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Starwolves #1
The Starwolves
It is the touching story of one starwolf. A genetically engineered race designed to help the republic survive. They have been fighting for over 50000 years and have never acheived anything but a stalemate. But the time has come. The union (The starwolves long time enemies) Have realized that humanity is on the decline and that they must make their last stand. They are fighting for the survival of their species. Which race will have what it takes to survive" and "Space opera like no other. This , along with the series to follow, was written in such a distinctive style that my friends and I sometimes refer to clever science fiction as "starwolfish." It begins fifty thousand years into a hopelessly stalemated conflict. The hero is a Starwolf, a nearly-human genetically engineered warrior. These fighters were designed millennia ago to defend Earth and nearby worlds from the oppressive Union, a corrupt collection of trade monopolies. Armed with their wits and a terribly outnumbered fleet of intelligent war, the Starwolves must keep the outer worlds of human civilization from the Union's grip. They are so bound by this cause that they cannot create their own culture, art, and civilization. The hero wants to change that, and give his people a future worth all the bloodshed. Remarkably, his counterparts in the Union are not your classic 'pure evil' cliched space opera villains. They are trying to save the beleaguered human race by giving it a common enemy, uniting to destroy the Starwolves. It is a titanic struggle, and the story is told with wit and humanity. A nice break from all the 'good guy versus bad guy' space opera stories.
- GenresScience FictionFiction
Paperback
First published January 1, 1988
2 people are currently reading
82 people want to read
About the author
Thorarinn Gunnarsson
20 books17 followersFrom Wikipedia: Thorarinn Gunnarsson is the pseudonym of an American author of science fiction and fantasy.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 18, 2015
This was a moderately interesting book. Some of the ideas presented were interesting, though I do see a couple of key concepts as improbable. The characters were flavorful, but flat. Sort of like soda that had been left unsealed. The plot was fairly predictable, and held no surprises.
July 24, 2024
Charmingly incompetent.
The premise of the book promises a sweeping epic tale of war and piracy in a future too far flung to imagine, but unfortunately the author's ambition exceeded their skill. It's more than possible to see what the author wanted the reader to experience, the dramatic points that attempted to be made, but very little, if anything, actually landed successfully.
Many elements combined to ensure the downfall of the narrative, with the most important being a certain absence of stakes. The Starwolves and their technology are much too powerful, as the author was so proud to tell us at length, repeatedly, in several contexts. Their enemies stand no chance against them, except on the very rare occasion when a single Starwolf commits a minor error that nevertheless seldom lands them in danger of serious harm. The Starwolves know everything about the history of this war that matters, every weakness of their enemy, all while having none of their own. No battle in the book is particularly serious, it's just showcasing how awesome the Starwolves are against a vastly inferior foe that they nevertheless do not eliminate because the plot hasn't decided they can do that yet.
At the same time, the author studiously swerved from any and all meaningful character conflict. Velmeran, the protagonist, is completely perfect. He has every skill needed when he needs it, including some with flimsy or absent justification. At one point, someone comments about the radiance of his presence. Nor is his thinking flawed or his emotions compromised, even at the time of the book when they most should be. His positive relationships with all develop literally overnight, and his grief is just as easily done away with as any and all character conflict in the story. Even the one very minor squabble between two characters throughout the book has a predicted way it will end, and that is in fact how it does end, so it was just a waste of time. Velmeran's one supposed flaw is a lack of faith in himself, but this comes up as a descriptive flaw, never appearing in any of his actions or responses to anything. Therefore it is not a character flaw. Ignorance does not even hinder him, as he always knows just enough to avoid being a fool even in situations totally new to him. All this while we are constantly reminded that he is very young and looks almost like a child and how innocent he is (which actually starts to become a little creepy after enough repetitions). With a character so brilliant and powerful and universally beloved, a story needs major external obstacles for him to struggle against, but Velmeran overcomes all obstacles as if they are minor difficulties at worst. The book says he learns things once or twice, but this happens off screen, as does his all too rare moments of weakness, and then it's right back to business as usual, showing off his perfection and having everyone ogle him. He is as boring a soggy white bread and so is his so-called "struggle" which is really just acknowledging that he is just as cool as everyone says he is.
The next closest thing to a main character is the Methryn, a sentient warship that is ancient and knows everything. She is also super cool and super powerful and always gets her way while also always being right about everything. Every other cardboard cut out, I mean character, turns around these two and their doings.
As well meaning as the writing seems to be (in that it wants the reader to be entertained and blown away), and as glorious a sci-fi world as the author clearly envisioned in his own mind, the book falls very short of either being particularly engaging or interesting. It also tries some bits of sequel bait, but after so much nothing, it's hard to get interested in the mystery boxes.
The premise of the book promises a sweeping epic tale of war and piracy in a future too far flung to imagine, but unfortunately the author's ambition exceeded their skill. It's more than possible to see what the author wanted the reader to experience, the dramatic points that attempted to be made, but very little, if anything, actually landed successfully.
Many elements combined to ensure the downfall of the narrative, with the most important being a certain absence of stakes. The Starwolves and their technology are much too powerful, as the author was so proud to tell us at length, repeatedly, in several contexts. Their enemies stand no chance against them, except on the very rare occasion when a single Starwolf commits a minor error that nevertheless seldom lands them in danger of serious harm. The Starwolves know everything about the history of this war that matters, every weakness of their enemy, all while having none of their own. No battle in the book is particularly serious, it's just showcasing how awesome the Starwolves are against a vastly inferior foe that they nevertheless do not eliminate because the plot hasn't decided they can do that yet.
At the same time, the author studiously swerved from any and all meaningful character conflict. Velmeran, the protagonist, is completely perfect. He has every skill needed when he needs it, including some with flimsy or absent justification. At one point, someone comments about the radiance of his presence. Nor is his thinking flawed or his emotions compromised, even at the time of the book when they most should be. His positive relationships with all develop literally overnight, and his grief is just as easily done away with as any and all character conflict in the story. Even the one very minor squabble between two characters throughout the book has a predicted way it will end, and that is in fact how it does end, so it was just a waste of time. Velmeran's one supposed flaw is a lack of faith in himself, but this comes up as a descriptive flaw, never appearing in any of his actions or responses to anything. Therefore it is not a character flaw. Ignorance does not even hinder him, as he always knows just enough to avoid being a fool even in situations totally new to him. All this while we are constantly reminded that he is very young and looks almost like a child and how innocent he is (which actually starts to become a little creepy after enough repetitions). With a character so brilliant and powerful and universally beloved, a story needs major external obstacles for him to struggle against, but Velmeran overcomes all obstacles as if they are minor difficulties at worst. The book says he learns things once or twice, but this happens off screen, as does his all too rare moments of weakness, and then it's right back to business as usual, showing off his perfection and having everyone ogle him. He is as boring a soggy white bread and so is his so-called "struggle" which is really just acknowledging that he is just as cool as everyone says he is.
The next closest thing to a main character is the Methryn, a sentient warship that is ancient and knows everything. She is also super cool and super powerful and always gets her way while also always being right about everything. Every other cardboard cut out, I mean character, turns around these two and their doings.
As well meaning as the writing seems to be (in that it wants the reader to be entertained and blown away), and as glorious a sci-fi world as the author clearly envisioned in his own mind, the book falls very short of either being particularly engaging or interesting. It also tries some bits of sequel bait, but after so much nothing, it's hard to get interested in the mystery boxes.
September 23, 2025
Interesting story and i'd like to read more, but the series got off to a bad start by having 2 or 3 of the main characters all have complicated names that start with a V.
December 3, 2013
Short review: Interesting premise, generally nice characterization. Genetically-engineered space pirates on a sentient female worldship. A++ for capable female characters, and lots of them. Bogged down by golden boy main character and the author's seeming dislike of actually challenging him.
More thoughts:
Having started with Battle of the Ring (2nd book in this series) waaaaay back when I was a young'un, I thought that this book fell a bit flat in the character and plot department, for some reason. Possibly part of it was the evolution of the main character, Velmeran, into the budding commander and space opera hero that he already is in the second book. Plainly put, it happens too easily. Seemingly everyone in the book starts out with the belief that Velmeran is a born leader, something incredibly special. (Mild spoilers of the general sort->) There is no tension. No real challenge. In a way this is reassuring, as this is more an old-school book that doesn't feel the need to rip out your heart and stomp on it, but it does make me wish that Velmeran had had a few more stumbling blocks thrown in his way on-screen. Perhaps then there would be more SHOWING of how he's awesome rather than TELLING.
Overall, I liked it, wouldn't mind reading it again if I had nothing else, but it wasn't a fave.
More thoughts:
Having started with Battle of the Ring (2nd book in this series) waaaaay back when I was a young'un, I thought that this book fell a bit flat in the character and plot department, for some reason. Possibly part of it was the evolution of the main character, Velmeran, into the budding commander and space opera hero that he already is in the second book. Plainly put, it happens too easily. Seemingly everyone in the book starts out with the belief that Velmeran is a born leader, something incredibly special. (Mild spoilers of the general sort->) There is no tension. No real challenge. In a way this is reassuring, as this is more an old-school book that doesn't feel the need to rip out your heart and stomp on it, but it does make me wish that Velmeran had had a few more stumbling blocks thrown in his way on-screen. Perhaps then there would be more SHOWING of how he's awesome rather than TELLING.
Overall, I liked it, wouldn't mind reading it again if I had nothing else, but it wasn't a fave.
January 18, 2017
loved it, older title hard to find, whole series is good
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews