Formidable Enemy

Retreating to the halls of a hospital emergency room to work as a nurse, former Army Captain Roger Stimson works to resolve his anger at losing his wife and guilt over killing millions, if not billions of the Enochians. His path is disturbed when one of those Enochians, a very large one named Dingo, shows up in the ER with a fantastical tale that an assassination attempt is going to be made on the United States President when he visits New Orleans the following week. Against his wishes Roger is drawn back into the intrigue he thought he left behind as Dingo takes him across the country to what is known as the Enochian Reservation in Texas.

The Enochians invaded Earth in the not so distance past and it was Roger who was credited with saving the planet’s entire population from annihilation. The Echnocians see Roger’s act not only as a genocidal action, but also, as one of incredible prowess which makes him their “Formidable Enemy.”

Roger’s story is told in the first person which, at best, is difficult to write. If it is not done well, it is difficult to read. To be truly done well the story needs to, at least in this reviewer’s opinion, need to bring the reader into the “I” position. While this is Mr. Bramlett’s first book and he does a decent job of writing in the first person, it does not truly bring the reader into the action.

The story starts with a court martial transcript and seems to start in the middle. It is only through the telling that the reader learns that there was a war and what happened. Rather than making it exciting, it leaves the reader feeling like they missed something. A prologue that tells something about the war and what happened would have at least brought the reader up to speed with Roger.

The Enchoians are an interesting race and clearly considerable thought went into their creation. They have an interesting philosophy, one that would be interesting to live within. Mr. Bramlett weaves a story with many twists and turns, never knowing who is really dead and just who the good and bad guys are. The ending where all the factions come together is exciting and contains some of those moments where the reader holds his or her breath waiting for the outcome. What they mean by “formidable enemy” is a fascinating concept, however, after having it repeated several times it lost its impact for this reviewer, almost to the point of over kill.

Mr. Bramlett has much potential as a science fiction writer. FORMIDABLE ENEMY is a decent first attempt and it is possible this reviewer would consider reading another of

August 2006