Review | Starship: Flagship by Mike Resnick (Pyr)

Title: Starship: Flagship
Author: Mike Resnick
Publisher: Pyr
Format: Hardback
Release Date: December 2009

Buy from: Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com

The date is 1970 of the Galactic Era, almost three thousand years from now, and the Republic, created by the human race but not yet dominated by it, finds itself in an all-out war against the Teroni Federation, an alliance of races that resent Man's growing military and economic power.

The rebel starship, the Theodore Roosevelt, under the command of Wilson Cole, is preparing to lead Cole's ragtag armada into the Republic, even though he is outnumbered thousands to one. Cole is convinced that the government has become an arrogant and unfeeling political entity and must be overthrown.

The trick is to avoid armed conflict with the vast array of ships, numbering in the millions, in the Republic's Navy. For a time Cole's forces strike from cover and race off to safety, but he soon sees that is no way to conquer the mightiest political and military machine in the history of the galaxy. He realizes that he must reach Deluros VIII, the headquarters world of the Republic (and of the race of Man), in order to have any effect on the government at all—but Deluros VIII is the best-protected world in the Republic.

But a new threat looms on the horizon. Cole, the Valkyrie, David Copperfield, Sharon Blacksmith, Jacovic, and the rest of the crew of the Teddy R face their greatest challenge yet, and the outcome will determine the fate of the entire galaxy.

And so I reach the final book in the Starship series, Starship: Flagship. I've loved this series so far and enjoyed all the books to date - Mutiny, Pirate, Mercenary and Rebel - with very little reservations. To say I was anticipating this would be an understatement and I only hoped it could provide the same enjoyment that I had come to expect from the series. Did it hit the right notes? Well, not exactly, but it was still a very enjoyable novel.

In the aftermath of the Republic attack on Singapore Station Wilson Cole and his fleet of ships aims to do the unthinkable - take the fight to the Republic capital world. Leaving Singapore Station to the mercy of the next incoming Republic fleet leaves a bitter taste in many a mouth, but they know it is the right thing to do, hoping the Republic will leave it alone when they can't find Cole. With hundreds of ships under his command the effort to rid the Inner Frontier of the Republic is still underway and is slowly having an effect, and with allies from within the Republic helping their cause, and a surprise find, Cole is able to make strategic decisions that will help improve their chances to a great degree.

With the risk of sounding like a broken record, I'll once again say how well the characters Resnick writes work in Flagship. Cole is now focused on a course of action and his associates are helping him with what is needed, as is the crew of the Teddy R. His discussions with people like Sharron help flesh out his thinking and allow us to get the motivations and processes he's going through. All well and good, especially as this is one of the aspects of the series that has worked so well.

And to the story. Well, for the first two thirds of the novel the story was continuing at a good pace, logically following on from Rebel and taking the situations as they come, each time managing to think their way out of too much trouble. When Cole finally gets to the Republic's capital events take a very unexpected turn. Suddenly the planet is attacked by an alien race that appears from nowhere and Cole finds himself the only one that could save the Republic he's come disband. It just doesn't feel like a natural progression to me, more like this should have been two separate books but due to constraints everything was thrown in. A bit of a shame as the book was on course to wrap the series up very nicely indeed.

Starship: Flagship is a good book let down by a situation that just pops up to serve as a plot point, but it does leave the universe in a very interesting place, and if any follow up stories were done they'd certainly have plenty to go on. I'd definitely recommend this book if you've read the rest of the series, but don't jump in here - the four previous books are well worth the effort and all are a step above this one.

Review | The Warrior's Apprentice by Lois McMaster Bujold (Baen)

Title: The Warrior's Apprentice
Author: Lois McMaster Bujold
Publisher: Baen
Format: Ebook
Release Date: February 1991

Buy from: Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com

Discharged from the Barrayan Military Academy, Miles Vorkosigan chances on a jumpship with a rebellious pilot and arranges to take over the ship. Events escalate from there, and soon Miles is commander of a mercenary fleet and reinvents himself as Admiral Naismith of the Dendarii Mercenary Army.

While browsing through my kindle for something to read I came across the Miles Vorkosigan books. Deciding that I wasn't already reading enough multiple-novel series', I decided to give the first Miles book, The Warrior's Apprentice, a go. What I found was a quick paced and easily readable story that has much potential, and left me thinking where the story could go from here.

A cripple since birth, Miles is not your average Barrayan. He's also the grandson of a military genius and the heir to the house of Vorkosigan - more than enough to live up to. But Miles is intelligent and headstrong, determined to prove others wrong. However, while attempting the physical tests to pass his Officer's exams he breaks both legs and sees his chance disappear. At a loose end, he decides to visit his mother's side of the family on Beta colony, a colony that saw much fighting prior to his birth. Along with Sergeant Bothari, his personal bodyguard, and Bothari's daughter, Elena, Miles takes a trip that ends up being much more than he bargained for.

I enjoyed The Warrior's Apprentice, despite the setting and its history not really hitting the spot. It felt strange - a society that went from fighting with swords, to spaceflight between planets, in perhaps 70 years. There is some allusion in the novel to the 'Time of Isolation' after the colony was founded, but never in any detail, and it often left me wondering a little more about these things.

Fortunately, The Warrior's Apprentice is not about the finer points of world building, but about the characters. Mile Vorkosigan is our main man, and he's a completely intriguing character to follow. Despite his weak bones disability, or perhaps in spite of it, he's confident and, to be fair, a little arrogant. He can talk his way through many things, and in reality that's what this novel is about: Miles Vorkosigan. While the other characters add to the mix - particularly Sergeant Bothari with his dark and mysterious military past.

On the whole The Warrior's Apprentice does things well. It's a quick paced novel that leads the reader from one point to another, often leaving you blinking at the change of situation. The times that it does slow down and allows some deeper issues to be raised and dealt with are by far the highlight, showing that it's not all about moving the story forward at a breakneck pace.

Definitely recommended, and with Hugo winners in future volumes I'll be looking forward to what other adventures Miles has in store.

Review | Starship: Rebel by Mike Resnick (Pyr)

Title: Starship: Rebel
Author: Mike Resnick
Publisher: Pyr
Format: Hardback
Release Date: December 200

Buy from: Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com

The date is 1968 of the Galactic Era, almost three thousand years from now. The Republic, dominated by the human race, is in the midst of an all-out war with the Teroni Federation.

Almost a year has passed since the events of Starship: Mercenary. Captain Wilson Cole now commands a fleet of almost fifty ships, and he has become the single greatest military force on the Inner Frontier.

With one exception. The Republic still comes and goes as it pleases, taking what it wants, conscripting men, and extorting taxes, even though the Frontier worlds receive nothing in exchange. And, of course, the government still wants Wilson Cole and the starship Theodore Roosevelt. He has no interest in confronting such an overwhelming force, and constantly steers clear of them.

Then an incident occurs that changes everything, and Cole declares war on the Republic. Outnumbered and always outgunned, his fleet is no match for the Republic's millions of military vessels, even after he forges alliances with the warlords he previously hunted down.

It's a hopeless cause...but that's just what Wilson Cole and the Teddy R. are best at.

Starship: Rebel is the fourth book in the starship series, following on from Mutiny, Pirate and Mercenary. So far the series has gone from strength to strength, building on from each book in a logical and enjoyable fashion. I mentioned in my review of Starship: Mercenary that I felt there were no surprises in store, that everything seemed to go the right way for Cole and the crew of the Teddy R. Starship: Rebel does away with that notion and manages to up the stakes while still delivering a compact and fast paced novel.

Wilson Cole now has a fleet of 50 ships, one of the biggest in the Inner Frontier, and is discovering that finding mercenary work for all crews is proving difficult - having to split the fleet to cover smaller jobs is one of the options that faces him. However, when the Republic Navy capture, torture and kill a member of the Teddy R's crew Wilson Cole changes his tactics. He's had enough of the Navy coming into the Inner Frontier and taking what they want without consequence, now it's time for the citizens of the Inner Frontier to step up and stop this happening.

Once again Mike Resnick manages to take this series in a new direction, a direction I didn't think I'd see to be honest. The past three books have been focused on them making a life on the Inner Frontier and avoiding the Republic wherever possible, so to see them taking up arms is great. One of the things I had mentioned previously was that there was no sense of surprise as such in the books, but Rebel really does change that opinion. I didn't expect the events to turn out as they did and thought that Resnick did a good job of keeping me on my toes while still packing a punch.

New characters also start to take centre stage here. Jacovic, the former commander of the Teroni 5th Fleet (the very same fleet that was involved when Cole mutinied in the first book) has left the Teroni Federation due to their actions and joins Cole, fitting in nicely to their growing fleet. The Octopus is also a new addition to the cast, being the biggest warlord on the Inner Frontier, but pledging his allegiance to Cole after he unknowingly saved his son's life. Both characters fit in effortlessly to the story and Resnick gives them personality that is hard to dislike. Cole also shows another side to his character and the anger he has towards the Republic is manifested well, taking over much of the book.

Starship: Rebel is another excellent addition to the series and once again shows how successful a sci-fi novel that is light on the science can be. I'd recommend this series without hesitation and feel that for pure entertainment value, you won't find much better than this. The only question that remains is whether Resnick can successfully bring this series to a close in the final book, Starship: Flagship.

Cover Art & Synopsis | A Game of Battleships by Toby Frost (Myrmidon Books)

Attention! Isambard Smith and his loyal and noble friend, the psychopathic alien headhunter Suruk, are back in a fourth laugh-out-loud installment.

In the 25th Century the future of the galaxy rests on a knife-edge. The actions of one man could save the British Space Empire, or leave Earth at the mercy of deadly legions of ant-people. That one man is Captain Isambard Smith, and Earth is in a lot of trouble.

After blowing up a top-secret enemy base, Space Captain Smith and his crew deserve a rest. But their holiday ends when forces unknown destroy the robot convoy they were meant to be guarding. Smith finds himself in hot pursuit of a mysterious vessel that can pass through dimensions, incurring the wrath of the dreaded Grand Witchfinder of New Eden--which would be much easier to deal with if his pilot wasn't cowering under the dashboard and his spaceship wasn't infested with man-eating toads.

Meanwhile, the Empire is gathering its allies to form a united front against alien tyranny. Unfortunately, the delicate negotiations have been entrusted to Major Wainscott, a man who knows no fear and very little about diplomacy or trousers.

Once again, Captain Smith must summon all his courage to unite humanity behind the Empire. His quest will take him on a journey to face his greatest fears: from the depths of space, through Hell itself--and even to France.

The other day I saw a little item of news via the Space Captain Smith facebook page that, quite frankly, made my year: a new book, A Game of Battleships, is done and on the way this coming August.

I. Am. So. Freaking. Excited.

The Space Captain Smith novels are hugely enjoyable sci-fi with humour by the bucketload. They're also very British, and completely self-mocking. Based on the previous novels, A Game of Battleships will probably be the most entertaining novel I read this year.

Anyway.

Above is a draft cover (I can't wait to see the final version), and it's completely faithful to the previous novels (below). Love it!

Right, I'm off to drink some tea and re-read the first three novels...

Review | Starship: Mercenary by Mike Resnick (Pyr)

Title: Starship: Mercenary
Author: Mike Resnick
Publisher: Pyr
Format: Hardback
Release Date: December 2007

Buy from: Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com

The date is 1968 of the Galactic Era, almost three thousand years from now. The Republic, created by the human race but not yet dominated by it, is in the midst of an all-out war with the Teroni Federation. Captain Wilson Cole, a man with a reputation for exceeding orders but getting results, found himself the victim of a media feeding frenzy, a political scapegoat despite years of dedicated military service. Faced with a court martial, he was rescued by the loyal crew of his ship, the Theodore Roosevelt. Branded mutineers, the Teddy R. has quit the Republic, never to return.

Seeking to find a new life, Wilson Cole first remade the Teddy R. as a pirate ship plying the spaceways of the lawless Inner Frontier. But military discipline and honor were a poor match for a life of pillaging and plundering, and Cole’s principles naturally limited his targets. Taking on a new role, the Teddy R. becomes a mercenary ship, hiring out to the highest bidder. Whether it’s evacuating a hospital before war can reach it, freeing a client from an alien prison, or stopping a criminal cartel from extorting money from a terrified planet, the crew of the Teddy R. proves equal to the task. Along the way they form a partnership with the once human Platinum Duke, team up with a former enemy, and make the unique Singapore Station their headquarters.

But the life of a mercenary is not always predictable, and eventually circumstance pits Cole and the Teddy R. against his right-hand woman, the former Pirate Queen known as the Valkyrie. Soon the fragile trust that has grown between these two legends is put to the test as they find themselves on opposite sides of a job.

Staship: Mercenary is the third book in Mike Resnick's Starship series, preceded by Starship: Mutiny and Starship: Pirate. It picks things up where they were left in Pirate, with Wilson Cole and the crew of the Teddy R giving up on the piracy game and deciding to go into the mercenary business. Again, Resnick manages to mix things up and delivers another solid story that keeps much of the same that made the first two books so successful, but adds more to the story to keep the reader more than satisfied. Read on for more...

With David Copperfiled now living on board the Teddy R due to the events in Pirate, and also acting as their job finder, their is a new dynamic to the ship. Copperfield brings some light comedy to the novel, a welcome addition, and his interactions with Cole are great, sometimes even the highlight of the novel. His cowardice is a particularly amusing aspect, and his character seems at odds with the military mentality on board the Teddy R. He thinks only of the end results - cold, hard profit - and the story that comes from this helps flesh out Cole's personality and morals even more than in the previous books. He thinks nothing of putting the ship up against odds others would scoff at, but with his contacts throughout the Inner Frontier he is almost second to none in acquiring jobs for Cole and the crew.

It is through Copperfield that we meet the Platinum Duke, owner and ruler of Singapore Station, a vast space station free of any law but his and home to thousands of humans and aliens. The Platinum Duke is a human with many modifications and augmentations, his appearance giving him his name. He's a fresh new character that brings a new dimension to the series, giving a deeper glimpse into life on the Inner Frontier. He helps Cole get new jobs and with his knowledge he is able to advise what they may be up against, an invaluable resource for the Teddy R.

We've still got the main characters - Cole, Sharon, Forrice and Val - and now some of the other crew members of the Teddy R are starting to come into their own. I feel so comfortable in reading their exploits and can often see where things are going, but never quite imagining just how Cole will deal with the situations they are in.

It's an excellent story because of the characters, but I was slowly starting to feel that there are no surprises in store. Cole always manages to think his way out of any given situation and the tensions starts to suffer because of this. However, Resnick, to his credit, has written a military space opera that reads well and has plenty of fast action sequences, but it's not a full military SF series. This is good, mainly because the pace is never slowed by over thought space battles or missions and doesn't get bogged down in unnecessary detail. The ending also throws up some surprises and it left me grinning from ear to ear the way a good novel should.

At the midpoint of the series I just can't wait to see how the final two novels pan out and I'm putting Mike Resnick right up there with authors that I will read without hesitation. Pick them up!!