Seven Soldiers: War of the Worlds

by Clark Wilkins

A REVIEW

Military weaponry, tactics and protocols highlight sci-fi non-stop battle thriller

In September 19, 1961, Betty and Barney Hill claimed they were abducted by aliens on a rural road in New Hampshire. After being taken aboard a spaceship they were subjected to a number of examinations including tissue samples, then released unharmed. The Hills informed the authorities and under hypnosis divulged the details of the events including the alien’s home star of Zeta Retiucli. This event was sufficiently genuine to be investigated by the FBI, CIA and Air Force.

Fast forward three hundred years.

The Interplanetary Defense Force (IDF) is in full retreat. They arrived on the planet to put down a rebellion and in their first encounter have taken a vicious beating. Who is this unknown enemy that turns their own weapons against them? An enemy they have yet to even see.

Their only chance is to regroup but how can they do that when the enemy is picking them off as they fall back. Once the army has withdrawn across a dam, they might have a chance but only if they can hold the dam and stop the advance. They need volunteers to make this stand. Seven soldiers step up for what is most likely a suicide mission.

Not only must they keep the enemy at bay, but the beautiful Dr. Nirawon Kaiser demands they capture one of the enemy to discover possible physiological vulnerabilities.

The battle ensues and Kaiser gets her wish only to discover an astounding link between the capabilities of the enemy and a UFO incident three centuries ago.

Once again, author Clark Wilkins excels in detailed research, this time into weaponry and military tactics and protocols. It’s well worth the read as an entertaining education into these specific areas. Seven Soldiers: War of Worlds is well structured with rising tension building to an unexpected climax.

Characterization is thin and stereotypical though thorough enough to carry the plot from one detailed description of weapons, their deployment and tactical strategy to another.

In previous works, Wilkins has cleverly blended fact with fiction adding an extra level of authenticity. However, in Seven Soldiers: War of Worlds, since the suggested link introduced by the actual Zeta Retiucli prologue doesn’t manifest itself until some three hundred years in the future the technique fails to invoke that sense of eerie intrigue.