First to Fight

By Stephen Coonts, Harry Turtledove, James H. Cobb

All-new stories from the masters of military fiction! The first anthology of its kind!New York Times bestselling authors: Stephen CoontsJames H. Cobb Harry Turtledove H. Jay Riker and many othersFor... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0515125288
• ISBN13: 9780515125283
• Release Date: July 1999
• Publisher: Jove Books
• Length: 356 Pages
• Weight: 0.42 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 4.2" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

Up and Down in quality (a review of the audiobook)

So many of these short stories were sci-fi that Greenberg would have better served the book to have limited its scope to stories of that nature. The real issue was the up and down quality of the stories. Starting with a Stephen Coonts short story ("17th Day") about WWI pilots sounds like a sure-fire winner, but the story was remarkably tedious, especially considering how much action Coonts packed into it. "The Man Who Got Kruschev" is a good bit of sci-fi that would be worthy of a Twilight Zone. I enjoyed that one thoroughly. "UNODIR" (UNless Otherwise DIRected) is a good bit of naval techno-thriller probably set during the mid to late 1990s. "The Bodyguard and the Client Who Wouldn't Die" is not really a military story but it is a strong and darkly humorous sci-fi story. "Drang Van Osten" is a sly sci-fi story - it makes you think it's one thing but little clues along the way make you realize it is something else. Each story has a different reader. Some stories are average, one tedious, one very strong, but on the whole I'll give this selection of short stories a grade of B-.

An Entertaining Mix Of Styles

My job occasionally allows me time to read and I prefer to read short anthologies because I don't always have a chance to finish in one sitting. I saw this book while browsing in the local bookstore and was intrigued by the concept. I only read the military tecno-thrillers occasionally but saw several of my favorite science fiction authors listed. I wasn't disappointed in my purchase.I enjoyed every story although some were light weight fluff, their inclusion here little more than an advertisement for the author's full length novel. Point of Decision is the best example of this. The story (about Marines rescuing the occupants of a U.S. embassy) was adequate but wasn't anything original or gripping. The author of UNODIR doesn't dance around his feelings on the Clinton presidency. The characters spend a good deal of time bashing the "current administration" which given the apparent time frame is a thinly veiled reference to Clinton. Which I have no problem with, it just seems a little heavy handed.While I enjoyed the story about the A-10 pilot, In The Shadow Of The Hunter, it was mainly because I served in Desert Storm and had spent a big part of my Air Force career supporting the A-10s. As for the story itself, the author left me wishing he would check his thesaurus to find a synonym for the word bile. I also found the hero's inner conflict thing a little annoying. Hearts and Minds started out as a straight forward, run of the mill action story but the ending took me completely by surprise and blew me away.Harry Turtledove's story was well written, exciting and also had a good surprise twist at the end. There were many clues through the story that only made sense at the end. William Dietz's story was very entertaining but out of place in this collection. I also liked the feel of The 17th Day by Stephen Coonts although the ending was a little flat.All in all I was kept entertained, which is about all you can ask for with this type of book.

Nice Sampling of Techno-Thrillers

The mere mention of James Cobb being included in this anthology was enough for me to buy this book. Both of his stories I thought were excellent, and provide the reader with an advance look at his upcoming title Sea Fighter. I had never read the other authors, and as another reviewer mentioned. It made me check out some of the authors longer works. Well worth the read for Techno fans!

Good range of stories

A good sampling of yarns set in different times and places. Made me check out some of the writers' longer works. Very enjoyable and I could read each "installment" in one sitting.

A good diversion

If you like military thrillers, this is a good diversion containing short stories from some of the best book writers in the category. Sometimes you're just not in the mood for an 800-page Clancy novel; when that's the case use this for a nice collection of stories that get to the point quickly!