Conquerors' Pride

The Conquerors Saga #1

by Timothy Zahn

Timothy Zahn, Hugo Award-winning author of The New York Times best-selling Star Wars trilogy, blazes a spectacular new path across the sky in an epic original novel of star-spanning action adventure, mystery and intrigue.  A long era of peace and prosperity in the interstellar Commonwealth has suddenly come to an end.  Four alien starships of unknown origin have attacked, without provocation, an eight-ship Peacemaker task force, utterly destroying it in six savage minutes.  The authorities claim there were no survivors.  But Lord Stewart Cavanaugh, a former member of Parliament, has learned through back channels that one man may have survived to be captured by the aliens:  his son, Commander Pheylan Cavanaugh.  A large-scale invasion appears imminent, and the strictest security measures are in effect . . . measures that Lord Cavanaugh has no choice but to defy.  He recruits Adam Quinn, who once flew with the elite Copperheads--fighter pilots whose minds are literally one with their machines--to rescue his son.  Quinn assembles a crack force of Copperheads to steal out of the Commonwealth security zone and snatch Pheylan Cavanaugh from the conquerors.  Depending on the outcome, Quinn and his men will retum home as heroes or as the galaxy's most despised traitors--if they come home at all.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Space Opera, Science Fiction Fantasy, Military Science Fiction, Fantasy, Aliens

389 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Timothy Zahn attended Michigan State University, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in physics in 1973. He then moved to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and achieved an M.S. degree in physics in 1975. While he was pursuing a doctorate in physics, his adviser became ill and died. Zahn never completed the doctorate. In 1975 he had begun writing science fiction as a hobby, and he became a professional writer. He and his wife Anna live in Bandon, Oregon. They have a son, Corwin Zahn.

Reviews

[Metodi Markov · Rating 5 out of 5]

Тази увлекателна sci-fi поредица започва по възможно най-добрия начин.

Земната цивилизация господства над колониите си и над няколко извънземни раси благодарение на страшното оръжие КИОРО. Използвано само веднъж, то е избило извънземна флотилия до крак и е положило началото на човешката доминация в този космически сектор. Царува траен мир, защото никой не се осмелява да предизвика хората отново.

Но така изглежда ситуацията само на пръв поглед. Под повърхността на крехкото примирие клокочат междувидови борби и съперничества, шпионаж и конспирации, всички участващи имат желание да властват и нямат скрупули в постигането на целите си.

Малка човешка флота участва в първи контакт с непознати извънземни същества, но всичко се развива по възможно най-лошия сценарий. За десетина минути осем бойни кораба са унищожени, включително и спасителните капсули на опиталите се да напуснат сражението оцелели.

Човечеството се е сблъскало за първи път със "Завоевателите". И изглежда, че войната не може да се избегне!

Цитат:

"Войната не е подходящо време за обучаване на войници."

Тимъти Зан пише чудесно, страниците и на тази негова книга просто летят! Препоръчвам я на всички любители на космическата опера.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Conqueror's Pride" by Timothy Zahn is a good, solid space opera. It's a good read for fans of the genre.

By "space opera", I mean a science fiction book that doesn't really explore any hard scientific themes, but instead focuses on plot and adventure. Maybe there will be some character development, but you definitely won't have a lot of scientific explanations as to how people can travel huge differences without the relativistic time dilation effect, and the aliens encountered won't be really weird and incomprehensible like they probably would be in actuality.

"Conqueror's Pride" is the first in a trilogy and it introduces the characters and universal setting for the series.

The Plot

Through good, old-fashioned imperialism, humanity is pretty much the top of the food chain in the far future. Instead of the United Federation of Planets, we have the Commonwealth. Instead of Star Fleet, we have the Peacekeepers. This is certainly no shiny politically correct universe like in Star Trek, so it's a little more realistic, in my opinion.

The book starts during a long period of peace. In the recent past, the Commonwealth "pacified" an alien race using their secret super-weapon called CIRCE. With the threat of this super weapon, the alien worlds in the Commonwealth don't dare rebel against the Commonwealth for fear of having the weapon used against them.

The plot starts with a Peacekeeper task force meeting up with a new, unidentified alien fleet. Without provocation, this new fleet opens fire on the peacekeeper fleet, completely decimating them. The only survivor, Pheylan Cavanaugh, is captured by these new aliens.

It just so happens that Pheylan is from a rich and influential family, who proceed to mount a rescue operation for him.

The action proceeds from there, switching between Pheylan in captivity and his family's struggle to rescue him. There are a couple of interesting subplots regarding the Cavanaugh's struggles investigating the aliens, and getting involved in guerrilla warfare on a planet under siege by the aliens. There are even a couple of interesting twists and turns that are nice surprises within the plot.

The Good

I liked the universal setting, with humanity possibly being the bad guys, or at least very imperialistic to a fault. This seems realistic and in keeping with history. In the past, humans have moved into the territory occupied by other, less technologically advanced humans and killed and subjugated them. Why wouldn't we do the same, if not more so, with non humans?

The aliens were more "alien" than the average Star Trek alien; possessing motivations and methods that were not necessarily human.

The main characters were written well enough that I could tell them apart and I wasn't confused as to who was who. I really got the impression that they were a family and that they loved each other enough to make the kind of sacrifices and effort that they did.

The plot twists were great. They were rather unexpected (to me anyway) and greatly increased my attention and interest in the book.

The Not-So-Good

This is probably Monday morning quarterbacking, but I really felt there were some missed opportunities here.

Maybe it's our current economic client, but I found it really hard to feel any kind of pathos or pity towards Pheylan, the son of super rich and super influential father. Not only was the family super rich and super powerful, it was a family that was so in love with each other that they'd make the Brady Bunch look like a daytime soap opera. This is not to say that I don't think rich people love their kids. It's just hard for me to feel sorry for rich people right now.

I just thought that the novel would be better if the separate plot threads had separate characters. For example, why not make the Pheylan character a run-of-the-mill line officer from a regular middle class family? The struggles of his family and his comrades to lie, cheat, and steal a rescue operation would be more compelling for me. They wouldn't be able to buy themselves super advanced equipment, they'd have to cheat for it and steal it. The investigation of these new aggressive aliens and the guerrilla operations on the colony planet could be separate threads with separate characters. Having these threads meet up later in the series would be cool and clever.

Perhaps having regular people steal and cheat for advanced military and technological equipment might be less realistic, though. However, I think it would depend on how it was written.

Conclusion

"Conqueror's Pride" is a good, solid read. It was good enough that I'm interested in seeing how it turns out. The plot twists made the book for me. If you like space operas, it's not the best out there, but you should check it out if you've read all the "leading" space operas and you're looking for something new.

[Mel Anie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 4

Conquerors' Pride is the first installment in The Conquerors Saga by Timothy Zahn, author of several StarWars books. Conquerors' Pride is a sci-fi space opera which focuses on adventure and story of its characters. The story is not as much complex as I feared it would be. At some points, I felt lost and had plenty of question. However, with progress, most of those questions found their answer while some of them probably will be answered in the next book.

We are introduced to the world which lived in peace for a long era. Nonetheless, that harmony comes to an end with 4 extraterrestrial bogies spaceships unreasonably attacking human's Peacemaker fleet. In few short minutes, the whole armada of ships gets destroyed by unknown assailants. Everyone fleeing dies, everyone but one.

The book follows a story of a desperate father, Lord Steward Cavanagh, who learns that his son's body was never found. He believes that his son is still alive. He seeks help from the government, but they refuse. Will his fatherly instincts prove to be correct? Will he ever find his son? Who were those aggressors and why did they attack?

Conquerors' Pride is full of mysteries and intrigues. I found myself really absorbed in the story. Some moments were hilarious and questionable. Some chapters appeared confusing and required me to dig deeper into the story. Nevertheless, this book was really enjoyable and turned out to be a decent read. I really liked all those technical and medical ideas in Conquerors' Pride. As for the new sci-fi reader as I am, this book helped me expand my horizons for this genre.

[Ron · Rating 3 out of 5]

“When lives are at stake, you do what you have to, whether it’s personally comfortable for you or not.”

Typical Cold War-era space opera. Independently-minded heroes take on bumbling bureaucracy as well as the heinous enemy. Standard space opera opening: new alien obliterates friendly human greeters.

“No empire looks oppressive to those in power.”

Well conceived (first published in 1994) and well written. The technology and science aged well: despite being written before the advent of smart phones, tablets, and the internet. Not great literature, not even great science fiction, but a good read.

“We don’t always create the wars. But whether we do or not, we always win them. Tell your Elders that.”

Trivia: The Conqueror’s Sagas immediately preceded Zahn’s enormously popular Admiral Thrawn Star Wars books.

“It’s that ‘supposed to be’ that I worry about.”

[SciFiOne · Rating 5 out of 5]

(Update July 2013: The Conqueror's series is one of the most impressive stories I have ever read (I've read 2000). Although not all the books earned an A grade on first read because of the complexity, the overall series is a strong grade A. I suspect each story will earn a grade A on second read. The story includes more characters, situations, interactions, species, and concepts than most authors deal with in a lifetime. Yet the author manages to keep it all straight for the reader, an impressive major accomplishment. In all this there are only two major villains, both politicians - very interesting. This definitely deserves a second read.)

2013 grade A. The book is easy to read, very enjoyable, and a very good length. I ordered the other two novels as soon as I finished this one.

Book one in a series of three. The story is not fully resolved at the end. The specific purpose of the characters in this episode is meet, although they don't all know it, but the long story arc is just starting. At least one member is in jeopardy at the end, so make sure you have access to the next novels.

The story takes place at the start of a space war and is told from the point of view of four members of a family as they separate. Occasionally I forgot which member was which but it was rare and usually only after I had missed reading the book for a couple of days. I also only once skipped intervening chapters and read ahead to find out what happened to a specific character.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had a similar feel to the Thrawn Star Wars trilogy that Zahn also wrote. In my opinion, that's a good thing. Conquerers' Pride really sucked me in, and I had a hard time putting it down until I had read all 389 pages of it.

Part of the reason I liked the book is that as far as I can tell it was written solely to be entertaining, and that's what I was looking for when I checked it out at the library. It didn't try to teach me a lesson, it didn't have deep hidden symbolisms, etc.

Great book to read if you enjoy Star Wars-type scifi.

[Brayden Raymond · Rating 3 out of 5]

Earlier Zahn material has some shortcomings that his latest Star Wars content doesn't. Though I have a feeling that the main alien antagonist of this series may have inspired the Alien antagonists in the Thrawn series's that he has written for Star Wars Canon. This was a fine book but we'll see if I decide to tackle book 2. Not sure at the moment.

[Jonathan Koan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of the three main genre's that I like, Fantasy, Science Fiction, and Media Tie-In fiction, Sci-Fi is the hardest for me to jump into. I love a lot of Sci-Fi books, but they are really difficult to find an engaging story. By contrast, just about every Star Wars(or other Media tie in fiction) or Fantasy really draw me in instantly.

This book and author are the exception to the rule.

Timothy Zahn is always a "win" and this book was no different. The premise was interesting and instantly had me wanting to keep reading. When the whole book is about one big family(Cavanagh) and revolves around the Father and two children trying to save one of the other children, I'm instantly hooked. The tropes of family and the importance of loyalty were just what I wanted.

At times, particularly in the first chapter, Zahn goes really heavy into his terminology. Its not a bad thing, but it totally takes me out of it because I just don't understand it. "It's all Greek to me." But, thankfully, he takes his foot off of the pedal and for the rest of the book, its pretty minor.

The different aliens and cultures were interesting. The Conquerors were pretty much what I expected, but I was shocked at how detailed he was with the Yycromae, Mrachanis, and Suundali(Why are they all so hard to pronounce and spell!). He did a great job of making each species detailed enough that Zahn truly tried to make it all interesting.

The characters were really good too. I particularly liked Pheylan and Lord Cavanagh's plot lines, as well as Dr. Melinda Cavanagh's plotline. Aric's plot line with Quinn was, unfortunately, not as appealing, but I think it'll be more interesting in book 2.

One criticism I have for the book is the spelling and pronunciation. I understand that he's trying to make the names different from our own, but they are so difficult to pronounce that I don't even try to say some of them in my head, I just see the letters and try to remember what character it is. That's a minor gripe, but still worth mentioning.

Overall, this is a solid first book in the trilogy. Timothy Zahn just does a great job with his Science Fiction work and more peole need to read him, not just his Star Wars work. Not quite as good as the first Cobra book or Angelmass, but above all the other(non-Star Wars) books of his I've read. 8.5 out of 10! Great work Zahn.

[Punk · Rating 2 out of 5]

Military scifi filled with dudes, all of them boring except for the guy who's been abducted by aliens, which is the only interesting thing about him. His dad, brother, and sister—one of five women in the book, and that is an overly generous count—hatch a cockamamie plan to get him back. It's the kind of scheme only Miles Vorkosigan could (accidentally) pull off, and none of these people are as smart, confident, or unhinged as Miles.

The first in a series that probably isn't worth reading unless you already have all three books in front of you, which I did not.

[Dmitry · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting start to the saga, though by itself this book is hardly a novel. Feels like a commissioned work, but a good one, with some interesting aliens and a vague human polity that tentatively rules the stars. Will start Conquerors' Heritage immediately, if only because of the abrupt - way way abrupt - ending here, with nothing resolved or exposed beyond barebones technical detail and very little in the way of worldbuilding.

[Synful · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick and easy read of typical 90s scifi space opera. While I had no problems reading it and reading it quickly, I kept thinking there wasn't much actually happening. A lot of the plot is spent going somewhere and then hiding/evading someone/thing. The close of this first part does have a satisfying if highly convenient ending, though. During this book I did keep picturing the aliens in my head like the aliens of the movie "Mars Attacks!" I'm interested enough to see if the aliens are given a 3-dimensionality and an actual motivation to read the next book.

[Roland Girgensohn · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book (first of a trilogy) starts when some alien spaceships appear near a military outpost of the Commonwealth (a loose political conglomerate of humans and a few alien races) and immediately annihilates the small human military force sent out to investigate. Then they pick up the only survivor of the battle, Pheylan Cavanagh, commander of one of the human ships, and leave for their own regions of space.

The narrative then splits into different strands, told from different viewpoints. One is the viewpoint of Pheylan Cavanagh who is held captive by the aliens (soon dubbed the Conquerors), presumably for interrogation. Another is the viewpoint of Pheylan‘s brother Aric who suspects that Pheylan might still be alive and mounts a rescue operation. Then there is their father, Lord Stewart Cavanagh, a rich industrialist and former politician, who, after setting the rescue operation in motion, sets out to follow clues about a previous encounter with the Conquerors a few hundred years back. And finally there is their sister Melinda who gets stuck on the military outpost when the Conquerors attack again.

The story moves very slowly for the most part of the book. A lot of time is first spent on the preparation of the rescue mission and then on the adventures of Lord Stewart Cavanagh who gets interested in an alien artist stranded on an alien world and then has to fight through opposition from human and alien secret service because of that. One has to wonder what that has to do with the Conquerors (and in the end it is only marginally connected to them). The storyline with the captive Pheylan does not move at all forward; we witness his mostly futile attempts at outwitting his captors and learn a few (mostly mystifying) details about the Conquerors. Only in the last quarter of the book does the pace pick up a little.

It is also strange how very un-strange the universe described here is. Humans and aliens alike behave very much like 20th-century people, and their worlds are mostly organized like 20th-century Western countries. In fact, take away the space flight, and the whole book could almost be a spy novel from the fifties. Also, the captive Pheylan is treated very politely and civilly by the Conquerors (which is especially jarring after they deliberately killed everyone else on his task force), and what they want to know from him is very marginal. There seems to be very little point in them taking him captive and keeping him alive and well if all they ask him they could easily get from other information sources at their disposal.

On the positive side, the writing style is fluent and pulls you along. The mysteries (of the Conquerors and, almost taking more time in the story, of the alien artist) are intriguing and keep you reading because you want to know what‘s going on behind the goings on. Some of the mysteries and storylines are resolved by the end, some aren‘t. I am therefore sure that the story will continue in the other two books of the trilogy and that everything will make much more sense by the end of the third book. I haven‘t read the other two books yet, but I shall.

Thus, in conclusion, I give this book four stars. Three stars for the writing style (which makes for pleasant reading) and for the story (if unexpected) and the mysteries, and one extra star in the expectation of interesting things to come.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

New alien races, elite starfighters with a direct link to the pilot's brains, a mysterious radiation weapon held by the human military dubbed "the Peacekeepers" and a xenophobic Parliament made up of primarily petty humans; what else do you need for the start of an epic sci-fi saga? I'm hooked and I have to see how read the next installation!

[Brooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

some of my favorite alien worldbuilding ever

[Jean-Luc · Rating 4 out of 5]

First contact with new alien species is always so exciting, but it's not as much fun when the aliens respond to "Hello there!" with overwhelming firepower. The book opens with a tense battle as Pheylan Cavanagh tries to understand how everyone is dying so quickly... and then the battle is over with him as the sole survivor. The aliens, which the human-dominated government dubs The Conquerors, take Pheylan hostage and begin interrogating him.

Pheylan's father Stewart notices his body wasn't found in the wreckage, and sends his son Aric, daughter Melinda, and bodyguard Quinn to go look for him. Aric n Quinn get pointed in roughly the right direction just in time for Melinda to get stranded on the planet Dorcas as the Conquerors invade.

So Pheylan is trying to escape captivity, Aric & Quinn are looking for him, Melinda is running for her life with the rest of the colonists, and Stewart stumbles upon *a different alien group* using the invasion as cover for building their own army to overthrow their human oppressors.

The opening knocked me for a loop when I read it way back in Pittsburgh. The human crew stays so calm and professional while everything goes to hell, and it's over so quickly. I love the way everything goes wrong for everyone because the universe has no interest in waiting for anyone to catch up. No space marines, no space ninjas, but still lots of fun!

[A · Rating 5 out of 5]

I stumbled across this book through some oddball puff piece of media that provided book recommendations based on video games. Conquerer's Pride was the book recommendation for fans of Mass Effect. I loved Mass Effect, so I said sure, why not?

I want to buy a copy of this book for everyone I know! I could not put this book down for the life of me -- it was so unbelievably compelling. Dramatic combat scenes, intensely complex war strategies, deceptive diplomacy, fascinating lore, and terrifying consequences. And so many fantastic aliens! Zahn does a marvelous job at maintaining the tension and momentum through the entire book. He strikes an excellent balance between providing enough strategy and lore for things to feel real and complex, while still maintaining the energy needed to not get lost in the weeds.

I had never heard of Zahn, and I kept feeling absolutely floored that an author this phenomenal wasn't a household name. Then I realized he is the man behind the Thrawn trilogies, and I felt immediate clarity. He IS a household name, I just don't know much about Star Wars -- whoops! I have been seriously missing out!

If you are looking for a thrilling SciFi adventure, you will not regret giving Conquerer's Pride a try!

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a trilogy that is one continuous story: Conquerors' Pride, Conquerors' Heritage, and Conquerors' Legacy.

The first book opens from the Human point of view. They detect an alien ship and try to open communications with them. As soon as they attempt to say hello, the aliens open fire on them. The Humans are fully justified in defending themselves and going to war with these Aliens.

The opening of the second book revisits this initial contact from the Alien point of view. They detect "alien" (the humans) ships and attempt to open dialog with them. Just as they try to communicate, the Human ships attack them. The Aliens are fully justified in defending themselves and going to war with the Humans.

In the third book we see how it is that both sides believe (and correctly so) that the other one started the war. And we find that a simple ignorance on both parts lead to a lot of death and destruction.

As is typical, there are people (human and alien) just trying to survive, to make life a little better. Some become heroes, some die before they should.

[Ford Prefect · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love many of Timothy Zahn's books, but not this one. I read the first 100 pages before giving up in boredom. There started to be more action occurring in the book before I stopped, but since I didn't care if the main characters lived or died, succeeded or failed, I stopped reading in spite of the action.

The good:
Solid action... when it occurs.

The boring:
Lack of interest in any of the characters. They were pretty bland and uninteresting.

Overall:
If you don't care about character development and want action and a bit of mystery, this book might be for you. If you do care about character development, his Quadrail series is much, much, much, much better. https://www.goodreads.com/series/4276...
Book 1 of Quadrail: Night Train to Rigel

[Janet Sketchley · Rating 5 out of 5]

One minor character in Conquerors’ Pride is a Sanduul artist who does threadings: pictures made of spiderlike silk. Her finished images reveal two different moods depending on the angle of view: the same subject, two separate effects.

This was my second reading of Conquerors’ Pride, and I enjoyed watching Timothy Zahn do his own “threading” of the story. In true Zahn style, the picture as viewed from the end of the book has a different feel from what you see while you’re reading. Re-reading, I could see more of the setup, like watching a magician in slow motion to see how he does the trick.

Full review on my blog at http://janetsketchley.wordpress.com/2...

[Anne Patkau · Rating 3 out of 5]

"But we've got an hour. We'll think of something" p 310 Lord Cavanaugh.

Cliffhanger. Scary fighting. Politics behind scenes. War against alien Zzzrrrh, or something like that. We root for the sole human captive. Can he survive on till the few elite fighters bring his elder brother?

Yup. His doctor sister gets trapped on planet Dorcas, under first attack. What about the ultimate weapon, supposedly in parts scattered around the universe for safety after the last big battle against crocodile-aliens?

No such weapon exists. Rare chance solar flare killed enemies back then. Croc opponents have deceived humans. Sequel is from Zzrr point of view.

[Luke Zwanziger · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was way better than "The Icharus Hunt." A well written story with many mysteries that slowly unfold. Zahn is able to balance several subplots while all the while introducing you to new concepts and new aliens.

While a classic "unknown aliens invading" story, mixed with the "rescue family member against all odds," it is nevertheless an entertaining read.

This book is definitely built as part of a trilogy. So don't expect all of your questions to be answered by the end, but more like a cathartic middle to a television series, with an arc finished, but a major under plot still running.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh I do enjoy Timothy Zahn's writing, and it's always fun to go back to it. I've only read his individual novels (outside of Star Wars), so I'm curious how a full trilogy holds up. So far it feels like there is less of the "systems" sort of approach I love in his sci fi (taking one ecological principle and running with it), but perhaps it just takes longer to develop across three books. Certainly enough hints at a more complex story that I'm happy to continue on.

[Royce Sears · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finally went back and read Conquerors' Pride after finding Conquerors' Heritage in a used book store years ago. Zahn's in-depth development of the Zhirrzh species and his ability to tell the story from such a unique perspective in a relatable way makes the Conquerors Saga a page-turning thrill-ride from start to finish.

Royce Sears

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

When his son is captured by previously unknown aliens after a sudden battle a retired politician enlists his remaining son and a daughter to mount a search. Pretty fair space opera.

[M Hamed · Rating 1 out of 5]

he manged to make an interstellar war between aliens with superior tech and humans with a chance made super weapon
boring

[Artur Coelho · Rating 4 out of 5]

Uma intrigante space opera militar. Num cenário onde a humanidade se espalhou pelas estrelas (curiosamente, mantendo a independência de blocos de nações terrestres, que formam o cerne político de uma união multi-planetária) e usa a sua capacidade militar para controlar e manter em paz outras civilizações alienígenas, uma situaçao de primeiro contacto corre muito mal. Um encontro entre uma frota terrestre e um grupo de naves de uma civilização alienígena desconhecida transforma-se num massacre para os terrestres, quando os alienígenas abrem fogo sem justificação. Para além da surpresa, as potentes armas e naves terrestres mal parecem beliscar as forças desconhecidas. Desse massacre escapa o comandante de uma das naves, tomado como prisioneiro para ser estudado pelos alienígenas.

Partindo deste ponto, o romance segue por dois caminhos. Por um lado, o esforço da família rica e politicamente bem conectada, que decide montar uma missão de salvamento fora dos parâmetros oficiais. Aqui temos todo o tipo de peripécias, com eventuais conspirações por parte de civilizações alienígenas supostamente aliadas com a união humana mas que procuram manipular a superioridade militar humana para os seus próprios objetivos de conquista, e que poderão estar envolvidas no súbito e violento recontro com os alienígenas desconhecidos.

Por outro, temos a experiência do humano prisioneiro, que depressa se apercebe das características dos seus carcereiros alienígenas, a começar pelo facto de, na narrativa oficial de uma sociedade estratificada com obediência total aos seus superiores, o recontro violento ser retratado como um ataque não provoado por parte dos humanos. O prisioneiro faz tudo o que pode para recolher informações e fugir, algo que consegue graças a um incrivel golpe de sorte.

Pelo meio, ficam os mistérios que dão estrutura a esta trilogia: fica no ar o perceber como é esta nova civilização, na sua tecnologia mas em especial na forma como comunicam, que parece desafiar as leis da física e poderá assentar em personalidades virtuais bio-implantadas; a ameaça de uma super-arma terrestre, cuja menção tem sido um dissuassor eficiente em décadas de paz armada no espaço de coexistência habitado pelas diferentes civilizações mas que acabará por se descobrir que não passa de uma lenda, e os temores de uma guerra generalizada contra inimigos desconhecidos. Um ponto de partida intrigante e empolgante para a trilogia.

[Sudoaptget69 · Rating 3 out of 5]

[This is a review of only the first book "Conquerors' Pride." I have yet to read the whole saga as of writing this.]

I enjoyed just about every part of the book from Pheylan's point of view. It was a bit interesting since you actually learn about the Zhirrzh, see how they treat him as a captive, and so on. You also get hints as to how the Zhirrzh see it from their perspective, which is interesting. I always looked forward to these parts of the book and the second book being from the perspective of the Zhirrzh suggests I may enjoy it more.

What I didn't particularly enjoy was basically every other part. The part from Aric, Melinda, or Cavanaugh's perspective. I just didn't find it quite as good. Dialogue feels kind of bland, pretty much being very straight-foward and serving the plot. Sometimes they start saying a bunch of sciencey jargon on you and I didn't find that quite appealing either. Maybe it's all just blowing over my head, but a lot of it sounds like it's just there for immersion purposes. To make sure you know this is a science-fantasy setting far in the future beyond current day understanding, I guess. I would say these are definitely the weak parts of the book.

And just cuz I'm sure someone will appreciate the specification, I would say this is "science-fantasy" or a "space opera" and not sci-fi. They don't ever seem to really explain any of the science or the tech. You're more invested in the action and drama going on. Perhaps that changes in the next novels, but I doubt it. Timothy Zahn wrote Star Wars novels and Star Wars is a textbook example of science-fantasy. This is probably his style.

Also, for anyone going into this fresh and wondering if they should try this "quick" read: This is a trilogy. This book does end on a cliffhanger. Do acknowledge that starting this likely means starting all 3.

[Gilles · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lu en anglais

Tome un d'une trilogie

Surprise ! Une escadrille de six vaisseaux de guerre du Commonwealth se fait détruire, sans provocation, par quatre vaisseaux de guerre inconnus, en quelques minutes. En plus, les ennemis s'acharnent à détruire toutes les capsules de sauvetage pour ne laisser aucun survivant. Lord Cavanagh est dévasté; son fils Pheylan commandait un des vaisseaux de l'escadrille détruite. Mais voilà que les patrouilles de recherche ne trouvent pas les restes de son fils. Aurai t’il survécu ? Serais t'il captif des mystérieux attaquants ? Lord Cavanagh, accompagné de ses autres enfants et d'une poignée de combattants, va chercher à remonter la piste.

Un début prometteur, plein d'action, qui finit par s'enliser. D'un côté, on a l'interrogatoire du prisonnier par les mystérieux extraterrestres. De l'autre, on a le père, et ses amis, qui essaie de retrouver son fils, malgré les obstacles de certains membres du gouvernement.

Disons que le ton a changé rapidement après la mise en place captivante du début. J'ai donc été déçu par la suite, mais cela n'empêche que l'auteur réussit à nous intéresser aux problèmes de communication, entre autres, entre deux espèces totalement différentes. Pour la partie de la recherche, disons qu'il y a quelques points qui semblent un peu trop organisés avec le gars des vues.

J'ai tout de même aimé, car le roman est divertissant et j'espère que la suite va monter le niveau.

[Kevin Phyland · Rating 4 out of 5]

After a long period of peace, enforced by the Commonwealth, a group of unknown alien ships attack and destroy an entire Peacekeeper force in 12 minutes, apparently leaving no survivors. One of the captains of the human fleet was Pheylan Cavanagh, youngest of the powerful family which includes Patriarch Lord Stewart Cavanagh, eldest son Aric and daughter Melinda, a skilled surgeon. The Cavanaghs decide to launch a privately-funded expedition to find Pheylan’s body or where he is being held prisoner, as his pod was never recovered. Meanwhile rumours abound that the aggressors were the semi-Mythical Conquerors, who had contacted and ships in Mrachin space many years earlier. Pheylin has indeed been captured and interrogated by the Conquerors who are intensely interested in a group of Commonwealth troops called Copperheads, and more unsettlingly, about the rumoured superweapon CIRCE. This weapon apparently ended the last interstellar war in one go and was supposedly dismantled and parts scattered to all quadrants. Timothy Zahn has crafted an exciting space opera political thriller cum military SF that will keep you reading avidly. As the first part of a trilogy I should have known better however, and despite the major plot thread being resolved, far too much is left as bait for the later books. Still worth a read.

[Ethan W · Rating 2 out of 5]

Entertaining, but in my opinion a little melodramatic. Unless you've got a taste for scifi books already I wouldn't recommend it.
Additionally, the characters kind of suffer from the Robert Heinlein 'too competent' syndrome. Since this is early work by Timothy Zahn I can forgive it, and maybe I'm a little jaded as a reader, but I found a lot of plot to be predictable.

There are merits however. The setting is fascinating, the writing style is excellent, and the feel of an adventure was most definitely present. Something I was also a fan of was how Zahn absolutely did not shy away from politics in this story.
War and colonialism are major themes in this story, which necessitates a discussion on issues of power and systems of oppression. Zahn addresses those topics and the various points of view, unflinchingly.
I only wish this was a bit more well rounded, with a diverse set of characters with depth.

It's not a bad read, just a little too much cheese and a little too much incredulity.