Hey Space Cadets, it’s time for another epic JR Handley book review! This is a book by one of my favorite wordsmiths. The author, Scott Bartlett, brings his own unique take on the world. He grew up in eastern Canada, where he had to wrestle moose en route to his school at the top of Mount Doom. Wait, what is the plural of moose?

Anyway, according to his bio, he’s had a myriad of jobs that flavor the stories he writes and the worlds he builds. He worked as a salmon hatchery technician, grocery clerk, youth care worker, ghostwriter, research assistant, pita maker, and freelance editor. His vast array of jobs and the experiences they represent give him a depth to his writing that makes his works pop.

This is a book that I initially found when I won a contest for a free audiobook from the author, Scott Bartlett. He routinely gives away these freebies to his fans, he is the kind of person who truly appreciates the readers who make his writing a viable career for him. I know a lot of authors say that, but Scott is someone who puts action behind his words. I’ve always liked that about him and it’s why I happily manage his fan club on Facebook.

I’m glad that I won that contest, because I was hooked from page one, and the author kept my attention throughout my reading journey! The entire premise was a coming-of-age story that started with the “go to war or go to jail” Faustian bargain. This one hit close to home because I served with men who got that same offer, though not as blunt since the enlistment oath. They were good men who made dumb mistakes as kids. Of course, when I knew them, they were on their third hitch, so they were well past that offer. Still, it is a viscerally real premise.

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The Story

Born into generational poverty, one man decides to make a bold play for financial independence. Thievery and skullduggery were involved, but you do what you must in this cold universe. Except he wasn’t that lucky, and it didn’t work out. He was arrested on his first attempt at crime and faced a choice: go to jail or enlist in the Marines. Naturally, he chose the Marines. Conscripted into the Global Equity Accord’s military-industrial complex, this book follows Po from civilian life to conscripted recruit. He battles through this transition, culminating in a fight for his life against an alien scourge that dares to intrude upon his boot camp shenanigans.

I’ve mentioned this in other sections of this review, so I won’t belabor this point. Instead, I’ll focus on the writing of Conscript by Scott Bartlett. I can’t comment on the grammar, since I experienced this story in an audio-only format. I can, however, speak to the prose of this epic adventure. Scott Bartlett crafts this tale with his usual expert wordsmithing. His descriptions are evocative, allowing me to vividly picture every scene with razor-sharp clarity as I listened to Mark Boyett narrate the audiobook. Bartlett demonstrates a firm command of the English language, bringing the story to life. I felt as though I was right beside Po, experiencing his life in uniform.

Another strength of Conscript was how the story progresses. The pacing is expertly handled, moving seamlessly from personal interactions to crime, conscription, training, and combat. Each event flows smoothly into the next, with well-timed comedic moments to ease the transitions. The story narrative gave me room to breathe, amidst the chaos of a galaxy at war.

Finally, it’s worth highlighting Scott Bartlett’s authorial voice as he gifted us this fun novel. His prose strikes me as a workmanlike blend of Tom Clancy’s precision and Shakespearean wordsmithing. He merges literary depth with adventure fiction, elevating both the story and the genre through the quality of his narrative. Yeah, I’m pimping this book hard, but I lost sleep listening to this because I was hooked from the first word. I was left with a cliffhanger, so I can’t wait for the next audiobook to launch! Write faster, Scott, write faster!

The Characters

This is a military science fiction story about one man and the war he waged for survival. Obviously, he’s not waging that war alone, so there were a lot of characters in his military unit. Those men cycled in and out, through transfers and attrition. Because the focus was on Po Abbato, we didn’t get to know any of these other Marines well enough to consider them as anything more than well-developed tertiary characters. With that said, I think it’s important to focus on the main character, Po.

So, who is Po? He’s a person born into generational poverty, in a world where the debt passes on from parent to child. He was born with his grandfather’s, father’s and mother’s debt—all of it passed on to him. He rebelled against that reality; he wanted a better life for him and his younger siblings. He wanted a life away from the indentured servitude that offered no possibility of future success. So, he made a calculated decision to try extralegal activities. Yes, I’m talking about piracy or theft. He tried that route to get ahead, but it didn’t work out. He got caught on his first attempted criminal activity and ended up being given the age-old choice. Go to war or go to jail… and he chose the (Global Equity Accord) GEA Marines.

When he started this novel, he was a brash youth whose immaturity got him in over his head as he tried to shepherd his siblings into a better life. He’s an idealistic youth who pines for a better future, but he’s also a solid rock at home for his younger siblings. His sister is sick and needs a lot of care, which was the motivating factor for his criminality in the first place. He also wants to shield his younger brother from his abusive father and older brother. Carrying that amount of emotional weight isn’t something a weak man could handle, so despite whatever character flaws he has, there’s iron in his core.

I really liked him as a character; he was well-written. I thought he reacted appropriately to the situations he was exposed to. While I’m reviewing book one, I’ve read all of the published novels in this series. Later in the series, he sometimes seems a little too clueless, a little too naïve. But he lived an isolated life on a small mining outpost. Also, different people mature on different timelines. It never felt like the character arc crossed the line where Po became too stupid to live.

The first book is Po’s coming-of-age story, he's a man coming to grips with the harsh reality of military life. He struggles with what these changes mean for his life, and he doesn’t adapt as easily as some of his other training Marine. I thought Scott Bartlett did an excellent job showing this military training. When he let us see it through Po’s eyes, it let those moments really hit home. Then, after the initial combat operation, Bartlett did an excellent job of showing the shock of his first battle. Those first moments when they’re attacked were poetry in motion.

The World

Now, let’s dive deeper into the world where this story takes place. My initial reaction was that the world was too bleak. I’m not a fan of grimdark books, but I’m a super fan of Scott Bartlett, so I kept with it, and I was glad that I did. In the world of Conscript was a bleak and unforgiving place. It is defined by deep class divides, vividly illustrated through the perspective of Po Abbato, a young man born into the indentured servant class on one of the mining colonies. This bottom-up view highlights the socio-economic disparities that shape the lives of the underprivileged in a society controlled by powerful mega-corporations.

More than the socio-economic factors, this was a setting that was heavily militarized, with the Global Equity Accord (GAE) wielding its Marines as an iron fist to enforce corporate rule and suppress dissent across the colonized solar system. The universe isn’t just controlled by these mega-corporations; the Earth governments play a hand at control as well. They enforce their rule through the iron fist of the Global Equity Accord (GAE) Marines. These forces also serve as the first line of defense against an alien threat, which looms as a constant danger to humanity’s foothold in space.

The world is rich with advanced technology, a hallmark of the military science fiction genre. This includes powered armor, spaceships, cybernetic enhancements, and other sophisticated tools.

Standout technologies include the compact Gauss rifle, which was personalized and printed on demand. They used a smart system that filmed the round until it hit the target, allowing Marines to review their shots via video for continual improvement and command oversight. However, the novel’s strength is that technology alone isn’t enough to seize the day. In the chaos of battle, Marines often face situations where these high-tech tools are unavailable, forcing them to rely on quick thinking and adaptability to survive.

Now, let’s talk about how the world was shared with us. There was some frontloading of world building, but not in a way that took us out of the story. Instead, we were exposed to this world through the main character’s eyes, so we learned what he saw, and thought was important enough to pay attention too. The author hit the Goldilocks Zone for what he shared with us and when. It wasn’t too much, and we never without the information needed to understand the story environment.

Politics

This novel is a military action-adventure story, so there are no politics in the traditional sense. However, to quote the legendary Clausewitz, “War is merely the continuation of policy by other means.” Do with that what you will! To be fair, I found the religiosity more in your face than anything political. Not that that was overdone, just that it was more there than politics. And those religious musings fit the story, so even this happy heathen didn’t mind. The politicians and big corporations are corrupt, but he didn’t dwell on it. This was not a “message” book; it was just the world where the adventure happened.

Content Warning

This novel would be appropriate for anyone over the age of 15. This story had wartime violence, so there were characters who died. And there was violence in this book, both in the training montage and in the combat scenes. It wasn’t overly gory by my standards, but your mileage may vary. Finally, this novel has very Catholic themes and direct commentary throughout. I thought it fit the characters and his evolution and maturation process. If this bugs you, rest assured that it wasn’t so bad you’d have to skip this book. And if you don’t mind that, it’s even better, because this was an awesome adventure and well worth your time.

Narration

The audiobook was expertly done, and the accents were consistent. The narrator, Mark Boyett, did a fantastic job reading this story to me! I’d definitely recommend this vocal guru for any audiobook lover! Even with the price increases in modernity, I’d still recommend Mark to my auditory fanatics! He didn’t bore you, or make you zone out because of his monotone. His performance didn’t feel robotic like a machine was reading the novel to me. You’ll often see that from me because it’ll drag me out of a book so fast that I can’t listen to it anymore. With Mark Boyett piped straight into my earbuds, it felt like a friend was sitting with me reading an amazing story that he couldn’t put down. Only he made kind of cool voices, with believable accents that didn’t yank you out of the story.

Who is it for?

Are you a fan of military science fiction with a side of space opera? Did you like the Frontlines Series by Marko Kloos? What about The Forever War by Joe Haldeman? This book is for anyone who loves the realism of the genre, the no-holds-barred look through the fog of war into the soul of the everyman.

Why buy it.

This is the story of the every-man soldier, well Marine. He’s an underdog warrior who overcomes his lack of training to play an important role in a war nobody was ready for. The world where the story happened was worth the price of entry by itself. If you love a thrill ride through a worst-case political scenario with a barely legal warrior at the helm, this is the novel for you!

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