Starship: Pirate (Starship, Book 2)

Better than the first book, but that's not saying much. 'Starship: Pirates' still suffers from the same issues that made 'Starship: Mutiny' somewhat of a bland reading experience. While this book is fun in some ways, overall there's really a lack of a compelling story or plot that drives this story forward. For the the most part, it's just Wilson Cole (our protagonist) thinking or talking his way out from one event to another that's strung along. It's really hard for a reader to be able to associate with a protagonist that seems to have come fully developed right from the beginning without any personal conflict or struggles to generate any drama. And with Cole constantly acting with his know it all attitude, it also deflates any feeling of crisis to any event.
What also doesn't help this series is the fact that it's billed as 'military sci-fi', but seems to lack much of either. We do have our Captains, and Sergeants, and Aliens, and Spaceships; but these are just tropes placed in this story without any real bearing to the plot. For the most part, this story could easily have been placed in the South Pacific, 200 years ago, much as less in space 3000 years in the future. This is basically space opera (of the Buck Rogers sort) thinly disguised as military sci-fi. It's safe to say, Master & Commander (an 18th century naval series) is probably more military sci-fi, than the 'Starship' series is. At least there, there were actual battles galore. ( )

Could someone please tell me what’s happened to Mike Resnick? He used to write great adventure tales set in his Birthright universe. But in the last few years he’s started writing more and more crap. The Return of Santiago, The Outpost, and Starship: Mutiny were not good. Dragon America was better but still less than stellar. I just finished Starship: Pirate and it’ll be the last of this particular series that I’ll read. I’m not going to give up on Resnick just yet, but he’s quickly falling down the rungs.

(Full review at my blog) ( )

Piracy isn't as easy as we thought it would be.

After being rescued by his crew at the end of the last book, now Captain again Wilson Cole decides to head for the Inner Frontier with his ship, and out of the direct reach of the Republic Navy.

He decides that the pirate life will be a way to make a living, but he and his crew's ethics don't really allow for the robbing and killing of innocents, leaving him only one target - other pirates!

This is just a straightforward SF adventure story, and when you throw in a pirate queen, some fences, and some pirate rivals and targets you have a fairly entertaining book, simply written and really pretty close to PG.

In the appendices, Resnick includes a detailed breakdown and timeline of work in his particular future history (and there is a lot of it), as well as rules of the board game type games he introduces in the book. So that bit is interesting, too.

http://notfreesf.blogspot.com/2007/10... ( )