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Starside Blues #1
Starside Blues
Dieter Webber, a former Jump Armor pilot, lost his war. Years later as a broken expat, half a galaxy away, the former combat pilot is haunted by the ghosts of the war, and looming debts to organized crime. An encounter with an Android, Reis, serves as invitation from his former commander to a reluctant work in her company, Valkyrie LLC.Their first a high profile Letter of Marque, a combat drop on a breakaway world of The Reach. Piloting walking Mechanical Armored Vehicles, 'Mobile Armors', capable of rapid deployment from the air, Webber will once again be plummeting feet first into harm's way in the same model of Jump Armor that carried him through the last the venerable, aging Hammerhead MK. II.This time, with an android as his Weapon Systems Officer.With old mentors evaluating his commitment to his return, and new comrades rightfully fearing his years of rust getting them killed, his android 'Wizzo' may be the least of his worries. If he can learn to overcome a past that doesn't want to let go, he might earn a chance to risk life and limb in the gritty, high stakes world of blood-for-money military contracts.So, sit back, light up a SynthStick, and pour your choice of poison as you get set for a combat drop with Webber, Reis, and the rest of Valkyrie LLC. Practice the life or death business of war-for-profit in this Mecha-Noir, where skill and grit will be tested by earning a living, turning the ledger red with blood.Just remember- it's going to take more than a sardonic wit and a few simulated combat jumps to shake those Starside Blues.
- GenresScience Fiction
494 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 25, 2021
21 people are currently reading
29 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
April 28, 2023
3.5/4
Let's get the bad out the way first : the book is fairly longer than it should be, there's quite a bit of repetitive, superfluous text. The most glaring issues are the spelling issues. Now, I can excuse one or two - it happens - but when the word 'loose' is exclusively used whenever it's a toss up between 'lose or loose', well that's an annoying problem. There's others too which seems amateurish, yes it is the author's first book, however, surely one of his support team of friends would have seen a few of the issues?
The good : it's a good tale, touching upon the realities of war and the after effects. The struggle for survival, survivor's guilt, cruelty. Deals with loneliness, finding true friendship, PTSD, the visible and invisible wounds. The mech's are a similar to Battletech mech's, as opposed to a Gundam type mech.
I think this story is interesting enough to pick up book two.
Let's get the bad out the way first : the book is fairly longer than it should be, there's quite a bit of repetitive, superfluous text. The most glaring issues are the spelling issues. Now, I can excuse one or two - it happens - but when the word 'loose' is exclusively used whenever it's a toss up between 'lose or loose', well that's an annoying problem. There's others too which seems amateurish, yes it is the author's first book, however, surely one of his support team of friends would have seen a few of the issues?
The good : it's a good tale, touching upon the realities of war and the after effects. The struggle for survival, survivor's guilt, cruelty. Deals with loneliness, finding true friendship, PTSD, the visible and invisible wounds. The mech's are a similar to Battletech mech's, as opposed to a Gundam type mech.
I think this story is interesting enough to pick up book two.
December 4, 2021
Bit of a slow burn (for the first chapter), but a great payoff.
Focusing on the Mechs, they're very technical (very grounded, no laser sword/samurai mechs battling it out, instead think 'Cold War' era tank battles with walking war machines).
Worldbuilding is gritty and feels depressingly believable for a future scenario, but the struggles bring out good reactions from the characters. It seems like a good amount of thought went into how the various mechanics of the world (FTL travel, spaceflight, power sources, etc.) work and interact with each-other.
Characters feel fleshed out, their actions feel justified. It's light on Noir (seems mostly relegated to the opening few chapters, but the emotional beats set there carry forward very well), and leans more into Military Thriller territory, feeling very Tom Clancy at points.
Combat is fast and fluid, pretty easy to follow (not as easy as Team Yankee, but Coyle included combat maps so that's hard to beat). Shepherd included a bunch of little details that Tanker/Pilot nerds like myself will enjoy. It seems like we're set up for more going forward, but there was more than enough in the book to satisfy a craving for action.
The relationship between the main two characters (really the heart and soul of this book) is enjoyable, and the dynamic between them is a fun little rollercoaster. Kind of bummed it ends where it does (things starting to ramp up on the combat side, all of the pieces set up), but it sounds like the author is working on a sequel.
Depending on how that shapes up, if it's good then this book was a great introduction to this take on Military Science Fiction. Stand alone, still a fun read, it read fast for a book of that length (it's a bit of a doorstop at first glance, but was light on its feet). If the author doesn't trip and fall with the sequel, it could be a series with some staying power.
Definitely Recommended
Focusing on the Mechs, they're very technical (very grounded, no laser sword/samurai mechs battling it out, instead think 'Cold War' era tank battles with walking war machines).
Worldbuilding is gritty and feels depressingly believable for a future scenario, but the struggles bring out good reactions from the characters. It seems like a good amount of thought went into how the various mechanics of the world (FTL travel, spaceflight, power sources, etc.) work and interact with each-other.
Characters feel fleshed out, their actions feel justified. It's light on Noir (seems mostly relegated to the opening few chapters, but the emotional beats set there carry forward very well), and leans more into Military Thriller territory, feeling very Tom Clancy at points.
Combat is fast and fluid, pretty easy to follow (not as easy as Team Yankee, but Coyle included combat maps so that's hard to beat). Shepherd included a bunch of little details that Tanker/Pilot nerds like myself will enjoy. It seems like we're set up for more going forward, but there was more than enough in the book to satisfy a craving for action.
The relationship between the main two characters (really the heart and soul of this book) is enjoyable, and the dynamic between them is a fun little rollercoaster. Kind of bummed it ends where it does (things starting to ramp up on the combat side, all of the pieces set up), but it sounds like the author is working on a sequel.
Depending on how that shapes up, if it's good then this book was a great introduction to this take on Military Science Fiction. Stand alone, still a fun read, it read fast for a book of that length (it's a bit of a doorstop at first glance, but was light on its feet). If the author doesn't trip and fall with the sequel, it could be a series with some staying power.
Definitely Recommended
October 2, 2024
Pretty good story, but if one has issues with characters who are emotional cowards, then this story can be a pain to get through early on, due to how drawn out the issues with the MC are.
So now when all that is over and done with I as the reader find myself disliking the MC for his early behaviour (First 3rd of the book) and that just wont go away. I can not.. sympathize with the main character.
- Audiobook. -
Narrator is given to mispronunciation, adding extra letters missing one or exchanging a letter for another. Also just plain failing totally a few times a word now and then seeming as if the narrator was gracing the seat of a Dental chair with part of his mouth numbed.
These are things I'd expect to have been edited out and redone. Also the narration for the companion character Reis has a tendency to vary a lot in pacing with odd timing, slow to normal to slightly sped up. On the whole the narration seems to be lacking in professionalism.
So now when all that is over and done with I as the reader find myself disliking the MC for his early behaviour (First 3rd of the book) and that just wont go away. I can not.. sympathize with the main character.
- Audiobook. -
Narrator is given to mispronunciation, adding extra letters missing one or exchanging a letter for another. Also just plain failing totally a few times a word now and then seeming as if the narrator was gracing the seat of a Dental chair with part of his mouth numbed.
These are things I'd expect to have been edited out and redone. Also the narration for the companion character Reis has a tendency to vary a lot in pacing with odd timing, slow to normal to slightly sped up. On the whole the narration seems to be lacking in professionalism.
March 15, 2022
A Total Surprise
I had originally went into this thinking it would be something akin to a mecha anime-inspired story.
I was not expecting a love letter to Battletech and Mechwarrior. I was pleasantly surprised and found myself making excuses to read just a little longer, just one more page before bed.
The characters are compelling and flawed, which is a great problem to have. I was able to guess most of their motivations pretty quickly but the presentation made me want to continue despite seeing the directions they were heading.
Who would like this book? Someone interested in a character driven Mechwarrior novel without the hangups of it being Mechwarrior. Want to read an extended Battletech campaign AAR in novel form? This one is for you.
Reason for 4 stars: Normally I can overlook some spelling mistakes. There are no noticeably misspelled words that I found, but there are a number of obviously wrong word choices. Things that a spell checker doesn't catch but an editor will. The writing, otherwise, is on point even if a bit unorthodox.
I'll love forward to reading the sequels.
I had originally went into this thinking it would be something akin to a mecha anime-inspired story.
I was not expecting a love letter to Battletech and Mechwarrior. I was pleasantly surprised and found myself making excuses to read just a little longer, just one more page before bed.
The characters are compelling and flawed, which is a great problem to have. I was able to guess most of their motivations pretty quickly but the presentation made me want to continue despite seeing the directions they were heading.
Who would like this book? Someone interested in a character driven Mechwarrior novel without the hangups of it being Mechwarrior. Want to read an extended Battletech campaign AAR in novel form? This one is for you.
Reason for 4 stars: Normally I can overlook some spelling mistakes. There are no noticeably misspelled words that I found, but there are a number of obviously wrong word choices. Things that a spell checker doesn't catch but an editor will. The writing, otherwise, is on point even if a bit unorthodox.
I'll love forward to reading the sequels.
November 28, 2021
Very good read
The opening chapter is the weakest in the whole book.....the book is 95% about managing mechs in combat.
It is very well written with a good story line, excellent character development showing the developing relationship between what seems to be a burnt out mech operator from the losing side in a past war and a possibly illegal girl/cyborg. Good combat scenes, good plot. If you like the genre then this really is a top notch example. Not cheap but worth the money.
The opening chapter is the weakest in the whole book.....the book is 95% about managing mechs in combat.
It is very well written with a good story line, excellent character development showing the developing relationship between what seems to be a burnt out mech operator from the losing side in a past war and a possibly illegal girl/cyborg. Good combat scenes, good plot. If you like the genre then this really is a top notch example. Not cheap but worth the money.
July 20, 2025
Pretty good start to a series
Nice job on a pretty mainstream mech type story. Looking forward to the next one to see where they take Reis. Why do all the steely eyed missile man types have to go through their drunk and disordered phase? I’m not a fan of rogue AI (haven’t we already seen enough to make sure there is a solid off switch?) but it did nicely set up the friction between the born and the made. A lot of interesting clues were dropped about Reis, and I think there is a good character mix in this group. Overall, quite enjoyed this one.
Nice job on a pretty mainstream mech type story. Looking forward to the next one to see where they take Reis. Why do all the steely eyed missile man types have to go through their drunk and disordered phase? I’m not a fan of rogue AI (haven’t we already seen enough to make sure there is a solid off switch?) but it did nicely set up the friction between the born and the made. A lot of interesting clues were dropped about Reis, and I think there is a good character mix in this group. Overall, quite enjoyed this one.
Read
June 28, 2023Made me nostalgic for my old army days
The dialogue was authentic to what you would hear in a battalion S-2 and across the comm-net. I had to remind myself that this was sci-fi. Well done!
The dialogue was authentic to what you would hear in a battalion S-2 and across the comm-net. I had to remind myself that this was sci-fi. Well done!
November 30, 2021
Good read
I enjoyed the book for the fast pace and character development of the individuals. It came across as a more real-to-life mixture of soldiers.
I enjoyed the book for the fast pace and character development of the individuals. It came across as a more real-to-life mixture of soldiers.
December 26, 2021
started slow got awesome
While it started a little slow it definitely got all engrossing after the introduction of characters. Good all around read.
While it started a little slow it definitely got all engrossing after the introduction of characters. Good all around read.
February 17, 2024
Great first book
This is a great read. And it's thoroughly impressive that this book is shepherd's first book. I hope the series keeps fleshing out the universe and characters .
This is a great read. And it's thoroughly impressive that this book is shepherd's first book. I hope the series keeps fleshing out the universe and characters .
September 1, 2025
Excellent military mecha fiction.
July 1, 2023
The "noir" part (=Blade Runner style Techno Noir) is there but gets dropped fast after the first couple of chapters. What follows is a solid first entry in the military scifi genre, sub category "mecha" aka "giant frikkin' robots'. Positives are a lack of jingoism and macho-ism that plagues many other titles. Also, the robots are more like walking tanks, so you won't see any acrobatics you might expect from watching certain animes ;)
To get the mediocre stuff out first: Don't expect super exciting worldbuilding. I know, military scifi is not exactly a genre sparkling with breathtaking new ideas and let's say this book is not the exception. The world in this book is a bit bland and a bit too close to contemporary stereotypes. A good part of the cast comes from a planet called Faust which is hodge-podge of German stereotypes. They eat Sauerkraut! They are awesome engineeers! They fought a war and lost! The general world map looks like a mixture of various factions, from corporate techno noir worlds to classical nation-states turned star empire. Nothing to write home about.
That being said, the book's strength imho lies in some good, solid characters. The mercenary outfit the book focuses on consists mainly of 30-ish and older people who have history. Not only does this save the reader from the ubiquitous bootcamp chapter (drill sergeant ripped straight from Full Metal Jacket included) but this also makes for a thankfully mature cast of characters. As a consequence, friction between the characters is handled in a much more professional manner. Also, I must say, the way the outfit eventually grows together and becomes a unit is handled really well. It feels much more organic than in many other novels and is given time to develop. So be aware, while the book does offer action, the first 2 thirds do focus on the team coming together (with some action sprinkled between) while the last third is basically a ton of action.
Speaking of: the action is basically ground combat and the book goes out of its way to keep things interesting. Sometimes you get unconventional feints, sometimes you get a very well coordinated combined arms attacks on a fortified position. Also - take that as you will - this book does not sugarcoat what a 20 mm autocannon will do when fired into an armored personnel carrier. It's not that the book is a gorefest, but you will occasionally get quite detailed descriptions about the effect of various weapons. Imho this gives the book the right kind of grit it needs.
All in all, quite promising debut, I will keep an eye out for more. The novel ends with several things unresolved but providing enough closure that you don't feel cheated.
To get the mediocre stuff out first: Don't expect super exciting worldbuilding. I know, military scifi is not exactly a genre sparkling with breathtaking new ideas and let's say this book is not the exception. The world in this book is a bit bland and a bit too close to contemporary stereotypes. A good part of the cast comes from a planet called Faust which is hodge-podge of German stereotypes. They eat Sauerkraut! They are awesome engineeers! They fought a war and lost! The general world map looks like a mixture of various factions, from corporate techno noir worlds to classical nation-states turned star empire. Nothing to write home about.
That being said, the book's strength imho lies in some good, solid characters. The mercenary outfit the book focuses on consists mainly of 30-ish and older people who have history. Not only does this save the reader from the ubiquitous bootcamp chapter (drill sergeant ripped straight from Full Metal Jacket included) but this also makes for a thankfully mature cast of characters. As a consequence, friction between the characters is handled in a much more professional manner. Also, I must say, the way the outfit eventually grows together and becomes a unit is handled really well. It feels much more organic than in many other novels and is given time to develop. So be aware, while the book does offer action, the first 2 thirds do focus on the team coming together (with some action sprinkled between) while the last third is basically a ton of action.
Speaking of: the action is basically ground combat and the book goes out of its way to keep things interesting. Sometimes you get unconventional feints, sometimes you get a very well coordinated combined arms attacks on a fortified position. Also - take that as you will - this book does not sugarcoat what a 20 mm autocannon will do when fired into an armored personnel carrier. It's not that the book is a gorefest, but you will occasionally get quite detailed descriptions about the effect of various weapons. Imho this gives the book the right kind of grit it needs.
All in all, quite promising debut, I will keep an eye out for more. The novel ends with several things unresolved but providing enough closure that you don't feel cheated.
November 24, 2024
Some cool ideas and lots of action but overall I just didn't care that much, it didn't hold my interest and was very predictable.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews