Syndicate Wars, First Strike starts out fast and keeps going.  My first inclination was to read the book quickly, but there were so many subplots that I purposely read a little at a time to savor the story.  I loved the story.  It’s a sci-fi battle with lots of complex character development.

As the story set some time in our future begins, Quinn and her band of marines are preparing to do battle with an alien force.  The marines are at the designated front lines of the battle, waiting for their enemy, the syndicate, to attack.

From the brief pre-battle pause the story moves very quickly from location to location as the first battle ends and the invasion begins.  Some are taken prisoner to the Syndicate ships and some are left on the ground to form the resistance.  We get to know the main character’s backstories as they fight battles and discover plots and counter-plots.  Meanwhile they try to decide who to trust and what’s worth fighting for in the quickly changing environments.