Against All Odds: A Military Sci-Fi Series (Grimm's War) Paperback – April 12, 2022

There’s a lot of very good military sci-fi series out there. The genre has several niches; ground combat, space combat, political space opera, etc. I tend to favor ground combat books, but I am a big David Weber (Honor Harrington) fan, so I decided to jump in with Jeffery Haskell’s Against All Odds, the first book of the Grimm’s War series.The first chapter is a gut punch. You start out with a young, up-and-coming James T. Kirk-esque officer. In a brilliant feat of writing, Haskell introduces an almost insurmountable flaw to the character in the most dramatic fashion possible. I was hooked from that point on.This isn’t a hero that can do no wrong. His career ends up in the proverbial toilet. He’s given a ship, but it’s a far cry from the flagship of the fleet. In fact, it is an old tiny destroyer, one without its primary drive. Its captain is dead and its crew has been idling on a backwater world, watching their careers pass them by. So much for my initial thoughts of James Kirk.Haskell brings in a layer of politics, weaves in an intriguing mystery, and provides his protagonist with a chance to achieve some level of redemption…not just for himself, but for his crew.The Grimm’s War series now has eclipsed Honor Harrington for me. Don’t get me wrong, I love David Weber’s work, but there is a lot of overburden with his brand universe building. That’s not bad, but it does kill the pace and let’s face it, military sci-fi guys love action and battle. Haskell swiftly navigates past things that might slow the plot down, blazing a fast-paced and exciting trail through the stars. He’s produced a series that transcends universe building and focuses on some well-rounded, very human characters.For fans waiting for their next Weber fix, I highly recommend you hop aboard the USS Interceptor and buckle in tight, it’s destined to be a bumpy ride.

I’m so into these characters now! Wow! Really great writing by this author. The characters are developed really well throughout this book. I can only imagine how that will expand. It was truly heartwarming, and I gotta say, honorable how Grimm pulled that boat and it’s team together. They became a real fighting machine. When a crew acts in the he way that these do then you know their leader is a good one, who inspires them to be their best, to be the best the Navy and the Marines the military has to offer.The other portion of the book is sickening in its realism of disgusting, deceitful, dishonest, stab you in the back cowardly and traitorous characters. The things human beings are capable of inflicting upon others in the name of power, money, country or religion is just pathetic. But it’s not fiction in our real world, as we all know, and this book gives a heavy dose of evil; believable fiction and so disgusting and heartbreaking for that true fact of the semblance of possibilities. 😢The other thing this author is really good at is battle scenes and there’s multiples of them—against different ships, locations, marines battles, and we even get battles from the enemies perspective. So not a dull moment.I’m so excited I found this series & I was eager to start as I’ve read this author before and knew I wouldn’t be disappointed. Hoo yah!

(Below this review I have placed a minor spoiler, but a significant trigger warning, beside two asterisks.)#1 in the Grimm's War series. I've decided on a 3.5 star rating rounded up.This book was two spits away from being thrown into the DNF column. For the first hundred pages it seemed as if a new character's viewpoint was introduced every .005 light seconds. I only cared to follow along with maybe one or two of them, and I'm not a fan of multiple points of view. So by page one hundred-ish I was of the opinion that this would be a bust. Since I tend to create nice neat rules for myself, I decided that I would mark it as DNF at page 125. I don't know why I make these rules for myself, I just do. Just work with me :)I completed my goal...and all of a sudden I realized that this had grown on me when I wasn't looking. It really started to get darned good! It has it's flaws, and there is some significant unsavory content** here and there, but overall a decent military sci-fi.Aside from the interesting plot and good characters, this book had two of my favorite tropes. I never tire of them! They were (1) the disgraced but honorable MC, and (2) the "broken down jalopy of a ship and slovenly crew" turnaround to a well-oiled military machine. Seriously, I could read books with these two tropes all day long and they were both to the forefront of this story.This book really did surprise me considering my dislike for the first quarter of it. I liked it enough to buy the sequel, so that rounding up to four stars is justified in my eyes.**<spoiler>offscreen gang rapes, etc from the human trafficking ring</spoiler>

Action, suspense, honor, well developed characters, the right amount of detail, … all while keeping it PG-13. The first book I’ve read from Haskell. I’m a fan!

This is an excellent opening for a military sci-fi series and I highly recommend it.The strange part about it is that I put it down at about the 40% mark because something about it just wasn't clicking for me. It wasn't bad, not by any stretch, but something about it just wasn't working. I could tell it had a lot of potential, though, so I took a little break and then picked it back up, and am I ever glad I did.The real guts of this came to light in the 40-50% area, and from there, it just got better and better. If you like military sci-fi and multiple POVs, this should keep you turning pages. A remarkable MC and a great supporting cast drive a compelling narrative that is neatly tied up by the end while leaving plenty of paths for further work.Looking forward to "With Grimm Resolve."

Thoroughly enjoyed this series. Well developed characters and plot line over the series of books. Best comment I can make is it was hard to put down.

This is an excellent story that, with the same level of writing that this book revealed, should result in a very exciting series. The plot is excellent and the descriptive environment in which this story is laid out keeps the reader on the edge of your seat. Very well written.

Whole Book Series is very entertaining Fantasy.

I have now read three books in this series and they are excellent. If you like the "Lost Fleet" series by Jack Campbell or the Castle Federation by Glynn Stewart then this is a series for you. Clear hero, good supporting cast, plenty of action, definitely recommended for those who like military space opera.

I couldn't put the book down, it was a different take from what i'm used to, I really enjoyed the new experience. It was a breath of fresh air.

Love a good space battle, and this is as good as any I've read, the main characters are believeable, can't wait for the next book