Some time back I favorably reviewed March Upcountry, the tale
of a spoiled young prince who ends up stranded on a nasty planet with
nothing but his personal guard (a company of marines) and a handful of
other retainers. It’s military science fiction, but it’s also a tale of
growth, as Prince Roger MacClintock, detested by his guards, matures into
a capable leader the marines will follow anywhere.

March Upcountry gets Roger and his marines about a third of
the way to his destination, the planet’s only starport, which is
currently in enemy hands. This book takes up immediately afterward, and
suffers all of the problems the middle book in a trilogy usually has.
There’s only limited character development; Roger did most of his growing up
in the first book. There’s no real resolution; we get farther along the
path home, but that’s it. What there is is military detail aplenty, and
it’s very good if that’s what you like, but I’d been hoping for a bit
more.

Nevertheless, I’m quite looking forward to the third and final volume,
March to the Stars; I really want to see what happens when
Roger gets home.