Judy C. (Judy-Ree) - , reviewed on 8/3/2011 + 29 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 3

From the Back Cover:

"Ia is a precog, blessed - or cursed - with visions of the future. She has witnessed the devastation of her home galaxy three hundred years in the future, long after she is gone, but believes she can prevent it.

Enlisting in the modern military of the Terran United Planets, Ia plans to rise through the ranks, meeting and influencing important people and building a reputation that will inspire others for the next three centuries. But she needs to be assigned to the right ship, the right company, and the right place to earn that reputation honestly - all while keeping her psychic abilities hidden from her superiors, who would refuse to risk such a valuable gift in combat.

To save the galaxy, Ia must become someone else: the soldier know as Bloody Mary."

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I will be honest, I originally read this book because I had read Jean Johnson's Sons of Destiny series and loved it. That said, those books were romances at the core, and this book is decidedly not. But all the things I loved about the Sons of Destiny series - the world building, the amazing characters, the believable dialogue - I found in this book. This book is the first in a new Series: Theirs Not To Reason Why. The story is told around Ia, the main character of the story. At the beginning of each chapter we are treated to commentary from Ia herself, told as she looks back on the upcoming story.

While it is definitely military science fiction, being set in the future with space travel, Space Marine Corps and multiple races, there are paranormal overtones dealing with psychics. I found I really enjoyed this and didn't even miss the lack of romance.

As Ia herself states, she just doesn't have the time. First there is boot camp, then her first posting and then moving through the ranks as she is tested in battle. All while trying to keep an eye on the time stream, build up her psi skills, send directives to make sure that events take place as needed, and especially keep up with being a full time Marine.

I can't wait to read the next book, due out in August of 2012. The next book picks right up where this one leaves off, and is called An Officer's Duty. From the special preview available at the end of A Soldier's Duty, it looks to be just as outstanding at the first.

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