Grunt Life (1) (A Task Force OMBRA Novel)

This is the first book in an alien invasion trilogy told from basically a military perspective. Author Weston Ochse clearly knows his weapons, military jargon, and tactics, which gives the narrative an authenticity, immersing you in the world of the characters. And the characters, here, are one of the main reasons to read this. Flawed, distinctive, and never one dimensional, I got the sense Ochse drew pieces of each person in the story from his own actual life experiences.The book moves at a fast pace with constant danger around nearly every corner. Scenes are always building to the next challenge and not everyone makes it out alive. The unpredictability of who survives is one of the book's attributes and although I got hooked on some that died, it was a decision that rang true from the nature of the battle, so no complaints here.One of my only criticisms were the time transitions between some chapters, where huge chunks of time had elapsed and we had to catch up to the world through the eyes of the protagonist, Mason. There was so much that could have been explored with the initial invasion, I felt more time could have been spent getting news updates from the outside world in order to paint a picture of what was happening which would have increased the dread and importance of Ombra's mission, instead of information dumps every few chapters.However, a few minor complaints aside, this series has really hooked me and I have already lined up book number two in my TBR list. Ochse can take this story in so many directions, I can't wait to see the choices he makes and the new dangers that await. Alien, science fiction and military action enthusiasts would be greatly advised to give this a try.

I ordered this book based off my experience reading Mr. Ochse's "Seal Team 666" novels and when it arrived I promptly began reading it (didn't even look to see what it was about). This book was a great treat!The intro immediately made me wonder what was going on, and as the story progressed I became engrossed in trying to figure out even more so what was going on (just like the characters in the story). As the truth was revealed bit by bit, my eyes were opened to some pretty scary tie-ins to real life. I think that's what I really liked about this book... Just about everything I read was solidly tied to current-day technology and what could be real-life events. I could really see what was going on in my mind's eye and felt the struggles of the characters.This book had me reading til my eyes were losing focus past midnight and I was anxious to pick up the story where I left off the following day. If you're looking for an interesting adventure that'll keep you on the edge of your seat, this book is for you! Also, being that this is Book 1 of the Task Force Ombra series, I will definitely be keeping an eye open for some follow-ons!

I had never heard of Weston Ochse before I got this book, but I am sure I'll be hearing from him in the future. His bio says that he has written 25 books, including several mil-fic SEAL books. This is one of his first ventures into military SF but it is not the work of a beginner. Reading this book I was reminded of my thoughts as I got into Old Man's War. Reading John Scalzi for the first time, I thought,"Who is this guy? He could be Heinlein's replacement." Well, the Wise Old Man has another candidate. The book is just another riff on Starship Troopers, without the sexual shock of the original. This time the bugs are invading earth, right about now. The power armor isn't as good as it might be, having just been invented. The troops are earthbound, but the weapons are beyond current technology, though they might be under development in a secret underground bunker somewhere today. There is a bit of political philosophy, that doesn't get preachy. There is a method of training the Competent Man would approve of, which makes the Grunts and the reader learn. The author has done his homework. I may have appreciated the book a bit more, because over the years I have done the same homework. If you like RAH and John Scalzi, and enjoy a good trooper yarn I am sure you will enjoy this one.

Grunt life is the story of Benjamin Carter Mason who attempts suicide in the opening pages, he is prevented from doing that and given a choice. You can kill yourself now, or die for us and do something important. Mason is unsure but gives himself over to train with a group of mentally ill and suicidal soldiers that make up Task Force OMBRA.Ombra you see has been preparing for the day when the invasion comes. They know some very alien force is already preparing the ground work. The non-humans are called the Cray, who are testing humans with acts of mind control that result in a epidemic of violent acts that appear random. A whole novel could have been built out of OMBRA's research into these events.That however is not the point, we are very tightly focused on Mason. Written in first person this forces the narrative to stay with the main Character and away from generals, world leaders or a global view of the alien invasion. This is Grunt life after all. I want to be careful to remain spoiler free but the really smart thing Ochse brings to this military Sci-fi sub-genre is including victims of PTSD as twist on the classic Dirty Dozen set-up.This is a military sci-fi novel that is much deeper than a surface action novel. A story about PTSD, that explores the issues related to the trauma that is all to common in warriors. The novel is also very much about what it means to be a grunt and of course the title suggests that. Without giving away the back half of the book it is not just the main characters who have an arc.Seal Team 666 was a fun book, one I really enjoyed but damn Grunt Life is 1,000 times better. So yes read it.

Enjoyable read about a mass alien invasion that nearly wipes out humanity, from the prospective of a seasoned veteran with post traumatic stress syndrome. As you can imagine, its dark in places, but a recommended read. The follow up to this book is great

GREAT BOOK,I ENJOYED ALL OF THIS BOOK.

My sort of story & writer-with all that going on in his head -HOW DOES HE SLEEP AT NIGHT .

Excellent,book well written!

This is the science fiction novel I have been waiting for for a couple of decades. I didn't know what I was waiting for or who would write it, but I knew it when I started it. Paying sincere homage to the best sci-fi authors I have read over the last 50 years, we are given a world that has been anticipating an alien assault that has already taken place. All of Earth's defences have been obliterated, except for Task Force OMBRA. Think Joe Haldeman, not writing the Forever War in 1974, but holding off until the present time, and knitting our current cultures and technologies into the concept he had started with. Great characters are created and are evolved. I have already downloaded the second book in this series.

The story begins with the main character, Mason, being on his way to commit suicide. Mason is a military veteran who had seen too many dark, evil things in the course of his military career. So many, in fact, that he cannot take it anymore and he goes to a bridge to jump from it. But at the last moment he is approached by mysterious Mr. Pink (a nickname) who recruits him into an organization called OMBRA. Their mission? To save the Earth from an alien invasion.It starts well, but the action slows down from there. Mason is take to a secret facility where he and others are locked in cells and given a big list of books and movies to go through, and then they are questioned about it all. After that, Mason is assigned to a squad and gets to know his teammates. More training follows.The alien invasion begins one-third into the book. At first little is known. The aliens are called the “Cray”, but that is a name given them by humans. They are insect-like in their appearance and social organization.Soon after the initial invasion, of which we see next to nothing, Mason is sent to Africa to fight against a Cray hive that appears to have great strategic importance to the aliens. Part two is mostly about the various assaults by OMBRA on the hive and how, following each battle, both the humans and the aliens try to adapt their tactics to each other.The last, third part of the book is about a special mission undertaken by Mason and his sergeant deep inside the hive.While the book is not a masterpiece by any means, I did like it. It was good entertainment and it made me think a couple of times. Part one was a little bit boring. Most of it is about Mason sitting alone in his cell reminiscing about his life. It is a useful part, however, because we get to know our main character well.Once the Cray land on Earth and the fighting begins, the pace and the story pick up. OMBRA equips their soldiers with experimental exoskeleton battle suits in the style of Starship Troopers. I think that they even say at one point that they got the idea from Starship Troopers. That, plus the fact that in both books the aliens are giant insects, makes Starship Troopers and Grunt Life very similar. And it is not just because of the weapons and the nature of the enemy. A lot of the book is about Mason’s inner thoughts, about the relationships between Mason and his squadmates, and about military life in general.I am not saying that the author is plagiarizing, for he is not, but there is no doubt that Starship Troopers influenced him when writing this book. Whether the similarities between the two books are deliberate or not, I cannot say.Going back to the story, I was pleasantly surprised that the main character is not some “natural born hero” who completely dominates the action and who saves the world all by himself. Mason is certainly a competent soldier, but he is also a troubled human being who makes mistakes and who fails as often as he succeeds. During the first part of the war, in Africa, he is just a footsoldier, one of many, and he accomplishes little of value. He does become a celebrity of sorts for brief moment of time, but that is because he happened to be filmed killing a group of Crays with a sword. (Yes, soldiers often fight with swords in this book.) It was a lost battle and the morale was sinking, so Mason’s hero status was manufactured for propaganda’s purposes.Then, in the last part, Mason and his sergeant are tasked with infiltrating the Cray hive and… Well, I do not want to write spoilers, so let’s just say that Mason turns into some sort of Hollywood action movie hero.I think that there were moments in the book where the author himself did not know whether he was writing a realistic war novel (Or at least as realistic as one can be when writing a book about insect aliens and battle suits.) or a heroic Hollywood blockbuster type of action book.The book of course has its weaknesses, like any book. There were some plot holes and questions that were never answered. For example, at one point humans launch suicidal aerial attacks on the Cray hive after they tried to destroy it with artillery. If specialized armor piercing shells fired by siege artillery cannot penetrate it, then what will flying airplanes into it accomplish? Would it not be better to use said airplanes for aerial reconnaissance? They do mention that the satellites were all destroyed, so airplanes would have become the next best form of observation.Why was it that when OMBRA went to Earth governments before the invasion to warn them, the governments did absolutely nothing? Or is it a lie? The book drops hints here and there that OMBRA is not a benevolent savior that it pretends to be. They might be using the invasion as an opportunity to push their own agenda forward.This is just the first book in the series. As I am writing this review, there is already a second book out and there might be more coming out later. Probably some of these questions will be answered later.My biggest problem with the book, however, is that some of the dialogues sound too unnatural and forced to my ears. Characters often engage in long discussions about each other, the war and the military life. I just do not see regular grunts having such long, eloquent discussions about such topics.Not only that, but I am getting a hunch that the author is using these scenes, and the character of Mason, to present his views on the military and war. That is all fine with me. I have nothing against authors using their stories to argue a point. The problem with Grunt Life is that the reader is being given mixed messages. There are moments when war, the army and the whole military culture are criticized, and later they are praised.I read somewhere that the author is ex military. I noticed by reading books written by former soldiers that they often have a love-hate relationship with the army. Their time in uniform, especially if they saw any fighting, was quite often the best of times and the worst of times. This is why their books often, but not always, carry conflicting opinions and messages.But these are not serious problems. Grunt Life is most and foremost entertainment and not a real war memoir or a philosophical thesis on the life in the army. I read it because I was looking for something light and relaxing. The book did a good job at it. I was going to give it three and a half stars, but Amazon does not allow half stars, so I will be generous and bump it up to four stars.

I'm a reader that enjoys the first person story line with the hero or protagonist front and centre and this is what we get with the series. Mix in aliens and a changed earth environment and its a great read. Getting into the 3rd book as a write this and I can say that the second in the series didn't disappoint. Worth your time to read if this type of writing and the war background grabs your fancy.

I've read all kinds of military sci-fi, always favoring the most realistic plots and perspectives. This book has written "veteran" all over it, bringing in line a set of deranged grunts against a full-out alien invasion. It's also one of the few books that portray appropriately PTSD and all the suicidal tendencies of people that simply have seen too much for their own good. War is no matter for heroes and greater-than-life characters, it is and it will be on the shoulder of the grunts - men and women who choose day after day to live and fight again.

This is my second read by Weston Ochse and its superb. A team of soldiers suffering from post traumatic stress disorder are put together to fight an alien force called the Cray. The action scenes and story are top notch. The book provides an interesting insight into the lives of these grunts and the mental scars they carry with them through life and into battle. I am not usually a huge fan of the idea of a trilogy, but this was so good, I can't wait for the next one. Great stuff 5 stars.

A military sci-fi novel with a soul. It examines the reality of war through the eyes of a grunt, and takes us on a high-octane ride through a desolate post-invasion Earth. Amazingly tender at times, it makes us realise just what soldiers can suffer in war.Ochse is one of those few that has the Midas touch, and I am truly jealous of his talent.

Gute Story, glaubwürdige Helden, sehr gute Kampszenen.Ochse liefert mit Task Force Ombra eine gruselige Story über die Invasion der Erde.Lesenswert!