Commissar Ploss reviews World at War: Revelation by Mark H. Walker. The first book in the World at War trilogy.

 

Hello faithful readers. CP here letting you know i’ve had the distinct pleasure of getting to read and review this book. Mark contacted us through the Contact Us page here, and inquired whether or not we would like to review his book. I immediately said yes, of course. It’s a new avenue for us here at TFF. This will be the first review of a self-published book to grace the pages here at The Founding Fields, and a trend i hope will continue in the future. But enough about how chuffed i am.

World at War: Revelation was a wonderful book. Set in the dark, gritty reality of a World War III Earthscape, it pits NATO forces against those of the red star! Fought across the fields of a divided Germany, the war rages all along the East/West line. NATO forces are struggling to hold back the Soviets and their relentless attempt to gain purchase in West Germany.

I’m a huge fan of WWII, and WWIII settings and Mr. Walker has nailed the setting, in my mind. He’s nailed the characters too! What if i told you this involves more than just humans battling for scraps of land across a barren landscape? What if i told you there were other forces afoot? How about Lycans, Vampires, and Demons? Would you start to drool a bit? yeah, i think you would. ) I know i did. Every one of the characters plays a vital role in the story, and they all coalesce into a climactic story line that kept me turning pages. And that’s a good thing! There’s a touch of the paranormal about as well. Not just the vamps, wolves and demons. One of the human characters even has a bit of the “power” in him. But ah, you know how i hate to give too much away!

The pacing of the story was well crafted. It was a page turner, no doubt about it. Mr. Walker has an interesting system he uses for his chapter titles, it’s the classic military date system, sort of how you would head a field journal with the time, date and location of the entry.  Although, there are points in the story, and he mentions this in the Authors Note at the beginning of the novel, where the dates/times jump around a bit. This is all on purpose i assure you, and it wasn’t that hard to follow along.

Characterization was very strong. I had no trouble picturing, and relating to each an every character.  Each character, no matter their stance in this war is easily empathized with. If that makes sense…  You get emotionally attached to each and every character.  Even for a book that isn’t as lengthy as others out there, it was easy to get attached.  The book’s only 268 pages long! If that isn’t a reason to pick it up at least, i don’t know what is. It’s a great read!

This is going to be a trilogy, and i hope that i get to read the next one soon! The close of the story did well in showing there is more to be told, it made me want another book. And that’s key when it comes to a trilogy. Keeping people interested can be difficult without a strong concept and equally strong writing.

In closing, Walker is clearly at the top of his game here. I dare say he’s one of the masters of Military SF. With already 40-some-odd traditionally published novels under his belt, it’s safe to say he hasn’t missed a beat with self-publishing.

Rating: 8/10

Reason:  While the story itself was superb, the dates at the top of the chapters threw me a bit. And, being self-published you have much more to worry about when it comes to spelling and typographical errors. Any errors that i found were very minor, no missing paragraphs or dead sentences or anything like that. Just a few word switches, and double usages.  Just not as clean in that sense when compared to a traditionally published novel.  A superb book overall however, and it earns a very high 8 in my mind.

Should you buy this book? I feel it’s safe to say: YES! you should definitely buy this book. If you’re interested in alternate historical tales, or a fan of any thing from Lycans to Demons to Vampires to Soviets, then yes, you should most definitely pick up this book. It’s a spectacular read.

Where can I buy one?! I must KNOW!:   You can find World at War: Revelation HERE

or, for more information about Lock ‘N Load Games and the published material therin, you can go to www.locknloadgame.com (btw, did i mention the game itself has won awards!)

cheers! -CP