# Frank Reviews: No Victory Won by Phil Geusz



## M. LeRenard (Mar 23, 2012)

So here's the third book in this sci-fi trilogy.  I reviewed the other two books here in the past, so I won't repeat too much of what I said then, but suffice it to say, I enjoyed them.
This book continues the story of the cyborg mannequin-body war-hero Thomas Longo, who had just finished doing something majorly epic in the last book (I won't spoil it for you) and now has to continue this war that he was unceremoniously thrust into while demonstrating a piece of his father's equipment for the military of a small colony world.  By this point, he's gained himself a huge amount of practice in combat, training others to fight, and engaging in politics both in the military and out, which paves the way for a lot more nuance and plot in this book than was to be had in the other two (which shows; this one is twice as long as the last one).  And in the usual tradition of these books, as Thomas continues to grow, so too does the world around him for the reader.
This one centers around politics, mostly, but it's politics in science fiction, hence it deals with rather odd issues like the legality of genetically modified humanoids or jacking one's brain into the internet.  This is set up really well; the war being fought is against a super tough and resourceful enemy that doesn't seem to stop at anything to conquer the galaxy (basically).  Earth and all her associated planets are hence forced into a military state, where the slow pace of decision-making that always happens in a democracy can't get in the way of victory.  So this paves the way for the breaking of a lot of ethical boundaries--this brain-jacking is the major one, as it was the source of a previous very costly war, but now has become essential to winning this one.  But here we are now, near the end of the series, so everyone starts to wonder what's going to happen once the democratic government is put back into place (assuming the war is won, of course).  It all works very well as a plot device, you see.  People make rash decisions, then they start having to think about the complex consequences.
Now, this is also the first book in the series where we actually see the face of the enemy Thomas has been fighting this whole time, and this is apparently done on purpose this way, because now that this war theatre is drawing to a close, we have to start thinking about what to do afterwards.  This involves shutting down the war ideology and re-humanizing your foe.  But along with it, you also have to start re-humanizing the people you've been fighting for, and that means recognizing that those people also have flaws.  This all progresses very logically and believably, and it really serves to buttress the main philosophical arguments that the book seems to be making.  Thomas is pretty tired of this war by now, and so is everyone else.  His only problem is that he doesn't really know what he can do to make sure nothing like it ever happens again.  People are people, you see, so maybe the only way to keep people from repeating their mistakes, being selfish, greedy, and all those other vices that keep ruining things, is to somehow improve on the basics of humanity.  But no one wants that to happen.  People like being the way they are, even if it involves constantly fucking things up for everyone.
I can't really go into too many more details without spoiling the plot, so I'll just finish by reiterating what I said in my Amazon.com review of this book, which is that at this point it's become clear that Thomas Longo is a sort of hybrid between Oliver Twist and Jean-Luc Picard, in that he starts out idealistic and innocent as can be, and he ends up still idealistic, but the innocence has been replaced by a supremely diplomatic, calculating personality who always knows what to do to keep things from totally falling apart.  He is, of course, far more belligerent than our dear Captain Picard, but that's the world Thomas lives in.  In a lot of ways these books are wish-fulfillment.  Thomas does all sorts of crazy theatrical things, constantly makes a spectacle of himself with his incredible feats of daring and courage, but always manages to be confused and resentful when people hand him boatloads of praise.  He's the most brilliant, powerful, cunning, and modest person you can possibly imagine, doing brilliant, powerful, cunning, and modest things throughout this whole series.  If you think about it on the surface, it's not particularly realistic, but in the context of the story it serves exactly the purpose it needs to, which is to make a statement.  Just like with Oliver Twist, this almost cartoonishly benevolent force that is Thomas Longo serves as a big exclamation point, starkly contrasted with everyone around him to show the reader, 'Hey, this is what I'm trying to tell you'.  It's so terrificly old-school, and yet the message you get from Thomas Longo is so terrificly modern.  It's great.

Anyway, that's it for this trilogy, so I'll look at some authors besides Mr. Geusz for the next few reviews (at least).  I'd suggest you guys read some of Mr. Geusz' books yourselves.  The writing is very straight-forward, and it's not super poetic, but he just puts so much time and research and thought into his books that they really do serve as really good examples of fiction.  The guy needs more love than he's getting.  Go give it to him.


I have three more books lined up now that I need to read for the next several reviews, but if anyone else has any suggestions of furry/anthro things they've read that they've either enjoyed, hated, or just about which they wanted to hear someone else's thoughts, let me know and I'll stick it on the list.  Happy reading.


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## Aldino (Apr 12, 2012)

1. Where can I find Mr. Geusz

2. This sounds suspiciously similar to a very popular anime call Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. The cyber/human and internet/brain hookup is central to the story and I hope that he has not recieved any criticizm for this. Otherwise he sounds like a good author and if I can find him I will be sure to give him my two cents. 
Thank you for making this, its very interesting.


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## M. LeRenard (Apr 12, 2012)

Aldino said:


> 1. Where can I find Mr. Geusz


Most (or maybe all) of his books are available on Amazon.com, so just type his name in there and you'll find them for purchase.  Otherwise, anything else you might want to know can be found in this little blurb on the FWG website: http://sites.google.com/site/thefurrywritersguild/philgeusz



> 2. This sounds suspiciously similar to a very popular anime call Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. The cyber/human and internet/brain hookup is central to the story and I hope that he has not recieved any criticizm for this. Otherwise he sounds like a good author and if I can find him I will be sure to give him my two cents.
> Thank you for making this, its very interesting.


I've seen Ghost in the Shell, and honestly, the connection never crossed my mind while I was reading this trilogy.  And anyway, in this it's actually a normal brain inside a robot body, not a brain downloaded into a computer loaded into a robot body like Kusanagi.  I guess there are a few thematic similarities (I recall the episode where Kusanagi learns how to fold a paper crane, and Thomas in this often struggles with the inflexibility of his body as well), but not too many.  And from my communications with him, I get the strong feeling that Mr. Geusz isn't the type to watch a lot of Japanese anime.


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## Aldino (Apr 12, 2012)

Marvelous! Shall I tell him that I was sent by Renard or are you not on a first name basis?


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## M. LeRenard (Apr 12, 2012)

Aldino said:


> Marvelous! Shall I tell him that I was sent by Renard or are you not on a first name basis?



Sure.  Tell him Frank sent you.


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## Aldino (Apr 14, 2012)

I tried to get in contact with him through the link you showed me. I have to join the guild or the forums it seems, and I lack the qualifications for either. Sorry, Frank (if I am allowed to call you that). 
However I will buy one of his novels and write him a good review, will that suffice?


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## M. LeRenard (Apr 14, 2012)

Aldino said:


> I tried to get in contact with him through the link you showed me. I have to join the guild or the forums it seems, and I lack the qualifications for either. Sorry, Frank (if I am allowed to call you that).
> However I will buy one of his novels and write him a good review, will that suffice?



There are qualifications to join the forums?  I didn't know that.  I thought those were open to everybody.
Well, leaving him a review is definitely appreciated, I know, so by all means.  One of the reasons I'm doing these book reviews is to bring more attention to authors in the fandom, so if by writing this review I've managed to sell a copy of one of Phil's books, then I've succeeded.


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## Poetigress (Apr 14, 2012)

No, there aren't qualifications to join the forums. You just have to register, and then an admin has to approve it so you can post (a step we had to add because of spammers).


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## Aldino (Apr 14, 2012)

I couldn't join. I don't have my book out yet, and my poetry is pretty terrible as well. If I joined now I would have nothing constructive to add to the forums and thus I would essentially be a spammer.


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