- excruciatingly detailed depictions of logistics, weapon systems, and the results of weapon systems
- scifi told through the eyes of the grunts, but higher prestiege than the average grunt
- the exact venn diagram of previous experience just so happens to make using these systems come naturally
- political intrigue! with our main character a pawn caught in the middle
- hard scifi, grounded in reality
- a weapon of mass destruction is used or stolen
- main message: weapon systems awesome, war terrible
- forgets it's format is airport novel, but it shows through everywhere