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A Soldier's Choice by D. L. Warner

A Soldier's Choice is told first-person by Rik Heron, an incredibly young colonel in his early thirties.  He summarizes on the first page how he and his "squad members" rescued one of their comrades Vincent Greven, a major. Hmmm.  Even in the future, I doubt you'll have colonels and majors taking squads on combat missions.  Squads are small units led by sergeants. 

Anyway, two years ago Vincent disappeared into another dimension.  In the military tribunal on page 3, Rik explains "…it was one of our own who had opened the portal between the worlds two years ago in the hopes of finding even more power." He adds, "Our invaders knew very little about Vincent Greven except that he had been thrust into their realm at the time that the portal was opened.  Apparently they didn't have custody of him long enough to know that he was an Altered."

But wasn't Vincent their prisoner for the past two years? More questions crowd to mind:  is our setting planet Earth or somewhere else? And how many years into the future?  We are never fully briefed on the portal, the power-hungry traitor who opened it, the invaders, or the war.  From here, the story focuses exclusively on the love affair between Rik and Vincent. If you're looking for hard science-fiction or military action, you may find this as frustrating as I did.  Try to relax! Put aside your questions and just enjoy what you've got.

At the tribunal, Rik invites Vincent to stay with him. A few days later, Vincent shows up with his rucksack, not especially surprised to find that Rik has only one bed and a house full of groceries for them. The guest room gets furnished when Vincent's younger brother Bobby joins the household while finishing his last year of high school.  Bobby knows that Vincent and Rik are lovers and doesn't care; neither do the members of Rik's elite squad with whom he continues to interact.

Apparently other soldiers are managing to fight off the invasion; therefore Rik and Vincent are allowed to retire.  Rik maintains ties to the military in order to reform the training and treatment of the Altered soldiers such as him and Vincent. It seems that youngsters like Bobby can "manifest."  (I was never sure what that meant though I'm guessing it involves displaying telekinetic powers.)  Then they can choose to be Altered on the cellular level, presumably with nanotechnology, and then join the military as elite soldiers with special powers.

Rik and Vincent reminded me of a yuppie couple from the 1980s with their shopping, sleeping in, yard-work, walks to the market, chauffeuring the kid to school, reading newspapers in the cafes, and lots of food-preparation.  (Vincent is a gourmet cook.)  I came to find this charming.

Soon the Altered subplot introduces a little science-fiction once again with Vincent and Rik exploring the new parameters of their combined powers: leaping high in the air, shooting energy beams from their hands, and tossing tanks around like toys.  Because Bobby is  considering getting Altered, our heroes have a strong personal interest in reforming the program. However, there are higher-ups who resent them. Soon their enemies make a move to take their lives.

I've read a lot of science-fiction and a lot of military fiction, and A Soldier's Choice might satisfy the science fiction fan (if not the military buff).  If you appreciate it for what it really is, a love story, you'll enjoy it.  I, here at ObsidianBookshelf.com, read it through to the end once I'd squashed my disappointment at not getting the story that I'd hoped for, and I found it growing on me.  However, the writing does lean hard on the unnecessary adverbs: as in he whispered softly as he watched quietly. And the relationship of Rik and Vincent is a bit Ladylike for my tastes:  much cuddling and shampooing of hair! Note:  According to the author's Amazon blog, she's working on the sequel, A Soldier's Fate.

Relevant Links: Science Fiction Which One of Two Lovers Did I Like Best and Why? A Soldier's Choice is available at Amazon:   A Soldier's Choice

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