Book: Runner
William C. Dietz is primarily an author of military science fiction and he’s outstanding in his portrayal of military action. I’ve previously written a couple of notes on his book For Those Who Fell, and since reading that book I’ve been quite quick to check his books out of the library or find them on bookstore shelves.
In many ways I like the story in Runner better than the military science fiction. The characters are very engaging, the action is good, and the theme very enjoyable. Yet I think Dietz is not quite as good at this type of story as he was at the military material. He seems less able to create the transitions, and more of the book seems to be there just taking up space. But that is really a small complaint, and I might not have noticed except for the much tighter structure of his military stories.
Overall, I strongly recommend this book (4+ out of 5), and intend to continue to read books by this author as they are available.
Steelheart is a great book by William C Dietz…it succeeds on many levels. The characters are outstanding (and there are quite a few of them). If you like anything by Dietz, don't pass on Steelheart.