Starship: Rebel

Starship #4

by Mike Resnick

The date is 1968 of the Galactic Era, almost three thousand years from now. The Republic, dominated by the human race, is in the midst of an all-out war with the Teroni Federation. Almost a year has passed since the events of Mercenary. Captain Wilson Cole now commands a fleet of almost fifty ships, and he has become the single greatest military force on the Inner Frontier. With one exception. The Republic still comes and goes as it pleases, taking what it wants, conscripting men, and extorting taxes, even though the Frontier worlds receive nothing in exchange. And, of course, the government still wants Wilson Cole and the starship Theodore Roosevelt. He has no interest in confronting such an overwhelming force, and constantly steers clear of them. Then an incident occurs that changes everything, and Cole declares war on the Republic. Outnumbered and always outgunned, his fleet is no match for the Republic's millions of military vessels, even after he forges alliances with the warlords he previously hunted down. It's a hopeless cause...but that's just what Wilson Cole and the Teddy R. are best at.Mike Resnick has won an impressive five Hugos and been nominated for twenty-six more. He has sold fifty-four novels and more than two hundred short stories. He has edited fifty anthologies. His work ranges from satirical fair, such as his Lucifer Jones adventures, to weighty examinations of morality and culture, as evidenced by his brilliant tales of Kirinyaga. The series, with 67 major and minor awards and nominations to date, is the most honored series of stories in the history of science fiction.

Genres: Science Fiction, Space Opera, Fiction, Military Science Fiction, War, Military Fiction, Audiobook

328 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 8, 2008

About the author

Michael "Mike" Diamond Resnick, better known by his published name Mike Resnick, was a popular and prolific American science fiction author. He is, according to Locus, the all-time leading award winner, living or dead, for short science fiction. He was the winner of five Hugos, a Nebula, and other major awards in the United States, France, Spain, Japan, Croatia and Poland. and has been short-listed for major awards in England, Italy and Australia. He was the author of 68 novels, over 250 stories, and 2 screenplays, and was the editor of 41 anthologies. His work has been translated into 25 languages. He was the Guest of Honor at the 2012 Worldcon and can be found online as @ResnickMike on Twitter or at www.mikeresnick.com.

Reviews

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I am a big fan of Mike Resnick and have enjoyed the first four installments of the Starship series. This installment gets 3.5 stars in part because it suffers in comparison to Starship: Pirate and Starship: Mercenary which I liked a bit more than this entry. That said, this is still among the best military SF series that I have read with a terrific main character.

I would also point out that I listened to the audiobook of this story done by Jonathan Davies (who has done all of the books in this series) and he does a great job as narrator.

[Efka · Rating 3 out of 5]

I guess now everyone expects me to write a review here? I have a better idea - let's play a game! Here's links to my reviews of three previous installments of the "Starship" series: Mutiny, Pirate, Mercenary. The deal is quite simple: take one random sentence out of every review and put them together. And you know what? I have a sensation, that these "reviews" will still make perfect sense as valid "Rebel" reviews. Let's give it a try? ;)

And don't forget to post the result as a comment! :D

[Sandi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Starship: Rebel was an okay book, certainly not great. Maybe if I hadn't seen so many episodes of Star Trek and hadn't been reading science fiction for 40 years, I might have enjoyed it more. However, the SF tropes seemed tired and worn out here. The characters are one-dimensional and the plot is very predictable. Most of them survive where no human should survive.

Now, onto my review of the audio production. I loved Jonathan Davis' narration of The Windup Girl. He's got a voice that reminds me of William Shatner's documentary narrations from the Sixties and Seventies. Say what you will about Shatner's acting, he had the perfect narrator voice. With Starship: Rebel, Davis faced a pretty large problem that didn't get handled well. Resnick used an awful lot of dialogue indicators in this book. Davis does a great job of giving each character his or her own voice, then has to use his regular voice to say "he said" or "she replied". On top of that, Resnick feels the need to add the dreaded adverbs to his he-saids. I may have been able to overlook it in text, but it was just distracting.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

VOTO ALL'INTERO CICLO: 3,4
Il ciclo Starship di Mike Resnick è una space-opera militare che fa il verso ad opere certamente più autorevoli e qualitativamente migliori: non è affatto eccelsa, ma dalla sua ha una lettura estremamente semplice ( forse fin troppo!) e il "dono" della sintesi.
Insomma, è un qualcosa da leggere nel pieno della rilassatezza, senza pretendere troppo.
I 3 libri centrali senza sono senza dubbio i più divertenti, mentre il primo volume è fin troppo arronzato, per i miei gusti, mentre il capitolo conclusivo ha un epilogo da top-paraculata.
Insomma, consigliato a chi ama la space- opera militare e non ha niente di meglio da leggere sottomano.

[Perry Reed · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm going to write one review for this entire series...

The Starship series premise had me interested. Set well into the future when mankind is at war with the Teroni Federation, one naval officer finds reason to mutiny (hence, the first book, "Starship: Mutiny". Over time he becomes a pirate (book two: "Starship: Pirate"), a mercenary (book three: "Starship: Mercenary"), then rebels formally against the human government (book four: "Starship: Rebel") and finally takes on the humans directly (book five: "Starship: Flagship").

Sadly, the execution was nowhere near as good as the premise. The conceits are many: most of the books are made up almost entirely of the main character explaining (lecturing, really) to all of the rest of the characters why is doing, or did, whatever it is he's doing, or has done. None of the character possess remotely enough intelligence to compete with the blowhard main character who was so over-the-top arrogant and annoying I kept hoping he'd get killed off. Often, the characters are repeating almost word-for-word things they've said previously or in the prior books (particularly about the fighting prowess of one character). Then, there's the references to humans as "Man" (complete with the capital-M). I thought that kind of sexism was over when Star Trek switched from "where no man has gone before" to "no one".

The final struggle against the human government suffers from an unbelievable, and stupid, deus ex machina, required for the main characters to triumph, but not without first some more lecturing to the other characters, always too dumb to understand his big plans. The bad guys are no better, always doing EXACTLY what the main character predicts they will.

Don't waste your time with this series.

[D.w. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I bought and devoured the first 3 books in the series when they were initially released. Then I stopped since they only came in hardback. Now, picking up the fourth, I look at this Space Opera like tale and see far too many holes as the space travel makes little of Light Years, Parsecs, the ability to navigate. The heroes seem to be able to get around in hours, while the enemy, the Republic with 3 Million ships, and of course 3 million officers who can navigate, can't get around anywhere near as quickly. They need a week to figure out vectors and courses where our heroes can decide in a minute how to get someplace.

Then what really sinks this story is the banter. The main protagonist banters all the time, with all the other characters. So much that half the book is meaningless words that do not advance story, theme or plot. Resnick has a lot of awards. Not for this series though, and one can see why in the writing. If Book 5, the final book, is available for a penny, I may get it. Based on book 4, it is not a read that it is at all engaging.

[Jeff Yoak · Rating 5 out of 5]

William Cole finally decides to take on the Navy that trained him, attempting to end their abuses on the Inner Frontier. This novel is the story of his arc from respectable, gritty rogue to admirable hero. I love this book beginning to end. My favorite of the series to date.

On the re-read in 2013, I don't think I liked it as well as books 2 and 3 as it strains credulity a bit, but still, the inspirational ending wins me over completely. This is just a great series and I'm glad I reread it.

2015: The kids continue to enjoy this series to the point where we're reading it much faster than we do most books.

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

#4 in the Starship series. It's 1969 Galactic Era and this exciting, sometimes humorous, series has been set into author Resnick's Birthright Universe. His novels and stories span an 18,000 stretch of future history. I haven't ventured into the rest of the Universe but the 5 year span of this series makes for good exciting military science fiction.

Starship series - Almost a year has passed since the events of Starship: Mercenary. Captain Wilson Cole now commands a fleet of almost fifty ships, and he has become the single greatest military force on the Inner Frontier. With one exception. The Republic still comes and goes as it pleases, taking what it wants, conscripting men, and extorting taxes, even though the Frontier worlds receive nothing in exchange. And, of course, the government still wants Wilson Cole and the starship Theodore Roosevelt. He has no interest in confronting such an overwhelming force, and constantly steers clear of them. Then an incident occurs that changes everything, and Cole declares war on the Republic. Outnumbered and always outgunned, his fleet is no match for the Republic's millions of military vessels, even after he forges alliances with the warlords he previously hunted down. It's a hopeless cause...but that's just what Wilson Cole and the Teddy R. are best at.

[Tim Deforest · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fourth book in Resnick's Starship series skips ahead a year or so from the end of the previous book. Wilson Cole--former Navy officer who mutinied after refusing to kill innocent people--now commands a mercenary force of about 50 ships.

The Republic Navy--Cole's former comrades--begin making incursions into the Frontier, pressing people into service and simply taking any materials they want. When the Navy destroys a planet inhabited by several million people, Cole realizes that the Republic he once loyally served has become a tyranny.

So he takes action, though this is dangerous. He has 50 ships, the Repubic has millions of ships. At first, he uses hit and run tactics. His fleet expands and he makes alliances with would-be rebels within Republic space. Cole doesn't think a full-scale rebellion is feasable, but he might not have a choice.


The book ends with a massive space battle. Resnick populates this series with great characters and great dialogue, keeping the story crackling along at breakneck speed.

[Ryan Abe. · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Starship series feels more and more like a popcorn space adventure. Though not quite as operatic nor fully developed as some; yet still thoroughly enjoyable. All too often it feels like my mind is eating a PP&J sammich as opposed to a well prepared medium rare Top Sirloin. Which all in all isn't necessarily a bad thing; if a fast paced, easy to read quickie is what you want with little to no actual substance. Hell, the page count is only 230+ pages and Resnick's writing is so easy to read you'll be finished by day's end. And you wont be disappointed.

Resnick comes straight out of left field with the 4th installment of Starhip: Rebel and into an all out rebellion against the republic. Be warned, in the opening 70 pages of this things go dark very fast and change the entire outlook of the series. It is riveting at times when its not jarring from the emotional turmoil and transitions from scene to scene. Rebel entertained me when it didn't make me scratch my head at Cole's logic, which at first i thought was kind of endearing but now like a long-term relationship; i find it to be damned annoying.

If i do have some complaints...its that the character's dialogue which in the earlier books was witty, funny, and defining has now gone a wee bit stale and derivative of it self. All too often you find phrases like "give me such and such number of her and i can take over the galaxy" "no wonder the republic hates you, you make too much sense" "a captain never leaves the ship in enemy territory"...all of these crop up several times in each book. At first i thought it was a funny running joke, i stopped laughing when it was main characters who were the repeaters to other main characters who virtually hear it all the time.

Another complaint is the writing of the author himself. I don't really know what to make of his writing style, how he chooses to paint his universe is his own thing but its the way brushes he uses that baffle me. Its only in the last 2 books, Mercenary and Rebel that i realized he starts to use fore shadowing techniques like "little did he know" and concluded that it just doesn't work. The to and voice of the books just do not lend themselves to be spoken in little did he knows. Te first machinations of this appear pretty early on in the series which is fine, but specifically with Rebel they make up a good half of chapter ends. All worded differently of course but at the end of the day all it amounts to is "little did he know"...which instantly pulled me out of whatever chapter cliffhanger/climax of each scene amounted too. Frustrating.

The last and biggest complaint i have with Rebel is the logic of Herr Wilson Cole. He has a crew of 30+ aboard the Theodore Roosevelt. All ex military and exceptional at their jobs. Given the universe the author creates its understandable that there are three shifts when the Teddy R is out of port. The captain, 1st and 2nd officers with various crew members assigned to specific functions on the bridge for the duration of each shift. Some crew members are inherently going to be better at their jobs the others. When each shift ends, the relieved crew members either go the mess hall for eats, or straight to their bunk for a well deserved rest. The Teddy R is alive at all hours of the day, being that in space their is no night and day and you could be attacked at any given moment. Now keep in mind, each member of the crew are now wanted criminals by the Republic. They turned their backs on their families, loved ones and homes of their own accord; for the sake and rescue of one Mutineer Wilson Cole out of some misplaced yet admirable loyalty. They can never go home again.

With all of this in mind, Captain Cole in this infinite wisdom has designated certain individuals who handle his bridge and gunnery stations as the "A Team". Whenever they fall under fire, or need codes broken, doors knocked down, boarding parties formed, or even simple enough communication trasmissions sent; he calls upon them. At anytime of day. If they are off duty, sleeping or eating he calls them up and boots out the person who is currently manning that station. He says things like "no offence but so and so is the best I've got, now git!" It frustrating. what the hell is the point of 3 rotating shifts if you are just going to be using the same people at all times? His reasoning being that they are the best at what they do and he needs the best. Now, if i was one of the crewmen who sacrificed my entire LIFE that i'll never get back to save said captain...i might just be a bit cross when he refuses to use any of my talents when ever the occasion arises that i may implement them: by so doing feel useful. Which to someone who has literally lost it all, means everything.

And its not JUST about the feelings, its also flawed logic. If he wants the best, he just wakes up and retrieves the best. But, BUT.....should he fall under attack for days on end he would need to let some of his crew rest and let other take their place so that they can recharge their batteries. Then he'll probably feel like he's in a pickle considering he's never used them in a fight before. He's never given them any share of the the experience that he retains for his favored few. So they cannot be the best, or have any hope of being the best because quite simply he is not giving them the chance to better themselves and be the best. All he is doing is letting some of his crewmen atrophy into useless slogs who just keep a seat warm until he tells them to beat it for someone better than them.

Ugh, i really really hate reading lines like, "get me christina, shes the best" "send Bull down to gunnery, hes the best" "send val down to bust heads, shes the best".....just lazy lazy lazy writing.

Here's to hoping the last installment of the series addresses and redeems these blunders. (not bloody likely)

Cheers.

[Jim Mcclanahan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book four of this rollicking space opera finds our anti-hero, Captain Cole, actively in armed conflict with the Republic which has not only treated him shamefully, but also committed foul acts against other worlds and entities. Another mamber of his crew is a former opponent from before his mutiny, a fleet commander of an alien race who has also tired of war and atrocities. I should note that the "science" of the story is represented by the "hand-waveium" branch of physics, not to be overthought. Also, if not obvious before, the ongong nature of the adventure is totally character-driven and most of the fun involved comes from that.

[RJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Returning to this series after a long hiatus, I enjoyed picking up with the war between the crew of the Theodore Roosevelt warship and the Republic. The loss of one of Winston Cole’s best friends initiated the warning to the Republic to stay out of the Inner Frontier. As the tale continues, the magnitude of the demand to the Republic advances to all-out war. Even with Cole’s increased number of ships in his fleet, they are overwhelmingly outnumbered a thousand to one. Evidently, these are the types of odds that get Cole’s blood surging. The next volume should contain quite the battle; win or lose.

[Luca Cresta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Notevole questo quarto episodio dell'astronave ribelle Teddy Roosvelt e del suo equipaggio.
Molta azione, razze aliene a gogò ed un'ironia sottile che non guasta mai.
Insomma un grande romanzo di quella fantascienza di cui per lungo tempo si è sentita la mancanza e di cui non venogno mai pubblicati abbastanza testi.

[Shane · Rating 3 out of 5]

With action unevenly distributed and a plot line that became thinner with each chapter, this book was just average and not much for a continuation of the first three books. It also didn't help that there were discrepancies with the first three books that challenged the continuity of the series.

[Ryan Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

all the Wilson Cole books are excellent reads and this one takes the progression if the Teddy R and points it where Cole himself would probably admit it was going all along. Looking forward to closing out the series with Flagship :)

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another good book. The enemy becomes the Navy that Cole used to be a part of. Lots of excitement and sadness.

[Ania · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, where the author goes with the story and how it's gonna end (please not be so cliched).

[Becky Beaman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Readable and entertaining... an adventure in space, heavily dependent on wormhole travel. Fun.

[Hedoga · Rating 5 out of 5]

Space Opera ... DEL BUENO !!!

Como a mí me gusta, con acción, cachondeo, aventuras ... en fin, de todo un poco.

Leí los 5 del tirón y acabé leyendo los 2 últimos en Inglés, no digo más ...

[Loki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Continuing fun and fine.

[Monika · Rating 4 out of 5]

Umieszczenie czterookiego na okładce tego tomu jeszcze dodaje do emocji. Bardzo lubiłam tą postać. No trzeba wszystkim skopać tyłki.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Starship: Rebel is the fourth book in the starship series, following on from Mutiny, Pirate and Mercenary. So far the series has gone from strength to strength, building on from each book in a logical and enjoyable fashion. I mentioned in my review of Starship: Mercenary that I felt there were no surprises in store, that everything seemed to go the right way for Cole and the crew of the Teddy R. Starship: Rebel does away with that notion and manages to up the stakes while still delivering a compact and fast paced novel.

Wilson Cole now has a fleet of 50 ships, one of the biggest in the Inner Frontier, and is discovering that finding mercenary work for all crews is proving difficult - having to split the fleet to cover smaller jobs is one of the options that faces him. However, when the Republic Navy capture, torture and kill a member of the Teddy R's crew Wilson Cole changes his tactics. He's had enough of the Navy coming into the Inner Frontier and taking what they want without consequence, now it's time for the citizens of the Inner Frontier to step up and stop this happening.

Once again Mike Resnick manages to take this series in a new direction, a direction I didn't think I'd see to be honest. The past three books have been focused on them making a life on the Inner Frontier and avoiding the Republic wherever possible, so to see them taking up arms is great. One of the things I had mentioned previously was that there was no sense of surprise as such in the books, but Rebel really does change that opinion. I didn't expect the events to turn out as they did and thought that Resnick did a good job of keeping me on my toes while still packing a punch.

New characters also start to take centre stage here. Jacovic, the former commander of the Teroni 5th Fleet (the very same fleet that was involved when Cole mutinied in the first book) has left the Teroni Federation due to their actions and joins Cole, fitting in nicely to their growing fleet. The Octopus is also a new addition to the cast, being the biggest warlord on the Inner Frontier, but pledging his allegiance to Cole after he unknowingly saved his son's life. Both characters fit in effortlessly to the story and Resnick gives them personality that is hard to dislike. Cole also shows another side to his character and the anger he has towards the Republic is manifested well, taking over much of the book.

Starship: Rebel is another excellent addition to the series and once again shows how successful a sci-fi novel that is light on the science can be. I'd recommend this series without hesitation and feel that for pure entertainment value, you find much better than this. The only question that remains is whether Resnick can successfully bring this series to a close in the final book, Starship: Flagship.

[Michele (Mikecas) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Da:

http://www.webalice.it/michele.castel...

Quarto capitolo di questa serie di cinque che, seppure inserita nella lunghissiva vicenda della Storia Futura, è una storia a sè. Avevo commentato, non proprio positivamente, i primi tre volumi: 1, 2, 3. Con questo quarto capitolo Resnick raggiunge però il suo livello minimo della serie, perché Wilson Cole non solo non è più il genio strategico iniziale, ma ormai commette errori su errori, solo che per caso, gli va sempre bene. Nonostante i timidi consigli dei suoi ufficiali, va ad infilarsi in situazioni indifendibili per ragioni strategicamente non giustificate, ma solo per orgoglio personale. Quando la situazione si rivela, ovviamente, totalmente avversa, il Fato interviene facendogli incontrare persone che diventano subito sue sostenitrici, permettendogli di superare controlli di sicurezza che diventano improvvisamente di pappamolla, trovando alleati a destra e a manca proprio nel momento del bisogno.
E bisogna lasciar perdere situazioni ridicole come quella della segretezza del rifugio principale della sua flotta, conosciuto da migliaia di persone, del fatto che lui riesce sempre a decrittare i messaggi degli altri, mentre i suoi rimangono sempre segreti, e altre amenità del genere.
Un altro elemento comico è che si parla spesso dei milioni o più di astronavi possedute dalla Repubblica, ma poi si vedono solo pianeti poco popolati, con difese minime, e i numeri che poi entrano effettivamente in gioco sono ben più piccoli, diciamo anche più ragionevoli. Stupido errore di traduzione o numeri da bar sport?
Che dire poi dello scontro finale intorno a Stazione Singapore? Posso solo dire che non ho mai letto una descrizione di uno scontro tra flotte spaziali più ridicola di questa.
Con questo romanzo non siamo più nell'ambito del divertimento leggero, con oggettivi difetti ma tutto sommato leggibile, con cui avevo etichettato i volumi precedenti. Qui siamo davvero al limite della stupidità.
Ho continuato a dare tre stelle su aNobii e Goodreads, ma si tratta del limite inferiore delle tre stelle, e per me due stelle significano la schifezza totale. Probabilmente leggerò anche il quinto volume, giusto per completare il sacrificio, ma non credo che il mio giudizio cambierà molto.

[BobA707 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Summary: Military SF series book 4. Things getting more serious with a mass battle (very complex, completely unrealistic, but a good read). I don't like the universe, I find the plots are just not thought through properly, but the writing is very engaging

Plotline: In a word poor. Silly at times, haphazard, comical (in a bad sense).

Premise: OK as long as you leave your brain firmly switched off, otherwise the whole thing ends up in a black hole.

Writing: Descriptive, simple, very engaging. The big let down is the over the top characters

Ending: Nice mass battle !!

Pace: Never a dull moment

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

This fourth volume in the series continues the exploits and adventures of Wilson Cole, the rest of the crew of the Teddy Roosevelt, and their ever-expanding cast of associates. This one starts with the same light and humorous tone that characterized the previous volumes, but quickly turns dark and serious when one of the main characters is lost. Resnick does almost too good of a job painting the odds that they go up against as hopelessly overwhelming, but manages to leave the reader anxious for the concluding volume.

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been following and enjoying this series from the beginning. As usual, I like Mike Resnick for his exciting but light style (in most of his books). I'm sure I'll read the next one, but this series is somewhat monotonous and predictable if you've read a number of Resnick's other books. If not, it wouldn't be a bad introduction to his work.

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

By the fourth book, I’m slogging through them because I purchased books 4-5 before I’d finished reading book 3. I enjoyed books 1-2 (I overlooked the flaws). But, by the time I finished book 3, if I had not already purchased books 4-5, I wouldn’t have.

Read the rest of my review @ my blog

[Liberty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having never read Resnick before, I had no idea what to expect when I cracked open this book. I was pleasantly surprised, especially joining a series in progress. I loved the characters, and was pleasantly surprised by the believability minus heavy swearing. I think I could count swear words on one hand! So refreshing. I'll be reading the rest of the Starship series for sure.

[Joe Slavinsky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast-paced, humorous, and hard to put down. This is the 4th book of the series, which I read in 3 days. One of my favorite genres is military science-fiction. This is it in spades, and space opera, as well. I've already started the next one. This series is like popcorn. Once you start, you can't get enough.

[Tom Rowe · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars really. Brain candy. Fun but predictable. #4 in a series of 5, but the other four are predictable from this book and their titles. I haven't read any of the other books in the series. I might go back and read them because there were some fun characters.