This was one of the best lycanthropic/vampire books I’ve read for quite some time. I enjoyed every page, and that’s the bottom line for any book.

The book takes place in a near future where the werewolves and vampires of legend show themselves to wage war on humankind for their wanton destruction of the planet. The “science” of the author’s universe was pretty well thought out. That aspect wasn’t as detailed as I have seen elsewhere, perhaps, but it never-the-less was logical and without contradictions later in the book. Once you understand this setting, everything falls into place.

I thought characterization was good for the most part. Lily, the protagonist, was somewhat of an odd duck, but she was pretty consistent throughout the book and she grew on me. Everything she did or didn’t do was reasonable given the character the author had built. I rather thought the “chief sneak” Abbey was very well developed.

The action was pretty well written. The entire going to rescue one character was a bit hard to justify, but after having accepted it, events played out quite well, if a bit surprisingly.

Where the novel really shined was in the dialogue. It was quick, brash, funny, and revealing, all while sounding authentic. In particular, Leo was a hoot, but not a cartoon. I laughed out loud several times while reading his dialogue.

I never noticed the editing, which is exactly what you want in a book.

There are many ways to rate a book. Does it push into new ground? Is the writing technically superior? Is the wording lyrical? In this case, I am rating the book by if I thought about it while I was driving home from work, eager to turn on my Kindle and see what happened next. In this, Day Soldiers was a howling success (pun intended.)

About the reviewer:

Jonathan Brazee is a retired Marine infantry colonel who after years of writing non-fiction, wrote his first novel while serving in Iraq. He independently published it, hoping to sell a few copies to friends and family, and was pleasantly surprised when the book gained traction among the general reading public. Twenty-three novels later, he is now winding down his post-military career overseas to become a full-time writer. A majority of his books have a military bent in science fiction, paranormal, historical fiction, and general fiction, but he has also written non-military scifi and paranormal. He writes three to four hours each day with the help (or despite) the attention of two rescue cats who insist on sitting on his lap or keyboard.
Jonathan is a member of the Science Fiction Writers of America, the US Naval Academy Alumni Association, the Disabled Veterans of America, and is an officer in the VFW’s Department of the Pacific.

Learn more about Jonathan and his work at http://www.jonathanbrazee.com