What do you think?
Rate this book
Starfire #6
Extremis
Steve White, Vietnam vet, long-time David Weber collaborator and co-author, with Weber, of the New York Times best-seller The Shiva Option, joins with Analog contributor and military SF scholar Charles E. Gannon to carve another notch in the Starfire adventure saga.An implacable foe with telepathic cohesion in battle, near-immortality, and eons-advanced engineering skills threatens to wipe humanity from the galaxy. What’s more, they’ve overcome their one weakness–no faster-than-light travel–and have followed humanity through our star gates and beyond. But humans are the master of adaption, and have got a counterpunch of devastating proportions in reserve. Now a hard-bitten and brilliant admiral must face down renewed alien attack and somehow communicate to the enemy that if he is forced to use his ultimate military option, galactic civilization itself may come to a fiery end.
About Extremis:
“Vivid. . .Battle sequences mingle with thought-provoking exegesis . . .”–Publishers Weekly
About Steve White and David Weber’s The Shiva Option:
“[Leaves] the reader both exhilarated and enriched.” –Publishers Weekly
About Steve White:
“White offers fast action and historically informed world-building.”–Publishers Weekly
About Steve White’s Forge of the Titans:
“. . . recalls the best of the John Campbell era of SF. White's core audience of hard SF fans will be pleased . . .”–Publishers Weekly
About Extremis:
“Vivid. . .Battle sequences mingle with thought-provoking exegesis . . .”–Publishers Weekly
About Steve White and David Weber’s The Shiva Option:
“[Leaves] the reader both exhilarated and enriched.” –Publishers Weekly
About Steve White:
“White offers fast action and historically informed world-building.”–Publishers Weekly
About Steve White’s Forge of the Titans:
“. . . recalls the best of the John Campbell era of SF. White's core audience of hard SF fans will be pleased . . .”–Publishers Weekly
880 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published May 1, 2011
43 people are currently reading
394 people want to read
About the author
Steve White
33 books78 followersBorn in 1948.
Steve White is an American science fiction author best known as the co-author of the Starfire-series alongside David Weber.
He is married with 3 daughters and currently lives in Charlottesville, Virginia. He also works for a legal publishing company. He previously served as a United States Navy officer and served during the Vietnam War and in the Mediterranean region.
See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Wh...
Steve White is an American science fiction author best known as the co-author of the Starfire-series alongside David Weber.
He is married with 3 daughters and currently lives in Charlottesville, Virginia. He also works for a legal publishing company. He previously served as a United States Navy officer and served during the Vietnam War and in the Mediterranean region.
See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Wh...
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
March 24, 2024
Theirs was a slow-motion ballet of death—which represented massive ships hurtling through space at twenty percent of the speed of light, intermittently being incinerated or shattered by the scaled-down supernovae of antimatter warheads. At close ranges, the behemoths—here represented as actinic mayflies—actually sliced into each other with matter-annihilating force beams, knife-fighting to the death across light-seconds of open space.
I usually let some pass between these books, but after Exodus I was really interested to see what was going to happen next. Of course, we all know the answer to that.
“Ops, prepare to send Fleet orders.”
Exodus and Extremis form a rather lopsided duology in terms of page count, with the latter having more than double the number of pages. Anyway, as you may surmise, there is much more going on in the sequel.
“Now sit down and strap in or you’re sure to be the first casualty. It’s likely to get a lot rougher, real soon.”
There’s a lot of mayhem between these pages, but there are also some introspective bits presenting us with the worldview of the antagonist species, and mulling the nature of sapience and sentience. Also, politics.
“Fleet order to all missile batteries. Best rate of fire. Second screen to flush its racks. Internal magazines launch until they are ten birds away from dry.”
All in all, it was as good as I had thought (and hoped) it would be. I enjoyed the internal interactions of the different factions, and all the different machinations of the plot. All told though, it is for the action set pieces that we are here.
I am knocking a star because the occupation of Bellerophon sequences weren’t nearly as exciting as the fleet action depictions. It’s also worth noting that it takes very long for Admiral Trevayne to get in on the action, something that has been building up since the opening chapters of Exodus, and once he does, he really doesn’t feature all that much at all. More enjoyable was the introduction of a new character, Ossian Wethermere, a tactician and natural leader that reminds of David Drake’s Daniel Leary (RCN series).
Was the denouement to my satisfaction, and was it believable given the circumstances? I’m not sure, although it intends to be some food for thought, at least.
As they approached, the intervening space was crisscrossed by rapid-fire missile exchanges. Then, as they drew closer, they belched out missile salvos at ranges where interception grew more and more difficult, and the antimatter fires seemed to merge into a quasi-solid mass of lightning, a ravening energy expenditure that must surely strain the metrical frame of spacetime itself.
It was, he thought in awe, a battle that was itself an astronomical event.
I usually let some pass between these books, but after Exodus I was really interested to see what was going to happen next. Of course, we all know the answer to that.
“Ops, prepare to send Fleet orders.”
Exodus and Extremis form a rather lopsided duology in terms of page count, with the latter having more than double the number of pages. Anyway, as you may surmise, there is much more going on in the sequel.
“Now sit down and strap in or you’re sure to be the first casualty. It’s likely to get a lot rougher, real soon.”
There’s a lot of mayhem between these pages, but there are also some introspective bits presenting us with the worldview of the antagonist species, and mulling the nature of sapience and sentience. Also, politics.
“Fleet order to all missile batteries. Best rate of fire. Second screen to flush its racks. Internal magazines launch until they are ten birds away from dry.”
All in all, it was as good as I had thought (and hoped) it would be. I enjoyed the internal interactions of the different factions, and all the different machinations of the plot. All told though, it is for the action set pieces that we are here.
I am knocking a star because the occupation of Bellerophon sequences weren’t nearly as exciting as the fleet action depictions. It’s also worth noting that it takes very long for Admiral Trevayne to get in on the action, something that has been building up since the opening chapters of Exodus, and once he does, he really doesn’t feature all that much at all. More enjoyable was the introduction of a new character, Ossian Wethermere, a tactician and natural leader that reminds of David Drake’s Daniel Leary (RCN series).
Was the denouement to my satisfaction, and was it believable given the circumstances? I’m not sure, although it intends to be some food for thought, at least.
As they approached, the intervening space was crisscrossed by rapid-fire missile exchanges. Then, as they drew closer, they belched out missile salvos at ranges where interception grew more and more difficult, and the antimatter fires seemed to merge into a quasi-solid mass of lightning, a ravening energy expenditure that must surely strain the metrical frame of spacetime itself.
It was, he thought in awe, a battle that was itself an astronomical event.
March 31, 2011
Disappointing sequel to the first non-Weber "Bug" novel Exodus; hard to say why - a combination of " no Weber", no new things - Exodus was the first book that moved the action after the first series book Insurrection so it was of great interest even only for that - the second author who presumably did most of the writing is different and his style did not work for me... but I felt no connection with the characters despite some of them being big time favorites from the earlier books. The book read by the numbers and it was so predictable to be beyond boring as the action went while the dialogue and characters had no spark.
I am not sure if this ends this arc - the main thread from Exodus is solved but there are quite a few loose ends - and/or we finally get to see the Bugs back as promised at some point, but unless there is something dramatically changed for a new series book i am afraid this series is done for me... A pity since there was great potential but D. Weber clearly made it successful and his absence is felt keenly
I am not sure if this ends this arc - the main thread from Exodus is solved but there are quite a few loose ends - and/or we finally get to see the Bugs back as promised at some point, but unless there is something dramatically changed for a new series book i am afraid this series is done for me... A pity since there was great potential but D. Weber clearly made it successful and his absence is felt keenly
November 18, 2021
Much like the previous book, the writing tends to get in the way of the story. It's a bit arduous to get through. That said, I did finish it, and at occasional points some of the writing was not too bad.
This one is really whole follow up arc from the original series is really only for completionists, and diehard mil scifi fans. I am one, so I'll probably get the latest book at some point in the future, but only after I've recovered from this one.
On the whole, I think both writers would really benefit from some aggressive editing to pare down the story and clean the language up a bit. They are trying to tell a little too much, with a bit too much detail in the wrong places. It's arguably accurate to continue with the heavy acronym usage, and the awkward alien language, but it's death on readability.
This one is really whole follow up arc from the original series is really only for completionists, and diehard mil scifi fans. I am one, so I'll probably get the latest book at some point in the future, but only after I've recovered from this one.
On the whole, I think both writers would really benefit from some aggressive editing to pare down the story and clean the language up a bit. They are trying to tell a little too much, with a bit too much detail in the wrong places. It's arguably accurate to continue with the heavy acronym usage, and the awkward alien language, but it's death on readability.
May 17, 2013
Somewhat juvenile in plotting and characterizations. Way too many plot holes.
How on earth can there be a common root between a telepathic word and a human word because the English equivalent of the telepathic word sounds similar (narmata/nirvana)? How can these bitter enemies make peace after millions of deaths in just 10 pages? How does technology advance so conveniently just when the plot needs it?
How on earth can there be a common root between a telepathic word and a human word because the English equivalent of the telepathic word sounds similar (narmata/nirvana)? How can these bitter enemies make peace after millions of deaths in just 10 pages? How does technology advance so conveniently just when the plot needs it?
May 27, 2015
Series ended with insurrection
This book, and the one before, should actually be called a different series. The majority is about relationships, not combat. And the combat is all bigger is better, not tactics.
While I re read the books about once a year, exodus and this one are going into the trash.
This book, and the one before, should actually be called a different series. The majority is about relationships, not combat. And the combat is all bigger is better, not tactics.
While I re read the books about once a year, exodus and this one are going into the trash.
March 22, 2021
Extremis
Author: Steve White and Charles Gannon
Publisher: Baen Books
Publishing Date: 2011
Pgs: 856 pages
Dewey:
Disposition: Inter-Library Loan from Theodore Jones Branch Library - Beaumont Public Library, Beaumont, TX via Irving Public Library - South Campus, Irving, TX
=======================================
REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS
Summary:
From the depths of space the threat of the Arduans comes. They didn’t discover the warp point network until we showed it to them. Their star went nova. They need a place to live. Humans have colonized some of those planets in the Arduans path. They are coming. Telepathic cohesion in battle. Adaptation v. Adaption. Punch-counterpunch. Fleet action. Death. War. And as they battle, the Tangri are watching and awaiting their chance to raid the losers...or the victors.
_________________________________________
Genre:
Science Fiction
Space Opera
Military Science Fiction
Space Colonization
War
Aliens
Why this book:
Space fleets hurling missiles and destructive beams at one another. I love this stuff.
_________________________________________
Least Favorite Character:
Heine is a wheedling little scumbag.
Urkhot is slime as well. A juxtaposition fanatic in agreement with Heine. They could have been on a collision course that would’ve put them in each other's pocket. Urkhot reminds me of too many religious leaders and politicians in the modern world
Character I Most Identified With:
Plot Holes/Out of Character:
Considering what Sandro went through being suspected of being a traitor, his treatment of Jennifer is horrible. And if she forgives him, and everything is all good, then this character is unrealistic. He helped them take her baby away from her. The aliens didn't even do that. So the guy who is the father of her child is going to treat her like she's a traitor to humanity and everything is going to be okay. I don't think so. These personality types as created here wouldn’t do that, whatever the additional emotional baggage. The deep scars caused by Sandro’s actions would mar their relationship beyond repair, baby or no baby.
Favorite Scene:
When Commander Van Felsen was snatched up and bear hugged by the Sergeant who she'd just given the best news in the world to.
Favorite Quote:
“Take us away from here before Lt Weathermere can break anything else.” - The Orion carrier commander to his helmsman.
Trevayne staring at the wreckage of fleets falling inward toward a distant sun and said that this isn’t a sufficient funeral pyre not for his old enemy, become his ally, First Space Lord Li Han.
Favorite Concept:
I love good fleet action science fiction.
The priest won't live to regret challenging the elder. Saw that coming...still satisfying.
Hmm Moments:
The description of the Arduan’s Deshotaz caste. Their rapid reflex towards resolutions of conflict through violent resolution, their impetuous embrace of physical peril, their predilection for hero worship, their dismissive attitude toward the cultures of others, all point towards a devolution: interesting societal commentary when taken in context of the America we’re living in right now.
WTF Moments:
Damn, the Tangri don’t mess around. Raiding and nuking the planets from orbit.
Meh / PFFT Moments:
Ossian Weathermere is a bit of Mary Sue and trying too hard to have a young Kevin Sanders still in the books. If they wanted to do this, they should have come up with a way for Sanders to still be young instead of coming up with a King Arthur bit for Ian Trevayne.
Well of course Heide is going to do something that atrocious. When you let spies and amateur spymasters run things, they act like everything is a spy game. Hearts and minds aren’t their kind of thing. And Heide is a shitty person too, so…
Sorta bull in the china shop the way that Mags and Ian’s relationship is hammered at us. Admiral Li has far greater things to worry about than who her daughter is dating, even if it is the resurrected enemy of her youth...especially returning to the wool gathering as many times as she does.
Wisdom:
The showdown in the council chambers is a bit preachy, but considering what the situation is about, it should be preachy.
The Unexpected:
An antique AK-47 in space. No digital sights. No smart bullets. Unexpected...but not surprising. Considering the staying power and omnipresence of the AK, it wouldn’t shock me that they will still be being made and moved around in the distant future.
_________________________________________
Pacing:
The pace is much better than the previous book in the series.
Last Page Sound:
Pretty good.
=======================================
Author: Steve White and Charles Gannon
Publisher: Baen Books
Publishing Date: 2011
Pgs: 856 pages
Dewey:
Disposition: Inter-Library Loan from Theodore Jones Branch Library - Beaumont Public Library, Beaumont, TX via Irving Public Library - South Campus, Irving, TX
=======================================
REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS
Summary:
From the depths of space the threat of the Arduans comes. They didn’t discover the warp point network until we showed it to them. Their star went nova. They need a place to live. Humans have colonized some of those planets in the Arduans path. They are coming. Telepathic cohesion in battle. Adaptation v. Adaption. Punch-counterpunch. Fleet action. Death. War. And as they battle, the Tangri are watching and awaiting their chance to raid the losers...or the victors.
_________________________________________
Genre:
Science Fiction
Space Opera
Military Science Fiction
Space Colonization
War
Aliens
Why this book:
Space fleets hurling missiles and destructive beams at one another. I love this stuff.
_________________________________________
Least Favorite Character:
Heine is a wheedling little scumbag.
Urkhot is slime as well. A juxtaposition fanatic in agreement with Heine. They could have been on a collision course that would’ve put them in each other's pocket. Urkhot reminds me of too many religious leaders and politicians in the modern world
Character I Most Identified With:
Plot Holes/Out of Character:
Considering what Sandro went through being suspected of being a traitor, his treatment of Jennifer is horrible. And if she forgives him, and everything is all good, then this character is unrealistic. He helped them take her baby away from her. The aliens didn't even do that. So the guy who is the father of her child is going to treat her like she's a traitor to humanity and everything is going to be okay. I don't think so. These personality types as created here wouldn’t do that, whatever the additional emotional baggage. The deep scars caused by Sandro’s actions would mar their relationship beyond repair, baby or no baby.
Favorite Scene:
When Commander Van Felsen was snatched up and bear hugged by the Sergeant who she'd just given the best news in the world to.
Favorite Quote:
“Take us away from here before Lt Weathermere can break anything else.” - The Orion carrier commander to his helmsman.
Trevayne staring at the wreckage of fleets falling inward toward a distant sun and said that this isn’t a sufficient funeral pyre not for his old enemy, become his ally, First Space Lord Li Han.
Favorite Concept:
I love good fleet action science fiction.
The priest won't live to regret challenging the elder. Saw that coming...still satisfying.
Hmm Moments:
The description of the Arduan’s Deshotaz caste. Their rapid reflex towards resolutions of conflict through violent resolution, their impetuous embrace of physical peril, their predilection for hero worship, their dismissive attitude toward the cultures of others, all point towards a devolution: interesting societal commentary when taken in context of the America we’re living in right now.
WTF Moments:
Damn, the Tangri don’t mess around. Raiding and nuking the planets from orbit.
Meh / PFFT Moments:
Ossian Weathermere is a bit of Mary Sue and trying too hard to have a young Kevin Sanders still in the books. If they wanted to do this, they should have come up with a way for Sanders to still be young instead of coming up with a King Arthur bit for Ian Trevayne.
Well of course Heide is going to do something that atrocious. When you let spies and amateur spymasters run things, they act like everything is a spy game. Hearts and minds aren’t their kind of thing. And Heide is a shitty person too, so…
Sorta bull in the china shop the way that Mags and Ian’s relationship is hammered at us. Admiral Li has far greater things to worry about than who her daughter is dating, even if it is the resurrected enemy of her youth...especially returning to the wool gathering as many times as she does.
Wisdom:
The showdown in the council chambers is a bit preachy, but considering what the situation is about, it should be preachy.
The Unexpected:
An antique AK-47 in space. No digital sights. No smart bullets. Unexpected...but not surprising. Considering the staying power and omnipresence of the AK, it wouldn’t shock me that they will still be being made and moved around in the distant future.
_________________________________________
Pacing:
The pace is much better than the previous book in the series.
Last Page Sound:
Pretty good.
=======================================
August 28, 2024
Continuation of the Three-eyed Monster War. The Hoomans fought the invading aliens to a standstill in the last book, now they slowly take the offensive. New tactics, new tech, a backdoor to the front, all help to change the outlook of the war. Plus a little romance on the side. There are the requisite big space battles, very well written but not a whole lot of them. That's all from the Hooman side of the space war. Much more of the book concerns the aliens.
We spend much more time with the aliens than the Hoomans. We see their internal politics, where they have a war party and a peace party. There is much politicking, some assassinations, and even a duel. The one side wants to just wipe out the Hoomans while the other is slowly learning how to communicate with them. The latter also learns some species introspection and discovers a great deal about themselves along the way.
Interspersed and alongside the alien peace party investigations are the Hoomans of the resistance. Hiding out in plane sight they do a little light destruction while prepping for the big push when the fleet returns to drive out the aliens. For most of the time they do very little actual fighting, but they too have a great deal of internal politics going on. Their actions parallel the aliens, with treason accusations, near mutinies, and incompetent leadership.
This might be my favorite Starfire book so far. Not continuous battle scenes like some of the others, nor overwrought handwringing and speachifying without much action. A good mix of the two, with some engaging characters and a nice twist at the end.
We spend much more time with the aliens than the Hoomans. We see their internal politics, where they have a war party and a peace party. There is much politicking, some assassinations, and even a duel. The one side wants to just wipe out the Hoomans while the other is slowly learning how to communicate with them. The latter also learns some species introspection and discovers a great deal about themselves along the way.
Interspersed and alongside the alien peace party investigations are the Hoomans of the resistance. Hiding out in plane sight they do a little light destruction while prepping for the big push when the fleet returns to drive out the aliens. For most of the time they do very little actual fighting, but they too have a great deal of internal politics going on. Their actions parallel the aliens, with treason accusations, near mutinies, and incompetent leadership.
This might be my favorite Starfire book so far. Not continuous battle scenes like some of the others, nor overwrought handwringing and speachifying without much action. A good mix of the two, with some engaging characters and a nice twist at the end.
May 18, 2025
Lu en anglais
Tome 6 de la série Starfire et suite du roman précédent.
Les humains et leurs alliés sont sur la défensive. Les Arduans ont une technologie avancée, apprennent vite et ont des vaisseaux ....véritablement énormes. Sans compter qu'il utilisent un sens télépathique pour communiquer et peuvent se réincarner. Comme la branche guerrière a pris le dessus suite aux batailles, il est très difficile d'établir la communication. En plus, ils ont établi leurs pénates dans un bras assez isolé des colonies humaines. Mais les humains et leurs alliés préparent l'offensive avec de nouveaux atouts : des vaisseaux de combat plus gros et mieux armés, une technologie qui permet d'agrandir les points de saut, pour ces nouveaux vaisseaux, et même d'établir de nouveaux points de saut.
Pendant ce temps, la résistance s'organise sur la planète principale conquise par les Arduans. Et un des sages arduans d'une des branches non guerrières expérimente un moyen de communication entre humains et Arduans.
Et la guerre fait rage. Des batailles gigantesques avec des pertes énormes des deux côtés. L'amiral de la flotte des Arduans est lucide et se voit acculé au mur. Mais les fanatiques arduans sont de plus en plus nombreux. Sans compter que certaines races veulent profiter de la situation.
Comment tout cela va t'il finir ?
Un souffle épique assez constant à mon grand plaisir !
Disons que les batailles dans l'espace sont pleines d'adrénaline et que les batailles de la résistance pâtissent en comparaison. Et il y les quelques esprits éveillés qui voient que la paix est la seule issue pour éviter une fin désastreuse pour les deux côtés.
Bien sûr, j'ai beaucoup aimé même si j'ai trouvé le roman trop long. De la science-fiction militaire à son meilleur.
Tome 6 de la série Starfire et suite du roman précédent.
Les humains et leurs alliés sont sur la défensive. Les Arduans ont une technologie avancée, apprennent vite et ont des vaisseaux ....véritablement énormes. Sans compter qu'il utilisent un sens télépathique pour communiquer et peuvent se réincarner. Comme la branche guerrière a pris le dessus suite aux batailles, il est très difficile d'établir la communication. En plus, ils ont établi leurs pénates dans un bras assez isolé des colonies humaines. Mais les humains et leurs alliés préparent l'offensive avec de nouveaux atouts : des vaisseaux de combat plus gros et mieux armés, une technologie qui permet d'agrandir les points de saut, pour ces nouveaux vaisseaux, et même d'établir de nouveaux points de saut.
Pendant ce temps, la résistance s'organise sur la planète principale conquise par les Arduans. Et un des sages arduans d'une des branches non guerrières expérimente un moyen de communication entre humains et Arduans.
Et la guerre fait rage. Des batailles gigantesques avec des pertes énormes des deux côtés. L'amiral de la flotte des Arduans est lucide et se voit acculé au mur. Mais les fanatiques arduans sont de plus en plus nombreux. Sans compter que certaines races veulent profiter de la situation.
Comment tout cela va t'il finir ?
Un souffle épique assez constant à mon grand plaisir !
Disons que les batailles dans l'espace sont pleines d'adrénaline et que les batailles de la résistance pâtissent en comparaison. Et il y les quelques esprits éveillés qui voient que la paix est la seule issue pour éviter une fin désastreuse pour les deux côtés.
Bien sûr, j'ai beaucoup aimé même si j'ai trouvé le roman trop long. De la science-fiction militaire à son meilleur.
December 23, 2021
Good story
Like most of the books in this series the story is interesting but much of the actual writing is dry and boring. There were quite a few paragraphs/pages I just skimmed through reading every third or fourth line. Even some of the action sequences read like textbooks. Overall though the story is interesting.
Like most of the books in this series the story is interesting but much of the actual writing is dry and boring. There were quite a few paragraphs/pages I just skimmed through reading every third or fourth line. Even some of the action sequences read like textbooks. Overall though the story is interesting.
August 28, 2017
It's alright, eminently readable.
November 26, 2019
Wow. A serious package of philosophy and warfare set in the future.
September 8, 2020
Long and predictable.
March 6, 2014
Extremis, written by Steve White & Charles E Gannon, is book 6 in the Starfire series started by David Weber. Despite being a part of a series, this is a stand-alone story. I have not read the other five novels.
In the 26th century a race of aliens (Arduans), traveling for centuries in sublight ships, arrive in star systems populated by humans and other sentient beings. The Children of Illidor believe they are the only sentient (intelligent) life in the universe and consider all other life forms as nothing more than animals, regardless of their degree of technological sophistication. The prevailing belief among the Arduan castes is they are the only species that live multiple lives, making them unique and vastly superior to all others. Thus, captivity or extermination of these ‘animals’ is of no consequence.
The Arduans conquer these star systems and either enslave or remove these lesser beings at will. The sentient life forms in those systems are easily subjugated as they were unprepared for an invasion. They believed there was no viable threat to their existence and had allowed their military to atrophy. In response to the invasion, rebel groups form on the various planets, despite abundant and draconian reprisals. Badly mauled, the combined interspecies space fleets undertake a massive rebuilding to destroy or drive the Arduans from the settled star systems.
Over a period of several years a war rages between the Arduans, humans and other sentient beings. Massive space battles are fought as the more enlightened Arduan castes began to question their religious orthodoxy and seek, not only to communicate with these animals, but to understand them. In time they realize they aren’t the only intelligent life forms in the universe, but the warrior caste refuses to see this possibility and have devolved into violent and heartless factions, creating an internal crisis of leadership. Thus, not only do military battles rage, but so do Arduan and human internal conflicts that could very well lead to the demise of entire species.
This is a complicated novel in which military strategy, religious orthodoxy, social strategy, moral ambiguity and an inability to communicate are discussed and disseminated at great length. It is a compelling look at the complicated nature of intelligent species, delving deeply into both human and Arduan histories, social structures and beliefs.
This is not a light read. The story arc is weighted with death and destruction on a massive scale and, when the climatic conclusion unfolds, it becomes clear this is not an ending, but an accommodation that may yet devolve into the utter annihilation.
While there were a few typos and other grammatical errors, they were not frequent enough to compromise the depth and breadth of this monumental work.
I would not only suggest those who appreciate a great space opera, but those who are students of the human condition.
In the 26th century a race of aliens (Arduans), traveling for centuries in sublight ships, arrive in star systems populated by humans and other sentient beings. The Children of Illidor believe they are the only sentient (intelligent) life in the universe and consider all other life forms as nothing more than animals, regardless of their degree of technological sophistication. The prevailing belief among the Arduan castes is they are the only species that live multiple lives, making them unique and vastly superior to all others. Thus, captivity or extermination of these ‘animals’ is of no consequence.
The Arduans conquer these star systems and either enslave or remove these lesser beings at will. The sentient life forms in those systems are easily subjugated as they were unprepared for an invasion. They believed there was no viable threat to their existence and had allowed their military to atrophy. In response to the invasion, rebel groups form on the various planets, despite abundant and draconian reprisals. Badly mauled, the combined interspecies space fleets undertake a massive rebuilding to destroy or drive the Arduans from the settled star systems.
Over a period of several years a war rages between the Arduans, humans and other sentient beings. Massive space battles are fought as the more enlightened Arduan castes began to question their religious orthodoxy and seek, not only to communicate with these animals, but to understand them. In time they realize they aren’t the only intelligent life forms in the universe, but the warrior caste refuses to see this possibility and have devolved into violent and heartless factions, creating an internal crisis of leadership. Thus, not only do military battles rage, but so do Arduan and human internal conflicts that could very well lead to the demise of entire species.
This is a complicated novel in which military strategy, religious orthodoxy, social strategy, moral ambiguity and an inability to communicate are discussed and disseminated at great length. It is a compelling look at the complicated nature of intelligent species, delving deeply into both human and Arduan histories, social structures and beliefs.
This is not a light read. The story arc is weighted with death and destruction on a massive scale and, when the climatic conclusion unfolds, it becomes clear this is not an ending, but an accommodation that may yet devolve into the utter annihilation.
While there were a few typos and other grammatical errors, they were not frequent enough to compromise the depth and breadth of this monumental work.
I would not only suggest those who appreciate a great space opera, but those who are students of the human condition.
August 2, 2013
This is the 6th book in the Starfire series and the second one not written by David Weber. I found this to be a very good book with only a few negative points which makes it not quite reach a 10 out of 10 rating although that is barely. The book follows from the previous book, Exodus, fairly seamlessly. We get to follow the story from the viewpoint essentially of three different parties, the human fleet trying to push the aliens back, the humans trapped on the main occupied planet and their resistance and finally the aliens (Arduans) themselves. Each of these viewpoints are presented in quite a bit of detail and are almost small novels in their own right. As you might deduce from this the book is not one of the smaller novels around and weighs in at over 600 pages.
Speaking of detail, here the book is almost “Weberesque” in that it sometimes digs itself down in a lot of talk, talk, talk. The talking and philosophizing, especially concerning religious matters, is especially heavy when the book enters the aliens viewpoint. To me this is one of the few negative points of the book. It slows down the book and, for me, it does not really add much of value.
However, there is plenty of good value in this book that makes up for that minor negative point. The slow and painful advance of the human fleet, the planning, tactics and the fleet battles in this book is also almost “Weberesque” and this time this is a good thing. This is interleaved by the guerilla activities by the humans on the occupied planet. These parts of the book are also very good. Unfortunately there is a silly court martial in the middle of things that, to me, is the second negative thing with the book. For me that part was “get it over and done with please” pages. However, this was also a minor negative point and it was reasonably quickly over and done with.
The alien viewpoint was also quite well written and indeed interesting to read even though you, or at least I, felt that I wanted to quickly skip through the parts that dug itself down in religious philosophizing. I do not think it is much of a spoiler to say that the book ends with the humans and the aliens finally deciding to actually talk to each other before one of them are exterminated.
Peace? Well, yes…for now. The book does end with a satisfactory conclusion as far as I am concerned but, at the same time, it certainly leaves the door open for future episodes in this saga.
Bottom line: A very enjoyable book.
Speaking of detail, here the book is almost “Weberesque” in that it sometimes digs itself down in a lot of talk, talk, talk. The talking and philosophizing, especially concerning religious matters, is especially heavy when the book enters the aliens viewpoint. To me this is one of the few negative points of the book. It slows down the book and, for me, it does not really add much of value.
However, there is plenty of good value in this book that makes up for that minor negative point. The slow and painful advance of the human fleet, the planning, tactics and the fleet battles in this book is also almost “Weberesque” and this time this is a good thing. This is interleaved by the guerilla activities by the humans on the occupied planet. These parts of the book are also very good. Unfortunately there is a silly court martial in the middle of things that, to me, is the second negative thing with the book. For me that part was “get it over and done with please” pages. However, this was also a minor negative point and it was reasonably quickly over and done with.
The alien viewpoint was also quite well written and indeed interesting to read even though you, or at least I, felt that I wanted to quickly skip through the parts that dug itself down in religious philosophizing. I do not think it is much of a spoiler to say that the book ends with the humans and the aliens finally deciding to actually talk to each other before one of them are exterminated.
Peace? Well, yes…for now. The book does end with a satisfactory conclusion as far as I am concerned but, at the same time, it certainly leaves the door open for future episodes in this saga.
Bottom line: A very enjoyable book.
December 1, 2013
Wow. I didn't think that I would like this type of military SF, at first-Unlike most of the Weber and White 'Starfire' novels, both 'Exodus' & 'Extremis' deal heavily with crises of cultural, sociological, and religious/ideological origins, as well as the possible consequences these problems (& solutions) would generate. Instead, I absolutely LOVED this novel!
'Extremis' is the sequel to 'Exodus', about a race of beings (calling themselves Arduans) forcibly colonizing an already-homesteaded (is that a word?) world, and the war that ensues. This piece of the saga changes scale dramatically, with chapters detailing grand fleet-level actions across light-seconds (and the decisions of the admirals directing them) as well as individual guerrilla actions against the occupying forces. It is also a story of mutual misunderstanding, of two cultures struggling to communicate despite the VAST gulf in universal perception between the two (Arduans are essentially telepathic, and base their entire civilization upon this fact). Ultimately, the story comes to a satisfying (if a little too quick) end; it seems as though both White and Gannon are primed for a sequel series by the way 'Extremis' ends.
Personally, I love the format of this novel. Much more than its predecessor, 'Extremis' conveyed both the personal and cultural effects of war-and I really grok that. The characters actually grow, feel loss and pain, and (in the case of one character) literally change from sniveling glory-hound to self-sacrificing altruist! Don't get me wrong, though.. 'Extremis' is no 'Shiva Option' (in my opinion, the best of the 'Starfire' series). But it's a great read for a fan of the series.
'Extremis' is the sequel to 'Exodus', about a race of beings (calling themselves Arduans) forcibly colonizing an already-homesteaded (is that a word?) world, and the war that ensues. This piece of the saga changes scale dramatically, with chapters detailing grand fleet-level actions across light-seconds (and the decisions of the admirals directing them) as well as individual guerrilla actions against the occupying forces. It is also a story of mutual misunderstanding, of two cultures struggling to communicate despite the VAST gulf in universal perception between the two (Arduans are essentially telepathic, and base their entire civilization upon this fact). Ultimately, the story comes to a satisfying (if a little too quick) end; it seems as though both White and Gannon are primed for a sequel series by the way 'Extremis' ends.
Personally, I love the format of this novel. Much more than its predecessor, 'Extremis' conveyed both the personal and cultural effects of war-and I really grok that. The characters actually grow, feel loss and pain, and (in the case of one character) literally change from sniveling glory-hound to self-sacrificing altruist! Don't get me wrong, though.. 'Extremis' is no 'Shiva Option' (in my opinion, the best of the 'Starfire' series). But it's a great read for a fan of the series.
August 29, 2014
I think for now, the series, the universe, of Starfire has reached its conclusion. That White and his writing partners have lost their way is evident in that this book is 850+ pages of the second half of the story. And the first book was over 500+ pages of material.
This book though changes things up a little with the Humans adopting tactics, which has been sadly lacking in the early book. There it was getting to be repetitive and that was boring. How many times do you want to read about Acronyms fighting it out in space. That is what the game of Starfire is but the best writing in this series still is Insurrection and Crusade.
Once David Weber took himself and developed the early Honor Harrington material this began to suffer. And by trying to tell so many fronts, instead of concise vignettes that would have done the job, we have long chapters that drag things out in some cases too too much.
If the Starfire series ever does get returned to, they might take a page or two from other series that have told wars in the space of a few hundred pages. It is more than possible and would help this series tremendously.
This book though changes things up a little with the Humans adopting tactics, which has been sadly lacking in the early book. There it was getting to be repetitive and that was boring. How many times do you want to read about Acronyms fighting it out in space. That is what the game of Starfire is but the best writing in this series still is Insurrection and Crusade.
Once David Weber took himself and developed the early Honor Harrington material this began to suffer. And by trying to tell so many fronts, instead of concise vignettes that would have done the job, we have long chapters that drag things out in some cases too too much.
If the Starfire series ever does get returned to, they might take a page or two from other series that have told wars in the space of a few hundred pages. It is more than possible and would help this series tremendously.
November 30, 2011
Another library book – military SF, this time. I think I may have read one of the earlier books in this “Starfire” series; at least, the life circumstances of one of the human characters seem familiar. At any rate, the novel revolves around the conflict between alien refugees (their star went nova) and the humans who already colonized the plant they’ve arrived at. Communication between the two is hampered by the fact that the aliens have an empathic/telepathic form of communication rather than a verbal one, and interstellar war is the result. There is some good character work going on here, particularly with the aliens; the parallels between the two sides’ political situation are perhaps a little too obvious, but didn’t break it for me. And there were some really good space battles, triumph and heroism, that sort of thing. Not bad work at all.
May 13, 2011
Unvarnished military SF. Lots and lots of battles....but in between are long, long ruminations and conversations about strategy and about aliens struggling to understand humans and vice versa. Good writers would cover that without having characters sitting around talking talking for page after page. The strategy and battles are much simplified by the convenient addition of reactionless drives, so spacecraft behave much like sailing ships, and the characters are all common types. But the action is well described---though, it got a little monotonous after the first few hundred pages, and I wondered if that wouldn't have been worse had I read any of the earlier volumes in the series.
June 18, 2013
I enjoy this sci-fi series very much! This is the sixth book so far, and one of the better ones. The aliens--a xenophobic race of telepaths who do not fear death because they, literally, become reincarnated once they die--were not the normal one-dimensional bad guys that tend to haunt military sci-fi books. What I like about the Starfire books is that it is fleet battle after fleet battle after fleet battle. Capital ships pounding the shit out of each other is my total science fiction happy place, and these books are a veritable cornucopia of space navies blasting each other out of existence. I hope the authors write more!
July 14, 2013
Much like the last book were still very much missing David weber and his vivid description of the space battles.The current authours annoyingly don't even try and mostly rush over the battles quickly .
the ending alas is something else that annoyed me greatly as the human gain the upper hand and it looks like the beginning of the end for the emtionless child murdering telepaths,they declare peace.
yes i know
the ending alas is something else that annoyed me greatly as the human gain the upper hand and it looks like the beginning of the end for the emtionless child murdering telepaths,they declare peace.
yes i know
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 10, 2012
A very satisfying part of the saga in this long series. New war heroes emerge and old ones are brought back to life and the legends they had to live up to. I do enjoy the space battles and the intrigue of the various factions of 'baldies' as they work to stop the war in the rim federation of space.
July 28, 2012
A continuation of the 5 book series White started with Weber. Space battles, defending warp points, innovations, some comparative religion, and some of the same characters even. Pretty good overall although I felt the pacing was a bit slower than the previous books, probably because of the interleaved activity on the occupied planet. Rather similar to Armor by Steakley in that regard.
October 27, 2012
The story involves the reader in the main characters early on. The scope of the plot is enormous and the names of minor characters and there designations make it frustrating to remember who is who. If the measure of a book lies in Would you read a sequel, then yes it is a good book because I look forward to reading a sequel.
February 27, 2013
This series is top rate Space Opera/Military Science Fiction. The first 4 books were by David Weber and Steve White and were truly great reads. Steve White has continued the series with Shirley Meier in Exodus and now with Charles E. Gannon in Extremis. These books are just as exciting to read as the first 4. I highly recommend them both and the entire series.
February 12, 2015
I completed reading the book last night. It was a very long book and told a very good story. I did think at the end of the book was starting to drag and maybe because I just skimmed the last 10 pages that's why I thought it started to drag. I would recommend this book to others. It is a good book and reminds me of in death ground but a lot longer. Longer.
May 24, 2015
The second part of the conflict between Humans and Arduans. The book is a bit longer than needed, but has a bit of everything: Human politics, alien politics, new war technologies, space warfare, guerrilla warfare, human and family conflicts, etc. The book maintains a good pace to keep the reader interested, but I thought the ending was somewhat abrupt and poorly developed.
March 30, 2016
Ridiculous View of Spirituality.
Much of this book is devoted to an entirely spurious view of human spirituality in an apparent attempt to propagate an atheistic and disparaging view of humanity's basic tendency to seek to worship God. As such, it raucously distracts the reader from an otherwise enjoyable read.
Much of this book is devoted to an entirely spurious view of human spirituality in an apparent attempt to propagate an atheistic and disparaging view of humanity's basic tendency to seek to worship God. As such, it raucously distracts the reader from an otherwise enjoyable read.
February 10, 2013
It has what you would expect from pop military scifi: tactical space battles, political intrigue, alien cultures. But it doesn't have any interesting characters, and I never really cared to find out what would happen next. The style is very reminiscent of David Webber but not as good.
September 9, 2012
So far this book has been awful.
October 16, 2012
Sequel to Exodus. Plenty of intra- and interspecies military and political battles.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews