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Hostile Takeover #1-3
The Hostile Takeover Trilogy
In the 24th century, humans have built a star-spanning Confederacy that encompasses 83 worlds-plus one. The 84th planet is Bakunin, where power belongs to whoever can seize it. With no taxes, no antitrust laws, and no governing body, it's the perfect home base for mega-corporations and criminals.
976 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published November 2, 2004
8 people are currently reading
113 people want to read
About the author
S. Andrew Swann
39 books118 followersS. Andrew Swann is the primary pseudonym of Steven Swiniarski, who also writes as S.A. Swiniarski, Steven Krane, and S.A. Swann.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
April 6, 2022
The sheer size of this omnibus kept it in the TBR for months: 975 pp of small print! But it turned out to be compulsively readable neo-pulp. Three mid-90s mmpbs in one! I'm sorry he didn't do some blue-pencil editing for the omnibus. Well. It is what it is. Let's see if I can briefly outline the book so that you can judge whether to read it.
OK, the place to start is with Roger Eschbacher's review, the best I saw here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... Why don't you read that first? I'll wait.
The best part of this is all the fancy parts he's bolted on to this standard space-opera chassis: a lost Forerunner race! Ancient star-maps to planets they terraformed, 100 million years ago.
And tasty Easter Eggs! One of the starships was the Nomad, which aging fans may recall featured in Bester's classic "The Stars My Destination" (1956). And one of the characters, Ivor Jorgenson: that was a "house name" used in old SF/F magazines in the pulp era, if an author had more than one story in a given issue. Here, it turned out to be a nom de guerre for that character.
And there's lots more of this kind of stuff, that I either missed or forgot to jot a note....
Bottom line: a good book, perhaps better if read one novel at a time. I read the whole thing at once and got (mild) indigestion. But it's good stuff, and rings many of my chimes. 3.5 local stars, rounded up.
OK, the place to start is with Roger Eschbacher's review, the best I saw here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... Why don't you read that first? I'll wait.
The best part of this is all the fancy parts he's bolted on to this standard space-opera chassis: a lost Forerunner race! Ancient star-maps to planets they terraformed, 100 million years ago.
And tasty Easter Eggs! One of the starships was the Nomad, which aging fans may recall featured in Bester's classic "The Stars My Destination" (1956). And one of the characters, Ivor Jorgenson: that was a "house name" used in old SF/F magazines in the pulp era, if an author had more than one story in a given issue. Here, it turned out to be a nom de guerre for that character.
And there's lots more of this kind of stuff, that I either missed or forgot to jot a note....
Bottom line: a good book, perhaps better if read one novel at a time. I read the whole thing at once and got (mild) indigestion. But it's good stuff, and rings many of my chimes. 3.5 local stars, rounded up.
July 29, 2011
This whopper of a trilogy ("Profiteer", "Partisan", "Revolutionary") follows two brothers as they battle over Bakunin - an outlaw planet of congenital individualists located in the heart of the vast Confederacy. As the title hints, Bakunin is crawling with various corporations, each of which is a power unto itself, right down to having their own security forces which more closely resemble national armies.
Dominic Magnus, a Bakunin CEO, and his brother Klaus, an agent of the Confederacy's covert operations branch, have had a lethal beef with each other going back to the death of their mother years ago. At first Dominic thinks Klaus' showing up with an invading force and taking over his corporation is just a continuation of their whole Cain and Abel dance, but we soon learn that the brothers are merely proxies for forces far greater then themselves. There is intrigue galore in these stories which, to me, give a hint of the Machiavellian politics that flavored the Italian renaissance.
I'll admit that it takes a while to get into the dense narrative of these books, but I recommend sticking with them as once you tag who's who and what's what, you're in for an enjoyable ride.
Dominic Magnus, a Bakunin CEO, and his brother Klaus, an agent of the Confederacy's covert operations branch, have had a lethal beef with each other going back to the death of their mother years ago. At first Dominic thinks Klaus' showing up with an invading force and taking over his corporation is just a continuation of their whole Cain and Abel dance, but we soon learn that the brothers are merely proxies for forces far greater then themselves. There is intrigue galore in these stories which, to me, give a hint of the Machiavellian politics that flavored the Italian renaissance.
I'll admit that it takes a while to get into the dense narrative of these books, but I recommend sticking with them as once you tag who's who and what's what, you're in for an enjoyable ride.
August 21, 2012
This book is for those who enjoy commentary on the world we live in. While the writing itself doesn't exactly show off any flair, the story does.
This wonderful book covers questions in many areas including: government, death, freedom, humanity, worth, redemption, revenge, and that is to just name a few. I have read this book 7 times and I would gladly read it again and focus in on another string of questions the book provides.
If you enjoy reads that make you think this book will be for you, if you are looking for an entertainment book that was written out to be a pleasing piece of candy, you better move on.
This wonderful book covers questions in many areas including: government, death, freedom, humanity, worth, redemption, revenge, and that is to just name a few. I have read this book 7 times and I would gladly read it again and focus in on another string of questions the book provides.
If you enjoy reads that make you think this book will be for you, if you are looking for an entertainment book that was written out to be a pleasing piece of candy, you better move on.
October 19, 2008
S. Andrew Swann's Hostile Takeover trilogy of books came up in a discussion of "libertarian science fiction" and for some reason that notion caught my eye. There are plenty of anarchist and libertarian names and quotes scattered through the book, but really I'd say it's much more space opera than political fiction. Fortunately, it's entertaining space opera.
June 15, 2009
I first read this trilogy as the three separately released books back when I was in high school. When I came upon the omnibus version of it I decided to purchase and read it all again. This is a great, action packed novel with intriguing characters and an interesting analysis of anarchy in the face of a universal confederation. It's a fun read for the action, but is packed with depth beyond the guns and explosions.
September 30, 2009
One of my favorite books, and not to be taken lightly. To put it short, this is libertarian economic military sci-fi with strong female characters and a deep story so engaging it'll have you turning the pages from beginning to end. That's all I'm gonna say about it.. If this gets you to read the 'Hostile Takeover' Trilogy, be warned. This is NOT light sci-fi. But it's REALLY good.
January 2, 2012
This one seemed like it very badly wanted to be Dune when it grew up, but unfortunately Swann's style lacked any of Herbert's ornamentation or occasional lyricism. The premise was interesting, and there were moments it was good... but the moments became frustrating because so much of the rest was utterly pedestrian. And don't get me started on the attempted/aborted romance.
I love the idea of political, economic and social explorations in SF, and books such as Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy, CJ Cherryh's Downbelow Station, George Turner's The Sea And Summer, and the aforementioned Dune pull it off in compelling and fascinating reads. Unfortunately this one struggled to hold my interest in the same way at the aforementioned. It's probably a sign when more time is devoted to describing the exact mechanisms and potentials of weapons systems than social systems. To be fair however, there were some good ideas, such as the communes based around various political, religious, or philosophical tenets; and both the Proteus Commune and Bakunin Church of Christ, Avenger won points for going in interesting or amusing (if not utterly original) directions.
For me, the best thing this trilogy had going for it were the confusions around time and space travel, and implications that had for identity and sequences of events. There were moments I wasn't entirely sure who was who, or why, or when; and the reveal proved to be satisfying, in the way that the better dealings with time travel usually are.
It's a shame that the characters, much of the plot, and the writing couldn't support the better ideas more satisfyingly. I would have liked to like this one more.
I love the idea of political, economic and social explorations in SF, and books such as Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy, CJ Cherryh's Downbelow Station, George Turner's The Sea And Summer, and the aforementioned Dune pull it off in compelling and fascinating reads. Unfortunately this one struggled to hold my interest in the same way at the aforementioned. It's probably a sign when more time is devoted to describing the exact mechanisms and potentials of weapons systems than social systems. To be fair however, there were some good ideas, such as the communes based around various political, religious, or philosophical tenets; and both the Proteus Commune and Bakunin Church of Christ, Avenger won points for going in interesting or amusing (if not utterly original) directions.
For me, the best thing this trilogy had going for it were the confusions around time and space travel, and implications that had for identity and sequences of events. There were moments I wasn't entirely sure who was who, or why, or when; and the reveal proved to be satisfying, in the way that the better dealings with time travel usually are.
It's a shame that the characters, much of the plot, and the writing couldn't support the better ideas more satisfyingly. I would have liked to like this one more.
February 20, 2010
A sci-fi operatic adventure exploring what an anarchic/free market world would look like in an otherwise regulated "federation". Interesting if somewhat hollow characters, an extremely captivating storyline, and an interesting premise thoughtfully examined. I also should note it deals with both extremely advanced technology and time travel better than most. Good read.
April 13, 2022
Book 1 - 5 stars epic sci fi heist
Book 2 - 3 stars hard sci fi attempt at romance?
Book 3 - 3 stars sci fi political drama with flat ending
Total 3.5 but can’t give that here.
Book 2 - 3 stars hard sci fi attempt at romance?
Book 3 - 3 stars sci fi political drama with flat ending
Total 3.5 but can’t give that here.
Read
June 21, 2009Science Fiction
Want to read
October 6, 2009Three in one edition. The double crosses get a tad tiring. Can one truly exist always expecting never to trust at all?
November 21, 2010
Really good book. I liked the pace of the first book, though found that the second one was drawn out and disappointed that all the protiean egg served as was a get out of plot hole free card.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 27, 2014
Awesome book! Hard to believe this was written in the 90's!
August 28, 2016
It's fun, solid, libertarian SciFi. What more can you ask for?
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews