foreground story is more complicated and interesting than most military sci-fi. The people have believable, individual motivations, and the issues aren't black and white. There seems to be a LOT going on in the background, and not just the peculiar war against the mysterious aliens. I wish Fawkes had done more than just sketch in some of the governments, personalities, other interests that complicate things with their private agendas. Maybe this was deliberate, to whet our appetites for the rest of the trilogy (series)? If so, it worked for me.

This was a great SF book!

This was a sci-fi book for the mind it was'nt so much action it was more, about getting into the minds of the charactors which is a welcome change to the old shoot-em up sci-fi books.