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Cobra #1-3
The Cobra Trilogy
Cobra warriors, a guerrilla force with surgically implanted weapons, must learn the uses and abuses of their special abilities, as they launch a last-ditch attack on the alien Troft forces that are threatening Earth.
848 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2004
51 people are currently reading
407 people want to read
About the author
Timothy Zahn
481 books8,515 followersTimothy 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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
October 18, 2011
In a very smart marketing move back in 2004, Baen gathered together this fine series of books and put them into an omnibus edition. This is the first time I’ve actually encountered Timothy Zahn’s writing – although I’d heard plenty about him, but hadn’t been in any real hurry to pick up one of his books as I have only a limited enthusiasm for shoot ‘em up military action science fiction. However I now realise that I was seriously selling Zahn short – his work is far more than that…
The colony worlds Adirondack and Silvern fell to the Troft forces almost without a struggle. Outnumbered and on the defensive, Earth made a desperate decision. It would attack the aliens not from space, but on the ground – with forces the Trofts did not even suspect. Thus were created the Cobras, a guerrilla force whose weapons were surgically implanted, invisible to the unsuspecting eye, yet undeniably deadly. But power brings temptation… and not all the Cobras could be trusted to fight for Earth alone. Jonny Moreau would learn the uses – and abuses – of his special abilities, and what it truly meant to be a Cobra.
It sounds like just one more super-soldier adventure with warfare the staple and the protagonist spending his days dealing with a deadly enemy and corrupt officialdom on his own side… But it isn’t. Oh, there’s plenty of action, alright. Written with plenty of verve and tension – but the book quickly shoots off into another direction, exploring the far more intriguing political and social aspects of having a bunch of surgically enhanced fighters within a community. While they may be capable of saving a planet from a deadly alien invasion – what happens when the threat goes away and the majority of your force has survived the war?
This is just one of the questions Zahn’s enjoyable action-filled series raises – and for my money this is science fiction at its best. Layered in amongst the various adventures are a number of gnarly issues for readers to consider if they wish. Issues such as right versus might; at what stage does one society with superior technology intervene in the affairs of another planet to prevent a perceived threat? How far should a soldier follow orders?
Baen were spot on in republishing this series, as Zahn’s writing style and general tone hasn’t dated although this series was originally released back in the 1980’s. His unfussy style manages to keep the action rolling forward through multiple viewpoints, avoiding the chunks of info-dumping so often prevalent with this sub-genre. It takes a lot of skill to set a storyline spanning several worlds while following a family down three generations as they grapple with another Cobra-related problem, without resorting to several pages of background information in omniscient viewpoint. Some of my favourite authors can’t do it – but Zahn can.
I now realise why Timothy Zahn’s name still regularly comes up when fans discuss their favourite all-time reads – and I’ll be looking out for more of his work. While I don’t generally subscribe to the view that the golden age of science fiction writing occurred during the last century – there are too many fine contemporary authors producing excellent work for me to get dewy-eyed about past glories – I’m perfectly willing to add a few books from times past to the pile of books-to-read teetering beside my bed and this trilogy is certainly up there as one of my favourite reads of the year, so far…
10/10
The colony worlds Adirondack and Silvern fell to the Troft forces almost without a struggle. Outnumbered and on the defensive, Earth made a desperate decision. It would attack the aliens not from space, but on the ground – with forces the Trofts did not even suspect. Thus were created the Cobras, a guerrilla force whose weapons were surgically implanted, invisible to the unsuspecting eye, yet undeniably deadly. But power brings temptation… and not all the Cobras could be trusted to fight for Earth alone. Jonny Moreau would learn the uses – and abuses – of his special abilities, and what it truly meant to be a Cobra.
It sounds like just one more super-soldier adventure with warfare the staple and the protagonist spending his days dealing with a deadly enemy and corrupt officialdom on his own side… But it isn’t. Oh, there’s plenty of action, alright. Written with plenty of verve and tension – but the book quickly shoots off into another direction, exploring the far more intriguing political and social aspects of having a bunch of surgically enhanced fighters within a community. While they may be capable of saving a planet from a deadly alien invasion – what happens when the threat goes away and the majority of your force has survived the war?
This is just one of the questions Zahn’s enjoyable action-filled series raises – and for my money this is science fiction at its best. Layered in amongst the various adventures are a number of gnarly issues for readers to consider if they wish. Issues such as right versus might; at what stage does one society with superior technology intervene in the affairs of another planet to prevent a perceived threat? How far should a soldier follow orders?
Baen were spot on in republishing this series, as Zahn’s writing style and general tone hasn’t dated although this series was originally released back in the 1980’s. His unfussy style manages to keep the action rolling forward through multiple viewpoints, avoiding the chunks of info-dumping so often prevalent with this sub-genre. It takes a lot of skill to set a storyline spanning several worlds while following a family down three generations as they grapple with another Cobra-related problem, without resorting to several pages of background information in omniscient viewpoint. Some of my favourite authors can’t do it – but Zahn can.
I now realise why Timothy Zahn’s name still regularly comes up when fans discuss their favourite all-time reads – and I’ll be looking out for more of his work. While I don’t generally subscribe to the view that the golden age of science fiction writing occurred during the last century – there are too many fine contemporary authors producing excellent work for me to get dewy-eyed about past glories – I’m perfectly willing to add a few books from times past to the pile of books-to-read teetering beside my bed and this trilogy is certainly up there as one of my favourite reads of the year, so far…
10/10
August 11, 2012
Book Info: Genre: Military Sci-fi Reading Level: Adult
Disclosure: I received an ARC of the final book in the Cobra War trilogy from Amazon Vine in exchange for an honest review; in order to fully appreciate it, I have gathered this first trilogy (in omnibus format) and the first two books in the Cobra War trilogy, for all of which I will happily also provide an honest review.
Synopsis: The colony worlds Adirondack and Silvern fell to the Troft forces almost without a struggle. Outnumbered and on the defensive, Earth made a desperate decision. It would attack the aliens not from space, but on the ground-with forces the Trofts did not even suspect. Thus were created the Cobras, a guerilla force whose weapons were surgically implanted, invisible to the unsuspecting eye, yet undeniably deadly. But power brings temptation . . . and not all the Cobras could be trusted to fight for Earth alone. Jonny Moreau would learn the uses-and abuses-of his special abilities, and what it truly meant to be a Cobra.
My Thoughts: This is am omnibus edition that contains the books Cobra (originally published in 1985), Cobra Strike (1986) and Cobra Bargain (1988). I have read a number of books by Timothy Zahn in the past, which have varied from brilliant to so-so. Military science-fiction is a relatively new addition to my list of books I will read – my husband introduced me to the genre with the fun The Rats, The Bats, and the Vats something like eight years ago and then I graduated on to the Honor Harrington books and never really looked back. There are some I haven’t cared much for, but overall, military science-fiction is an underrated genre and one that I quite enjoy. It probably seems a bit excessive to buy the equivalent of five books in order to be able to review a single book, but since I’ve generally enjoyed both the genre and the author, I figured they would fit well together. Then when I learned this were originally published while I was still in high school, I was even more interested to see what I thought, since at the time I was mostly reading fantasy – a very different mindset!
The set-up for this is a very interesting one – the Cobra soldiers are basically turned into a sort of cyborg and used for guerrilla warfare. Like many books of military science-fiction, this book goes beyond the war and into the reactions of the people to war, victory, defeat, and the military itself. The sort of men who win wars are not the sort of men who are usually welcomed back into society with open arms – they are usually viewed with at the best suspicion and at the worst overt hostility, as people tend to fear that these same men, that saved their homes and their freedom, might possibly decide that maybe these people don’t deserve their freedom. They then turn on the soldiers, forcing them into untenable positions – well, if you’ve ever read any military science-fiction, you’ll recognize the plot device.
This series is a multi-generational thing. We follow down from Jonny Moreau and through his family lines to his granddaughter, Jin, as the Cobras first are created and then later form a place for themselves within society.
I found this to be an enjoyable piece of military science-fiction – perhaps a bit belated with its late acknowledgment of women in the military, but a solid piece of the genre fiction. You can find individual reviews for each of the books in the usual places. Highly recommended.
Disclosure: I received an ARC of the final book in the Cobra War trilogy from Amazon Vine in exchange for an honest review; in order to fully appreciate it, I have gathered this first trilogy (in omnibus format) and the first two books in the Cobra War trilogy, for all of which I will happily also provide an honest review.
Synopsis: The colony worlds Adirondack and Silvern fell to the Troft forces almost without a struggle. Outnumbered and on the defensive, Earth made a desperate decision. It would attack the aliens not from space, but on the ground-with forces the Trofts did not even suspect. Thus were created the Cobras, a guerilla force whose weapons were surgically implanted, invisible to the unsuspecting eye, yet undeniably deadly. But power brings temptation . . . and not all the Cobras could be trusted to fight for Earth alone. Jonny Moreau would learn the uses-and abuses-of his special abilities, and what it truly meant to be a Cobra.
My Thoughts: This is am omnibus edition that contains the books Cobra (originally published in 1985), Cobra Strike (1986) and Cobra Bargain (1988). I have read a number of books by Timothy Zahn in the past, which have varied from brilliant to so-so. Military science-fiction is a relatively new addition to my list of books I will read – my husband introduced me to the genre with the fun The Rats, The Bats, and the Vats something like eight years ago and then I graduated on to the Honor Harrington books and never really looked back. There are some I haven’t cared much for, but overall, military science-fiction is an underrated genre and one that I quite enjoy. It probably seems a bit excessive to buy the equivalent of five books in order to be able to review a single book, but since I’ve generally enjoyed both the genre and the author, I figured they would fit well together. Then when I learned this were originally published while I was still in high school, I was even more interested to see what I thought, since at the time I was mostly reading fantasy – a very different mindset!
The set-up for this is a very interesting one – the Cobra soldiers are basically turned into a sort of cyborg and used for guerrilla warfare. Like many books of military science-fiction, this book goes beyond the war and into the reactions of the people to war, victory, defeat, and the military itself. The sort of men who win wars are not the sort of men who are usually welcomed back into society with open arms – they are usually viewed with at the best suspicion and at the worst overt hostility, as people tend to fear that these same men, that saved their homes and their freedom, might possibly decide that maybe these people don’t deserve their freedom. They then turn on the soldiers, forcing them into untenable positions – well, if you’ve ever read any military science-fiction, you’ll recognize the plot device.
This series is a multi-generational thing. We follow down from Jonny Moreau and through his family lines to his granddaughter, Jin, as the Cobras first are created and then later form a place for themselves within society.
I found this to be an enjoyable piece of military science-fiction – perhaps a bit belated with its late acknowledgment of women in the military, but a solid piece of the genre fiction. You can find individual reviews for each of the books in the usual places. Highly recommended.
June 11, 2015
2012
book 1, Cobra, grade B
book 2, Cobra Strike, grade A
book 3, Cobra Bargin, grade B++
book 1, Cobra, grade B
book 2, Cobra Strike, grade A
book 3, Cobra Bargin, grade B++
March 22, 2017
This book contains three complete novels by Timothy Zahn. They are Cobra, Cobra Strike and Cobra Bargain. I have read many of Mr. Zahn's books but had never read any of his Cobra books. I have been reading a lot of Military Science Fiction lately and decided to read these books too. I had thought from the descriptions that they were too Military Science Fiction and there were some elements of that genre in them but they were more Space Opera than Military Science Fiction. I am a big fan of Space Opera however so that was fine. In the first book ,Cobra, the first half of the book is mostly Military Science Fiction and is about Jonny Moreau and his decision to join in mankind's war against the alien Troft who have invaded two of Earth's colonies. When he joins the service he is selected for the elite Cobra force. He is extensively modified with weapon implants and a computer to run them. He undergoes training and then he and his team are dropped on one of the occupied planets where they work with the local underground in a gorilla war against the Troft. The second half of the book takes place after the war and Jonny tries to integrate back into society but finds that he no longer fits in. He is then volunteers to go to a new colony with a group of Cobra on the far side of Troft space and help establish the colony and make it safe from the local wildlife and as a deterrent against the Troft who mankind has an uneasy alliance with.
The second book, Cobra, strike take place a few years after Cobra and Jonny is now a politician on his new colony world when the Troft come to the Cobras asking for help against a new enemy they have met on a planet called Qasama. Jonny's two sons Justin and Joshua, one who is a Cobra and one who is not, are sent on a mission with a group of Cobras and scientists to investigate this new menace which turns out to be a lost colony of humans who have come under the influence of an alien species.
The third book, Cobra Bargain, has Jasmine Moreau, the daughter of Corwin Moreau, one of Jonny's sons, becoming the first female Cobra and being sent back to Qasama because spy satellites have found evidence that the humans there may be developing space flight capability and they have sworn to attack mankind if they ever do. The mission is shot down when attempting to infiltrate Qasama and only Jasmine survives. She is determined to complete her mission to prove that woman Cobra can do as well as a male Cobra. With the help of two unlikely allies she proceeds to do so.
I recommend this book to fans of Military Science Fiction/Space Opera and fans of Timothy Zahn.
The second book, Cobra, strike take place a few years after Cobra and Jonny is now a politician on his new colony world when the Troft come to the Cobras asking for help against a new enemy they have met on a planet called Qasama. Jonny's two sons Justin and Joshua, one who is a Cobra and one who is not, are sent on a mission with a group of Cobras and scientists to investigate this new menace which turns out to be a lost colony of humans who have come under the influence of an alien species.
The third book, Cobra Bargain, has Jasmine Moreau, the daughter of Corwin Moreau, one of Jonny's sons, becoming the first female Cobra and being sent back to Qasama because spy satellites have found evidence that the humans there may be developing space flight capability and they have sworn to attack mankind if they ever do. The mission is shot down when attempting to infiltrate Qasama and only Jasmine survives. She is determined to complete her mission to prove that woman Cobra can do as well as a male Cobra. With the help of two unlikely allies she proceeds to do so.
I recommend this book to fans of Military Science Fiction/Space Opera and fans of Timothy Zahn.
November 26, 2019
I'm torn on my review because I didn't read the entire trilogy. But the reason for that is because the first book wasn't what I expected or wanted and I ended up being kind of disappointed. I was hoping for a smart or witty (not necessarily the same thing) military action story with some moral introspection on war or soldiers and so on. There was action and it was smartly written, but there was a lot of politics and "soldiers come home from Vietnam" -esque storylines that weren't bad but not what I at all had picked up the book to read. Doing a bit of searching indicated that it seemed more likely that that style were continue for the rest of the trilogy, so I decided to stop there and move on to something more suited to my mood.
September 9, 2020
I really enjoyed this series! My only drawback was that a certain plot element involved the scientific explanation of how an alien animal species mated and a few adult comments made by some characters. There was also a scene where a young man tries to convince a woman to sleep with him, but she firmly refuses and what he wants is only hinted at. All in all, pretty good books, I just wouldn't recommend them to for young readers. Especially since these books deal with war and its consequences. It didn't get too graphic, but like I said, it's not for young readers.
July 6, 2024
4.5 stars. I really enjoyed how the author (Timothy Zahn) advanced the timeline by decades and decades from the first book to the last of this trilogy. It made for a very engaging read, and I’m looking forward to picking up the next trilogy in the Cobra series. It’s far better than the cheesy cover haha.
June 27, 2018
Reread. Still excellent. Brave heroes, men and women, use smarts and strength, sacrifice powerful youth for a shorter life and a painful ending.
Typos:
"they'd make a mistake" is "they'd made a mistake" p 301
"for long time" is "for a long time" p 696
Typos:
"they'd make a mistake" is "they'd made a mistake" p 301
"for long time" is "for a long time" p 696
June 30, 2019
The first book didn't start well for me. It felt a bit too "Boy's Own" and the early chapters leaped forward in jarring episodes. However once things settled down it was a gripping read. I'm glad I persevered past the early misgivings.
April 30, 2018
Awesome series!!!
Top notch military sci-fi and very solid character development. Have read this first trilogy 5 times over the last two year and it is a great read every time.
Top notch military sci-fi and very solid character development. Have read this first trilogy 5 times over the last two year and it is a great read every time.
October 26, 2018
Clearly an early work by Mr Zahn, Each story got better but they are not as good as the stories he has done in the Star Wars universe
October 15, 2022
Great book, dumb name. I kept thinking of G.I. Joe. Still, the story was amazing. If all you know is his Thrawn series do yourself a favor and check this series out.
December 8, 2022
Read through this several times way back in middle and high school. Absolutely loved it back then and probably need to reread it again.
March 7, 2017
Very disappointing. I loved Icarus Hunt, hard to believe this is the same writer.
September 29, 2012
These are the times I wish I could give out half-stars on reviews, because this "megabook" seriously deserves 4.5 stars. It takes a lot to get anything more than 4 stars from me, and Zahn is one of the few. I was fortunate enough to meet Mr. Zahn at Comicpalooza 2012 here in Houston in May, and I picked up the final copy of this work (and got an autograph, too). The author was a very nice guy who went out of his way to visit my own booth (I run a publishing company) and we chatted for a little while.
"The Cobra Trilogy" is an omnibus edition of three other works, Cobra, Cobra Strike, and Cobra Bargain. I'm glad I was able to get all three in one volume, as this series kept me turning pages long into the night. Packed with action from beginning to end, I was drawn into a world where the very essence of what it means to be human was challenged.
The psychology of war is a main part of this series, and how people who are so vastly different - and, in many ways, superior - to 'normal' humans deal with not only the war but each other and their normal friends and relatives. To me, the best stories aren't the ones that are all about the action and fast pacing, but rather the ones that use those story elements as a backdrop for more intricate and detailed character development. Zahn has succeeded on all fronts with this series.
As a bonus, I just learned that there's three additional "Cobra" books, a new trilogy called the "Cobra War". Cobra Alliance, Cobra Guardian: Cobra War: Book Two, and Cobra Gamble: Cobra War, Book III
"The Cobra Trilogy" is an omnibus edition of three other works, Cobra, Cobra Strike, and Cobra Bargain. I'm glad I was able to get all three in one volume, as this series kept me turning pages long into the night. Packed with action from beginning to end, I was drawn into a world where the very essence of what it means to be human was challenged.
The psychology of war is a main part of this series, and how people who are so vastly different - and, in many ways, superior - to 'normal' humans deal with not only the war but each other and their normal friends and relatives. To me, the best stories aren't the ones that are all about the action and fast pacing, but rather the ones that use those story elements as a backdrop for more intricate and detailed character development. Zahn has succeeded on all fronts with this series.
As a bonus, I just learned that there's three additional "Cobra" books, a new trilogy called the "Cobra War". Cobra Alliance, Cobra Guardian: Cobra War: Book Two, and Cobra Gamble: Cobra War, Book III
July 13, 2014
I liked Zahn's stuff from Star Wars and his Conqueror's series. It took a read of his Wikipedia page to notice this series, which I'd never heard of anywhere else.
The Cobra Trilogy is weak-tea military fiction and not Zahn's finest work. This is probably the work of his that's least appealing to me.
There's a lot going on in the books, but the basic idea is that man has expanded into space and ends up creating some super-soldiers to fight an alien race. With this core idea, Zahn explores the implications of the new types of fighting. These books were written in the mid-80s, and I read into that the consciousness of lessons from Vietnam, a focus on binary struggle between two superpowers, and paranoia.
The characters aren't all that interesting; the good guy doesn't have a dark side and there's no moral ambiguity in the first book at all. Zahn does make some of the characters more complex in the later books but the "cool thing" of the supersoldiers forces him into some odd plot choices throughout that I found distracting.
There's also an "Arabs are evil" kind of vibe to the second book that I thought was creepy. I think Zahn (or someone) caught up on this because the third book has a more nuanced view of the culture. Still, the uncomplicated characters and the four moves that the supersoldiers use got a little stale near the end, like a box of Ritz crackers from Costco.
I found the quality of the writing to be consistent all the way through. Some guys phone it in during books two or three or *COUGH*MARTIN*COUGH* just never finish. Zahn puts his arc together in a way that's more or less satisfying.
The Cobra Trilogy is weak-tea military fiction and not Zahn's finest work. This is probably the work of his that's least appealing to me.
There's a lot going on in the books, but the basic idea is that man has expanded into space and ends up creating some super-soldiers to fight an alien race. With this core idea, Zahn explores the implications of the new types of fighting. These books were written in the mid-80s, and I read into that the consciousness of lessons from Vietnam, a focus on binary struggle between two superpowers, and paranoia.
The characters aren't all that interesting; the good guy doesn't have a dark side and there's no moral ambiguity in the first book at all. Zahn does make some of the characters more complex in the later books but the "cool thing" of the supersoldiers forces him into some odd plot choices throughout that I found distracting.
There's also an "Arabs are evil" kind of vibe to the second book that I thought was creepy. I think Zahn (or someone) caught up on this because the third book has a more nuanced view of the culture. Still, the uncomplicated characters and the four moves that the supersoldiers use got a little stale near the end, like a box of Ritz crackers from Costco.
I found the quality of the writing to be consistent all the way through. Some guys phone it in during books two or three or *COUGH*MARTIN*COUGH* just never finish. Zahn puts his arc together in a way that's more or less satisfying.
February 6, 2009
Stalled, not from any fault of the book, but because of my own silly preferences.
I started reading this after a long and disheartening spell through Romance Land, and wow, was it beautiful. Clean, no-nonsense writing style, quick pacing, great action, and a good amount of understated intelligence in a sci-fi setting that, admittedly, has been done before, but is none the worse for it.
I love Timothy Zahn! Simple as that, though I had forgotten the whys and wherefores for a long time since it's been years since I read his Star Wars trilogy.
The only reason I got stuck before finishing the first of the 3 novels in this collection is that the Cobra trilogy is very much a generational story. Near the end of the 1st story, the timeline started to jump forward years at a time-- from the last page of one chapter to the first page of the next, 3 years have passed and the main character's living on a different colony. Skip forward 7 years and the main character is married and a politician. No doubt it'll skip forward again by 10 years and he's an old man with kids while still going head-to-head against his kid brother in the political arena.
Nothing wrong with it, but once I get invested in a character, I prefer to stick with them without mega time lapses. And I prefer the story to end while they are still single and without kids. *shrugs*
Still, even if I can't finish this omnibus, I strongly recommend any of Timothy Zahn's stuff, because he is just a wonderful writer.
I started reading this after a long and disheartening spell through Romance Land, and wow, was it beautiful. Clean, no-nonsense writing style, quick pacing, great action, and a good amount of understated intelligence in a sci-fi setting that, admittedly, has been done before, but is none the worse for it.
I love Timothy Zahn! Simple as that, though I had forgotten the whys and wherefores for a long time since it's been years since I read his Star Wars trilogy.
The only reason I got stuck before finishing the first of the 3 novels in this collection is that the Cobra trilogy is very much a generational story. Near the end of the 1st story, the timeline started to jump forward years at a time-- from the last page of one chapter to the first page of the next, 3 years have passed and the main character's living on a different colony. Skip forward 7 years and the main character is married and a politician. No doubt it'll skip forward again by 10 years and he's an old man with kids while still going head-to-head against his kid brother in the political arena.
Nothing wrong with it, but once I get invested in a character, I prefer to stick with them without mega time lapses. And I prefer the story to end while they are still single and without kids. *shrugs*
Still, even if I can't finish this omnibus, I strongly recommend any of Timothy Zahn's stuff, because he is just a wonderful writer.
January 7, 2013
I liked the first book of the trilogy well enough. It was pretty straightforward military SciFi: Evil aliens invade a human planet; patriotic Johnny wants to help the cause and signs up to fight; patriotic Johnny gets himself augumented with all sorts of nifty hardware and becomes a Cobra special ops guy; patriotic Johnny blows up evil alien invaders--the usual stuff. Then patriotic Johnny returns home, gets treated like a pariah and gets his butt shipped into space. Again, not the first time that's happened either. It was easy to read, entertaining and the good guys won...kinda, since nobody walked away without scars, both inside and out.
The second book, however, really took the wind out of my sails. It was completely anticlimatic, and just bored me to death. So, I went to my used book store and traded it in for something else. Sadly, book 2 left such a bad taste in my mouth that I didn't have it in me to read the third book, and because it involved a bad-ass Cobra woman, I probably would have really liked it too. So, I'm giving it just two stars, but if it weren't for the second book it would definitely have earned more. Now I'm regreting trading the book in.
My advice for all you kids out there: Read book 1 then skip straight over book 2 and read book 3. Also, remember not to drive to your neighborhood used book store while angry. You'll just regret it someday when you're three months older.
The second book, however, really took the wind out of my sails. It was completely anticlimatic, and just bored me to death. So, I went to my used book store and traded it in for something else. Sadly, book 2 left such a bad taste in my mouth that I didn't have it in me to read the third book, and because it involved a bad-ass Cobra woman, I probably would have really liked it too. So, I'm giving it just two stars, but if it weren't for the second book it would definitely have earned more. Now I'm regreting trading the book in.
My advice for all you kids out there: Read book 1 then skip straight over book 2 and read book 3. Also, remember not to drive to your neighborhood used book store while angry. You'll just regret it someday when you're three months older.
September 4, 2014
This is three books in one (the "Trilogy" in the title may have tipped you off). The concept of cyberneticly enhanced soldiers is interesting, though the fact that they receive little to no tech upgrades over the course of the two generations of Cobra warriors we follow seems a little out of place given our current pace of technological change. Regardless, the books were enjoyable with a pronounced Zahn feel. I particularly enjoyed the last book's story line (4 stars), which was a bit different from the other two (3-ish stars). Zahn enjoys creating superheros, and the Cobras follow in that tradition.
March 2, 2008
Anyone who does not give this trilogy a 5 star is a tool. My husband recommended that I give them a try, much to my unwillingness, and found that they were amazing. He has never recommended a book that was not Amazing! I was never into Sci-Fi at all, but this turned me around! What an adventure the whole time. I would have given anything to pioneer a new planet the way they did.
January 30, 2012
Pretty darned good military SF. And unlike a lot of it, this avoids right-wing dogmatism and explores a number of political and social issues in a mostly open-ended manner. Still plenty of action, although much of it is suspenseful rather than actual fighting. Nice to have almost 1000 pages in one package.
March 10, 2012
(Audiobook) Enjoyable read if you like sci-fi. Easier to read all 6 books back to back to keep track of the storyline( make sure to start with the correct trilogy). Story line left open for book 7.
July 10, 2013
I would give this about 3.5 out of 5. The characters are very flat, but the action and pacing are fairly good. Interesting enough to read, but not sure if I would take the time to read the whole trilogy again.
August 27, 2016
Military sci fi that takes place over three generations of the Moreau family. Book one reminded me a little bit of Starship Troopers. Books two and three have a very different flavor. Timeline shifts abruptly at times. It was okay but not Zahn's best.
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January 9, 2010baen ebook
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March 9, 2010Reading on my Kindle
November 29, 2012
I could only make it through the first two books, Cobra and Cobra Strike. Some good ideas but very underdeveloped.
April 23, 2015
pretty fgood thus far although book 2 is frustrating
March 7, 2016
Good, but a little strange. The writing covers a key event in the main characters' lives, and then jumps years ahead to the next event. It's like reading a biography.
January 16, 2014
Fast paced and interesting - just the way I like em. Should be 4.5
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews