Ship's Boy

The David Birkenhead Series #1

by Phil Geusz

Once upon a time there was a boy named David, who slew a terrible foe…

David Birkenhead might have been only twelve years old, but his entire life was already laid out for him. First his father was supposed to teach him how to run a starship's engine room. Then, when the time came, he'd take over the job himself. This was the way of things for slavebunnies like David; luxuries like career-choices were reserved for humans only. Not that David was complaining-- compared to the farmbunnies or domestic-servant rabbits, he had it made. There was even a pretty doe waiting for him in the wings.

Then the ships of the Boyen Emperor arrived on David's homeworld and nothing could ever be the same again. Great Houses of Nobility would contest for power, kingdoms would teeter on the edge of oblivion…

…and out of the resulting vortex young David would bring peace and justice to a thousand worlds.

Genres: Science Fiction, Space Opera, Military Fiction, Military Science Fiction, Fiction, Amazon, Young Adult

80 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 4, 2012

Reviews

[Dan Braun · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first of 7 books in the series. David is a gene engineered RABBIT, who turns the galaxy upside down as he works his way from Ship's Boy to Admiral. I loved it
I walk on a treadmill and read from my Kindle to take my mind off it. I occasionally get so absorbed in what I am reading that I will walk for an extra 10-15 minutes before I realize it. That happened several times during this series.
Perhaps, the fact that it was grammatically correct and without spelling errors, helped with this too. Unlike so many of the ebooks in this genre,(I don't know about others) I don't feel like the author had English as a second language.

[Teresa Carrigan · Rating 3 out of 5]

First book in an excellent science fiction series. I haven't finished the series yet, but I'm on #3 and enjoying it very much. The books appear to be written as juveniles although with #3 there's one part at least that should be YA. They are shorter than most adult novels, but the first ebook is free and the second is only 99 cents.

Main character starts out in the first book as about 12 yo and a slave "bunny". That is, he is one of a gene-engineered race of some kind of hybrid between humans and rabbits. He is an apprentice ship's engineer, and extremely intelligent. I don't want to include spoilers, but he does more than one truly heroic act.

The book can be enjoyed as rollicking space opera, but there are multiple social issues addressed: slavery of course, but also the practice of awarding high positions to those with hereditary social rank even when they are incompetent, bullying, prejudice, honor, heroism, etc.

Highly recommended.

[Charles Reynolds · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fabulous character, fun story, abrupt ending.

This entire series is some of the best young-adult fiction I've read in decades. The stories and characters are on-par with Mr. Hornblower, Mr. Aubrey and Dr. Maturin.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting read. I am not sure I can cover it without reading more of the books. There are huge ethical and moral situations that scream to be addressed. That may be the whole point though. The story itself is interesting enough so far.

[Jurgen · Rating 5 out of 5]

BRILLIANT!

Hornblower/Watership Down/Military Sci-Fi!

Just amazing to read and touching to watch young David's story unfold.

I'm already onto the 3rd today!

[Jdjade · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read, very gd military theme, entertaining and sad too. love all 7 volume. thanks

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The action scenes in this space opera novella are well-written, and I liked the world building in terms of the warring factions. But I might have cared more about the hero if he hadn’t been a rabbit. I found it hard to accept an intelligent species of animals as characters in this type of story. The author even referred to a guard as a dog. I’m thinking he meant this literally. I understand the metaphor here, but discrimination could easily have been shown with a lower caste of humans, a humanoid-type alien, or an indigenous species. The need to create a race of slavebunnies seemed totally unnecessary. It’s unfortunate, because I might have liked this series otherwise. But I am not tempted to read the sequel. Also, I didn’t appreciate the short length and cliffhanger ending. Probably books one and two could have been combined into one full-length novel. This makes me feel manipulated into buying the next story, which would be okay if this one hadn’t ended so abruptly and if the characters were believable.

[Mage · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is absolutely brilliant in both idea and execution. While at first glance one might dismiss it as a ‘furry’ story, this is a mistake those people will regret.

I’ve read through the entire series multiple times, and it’s just as enjoyable each time. There is no part I can ever skip because it keeps me fully immersed and invested with every word.

I highly recommend this book to anyone, of any age. Even if a rolling space opera isn’t your thing, there is quite a lot in here to enjoy. Social status, slavery, death, loss, hatred, war, prejudice, fear, ect... The List goes on.

The books are fairly short in length, but because they lack the padding of other books, which I find to be a good thing. Pick it up, and give it a shot. You won’t be disappointed.

[Indigo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty short book, and I wish it could've been longer. I really enjoyed reading it. There were some sci-fi terms which weren't well explained. I could understand what everything was for the most part, but I think somebody who hasn't read books with similar terms might find it disorienting. Another confusing thing is how quickly it switches between Captain Blaine's first and last name. I was really confused because I thought they were different people at first; it would be easier to understand if they just referred to him by the same thing every time. I think it could've elaborated more on the social expectations and treatment of rabbits. We never really see how rabbits are treated in a casual, everyday setting because they aren't in a normal situation. I think the characters are also lacking because we really don't have enough time to get to know them. Despite that, I still really enjoyed this book and will continue reading the series.

[Topher · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll stand by the 3 stars that I gave this immediately after finishing it up on the kindle, and I even went and grabbed the next book before going to sleep. But, after sleeping on it I decided I just can't continue with this series. They writing is good, the plot is good - for me, it's the damn rabbits. I just can't handle that concept, or the people being mean to them. So, I won't be continuing the series.

[Allan Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

uplifting our animals

Going to space with uplifting animals what a great thought still shows how we the human race can be in need of a boot in the but to get it right.

[M Parker · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good read

A very good read the story is very strong and it's subject matter is quite refreshing rabbits the story is well written and A good look into James

[Debrac2014 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed it though I found it hard to accept the discrimination against David.

[Per Gunnar · Rating 3 out of 5]

I do have quite some difficulty rating this book. For starters it's really short. At only 80 pages I almost hesitate calling it a book. Also it's quite weird. Not the story itself . It's a good story, although clearly intended for the younger audiences, but what makes it so weird is that the main character is a genetically altered rabbit! That's really a weird choice and one that doesn't really sit too well with me. Some alien or even a genetically modified monkey would have been fine but a rabbit. That's just too weird and illogical.

If you can get over the choice of species for the main character it is a good classical story of a young kid who, due to unforeseen events, blasts off into the galaxy on a journey of adventure. His benefactor and protector ending up being nothing less than the royalty of the kingdom in which he lives.

To add to the weirdness of being a genetically modified rabbit he is, or rather was, also a slave as most of these rabbits apparently are. This, of course, gives the author an excellent opportunity to add some obstacles based on prejudice for our young hero as well as the opportunity to weave in some moral finger pointing into the story. In the short book that I've read and the first few pages of the next one the author manages to do this rather well without it becoming too intrusive.

The science in the book is more on the fictional side than on the science one but given the rabbit stuff that's rather expected I would say. It's still fairly okay and the book does not go too much into details about how things work which is probably a wise move in this case.

If it wouldn't have been for this rabbit business I would have rated this book higher but I have a hard time getting over that bit when reading it. Otherwise it is a good story, although clearly intended for the younger audience as I mentioned above, and I quite wanted to see where the story went so I have already started to read the next one in the series. It's not exactly a big commitment since, as I said, they are quite short. Even though the next one is twice as long it's still not more than 179 pages.

[Noodle The Naughty Night Owl · Rating 5 out of 5]

9/10: Fantastic, left me wanting more.

“A Rabbit as a ship’s engineer? David, you simply must be reasonable about certain things!”

Oh my, this series caught me by surprise. I was looking for a day-in-the-life, rags-to-riches, everyday-good-guy, climbing-the-ladder, feel-good space opera and boy did I find one. I just wasn't prepared for the protagonist to be a Rabbit.

Yep, you heard right. And that's Rabbit with a capital R, thank you. David Birkenhead is a genetically engineered rabbit with leadership qualities, higher IQ, and a heck of a lot of gumption for a rabbit in a world where rabbits are slaves to humans.

So not what I was expecting, but it certainly delivered. I enjoyed this series so much, that I didn't even stop between books long enough to write reviews. In essence, this review is for the entire series (although I will go through and star rate the others because they deserve them).

I got my day-in-the-life, rags-to-riches, everyday-good-guy, climbing-the-ladder in a Rabbit who fell into ship life when everything around him turned to custard. From ship's mate up through the ranks, David went from one tier in the space navy to the next, with a lot of action, adventure and feel-good space opera along the way.

I really, truly enjoyed it. A bit of escapism, and a very nice break from the hardcore mil sci-fi I've read lately. This series was fun and rewarding, with a message disguised in the most adorable way.

Who doesn't love rabbits?

Farmers, I guess, and the Emperor (Bad Dude) and his crazy-ass people.

This one was a happy surprise winner. So much fun!

[D.w. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Arrr....

Suspend my disbelief...

Right, there will be space travel one day. We have it now of course, but travel between the stars will happen, even if it is only generational ships.

But very large, Alice in Wonderland Mad Hatter size bunnies, cognizant and able to act as a ship's Engineer?

No...

This is not a great tale. First because of the bunnie issue, which is a euphemism for race relations around the era of WWII in the US Navy. Blacks could only be stewards in the mess, and peel potatoes. They were not to be anywhere else.

Then we have the issue of death and how a son reacts to their father's demise. The hero of this story really does not react at all. He is on the hop, as it were all the time and so does not think of that, yet has a great deal of character development time to think of everything else, such as the issue of society and class.

And just to grease the wheels, the little bunny that could, saves the next King so he can become the richest bunny their ever was, and get all he wants as well. I said this was a fantasy, I mean Science Fiction... Amazon's recommendation system kept throwing this at me, since I buy and read many Sci-Fi's.

If the author had thought a little more about what he presented, for instance an older protagonist who would have enough knowledge to survive, instead of presenting one who had barely any training, as well as one who had the emotions of loss, it might be a compelling tale. As it is, I can't suspend my disbelief to read any more in the series.

[Tristan MacAvery · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good solid bit of space-opera, well worth reading. I have two quibbles. First, the book could have used a bit of editorial polish; there are some grammatical and punctuation errors, and a homophone or two (hanger/hangar, for instance).

Second, our narrator is an anthropomorphic creature, a human/rabbit hybrid, and I feel this fact isn't used to its fullest potential. The primary reason for this created being to exist is as part of a race of genetically-created slaves; at this point in this multi-book series (seven, I think?), little is made of the rabbit's experience outside of this fact. On a very few occasions, the narrator speaks of special concerns regarding his fur, or perhaps his ears, or even his powerful hind legs (good for pushing off of a ship's hull in zero-gee, to navigate to another ship nearby); apart from this, there's as yet no reason for this hybrid being to exist. Humans have been known to enslave other humans, in a pinch.

I must admit to a particular prejudice here, since I am an author of a great many "furry" stories, and the point is an important one to me. However, please note that I'm still awarding four of five stars for a good, well-told story. I suspect I'll be reading the rest of the series, so I'll get to see young David Birkenead develop into quite the lapine formidable.

[Jasmine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to say, this first book is not the best written of the series, but it caught hold of me hard enough to make me purchase the next book in the series. The story reminds me in many ways of a combination of Nathan Lowell's Age of the Golden Clipper stories and David Weber's Honor Harrington books, somehow.

David Birkenhead is a plucky sort of hero, young and still learning, and I found myself quickly rooting for him despite the almost impossible odds he faces.

I had several issues with the book, of course, and a few with the series--mostly such questions of world building, some of which are answered down the road and some of which I think the author should have been prompted to expound upon. In fact, I would have loved to have gotten my hands on this before it was published, just because these questions take hold of me; it's not in a bad way, though, for it drove me to read more, explore more, and enjoy the series as a whole.

I would recommend this book with some reservations to almost all sci-fi fans, with the caveat of remember this is a new writer (at least, I think so). But truly, I really, really liked this book, and I enjoyed it very much, for whatever that is worth.

[Erin Penn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 1 of the David Birkenhead series, The Ship's Boy, was free on Amazon. Without that offer I would not have found this gem of a book and series. I have gone on to buy the balance of the series and am losing my sleep this week reading through them.

Okay, I admit initially the fact the main character was a bunny put me off. Don't let it!! If you like good solid worldbuilding, where the consequences of slavery and living in a slave society have true-to-life impact, then this books is for you. The first "Master" of the book came across as very Thomas Jefferson to me. The first book is good - the rest just get better.

Because of book 3 "Lieutenant", I cannot call this a juvenile series. Though many juvenile series have similar situations.

Overall, I find the flavor and pacing of the series similar to Kris Longknife (by Mike Shepherd).

[Dan Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an odd little space opera about an anthropomorphized rabbit named David Birkenhead. That's right, he's a rabbit walking around in clothes an interacting with humans. (If any of you remember the comic strip Hepcats from the 80's, it's a bit like that.) Now, it's not as odd as that makes it sound. He's a member of a genetically engineered slave race, designed to be dumb, compliant labor for the ruling humans.

And he gets dragged onto a nobleman's starship as it is fleeing an invasion, and along the way he manages to prove himself capable, and as the crisis escalates further, he even gets to step up to the plate and be a hero.

I suppose my only complaint was that it was a little short...

... so I went ahead and grabbed the next one in the series.

[Wolfgarr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished this series. Could not put it down. Is one of the best i have read in a long time. I honestly have looked at this series for more then a couple years and decided not to read it due to one reason or the other.

The other day though i decided to give it a shot, BOY OH BOY am i glad i did. While there are a few things that i could nit pick about (like how this series of books could all be lumped into 3 maybe 4, or how the author gloss's over large portions of the main characters life and those missing chapters could have made this series much larger) I have to say i am greatly impressed.

I highly recommend this series, It was a pleasure to read. Left me wanting to read more.

[Ilya Kochetov · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could only repeat the other reviews. Amazing book, best one I read in a while, seven strong books which actually present a complete work, not another attempt to milk a character for what it's worth.
This book is not much in terms of sci-fi, or even military fiction, as it's largely focused on the characters and their relationship and not on the technical details of wars in space or planetary combat.
The story is very interesting and fresh, the dialogs are much better than average and the book actually have value beyond mere entertainment.
All in all I heartly recommend it and wish the author best luck in all future endeavors.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this book up as a free Kindle book that Amazon recommended to me. Turns out that it was a pretty good read! It tells the tale of a slave-bunny who joins his father, the engineer, on an emergency trip aboard a spaceship and all the things which occur during the trip. Apparently there are 7(?) books in the series, so since I did enjoy David's journey, i have plenty more ahead of me to read! I was a little uncomfortable with the idea of the slave-bunnies and how they were being treated - it really felt similar to the racism/slave problems in the early 1800's America.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/13230918

I've always loved Phil Geusz. I was lucky enough to be on the same mailing list for writers as the Rabbit for over a decade.

This is the introduction to the Birkenhead Universe and David's just 12 in this, so I'll skip the usual plea for me sex. Geusz is a very clean writer and I will corrupt him one day. His stumbles are rare. I cannot wait to tour the rest of the universe/series.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was really enjoyable. A review I read said that David is a genetically altered bunny, but I must have skipped over the genetically altered part some how. I did know he was a bunny/rabbit. The reason for have altered bunnies as slaves isn't explained in this book, but hopefully it will be. I would describe this as a cross between Watership Down and an epic space opera book. I will be buying the next book in this series.

[J.R. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad opening, but I felt the book itself was rather short. I would've liked to see a lot more about the young Rabbit, David. I really liked the concept of humanoid rabbits, and the set-up for what would hopefully turn out to be an interesting story following this freed slave-bunny as he makes his way through life.

[Bruno · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is a light read, about an anthropomorphic bunny in a space ship, with a tendency to nag me in the way the main character relates and sees his "milord".
The book is quite short, and while the small arc ends, I didn't find it meaty enough.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good book, I was a bit put off that the main character was a rabbit, but the author fits that in with the whole universe he builds quite well. I am currently reading the next book in the series, and will probably read all of them.

[Lena · Rating 3 out of 5]

I should have looked closer. I thought this was standard space opera, and was slightly boggled to discover the main character was a 'slave-bunny'. Not a porn-type slave-bunny, though, which was a relief.

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun start to an interesting series. DC comics has introduced a character to their new space opera series Threshold and this character reminds me of that. Rabbits in space why not. Fun series for YA readers.