Liam Hoffen and Nick James are back in the next, exciting installment of Jamie McFarlane's Privateer Tales.
After fighting space pirates and rescuing a damsel in distress, nothing sounds better than shore leave at Puskar Stellar on Mars where Liam can reconnect with his girlfriend. But neither their newest crew member, Marny, nor the Mars Protectorate Navy is ready for them to spend much time relaxing.
Their old nemesis, Harry Flark, found a new mining station to pillage and the crew of Sterra's Gift has been hired to transport a covert operative into Flark's lair. This is the perfect opportunity for them to set things right if it helps to bring him down. The big problem comes when Liam and Nick discover Flark is expecting them and has no intention of letting them get away with their lives.
Like white knights on silver steeds, Liam, Nick, Marny and a passel of new friends fight their way across the solar system, making a name for themselves and their mission.
Since it's unlikely we will ever travel faster than light and meet the Ewoks to slaughter them as they deserve, let's just stay in the solar system and have some good old fashioned space opera fun. Fun with space pirates to boot. While the basic outline of a rag tag crew led by a recent lonely asteroid, high school graduate and hot shot seat of the pants space pilot (at least he didn't come off the moisture farm) with a well used space ship seems to be a bit overdone, the writing never becomes condescending like some of this genre. I found this to be actually quite smart. The letter of marquee was a nice touch. The characters are starting to get familiar (book #3), and just when you get the septic system fixed on your spacecraft it gets shot up by pirates. This may be a running gag. I'll leave plot points to others but suffice it to say, I have never read any space opera or anything else for that matter than quoted a couple of lines C.W. McCall's Convoy. That brought back strange flashback memories. This is a fun series.
This series seems to be a Young Adult (YA) space opera, but it also appealed to an older reader (me). After all, most space opera has SOME young adult attraction...and some day, I am sure that I will grow up... This is the third book in the series. I have waited a while to get back into this series, after burning out earlier.
The plot is fun, the action is almost nonstop, there is a tasteful but so-far-unrequited romance, and I really enjoyed reading this volume. Characters are a little flat...in that they don't change much, however the first three volumes only cover about two months subjective time.
As with all space opera, the heroes are exceptionally lucky...and in this story, have sponsors with extra deep pockets supporting their adventures.
I hoped that Mr. McFarlane would improve his writing style form the first book of the series, but no. Although officially a first-person narrative, he still mixes in elements which belong in technical writing or even worse: as if the narrator came down from the future and tells us what to expect: Abbreviations are constantly explained : "My artificial intelligence (AI) displayed..." Anybody really thinking this, needs medical help. On other occasions our main character asks his AI to show him the way and it displays a colored fog along the way. Followed by "Other options include xxx and yyy." Who thinks like this? I would never try to write a book, and even I can come up with trivial devices such as "Not the best for visibility, but I just cannot stand the xxx or yyy methods which seem to be so popular."
My second beef is the "numerical inconsistency". Some authors prefer to gloss over numbers and concentrate on the plot. That's fine by me. Others like to dig into numbers that you nearly expect an annex with calculations. This is also fine by me, but can get boring. What I just **cannot** abide, is being number fixated and then not being consistent/not making sense. Our guys fetch some iron ore from an asteroid roughly 1x1 km in area and we are lovingly informed that some 2.5 million tons of ore are stored on this asteroid. That would make a 500 m straight tower if every square centimeter of this area would be used.
Even worse are the inconsistencies of ship design. One of the two ships in this book is a "tug boat", used to haul ore containers. Much is made of the fact that this is a really small ship, not much space or amenities. But it is powerful enough to accelerate and decelerate some hundred of thousands tons of ore. For xxxx, at the end, they drop a whole frigate on top of one of the containers and the tug "does not even notice the extra weight". With engines as powerful as that, you can add a swimming pool, a ball room and an industrial kitchen plus chef and eight helpers to your tug boat and you would not notice a difference! So why should anybody build a ship were people spend several weeks in cramped quarters?
The story was ok, but in no way that extraordinary to make up for the problems in world-building and writing. If you read the first one and none of the above bothered you, just go ahead. If this bothered you... it got worse!
This book picks back up with the adventures of Liam and Nick. They get themselves into all sorts of trouble at the request of the Mars Navy. Some characters from the book two Novella play a important role which was good to see.
This is a really snappy plot, and one that really goes by fast...especially when listening to the audio book at an increased speed. They aren't long books either way, but the reading rate is abnormally fast for me. The action goes from scene to scene while still keeping in some minutia of ship upkeep. Overall it is a good balance and the characters are interesting and fun to follow along with.
I do wonder how many creative escape plans the author can continue to keep thinking up. In books one and two the characters have done all sorts of interesting things to get out of tough spots. If the pattern continues and the actions of the characters get to be more and more elaborate I don't know how it will turn out.
This series started off seeming like it would be about the main characters making their way trading, and running into some trouble along the way. After this book it seems like it is more about their trouble, and the trading as a back burner plot point. I'm not exactly sure how I feel about this since I was expecting more of a trading based series, but overall it seems like an okay shift.
The characters arcs are more of what was laid out in the first book. Liam is sorting himself out into a decent captain. Nick seems to just be there because he is needed to run the ship, and Marny offers some defensive and offensive competence. The real character issue I have is with Liam's girlfriend. She doesn't seem to have any plot importance except to make sure Liam doesn't involve himself with any other characters. It seems odd and more than a little bit annoying. If she was set up as more of a well rounded character in book one it would seem more natural, but in book three it just seems like an unnecessary character flaw.
The series is still interesting and something I'm going to continue reading, even if it wasn't what I was expecting. The author seems to know his business, and I expect all will make sense in future books.
DNF. I read about 75% before the logical flaws overwhelmed my willingness to believe the story.
The boats owned by the main characters are a freighter and a tugboat but the tugboat is referred to as a freighter several times. The freighter is described as thirty meters long, with no height or width given in the first book. The tugboat has room for two crew, no other size clues are given.
I didn't read the books to begin a design search of water tugboat or freighters, so I compared them to water bourne boats that I've seen in movies or T.V. The boats and crew sizes are smaller than equivalent planetary water ships. With life support, weapons, vacuum rated gear, air locks, engines capable of reasonable speeds across interplanetary distances the ships are too small. The crews are accordingly too small for the ship functions.
This makes for a tidy universe in which to set the story but it's a little bit young adult with its vagueness and glossing over certain realities. I liked the young characters but the story minimizes the role of the adult characters to something roughly similar to adults in "Peanuts". Charlie Brown in space is very YA but minus the hard facts of life in space, engineering wise, socially and politically. See Asimov's YA series or Harry Potter.
Last but not least, the characters are the luckiest teenagers ever. Every time a challenge arises or an obstacle appears, so does a helpful adult to provide a solution, information, resources or scads of cash. The writer needs to read about "Deus ex machina" as a plot device and then maybe seriously think about it. These constant coincidences aren't good storytelling.
The writing in general isn't bad but hardly stellar. Three books in and I've lost any connection to the story and am not even sure if I'm in the targeted age group.
Sterra's Gift was a small freighter owned by Captain Liam Hoffen and his partner Nick James with Marny Bertrand, retired Marine, as crew. Approaching Mars, they intercepted an SOS from a tug hauling an ore train. They were being attacked by pirates. By the time Sterra's Gift reached the tug, it was shot full of holes and near done. The tug captain, Adela Chen, asked that they recover her daughter, Ada Chen, from the tug's lifeboat. Ada recovered, pirates killed, the pirates' tug captured and attached to the 3 barge ore train. The Mars Protectorate Navy awarded the tug to Capt. Hoffen as booty. And they gained a passenger to Jeratorn Station, one Qui Loo, for an unknown mission. The story begins with an epic battle and pretty much continues a constant stream of fights and skirmishes. The characters both take and give damage through the storyline, quick recoveries, short periods of inaction, then more fighting! They make a good team and manage to earn credit and credentials throughout. It's a good read!
My wife presented me with this package of the Author-signed book, a signed letter from the Author and his business card. I was thrilled, apprehensive after learning it was a YA book, but honestly thrilled - I love SF and have been reading since getting Daybreak 2250 from Scholastic as a young reader (back when dinosaurs still ran the printing presses).
I had a Very Pleasant Surprise! The book is very tightly written with believable characters and a fair plot, yet still has the "Action Blockbuster Movie" feel. The Adult situations are adroitly handled in a values-driven message manner which well fits the YA audience yet does not disappoint an adult reader - and doesn't hit one over the head nor subscribe to any single values set other than 'Good Everyday Values'. It's simply GOOD, mild fiction better fitted for a continuing YA series.
It definitely is Science Fiction with a very well-written sub-created universe. I'd put this on every library's list for YA had I the power.
Read the first Rookie Privateer book (which I got for free through ebub) , then bought the box set. To start with I was concerned this was a YA series - I haven't read too many novels recently with a recent high school graduate in the lead role. The feeling vanished during #2, but it has returned now that I am reading #3. The protagonist is a bit too Mary-Sue-ish for my liking (he has zero character flaws and is an all-round great guy) and, despite minor mishaps, everything seems to always fall into place for the team. The investment by the Navy into a bunch of teenagers in a clapped-out ex-pirate cutter was a stretch to believe. I am looking for a somewhat more flawed, darker, deeper lead character. On the upside, I have scarcely heard of a male teenager who is so keen on cleanliness. Maybe there is hope... I guess I am a bit too old to read this, but I'll finish the box set - just because I bought it.
Liam, Nick , and Marny are at it again. This time the Mar Protectorate are making them an offer they can't refuse. Sneak a covert operative into another mining colony. One run by Harry Flark who sold out colony 40, nearly killing Liam's and Nick's parents and all of their friends. No chance they'll turn down the opportunity for some payback. Things go pear-shaped right away. Flark knows their coming. It will take all of their cunning and courage to survive.
Many of you have read my reviews and know I'm a fan of this series. This book is no exception. Jamie weaves a great story and Liam, Nick, and Marny pop off the page and into our imaginations as they battle space pirates, smugglers, and slavers. A fun read for any space opera fans.
Quite a decent start to the story, however it takes a long time before anything else particularly exciting happens. The story is OK but I found there was just too much mundane detail. I enjoyed some of the interaction between the characters and it was interesting to see the carry over from the previous novella Fool Me Once. One of the things I enjoy about SciFi novels is the description of the science and the interaction with the technology, it also provides an interesting contrast to the periods of action, however with this book I found myself skipping pages hoping something was going to happen.
A little stereotypical near YA space action adventure story. I will probably continue the series, however some of the writing around our protagonists crushes and leadership moments are bit cringe-y too.
The first story in the series had some issues with a lack of women characters, and this story seems to resolve that, with a more balanced cast. I hold out hope for the author further developing their style in future books.
Liam and Nick are quickly in the thick of the action from the outset when they catch a mayday message. While unable to save the person who initially broadcasted, they do save another from a jettisoned pod and after reaching Mars, get roped into a mission by the Mars Protectorate Navy though with a lot less details than they'd like.
Soon, things become problematic with a missing crew member, meeting up with an old nemesis and lots of space battles.
The Parley is a quick read and one that shows teamwork and quick responses can make bad guys flinch. Friendships and comradeship play well. There are some sentimental passages and even some romantic interludes. The biggie is coming face to face with evil and being lucky to find help when needed. A good way to spend a couple of hours. Recommend it for those interested in a swashbuckling sci-fi adventure.
8/10: Excellent read, well written, fell right into the fictional world created.
"The thing I’ve got stuck in my craw is that, dammit, you let me down. Like it or not, you’ve got a lot of people watching you and we need heroes, Captain Hoffen, not mercenaries. Straighten up."
I'm liking where this is going. Liam is starting to turn into a character you really want to win.
Like it, loved the new female in the crew, yet foreshadowing that this book is soon to die into a rom-com o some crap like that, please don't marry the main character to the crappy developed main female from the 1rs book pretty please! by the way this people are way too young to be this competent and serious about everything, should have made them be in it's 30'
If you are into space fiction along with high-action battle this is for you. I don't know how he comes up with this stuff. Perhaps he's a time traveller and is just telling us the future (like Star Trek?). Good fun, good characters, good description, good ending, great fun.
The storyline is better written than many and the technology is consistent within the science established in the series but I was just not that driven to finish this book. It is interesting, just not compelling and I think that will delay my following the rest of the series.
The previous book was a short story, this, book three, is a full length proper book that, sort of, brings the three part to an end. I have said, many times that the out of 5 is no good. I so I would rate this a ten out of ten. It's nicely told and makes no pretentious of being a book for kids.
4 stars. Our small band of young "privateers" once again charge into conflict with the evil pirates infesting the solar system. This book, like the last, has no deep philosophical message, no penetrating analysis of human behavior, nor any astounding plot twists. However, it is a fun read. And there's a place in my library for books such as that.
So far I love this series. I hope it doesn't keep having the main characters loosing thier ship all the time, Every book so far, they have damaged or lost thier ship. It is becoming tedious. I love the characters and storyline so much. Great Reading Everyone!!!!!!!
Liam and Nick (and company) continue their adventures, running into some familiar faces from the previous two books in the series. Things come to a glorious conclusion, leaving the rest of the series a nice open environment in which the author can play
Mistakes: I didn't find any. Characters: lots of relationship growth between characters. Plot: overall rather boring. Couple of quick fights, but this was mostly them hanging out together. You can easily skip entire pages. 6/10
Liam, Nick, and Marnie are back from the first book. They are joined by some of the people from the second book for another adventure. A very enjoyable read.
Good action, but the kid is going to stop hanging around with beautiful women and acquiring bigger ships. With very few exceptions, it's a little different. Of course, if you tell a story, make it good.