Dawn for a Distant Earth by L.E. Modesitt Jr.
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I can see the seeds of what would later dominate L.E. Modesitt Jr.'s later fantasy fiction in this early SF novel. Competence is always key, starting out from humble beginnings, strong female love interest, and military endeavors that dominate most of the text.

Yes, this is MilSF with big spaceships and chain of command and the inevitable clash that makes our hero strike off and do what he thinks is the right thing.

And to be fair, I think it is. Helping to clean up an ecological disaster or at least give the victims a chance to survive is a pretty decent thing to do.

Other than that, it's just a solid tale if not particularly groundbreaking. It is, as I've noted with a ton of his other works, rather gentle on the reader's psyche. That IS a benefit that most people generally discount and I think they shouldn't.

Real talk, tho: I like his fantasy more. This isn't bad but it's far from being Recluse.

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