The was the first of Dietz's books I read. It hooked me immediatly. The story describes a Human Empire 4000 years in the future than spans thousands of planets. The Empire, though mighty, has grown decadent in it's power. Much like Rome in it's later days the ruling class seems to care only for their own pleasure and thinks little of civic responsibility.

The Emperor is a madman, who in an experimental procedure (later abandoned due to it's often horrific effects) as a young boy, had several distinguished advisors' personalities downloaded into his brain. Thus at all times he has up over twenty different people inside his head giving him advice. Their bickering amongst one another drives him increasingly mad. This madness leaves him open to manipulation by different factions within the government. Factions that care only about their own self-intrests.

Defending this empire are four different armed services. The Navy, which controls all the space ships in the massive imperial fleet. The Marines, which conduct planetary assaults for the Navy. The Army, which retains it's traditional role of defending territory, and fighting the majority of land wars. And then there is the Legion...

Descendants of the French Foreign Legion, the Legion is what it is today, the sweepings of society mixed with the restless looking for adventure. There is however one significant difference, cyborgs.

The cyborgs are the back bone the Legion. When criminals convicted of capital offenses are executed (a common occurance in the Empire) the condemned are given the choice of being considered for rebirth into the legion as a cyborg. The terminally ill are also given this choice. Those who are chosen have their brain removed and put into a life support box. This box is then inserted into a robotic body. The brain is then attached to the different sensors of the machine and a cyborg is born. These fearsomly armed and armored warriors are the ultimate shock troops. They are fast, deadly, and above all expendable.

This mix of the shady humans seeking anonymity or adventure, and fearsome cyborgs, whose only remaining purpose in life is to serve the empire, are the defenders of the empires frontier. Much like the US marines at the beginning of WWII, they man hundreds of small outposts that need to be defended, but aren't important enough to warrant more considerable defences.

Against this decadent empire come the Hudatha. The Hudatha are an alien race that are as militarily powerful as the humans, and have a severely paranoid societal mindset. They fear any other sentinent life in the universe and seek to destroy it so as to ensure their own security. Where as the Humans are divided the Hudatha have a singular mindset. They are intent on destroying all human life. Luckily for the Humans the Hudathan paranoia prevented them from creating cyborgs of their own.

In the end only the Legion stands in the Hudathan's way. Thus a society is dependant on the bravery of those they have largely rejected. They are the few, they are the brave, they are the Legion. God have mercy on their souls.

Review

In this futureistic version of the Peloponnesian War, the forces of free thought once again battle those of conformity. The stirring story realistically portrays the both the battle and the politics of this future time. It is excellently written, capturing both the intesity of battle, as well as the emotions and hardships of the humans caught up in these momentous events. By far one of the best books I've ever read.