Star Commandos

Star Commandos #1

by P.M. Griffin

Commando-Colonel Islaen Connor is working undercover to investigate an illegal colony on the planet Vishnu. Warned by her foremost opponent in the recent galactic War, War Prince and former Arcturian admiral Varn Tarl Sogan, the pair escape ambush and flee into the unexplored wild country beyond the young settlement. There, as they struggle to survive in a harsh, perilous land, they discover the living terror against which all Vishnu’s other life forms have been forced to adapt. Their presence unknown by interstellar authorities and, therefore, unsupported, the innocent colonists face certain and gruesome annihilation unless Connor and Sogan can raise the alarm in time and then conquer in the desperate battle they must wage to hold back and defeat a foe that they know to be of nearly elemental power in its hunger-driven determination and inconceivable numbers.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction

244 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 1986

About the author

Longer name: Pauline M. Griffin

Reviews

[CatBookMom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ubboy! So I have a 1st ed paperback, printed in 1986. Blonde with Farrah hair and $6-Million Man-style sidekick on the cover (yep, that cover). IDK if this was the first book Ms Griffin published, but she's definitely gotten better, more polished, less fancy prose. E.g.:

"...she identified intensely with the aspirations of this other people... She wanted to the core of her being to help them, yet she could not merely lift from here and forget what she had learned. ...Sudden fire, deadly as a blaster's bolt, flashed in her eyes. Men, so-called humans, had done this to them! She would have those subbiotics for it!..."

Having eye-rolled about a few passages like this, I have to say that this is a pretty good adventure, all told. Our Heroine is Space Commando-Colonel Islaen Connor, who is on Visnu with a team to find out about the illegal settlement of farmers on an uncleared planet. The farmers have been scammed into investing all their money and assets in a brand-new settlement, but the proper investigations of the possibly-dangerous flora, fauna, and climate have not been done. The scammers are about to pull out and leave, stranding the settlers, since 'officially' there's no settlement here, and the authorities won't know to check.

So before they leave or deal police-wise with the scammers, Our Colonel and her team are going to check out the planet. In the doing of which they find out that there's just about to be a Periodic Plague of Unbelievably Hungry Insects, which will eat pretty much any flora, fauna, or farmers in its path. So the team will have to rescue all the colonists before the scammers and any other spaceships-in-port, on which they can evacuate the people, leave the planet. Excitement ensues in a few different ways.

Good story. I've read a couple of the sequels and some of the standalone adventures in this Alter-Verse, and the books do get better. And did I mention that Our Colonel has also discovered the former War Leader of the Space Empire that was on the other side of a decades-long war with Our Space Empire is not only not dead, he's a hunk, and she wants to keep him? Stay tuned, kiddies....

[Adena Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

The blurb sounds like just another sci-fi adventure, but the magic starts once I start reading. The characters are vivid and distinct. The author's formal, almost archaic language patterns for Varnt are perfect for his character and make him even more distinct. The enemy-to-ally interaction of the characters give the action, which is quite thrilling enough to have me perch on the edge of my seat, a depth and drama that made the book resonate. I definitely recommend this to fans of Honor Harrington or Kylara Vatta.

[Rodney · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first book in a military sci-fi series Star Commandos written by P. M. Griffin. It is a little light on the action with most of the book involving a long hike cross country involving a swamp and critters. The end of the book involves a sci-fi version of the story Lenningen vs the Ants. The story also involves a romance between the lead commando, a female, and a prior enemy of hers from the war. It was an interesting read but not good enough to keep to read again some day.

[L.S. King · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book hails back to the style of the old SF novels I grew up with and loved. I can't wait to get the rest of this series!

[Artemis · Rating 3 out of 5]

good story just not my cuppa tea

This had a good plot and storyline it just isn’t my cuppa tea. The best Siri sounds interesting though. One

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good first book to a series and I look forward to reading subsequent books. I enjoyed the characters and the story provided enough of a backdrop for a continuation. I would have enjoyed just a bit more action and a little less roaming around in the jungle. However, it was a good setting for the dialogue and getting to know a bit about the characters. The constant politeness and apologizing between each of the characters also seemed off. I can't imagine hardened military characters in stressful situations using such flowery language. Overall, a good start to a series but I'm hoping it gets a little more gritty to suit the harshness of some of the situations they are thrown into.

[Dantegideon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bit purple prose, but not bad.