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Type of bind: Mass Market Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN num: 9780671877897
ISBN number: 0671877895
Label: Baen
Manufacturer: Baen
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 384
Printing Date: June 01, 1997
Publishing house: Baen
Sale Popularity Level: 263987
Studio: Baen
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Rated by buyers 
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"Redliners" by David Drake, © 1996
Wow!! You just never know where the subsequent attack will come from.
Caius Blohm is a volunteer for a special army unit sent to clear enemy outposts or positions before the rest of the army shows up. He is a tracker. He knows how to see and interact with the wildlife he encounters. He is the star, though he is nuts and does not succeed as he wants to. His acquires a little orphan girl. They are special to each other, and in the end, they help each other to survive, though, in our 'world' he is the only survivor (and that is why he is nuts and does not succeed as he wants to).
The troop is called 'C41' and we are introduced to them as they clear out a nest of enemies that is futile. The target is abandoned by higher command, because of incoming enemies. The troops do get out, mostly. They always leave some dead, because that is the nature of their business. Before they have a chance to recover, they are assigned to protect a colonist group to a new planet. This planet is awesome. It kills anything it does not like. As it turns out it is a construct and it turns out to be successful because they are able to adjust the construct to do their bidding, so to speak.
I could not interrupt reading it. It kept me wondering what was going to happen, or how was this going to resolve to something okay. An adventure book, truly.
Rated by buyers -
An excellent stand alone novel, typical of Drake's better work. An almost must-read for any military sci-fi fan and a must-read for any David Drake fan.
Rated by buyers 
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I'm not sure if I could honestly say this is my favorite Drake book, but I'd be hard pressed to come up with one I liked more. The action of course is top notch. (It's a David Drake book so that's sorta a given.) However it's the mental process' of the characters that makes this superb.
If you've ever read any of his short stories set in "The Fleet" universe then you have some understanding of exactly how dark David Drake can write. There is a very similar feel to the characters in Redliners as in those short stories but with one twist. In Redliners there is redemption for the soldiers, a sort of fighting through purgatory to reach grace type of thing.
It's truly wonderfully done and i'd recommend this novel to anyone even mildly interested in military sci-fi
Rated by buyers -
I read this book for the very first time before I joind the army in 96'. I thought it was a great read and the description top notch. Now ten years later and 2 combat deployments as an infantryman I now understand and the book finally reaches to a deeper level. You will never have budies like the ones you served with and you can't fully understand a situation untill you've experienced it.
Rated by buyers -
_Redliners_ by David Drake is an excellent book. It shows the chaotic violence of war, and the reflexes that survivors must develop in order to survive.
Sadly, many of the civilians protected by the sacrifices of soldiers have little appreciation of the dangers and hardships soldiers face. Most civilians have no idea at all of the mental changes that occur in soldiers who have been through battle, nor do they ever make any effort to find out. When the soldiers try to re-enter normal society, the irritations & complexities of everyday life are sometimes more than they can calmly deal with.
_Redliners_ is about a group of particularly damaged battle veterans. The Chief of Administration, leader of the (human) unity government, knows that the war against the Kalendru (an alien race) was the only way for humanity to survive. Yet, he feels guilty for the damage done to soldiers in the course of the war.
In an effort to atone, the Chief of Administration selects a whole city block for forced colonization of the planet Bezant. The survivors of Strike Force C41, all of them fine on paper but clearly "redliners" in person, are selected as guards. The Chief of Administration and his aide accompany the colony, posing as the mid-level bureaucrat al-Ibrahimi and his assistant Tamara Lundie.
There are actually additional reasons why the Chief of Administration, or someone with his level of cybernetic enhancements, needs to be present on Bezant. I won't give away all the details, but I will say that Bezant's native fauna and flora are some of the most deadly (and inventive) that I have encountered in the novels I've read.
As always with Drake, the action is excellent, but where he really shines is describing the psychology of the soldiers & civilians. The plot is simple & straightforward, the technology is fairly plausible, and the book is one that left me both cheering and sobbing at the same time.
I agree with other reviewers who describe this as Drake's best book to date. _Redliners_ is the corollary to _With the Old Breed_ by Sledge: _With the Old Breed_ was written by a combat veteran trying to help his family understand what he had been through, and _Redliners_ was written by a combat veteran trying to help society understand how to integrate these men & women back into normal life.
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