Intergalactic Planetary . net » Book review http://intergalacticplanetary.net/blog Terrible terrible damage! Thu, 09 Sep 2010 17:54:27 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 The Cobra Trilogy – Part 3 – Cobra Bargin http://intergalacticplanetary.net/blog/2010/04/04/the-cobra-trillogy-part-3-%e2%80%93-cobra-bargin/ http://intergalacticplanetary.net/blog/2010/04/04/the-cobra-trillogy-part-3-%e2%80%93-cobra-bargin/#comments Sun, 04 Apr 2010 14:44:51 +0000 Torben http://intergalacticplanetary.net/blog/?p=533 This is the last piece of the Cobra Trilogy and so far my favorite of the bunch. The first book covered Johnny Moreau’s life spanning several years which left me feeling somewhat fragmentet. In the this book we follow Jin, daughter of on of Johnny’s sons. The rest of the Moreau family is still present but their involvement is kept in balance so you get the rejoicing of seeing them again but allowing for the main character to evolve. The character development of Jin is expertly done and in a way that you can not help but feel hugely involved in her actions and dilemmas. The book also directly follows the predecessors story line which helps knot the two books together, something the first and second lacked a bit. The action and subterfuge is also of a high standard, well crafted and believable. The book is also very well balanced in that the character building and action is nicely entwined. In other words you do not have to wait long before the story amps up. It is a fitting end to the Cobra Trilogy however it left me wanting more. A great read!

I think that this ends my trip to the Cobra for now. Thimothy Zahn have written two more books in a new series based upon his old 80′ies work called Cobra Wars. Check them out at webscription.net here and here.

]]> http://intergalacticplanetary.net/blog/2010/04/04/the-cobra-trillogy-part-3-%e2%80%93-cobra-bargin/feed/ 0 The Cobra Trilogy – Part 2: Cobra Strike http://intergalacticplanetary.net/blog/2010/04/04/the-cobra-trillogy-part-2-cobra-strike/ http://intergalacticplanetary.net/blog/2010/04/04/the-cobra-trillogy-part-2-cobra-strike/#comments Sun, 04 Apr 2010 14:43:42 +0000 Torben http://intergalacticplanetary.net/blog/?p=531 The second installment into the Cobra Trilogy by Thimothy Zahn takeonyszko on a journy further into the perils of the newfound Cobra worlds. A new threat on an unfamiliar horizon is the perfect settimg for another Cobra mission. This time around the tale is spun not only from the viewpoint of Johnny Moreau but also from several other members of the Moreau family. This expansion of the main cast is both a highlight of the novel but also removes the focus and depth you get by following a more singular main character. A good portion of the book is used to setup the Moreau family and the various mechanisms driving them in the forthcoming adventure. When the action finally appears Zahn delivers in style bouncing neatly of the character building and plot threads done earlier in the book. After reading the book I tried to recall other works about man making first contact with potentially dangerous worlds and in comparison I feel that this part of the story was the weakest point. However it does not overshadow that this is a good and solid read, easily recommended to fans of the first book.

]]> http://intergalacticplanetary.net/blog/2010/04/04/the-cobra-trillogy-part-2-cobra-strike/feed/ 0 The Cobra Trilogy – Part 1: Cobra! http://intergalacticplanetary.net/blog/2010/03/05/the-cobra-trillogy-part-1-cobra/ http://intergalacticplanetary.net/blog/2010/03/05/the-cobra-trillogy-part-1-cobra/#comments Fri, 05 Mar 2010 12:31:30 +0000 Torben http://intergalacticplanetary.net/blog/?p=508 Baen books Webscriptions site is full of wonderful literature, but who can resist something called: The COBRA Trillogy! The book is written by Timothy Zahn, and was originally issued in the 80′ies as three seperate novels.

The first book in the trillogy is called Cobra. It is  epic military space opera at it’s finest guerrilla style. The narrative style centers on focusing on parts of the main characters life. We jump from one place in time and space to the next in a pace that feels just right.  These places and points in time make up the bulk of the story line and is seen from the main character Johnny Moreau’s point of view. Ocationally these parts are broken up with shorter interludes where we visit other key elements of the story line, mostly seen from a protagonist point of view. I would characterize the plot as one that has epic ambitions but perhaps struggles a bit too much to deliver cleaver solutions. It never dismembers the story though and each part of the book leaves you turning the page to find out what mischief our Cobra has gotten himself into now. One of the highlights the novel is that it centers around the human equatiions that make up Johnny Moreau. You just cannot help but enjoy the guys company, which is vital in good space opera. The main alien antagonist The Tugft are not that well fletched out but do feel enough alien to feel real. I would like to have seen some more alien psychology introduction on them earlier on in the book though.

Was it a good read? Yes, epic in scale, well written, a believable main character with a lot of wonderful operatic content. It would make a great movie, maybe with Bruce Willis as Johnny Moreau?

]]> http://intergalacticplanetary.net/blog/2010/03/05/the-cobra-trillogy-part-1-cobra/feed/ 0 Land of the headless and not a headless reader http://intergalacticplanetary.net/blog/2009/08/07/land-of-the-headless-and-not-a-headless-reader/ http://intergalacticplanetary.net/blog/2009/08/07/land-of-the-headless-and-not-a-headless-reader/#comments Fri, 07 Aug 2009 07:38:59 +0000 Torben http://intergalacticplanetary.net/blog/?p=355 Adam Robers writes interesting science fiction period! After I read Stone- a friend of mine lend me another novel: Land of the headless. The story is seen from the perspective of a headless man, which naturally gives the story a novel perspective. This fact alone makes it an interesting read and makes it a worthwhile. The book is layered with the main characters musings over the facts and subsequent anger from a journey he took after he lost his head. It centers around the rape of a woman which he had evolved strong feelings for. He also develops a hatred towards a fellow traveler. The rest of the book is based on these two facts. I would go so far as to say they permeate the book causing me both joy and a real headache. Another large portion of the book describes the futilities of war and the mistreatment of the headless drawing a clear line to real world racism. How do we perceive those who are different from us? Those who we believe are a lower cast. To me this was a real highlight of the book. The musings and rants over the main characters love and hate quickly becomes quite tiresome, but in their persistent nature somehow relevant to the mindset of the character. I do not know if the effect was deliberate on behalf of Adam Robers? But it worked. Throughout the book my relationship with the main character changed constantly from giddy excitement of his beheading to dislike in his vanity. The ordeals he confronted made me come to respect him in the end.

If you like to read “clever” science fiction with an interesting concept spiced up with some military action you should go read the book. If you dislike a main character in mental distress and prefer your books to be more straightforward space based plot (did I just say space opera?) then you should properly avoid this one.

SF Site review, Adam Roberts site

]]> http://intergalacticplanetary.net/blog/2009/08/07/land-of-the-headless-and-not-a-headless-reader/feed/ 0 My first David Drake novel: Starliner http://intergalacticplanetary.net/blog/2009/08/04/my-first-david-drake-novel-starliner/ http://intergalacticplanetary.net/blog/2009/08/04/my-first-david-drake-novel-starliner/#comments Tue, 04 Aug 2009 08:24:23 +0000 Torben http://intergalacticplanetary.net/blog/?p=352 It finally happened. I have read my first David Drake novel. First off let me say that I am a great fan of plot heavy hard science fiction, so the jump from the technologically focused novel to a military one (I am a F14 fanatic) was not a great leap for mankind- nor a great leap for man (namely me). With that out of the way let me get down the business of telling you all of the good and child foolish things that I encountered in the Starliner novel. Over on SFSite.com I read a brief review of With the Lightning, where the reviewer stated that he had read no less than a stunning 30 David Drake novels. Of all those he liked Starliner the best. The leap became even smaller as I passed by Drakes homepage to take in the authors own words – it’s not all that military although it has some heavy set elements, and what any good plot needs – violence and sex. More on that later. Now I was off to purchase the book but behold it comes free of any charge over on the Baen free library.

I love it when a book has a certain feel to it, be it a place in history or just a flavorful setting. Starliner takes place on what you would expect from the title – cruise ship traveling between the stars. A futuristic Titanic with the eccentrically wealthy sip drinks and the iconic poor immigrants loiter in third class on their way to the new world. It is not future realistic but it needs not to be because it gives you a great flavor throughout the book and lots of references back in time to when the real titans of the sea mowed through the odd iceberg. Very nicely done Mr. Drake.

Plot wise the book takes you on a journey through a bunch of colonized human worlds and an alien one plagued by a rigid hiracy and the status quo. The main character (with a doggy and harsh background) masters both the eccentrically rich and nitriding details of being an office on board a starliner. There are plenty of interesting leads that are fulfilled in due order throughout the book, and I must say that I was never bored with either the world building or violent sidetracks. However the more or less graphically descriptions of the main characters erotic escapades was somewhat of a mystery as to why it was included. It does not penetrate (pardon the pun) the book but it left me with an impression that it was included to satisfy a certain audience? Anyways who am I to tell if this is true or not, but it did not “do” it for me. On an emotional level the sex is somewhat tied in to the mental state of the main character so that justifies it somewhat. A strong forte of the book is the great secondary cast and the attention to detail. There is an old pair of ex special forces / agents / spies (is there anything they have not done?) that kept me chuckling throughout the book. I would love to read a collection of their short stories alone.

Is it a modern science fiction classic? no. Was it entertaining and well written? Most definitely and wholeheartedly yes.

]]> http://intergalacticplanetary.net/blog/2009/08/04/my-first-david-drake-novel-starliner/feed/ 0 Juggler of worlds http://intergalacticplanetary.net/blog/2009/02/11/juggler-of-worlds/ http://intergalacticplanetary.net/blog/2009/02/11/juggler-of-worlds/#comments Wed, 11 Feb 2009 13:43:23 +0000 Torben http://intergalacticplanetary.net/blog/?p=231 When I read Fleet of worlds back in june 2008 it ended in a mixed bag. I loved the return to Known Space and Puppeteer exploration scheming and plotting. The idea of a human slave sub species was also quite fascinating if a bit sought. One thing that left me wanting more were the infrequent descriptions and plot hooks to Sigmund Ausfaller. Although interesting the aliens in Nivens stories always bounce best when faced with a strong lead – Louis Wu in Ringworld is such an example in his relations with Speaker and Nessus. Fleet of worlds lacked the strong lead in my opinion. I was about 10 pages into Juggler of worlds when I realised that this was a totally different ballgame. Sigmund Ausfaller, paranoid ARM investigator takes on the universe! Yes, I liked that concept very much. After about a hundred pages I stopped to take in a few reviews of the book, since I remembered seeing a couple that dealt with the reuse issue. I really do not agree with those who say that the “recapish” parts of the book were boring and uneventful. Niven masterfully takes on a grand tour-de-known space fleshing out interesting story lines and richly textured characters. The first 2/3 of the book was excellent. The problem however is final 1/3 of the book.  It gets a bit messy when the Fleet of worlds meets Juggler of worlds and it seems a shame that the two ends have to connect and align most of the plod threads from the first book. It feels forced somehow and unnatural. I could also have done without the Outsider heavy parts in the end, not because I do not appreciate the info, but because the universe needs its omnipotence.

It is hard to judge an ongoing trend such ass Known Space. It’s got too much back story to jump into neatly and the meat is not as tender as a hole new universe to play in. The parts in the book where Sigmund Ausfaller contemplates the plot for us are definite highlights and alone makes it worth the read for new and old Known Spacers. Now go write another one Mr. Niven and Mr. Lerner.

Larry Niven,  Edward M. Lerner, Known Space, LarryNiven.org, Edward on Juggler, Niven reading challenge, A two star review addressing the “reuse” issue

]]> http://intergalacticplanetary.net/blog/2009/02/11/juggler-of-worlds/feed/ 0 STONE http://intergalacticplanetary.net/blog/2009/02/01/stone/ http://intergalacticplanetary.net/blog/2009/02/01/stone/#comments Sun, 01 Feb 2009 20:05:18 +0000 Torben http://intergalacticplanetary.net/blog/?p=220 Nano machines are always an interesting subject, and coupled with the intriguing ways of quantum physics it makes for a very nice book indeed. I am talking about STONE a book by Adam Roberts. The story revolves around a prisoner, a novelty in the futuristic (yes it is a science fiction book) Utopian society that makes up the playground of the book. The prisoner is sprung from a prison inside a star (yeah!) to undertake a mission posed by an unknown employer. The book is narrated by the prisoner as he tells his story to a stone (hence the title of the book) and without revealing too much a lot of it takes part inside the prisoners mind. I found the balance of world building, story propelling and characterisation excellent. The chapters never get to long or unfocused for me to loose interest and thus it quickly becomes a page turner and not a shelf burner (hmm). The hard question I ask myself when I finish a book by a new, to me at least, author is: Would I read another book by him/her? In this case the answer is a definite yes!

Adam Roberts, Wiki

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