Book Review: Recon Marines by PK Hawkins

There's no greater job in the universe than that of a Recon Marine. There is also none more dangerous. At first, Marsden and his team's mission seems simple enough. They are to check out an anomaly on a recently discovered world, determine if it's safe, and then turn it over to Science Corps for further study. They weren't expecting it be their first contact with a new alien race, nor were they expecting that alien race to already be preparing for war against humanity. The crashed ship is a biological warfare research vessel, and it is full of terrifying creatures collected specifically to destroy humans.

What started as a cakewalk for a large group of highly-trained marines becomes a desperate fight for survival as the deadly menagerie of the ship set out to systematically wipe the human invaders out. 

My Review: 
The recon marines have been given a new and important mission. On a newly discovered planet, a space craft has been discovered that could be of alien origin and everyone is keen to find out what is on it. The marines are sent to check out the ship and see if it is abandoned and safe, allowing it then to be salvaged for technology. Charlie and Delta teams each have 22 soldiers and are sent to different entries into the ship, with orders to explore. It doesn't take long for Delta to come into contact with large bubbles on the wall of a room. Too late, they realise that the bubbles are cages for something very deadly to humans and that is only the first of the nasty surprises on the ship, which has been prepared for warfare with humans.

I'm a big fan of the films Alien and Aliens, and when I first saw the blurb for this book, it reminded me Ripley's team being sent to investigate the alien ship in the first film, and of when the colonial marines and Ripley went to the colony buildings and ended up in a battle against the aliens in the second film. There are certainly similarities with the films when you look at it and it has that kind of vibe through the book. It takes place mainly on what looks like an abandoned ship rather than a small colony town, and there are a variety of different types of deadly aliens to contend with. It does have the same tension of two groups of marines at different parts of the ship communicating as they explore-and then things start to get really deadly. Both teams run into trouble very quickly and that starts a rollercoaster story as they have to deal with a variety of alien threats.

The monsters were a lot of fun! It starts out with an attack of thumb sized crabs that attack in swarms and can go over walls and ceilings as well as scuttle along floors. The crabs seem to have a Hive mind and attack Delta who are able to warn Charlie at the bridge to get themselves ready for what is coming. In an attempt to operate the alien controls to seal the bridge, charlie accidently release all the other threats from their cages too, meaning the ship has now become a battleground. The only way to stop these aliens getting off the planet and destroying humankind is to destroy the ship but that means finding the right places to plant the explosives, and risk running into more killer aliens. 

There are other great monsters to enjoy like wasp creatures that inject fluid that swells up the victim, living vines that rip you apart if you touch them, parasites that can control human minds and turn the team against each other and other nasties. My personal favourite has to be the rank smelling Hairy, described as a sort of Saquatch who is also a living circular saw blade thing. When he launches at the marines, he slices them up. A hairy Sasquatch saw blade was a fun monster to read about, and because they smell him just before he attacks, it is very tense waiting for him to show up around every corner!

The characters themselves were also quite interesting. The MC for the story is Marsden, who is the sort of Hicks type character. He is capable and has to assume command when his commanding officer is injured in the first attack. She sort of reminds me of the female astronaut in Armageddon that yells at Bear for not paying attention! She is certainly tough and not to be messed with. I think my favourite character was Baynes, who is not greatly blessed when it comes to brains but is a tough and brave soldier. I enjoyed his interactions with Marsden and the socially inept but brilliant minded Axel. 

The book itself was an enjoyable alien creature feature with a space setting. There are some nice tense scenes as the team move about the ship, trying to evade all the creatures. The action and death scenes are violent and entertaining for those like me who enjoy the creature feature genre. I've now read three good books by this author and will certainly be looking to read more of the author in the future.

Read June 2019
4 stars.