by William C. Dietz
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Product Description
Great Britain. July 1951.
Three years ago, Russia went dark. Nothing got in. Nothing got out. The world assumed it was political strife. But it was the Chimera: voracious extraterrestrial invaders. And in December 1949, they burst across the Russian border and poured into Europe. The luckiest humans died. The less fortunate succumbed to an alien virus–and changed.
Within a year, most of Europe had fallen. Only Great Britain, after struggling desperately, had kept the conquerors at bay. But as the Chimera were repelled, they were evolving. Building. Planning.
America. November 1952.
The Chimera have crossed the Atlantic. Their lightning strikes on American borders are devastating. Cities are lost. Small towns overrun. Citizens transformed into monstrosities. Enter Lieutenant Nathan Hale, U.S. Ranger. A veteran of the Chimeran conflict, he is uniquely immune to the alien virus. And when regular troops can’t stem the Chimeran onslaught, Hale and his special-operations team meet the menace head-on.
But while they battle the relentless Chimera, deadly power games rage in the White House. And when Hale discovers a far-reaching conspiracy, one with deadly consequences for the human race, his allegiance to country and mankind is stretched to the breaking point.
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Average Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 Okay, but not spectacular, 2010-01-11
I love alternate history and sci-fi. I especially like the combination of the two genres.
This book was okay, but it was based heavily on a video-game script.
In truth, it was a bit flat. The characters could have been so much deeper and more intriguing, but the author didn't quite pull it off. Too much was left assumed, such as VTOL aircraft. No explanation of how they leaped that far ahead (no historical precedents either) nor real description of said aircraft.
Perhaps breaking the story into two parts and going deeper into detail might have helped.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 The Gathering Storm Reviewed, 2009-12-17
I am an avid reader of Sci Fi books. I enjoyed the book from Mr. Dietz set on the Halo universe, so I was looking forward to reading this one.
The book is enjoyable for even those that are not familiar with the Playstation game, because of the nice descriptions provided by the author style of writing.
In my opinion is a fine book, which leaves you wanting to see more on the battle for the planet.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Alien Invasion, 2009-12-14
The Gathering Storm (2009) is a novelization of the SF game Resistance. It is an Alternate History that deviated from our timeline in 1908 with the arrival of alien viruses on Earth. These viruses interfaced with each other as a collective intelligence, transforming humans into Chimera and advancing the technology of their creations.
By 1951, most of the world have fallen to the Chimera. The USA held back from the conflict until 1946 and is now the only nation resisting the Chimeras. The Special Research Projects Administration is manning the front lines with Sentinels and penetrating behind Chimera lines to retrieve advanced technology.
Freedom First is an independent resistance group that does not approve of government policies. They particularly don't like the government run Protection Camps for refugees. They too have raiders behind the lines fighting Chimeras and rescuing human survivors.
In this novel, Nathan Hale is a Lieutenant in the SRPA and a Sentinel. He was a noncom in the 3rd Ranger Battalion in Britain and was evacuated with the other survivors after the destruction of his unit. Then he was commissioned and reassigned to SRPA. Now he commands a Search and Recovery team.
Richard Blake is a Major in the SRPA. Hale is within his chain of command.
Noah Grace is President of the United States. He is a man of firm habits, including punctuality. He normally berates latecomers to his meetings.
Harvey McCullen is Vice President of the USA. He is somewhat less rigid than the president, but has little authority.
William Dentweiler is Presidential Chief of Staff. His main function is to perform confidential errands for the president.
Henry Walker is Secretary of War. He was a retired Colonel before being selected for his current position. As War Secretary, Walker has access to almost all information and materiel taken from the Chimeras.
In this story, Hale is leading a scouting party in South Dakota. His family lived on a ranch nearby before the Chimera came. Hale wonders what has happened to them.
The team observes three Chimeran Attack Drones on Highway 123. Then a phalanx of Steelheads appears in the snow, followed by three Maulers carrying huge packs. After the last stink disappears into the snow storm, Hale pulls his team off the hill to return to base.
About forty-five minutes from the VTOL landing zone, a Burrower pops out of the ground and unloads Hybrids. An Attack Drone also hits the tail of his formation. Hale takes out the drone, but loses one man to bullseye projectiles.
Hale and his team flee the area with Howlers chasing them. They wound the leading Chimera and run. Then the VTOL strafes the Howlers and loads the survivors.
When Hale gets back to the base, he spends two hours in debrief and then finishes his paperwork, including a condolence letter to the family of the KIA. Then he gets a few hours sleep, but is awakened at 0325 for a briefing at 0400. After showering and shaving, Hale heads toward the briefing room.
Major Blake tells the group that they are to search and recover any advanced technology on a downed Chimera shuttle. Captain Anton Nash will be the nominal commander of the mission, but Hale will command the fighting troops. The mission succeeds, but Captain Nash is killed.
Hale gets a three day pass after the mission, but he doesn't stay near the base. He convinces a VTOL pilot to drop him off a few miles from his family's ranch. He finds signs of a Chimera raid and a diary by his sister saying that his family had won the shootout. But all except his sister are buried out back.
Hale also finds two stray children hiding in the barn. He convinces them to go with him to a refugee center. Then the Chimeras return and Hale and the kids have to fight their way out to civilization.
Meanwhile, President Grace has a cabinet meeting in which he announces Project Omega, an attempt to negotiate with the Chimeras. McCullen states that the Chimeras cannot be trusted, so all Project Omega will do is buy time. Walker records the discussion of the project.
Walker quickly realizes that the president will do anything to keep such information safe from public disclosure. Walker and his wife flee the capital and travel toward Chicago. Unfortunately, they are captured by Chimeras and taken to a prison camp.
After a few days, investigators become aware that the Secretary of War is carrying classified materiel to Freedom First. Dentweiler is tasked with retrieving any documents relevant to Project Omega. The survival of Walker and his wife is not a particular concern of the president.
This tale shows the USA in a war for survival of the human race. The president seems to have lost hope. Yet others are still fighting.
The Chimera have many advanced devices and weapons. The humans have reverse engineered some of this technology and issued copies to their troops. Yet some weapons and devices seem to be based on technological advances from the World Wars. Would technology have taken these specific paths without those wars?
This story seems to illustrate the fate of the USA under isolationism. The US was very reluctant -- and late -- to get into World War I and tried very hard to stay out of World War II until Pearl Harbor angered the nation. So the USA may well have faced a simular situation with the Axis powers in another timeline.
Recommended for Dietz fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales based on combat games.
-Arthur W. Jordin
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Awesome Read, Start Of A Great Trilogy!, 2009-08-12
I am not a gamer, but have friends that have played the game that the book is based on and talk about it all the time. I am glad that I downloaded this book to my Kindel, Mr. Dietz did an outstanding job of putting this NOVEL together. It is well written and I love the way the plot has both a military side and a political side to it, the character developement was exellent. I had this book read in less than two days, it was hard to put down. I have and will continue to reccommend this book to my friends and anyone reading this review, it is worth the money!!!! There will be more Resistance books to follow, I promise you that!!!
3 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
 Please Pass on this Pot Boiler Poorly Written Novella, 2009-06-17
I am sorry to say this work is not worth the money or time to invest. The story line is extremely thin and the character rendering does very little to compel the reader to know or have empathy with the leading actors. I would say that this work of devastating invasion of earth is a poor poor product compared to a John Ringo. The fact that this is a marketing ploy for plugging a video game shines through and glaringly shows the author does not have his heart in the execution. I fear he staggers through the story much like his bad acting, bad smelling Zombie alien soldiers. First rule of enagagement never by books hawking games or movies.
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