As I remarked in my reviews for the previous books, I'm really here to get into the aliens' heads. So I really enjoyed Lalelelang's perspective. Was then rather disappointed when Nevan was introduced because I didn't want another boring cookie-cutter human soldier.

I enjoyed the various plots that came out of the woodwork among the weave species as the war effort wound down. I enjoyed the twist with the Turlog but was kind of annoyed that after the reveal the aftermath was taken care of offscreen and never bothered our heroes again.

Also something which bothered me with the previous book continued to bother me here - the Core don't ever seem troubled by the moral implications of using their powers on others, even though the Amplitur are considered monsters for doing so. It's rather strange.

The series overall was fairly enjoyable, gave me a bit to think about, but contained a few too many drawbacks to be considered truly outstanding. ( )

This is the final book in 'The Damned' series. Humanity's contribution to the fight against the Amplitur has brought the Weave to the edge of victory. ALl that remained was finding the home world of the Amplitur but even as this knowledge was being sought, the greatest threat to humanity's existence was in danger of being exposed by a most unlikely agent. The Wais scholar had steeled herself to follow up her studies on the disturbing humans to study them in their natural habitat; on the battle front itself. Surviving the mere presence of soldiers was a victory in itself was a miracle but even Lalelelang was surprised to by what she found there, from sneak attacks by Amplitur forces to a human that was able to rally a squad of panicking Weave soldiers with .

It doesn't take much effort by a scholar as brilliant as Lalelelang to hypothesis the existence of a group of humans who had mental powers similar to their hated enemies. But would this do anything to ease the growing tensions between humans and their Weave allies? A problem that all thought could be put off until after the war was rapidly brought to the fore when the Amplitur surrendered when their home world was discovered by the Weave. As the Weave and humanity grew apart, Lalelelang and a few other scholars expected war to come between the Weave and humanity but Lalelelang didn't expect to be part of the answer to keeping the peace.

This book is a bit less preachy than the first book, concentrating on telling the tale rather than focusing on humanity's love of war but I'm not sure that civilisations as wimpy as the Weave species appear to be would have the ability to form an interstellar society, however unstable it may be, though I also doubt a species as hell bent on fighting as humanity seems to be in this series would survive long enough either. All in all, it was a reasonable read and any book that rips off Doctor Who can't be all bad :-) ( )

the concluding book. It was enjoyable, but I am glad I was able to get them thru local libraries instead of buying them. The Great War ends and humanity is trying to find its place in a universe of peace. And that is where it ends. ( )

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot. wordpress.leafmarks.com & Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road Facebook Group by Bookstooge's Exalted Permission. Title: The Spoils of War Series: The Damned Author: Alan Dean Foster Rating: 4 of 5 Stars Genre: SFF Pages: 273 Format: Kindle digital edition


Project Reread: I am attempting to reread 10 books in 2016 that I have rated highly in the past. I am not attempting to second guess or denigrate my younger self in any way but am wanting to compare how my tastes have changed and possibly matured. I am certainly much more widely read now [both in the good and bad quality sadly] than then.
I will hopefully be going into the reasons for any differences of opinions between then and now. If there is no difference of opinion, then it was a hellfire'd fine book!
Links may link to either Booklikes or Blogspot, depending on when the original review was. Synopsis: The Amplitur surrender in hopes of winning the war by subverting humanity in the ensuing peace. One of the Wais has made humanity her specialty of study. In the course of things, she comes into contact with the Core, the humans who can influence others like the Amplitur. She also discovers that the Lepar aren't the slow stupid beings that everyone thinks they are. Can humanity become a race that can live in peace or will they become the next Amplitur? My Thoughts: Reading this was practically like reading a new to me book. I just didn't remember any of the details. My previous review of Spoils of War was spot on in its assessment but with no details... I enjoyed getting a viewpoint from the Wais. However, just like the previous books, no resolution to the questions raised is ever brought about. It is more of a shrug of the literary shoulders and a "who knows?" Still found the overall series very enjoyable if not quite as compelling as before. " ( )

As the conclusion to the enjoyable "The Damned" series, I expected a bit more - action. Not that there wasn’t action, but like the previous two, Foster’s characters spend time thinking and speculating about the world and their place in it.
The war that is the central conflict in the series ends with a fizzle. But with the end brings to the surface the unspoken fear of the members of the Weave – what to do with the violent Humans. The book spans almost 2 earth decades, following the main characters as they work, often behind the scenes, to solve the problem. Through dogged determination, intelligence, self-sacrifice, and yes, some violence, they reach a bittersweet end. Not clean ending to the issues raised, simply a messy patchwork solution, tinged with hope. While this left me sad, it made the story better. It felt real.
Foster has an interesting viewpoint on his own race – the idea that humans are inherently prone to violence and left without an outside enemy, we will turn on ourselves. But his stories also tell us he believes that there will always be human who will rise above that, and work to temper that issue in our species. It’s an interesting concept.
Overall, this is an enjoyable series. Worth reading, particularly if you like a little philosophy in your science fiction. ( )