There are moments when some of the storyline just seems too silly to continue. No matter what you think of the military, field promotions from Private to General just don't happen and it's unlikely that, if they ever did, that they would be maintained once the battle was over. However, if you can let go of this and the few other jarring inconsistencies then you find a story that has some exciting elements and which quickly leaves a somewhat slow opening far behind. Buettner maintains a fairly frantic pace right through to the end as he further develops the idea of using orphans as suicide troops and provides further detail to the future world he has created. There are moments of Heinlein and Haldeman here, but, for the most part, the writing is too good to need comparison. The aliens that Buettner throws at Earth are a real treat and quite a worthy opponent.

Overall, I enjoyed this book as much as I did the first one. I think Buettner continued to expand on the themes he first brought out in Orphanage and continued his character development as well. The world he posits is consistent and logical in its progression and reaction and provides a lot of pause for thought.