Starship: Rebel (Starship, Book 4) Review
This is the first book by Mr. Resnick that I've read and it left me wanting to read the three books before it in the series. Instead of blast and bombast a la John Ringo and friends, Resnick offers a saga of a good man fighting against odds but NOT fighting impossible odds and NOT engaging in wondrous but farfetched deeds of derring-do to win though to success.
Three books back, Captain Wilson Cole rebelled against the giant and bellicose Empire when as captain of an Imperial vessel he was ordered to massacre defenseless civilians in order to terrorize them into submission. By book four (this one), he is a successful mercenary with a fleet of approximately fifty ships: his is one of the two largest military forces along the untamed Inner Frontier. When an Imperial captain captures, tortures and murders his closets friend, a three-legged alien named Forrice, and Imperial ships wipe out a planet and two million people because they don't divulge Cole's whereabouts, Wilson goes on a rampage. He knows it is only a matter of time before the Imperials bomb other planets and space stations in an effort to find out where Cole's fleet is so he moves to preemption. What follows is straight old-fashioned space opera, but tempered by a healthy dose of realism. Cole is an appealing (and humane) hero, his colleagues are well-limned, and the action escalates steadily.
I came across E. E. Smith's Lensman series when I was thirteen --sixty years ago. I devoured them --I loved the action and the scope and the bold heroism displayed in the books. But I was turned off by the sophomoric way in which everyone talked in those books and the technical parts seemed jerryrigged, even to someone as young and True a Believer as I was then. I moved away from science fiction (a) when I discovered girls and (b) as my reading tastes matured. I've come back (part way) in recent years because there is some truly excellent writing going on in science fiction and fantasy now, and I enjoy escapist fiction just as much as I did as a young man. I intend to read the first three books in this series and I suspect I will get as much pleasure from them as I have from this one. Resnick deserves to stand up with the more mature writers of space opera today. Though I don't find him quite as good a writer as Peter Hamilton, Richard K. Morgan, Alistair Reynolds, or (the most sophisticated writer of the lot) Iain Banks, he's well worth reading.
Starship: Rebel (Starship, Book 4) Feature
- ISBN13: 9781591026952
- Condition: New
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Starship: Rebel (Starship, Book 4) Overview
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.
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Customer Reviews
Starship: Rebel - DANA W. VANVALIN - Colorado Springs USA
A++, very good part of the series which is a must read. Dana Van Valin in Colorado
Excellent Military Sci-Fi - Steven Woodcock - Colorado Springs, CO United States
A grand space opera set in the Resnick "Birthright" universe.
You won't find much better writing in the military sci-fi genre, this is an excellent story about one of the turning points in Man's history in the galaxy.
Highly recommended.
Fast-paced action makes this a military thriller perfect for science fiction collections - Midwest Book Review - Oregon, WI USA
STARSHIP: REBEL is book four in Mike Resnick's series is set in 1968 of the Galactic Era, nearly 2,000 years from now when a Republic dominated by the human race is in the midst of war. A year has passed since the events of the prior STARSHIP: MERCENARY, and Captain Cole now commands a fleet ... and is still wanted by the government. Fast-paced action makes this a military thriller perfect for science fiction collections.
*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Sep 02, 2010 21:04:05
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