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Summer's End
SOMETIMES A DARK PAST CAN HAUNT YOU. OTHER TIMES IT JUST MAY BE THE ONLY THING KEEPING YOU ALIVE.
Fresh out of college with his Ship Engineer 3rd-Class certificate, Dave Walker’s only thought is to try to find a berth on a corporate ship plying the trade routes between the many habs, orbitals, and moons in the Solar System. The problem for Dave, however, isn't his straight C average; it's that his stepfather, a powerful Earth Senator he’s never met, now wants him dead.
Forced to take the first berth he can find, Dave ends up on the Iowa Hill, an old tramp freighter running with a minimal crew and nearing the end of its useful life, plying the routes that the corporations ignore and visiting the kinds of places that the folks on Earth pretend don’t exist.
Between the assassins, the criminals, and the pirates he needs to deal with, Dave is discovering that there are a lot of things out there that he still needs to learn.
But there’s one hard lesson he learned long ago that he’s being forced to how to be ruthless.
At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management).
John Van Stry is a United States Air Force Veteran who worked in robotics and as a flight test engineer and as a quality and test engineer in the medical devices industry. He is a collector of motorcycles and big cats. A star of the indie publishing world, Summer’s End is his first novel with Baen Books.
Fresh out of college with his Ship Engineer 3rd-Class certificate, Dave Walker’s only thought is to try to find a berth on a corporate ship plying the trade routes between the many habs, orbitals, and moons in the Solar System. The problem for Dave, however, isn't his straight C average; it's that his stepfather, a powerful Earth Senator he’s never met, now wants him dead.
Forced to take the first berth he can find, Dave ends up on the Iowa Hill, an old tramp freighter running with a minimal crew and nearing the end of its useful life, plying the routes that the corporations ignore and visiting the kinds of places that the folks on Earth pretend don’t exist.
Between the assassins, the criminals, and the pirates he needs to deal with, Dave is discovering that there are a lot of things out there that he still needs to learn.
But there’s one hard lesson he learned long ago that he’s being forced to how to be ruthless.
At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management).
John Van Stry is a United States Air Force Veteran who worked in robotics and as a flight test engineer and as a quality and test engineer in the medical devices industry. He is a collector of motorcycles and big cats. A star of the indie publishing world, Summer’s End is his first novel with Baen Books.
453 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 6, 2022
53 people are currently reading
106 people want to read
About the author
John Van Stry
49 books366 followersI've had a very varied life. I grew up in New York, on Long Island.
I went to school to become an Engineer, then joined the Air Force.
After that I worked first in Robotics, then in Aerospace as a Flight Test Engineer. I moved into the medical fields, then into more Technical markets working for a number of high tech companies where I became a Contractor.
I used to own and raise big cats. I love motorcycles and old cars. I'm a pilot and former martial arts instructor. I'm a fan of the Reno Air Races.
Then there's the stuff I'm not supposed to talk about, but that's another story.
I've seen a lot of interesting stuff go by, met a lot of interesting, wonderful, strange, or sometimes just psychotic people. I've had the opportunity to work on some truly game changing technologies. And while I've had some very bad things happen to me in my life, I've never let it stop me.
Keep smiling.
-John
I went to school to become an Engineer, then joined the Air Force.
After that I worked first in Robotics, then in Aerospace as a Flight Test Engineer. I moved into the medical fields, then into more Technical markets working for a number of high tech companies where I became a Contractor.
I used to own and raise big cats. I love motorcycles and old cars. I'm a pilot and former martial arts instructor. I'm a fan of the Reno Air Races.
Then there's the stuff I'm not supposed to talk about, but that's another story.
I've seen a lot of interesting stuff go by, met a lot of interesting, wonderful, strange, or sometimes just psychotic people. I've had the opportunity to work on some truly game changing technologies. And while I've had some very bad things happen to me in my life, I've never let it stop me.
Keep smiling.
-John
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews
January 25, 2023
You've never seen a Mary Sue / Gary Stu character like that. If there was an Hugo Award for Mary Sues, this book would be remembered though the ages. I finally gave up reading about 2/3rds and wouldn't be surprised if by the end the main character discovers that he is a Jedi master AND a Wizard.
October 14, 2022
I want to thank Baen and the author for providing me with an eARC version of Summer's End, scheduled for release December 6, 2022.
Summer's End is a very fun sci-fi adventure, told from the perspective of Dave Walker. Recent graduate from engineering school, Dave must accept the first job offer with an old tramp streamer in order to get off earth to escape assassins' hired by his step father. Dave is a former deadly "pick man" for his local street gang, who quit the gang and got his engineering degree. Although Dave falls into one disaster after another, he manages to escape them all with his native wit and ethical approach to the world. His step brother is a genius and the two learned to have each others back and continue to work for the benefit of each other.
Politically, the book has an overcrowded earth, with 3 distinct classes: elites, Proles, and Doles, and while painted with a broad brush, its not intended to be a political treatise. Dave is attracted to more libertarian communities found on Ceres and a hidden community of rebels. These rebels have left Venus to escape a rigid, authoritarian society, and have to remain hidden to survive continuing attempts to be wiped out.
The strength of the book is a well written, exciting space adventure. A number of characters are fully fleshed out. The book opens with a lot of description of the spaceship (Iowa Hill) and the routine and chores of an engineer. The author is an engineer with a background in the AirForce, robotics, and as a flight test engineer, so I assume the descriptions are well grounded. The story kinds of sneaks up on you slowly building up from the routine of ship life. Sexual (including gay) relations are treated matter of factly.
So, why 4 stars and not 5. The story is a little two dimensional for my taste: Dave's romantic interests are both beautiful, the nerd brother attracts women by writing them cheer routines, and things always work out for Dave (somewhat ironic since he is such a shit magnet). This is not really a problem, the author delivers what's promised: an exciting adventure, with a very strong belief system/message - trust and support of the family/tribe are keys to a happy successful life.
Summer's End is a very fun sci-fi adventure, told from the perspective of Dave Walker. Recent graduate from engineering school, Dave must accept the first job offer with an old tramp streamer in order to get off earth to escape assassins' hired by his step father. Dave is a former deadly "pick man" for his local street gang, who quit the gang and got his engineering degree. Although Dave falls into one disaster after another, he manages to escape them all with his native wit and ethical approach to the world. His step brother is a genius and the two learned to have each others back and continue to work for the benefit of each other.
Politically, the book has an overcrowded earth, with 3 distinct classes: elites, Proles, and Doles, and while painted with a broad brush, its not intended to be a political treatise. Dave is attracted to more libertarian communities found on Ceres and a hidden community of rebels. These rebels have left Venus to escape a rigid, authoritarian society, and have to remain hidden to survive continuing attempts to be wiped out.
The strength of the book is a well written, exciting space adventure. A number of characters are fully fleshed out. The book opens with a lot of description of the spaceship (Iowa Hill) and the routine and chores of an engineer. The author is an engineer with a background in the AirForce, robotics, and as a flight test engineer, so I assume the descriptions are well grounded. The story kinds of sneaks up on you slowly building up from the routine of ship life. Sexual (including gay) relations are treated matter of factly.
So, why 4 stars and not 5. The story is a little two dimensional for my taste: Dave's romantic interests are both beautiful, the nerd brother attracts women by writing them cheer routines, and things always work out for Dave (somewhat ironic since he is such a shit magnet). This is not really a problem, the author delivers what's promised: an exciting adventure, with a very strong belief system/message - trust and support of the family/tribe are keys to a happy successful life.
October 27, 2023
Not his best work
This is a knock off of the Solar Clipper series by Nathan Lowell that's been given the Fast and Furious treatment.
John Van Stry also saw fit to add some anti-democracy FOX News conspiracy theories about the deep state and the "power" of the hereditary welfare classes meant to inflame the resentment of working people. I assure you none of those things exist in the Wonderful Sci-Fi series this book is a pale rip-off of.
-Now I did enjoy reading this "Homage" on two levels. One it was an interesting exercise in comparing styles. Like hearing a punk band do a cover version, it's not better by any means but it's funny and irreverent. Two, a great story is still pretty good even retold by another teller. Summer's End is a fun read and I might have enjoyed it just as much had I not known that it was one of the most blatant pieces of plagiarism I've ever seen -Had John Van Stry not chosen to inject the Rush Limbaugh / Tucker Carlson propaganda into it.
One of the truly great things about the Solar Clipper series is that is it has been stripped of all the bullshit Hollywood razzle-dazzle and shows that a great story is even better without it.
I guess John Van Stry completely missed the point, because he rewrote Solar Clipper with less heart but with pirates and explosions and pointless violence.
Steak is not made better with frosting, sprinkles, and sparkler candles.
This is a knock off of the Solar Clipper series by Nathan Lowell that's been given the Fast and Furious treatment.
John Van Stry also saw fit to add some anti-democracy FOX News conspiracy theories about the deep state and the "power" of the hereditary welfare classes meant to inflame the resentment of working people. I assure you none of those things exist in the Wonderful Sci-Fi series this book is a pale rip-off of.
-Now I did enjoy reading this "Homage" on two levels. One it was an interesting exercise in comparing styles. Like hearing a punk band do a cover version, it's not better by any means but it's funny and irreverent. Two, a great story is still pretty good even retold by another teller. Summer's End is a fun read and I might have enjoyed it just as much had I not known that it was one of the most blatant pieces of plagiarism I've ever seen -Had John Van Stry not chosen to inject the Rush Limbaugh / Tucker Carlson propaganda into it.
One of the truly great things about the Solar Clipper series is that is it has been stripped of all the bullshit Hollywood razzle-dazzle and shows that a great story is even better without it.
I guess John Van Stry completely missed the point, because he rewrote Solar Clipper with less heart but with pirates and explosions and pointless violence.
Steak is not made better with frosting, sprinkles, and sparkler candles.
July 20, 2023
7/19/2023 I went on to finish the book, because ... the good ... it is a real good science fiction story - spaceships and politics and superman/better-than-human tropes are great.
I did say the superman was a mark down (reason #1 below) - simply because the self-insert Marty Stu popular in the 70s and 80s has a lot of toxicity associated with it. But, at the same time, it's a fun trope. I grew up on it. Who doesn't want to be perfect in every way?
Later in the story than the initial 1/3 of the novel, women start developing more power. But the story still has SOOOO many connections to Heinlein's women being there to support their men. And men going "I love the support they provide me, of course they are in charge".
If you like Heinlein, then you will like this book. If you would like to see Heinlein-style writing through a modern lens, this book is not it.
Still have to leave this as a 1-star because of reason #5 below. I enjoyed it, but it should have been so much better.
***
7/17/2023
Full disclosure: Received for free at a convention as an attendee of the Baen Roadshow. No review required.
DNF - got to page 135 of 362
The good - science fiction. Loved getting to see engineering instead of the normal military or soap opera. What does it take to get the spaceships of our dreams off the ground and keep them flying?
The bad ... The one star I'm giving this book gives a good indication there is a lot.
1. Superhuman - Everything Dave Walker puts his mind to gets accomplished - a "c" student, who crushes his additional certificates easily (at least he is shown studying and working toward the career advancement certs and gives enough time that the certifications are plausible, and the "c" level is explained in that he had to work through school - which is understandable). But also perfect physique and an amazing fighter. Similar to the better-than-human / white man perfection happened a lot in the Heinlein era, and this slides a touch back from that - still, way too much.
2. Male Gaze - Again, this slides back from the worst of the lot and it is easily explained as a 19 to 20 year old boy (not man) ridden with hormones, but if I had to read Dave trying to evaluate Pam's breasts through her shipsuit one more time - ugh! If the others issues did not exist, then I would have just moved forward. (Again, very Heinlein-era.)
3. Females defined in their relation to males - Again, this could just be brushed off as part of his age ... if the rest of the book wasn't so pervasive with the reversion to 1970's sci-fi ... published in 2022, this should have been much better. Eileen isn't the problem - her husband is. Sara, the ship's cook, is more often referred to as the Captain's wife. And so forth. But, you know kids, the other adults met aren't "Jane" and "John" but "Paul's Mom" and "the Janitor".
4. Women not in positions of power - Yes, the head of engineering is a woman, but political leaders, ship captains, and basically every "top" of a pyramid of power is male. Women are either professional sex workers or women trying to get with the main character so he protect them or provide for them.
5. Rape used as a term to describe hot-monkey-sex. Page 130 "She damn near raped me after that, not that I wasn't willing." NO NO NO NO!!! - It's this line that made me give the book a one-star rating. For me, one-star is given for books creating active-harm and this misuse of the term "rape" for an enjoyable, if over-whelming athletic, mutually consent act is WRONG.
6. Woman as Property and Prize - Several times Dave assured Pam, from pages 118 to 130, he would not Rape her while she had a panic attack. (White man-child rescuing a woman ... and getting sex as a reward troupe also making an appearance.) To calm her down he claims her as HIS PROPERTY!!! (which turns her on).
***
I read a lot of books like this - because if you read 60s, 70s, and 80s science fiction and fantasy, that is what was available. But we DON'T need this in 2022.
I did say the superman was a mark down (reason #1 below) - simply because the self-insert Marty Stu popular in the 70s and 80s has a lot of toxicity associated with it. But, at the same time, it's a fun trope. I grew up on it. Who doesn't want to be perfect in every way?
Later in the story than the initial 1/3 of the novel, women start developing more power. But the story still has SOOOO many connections to Heinlein's women being there to support their men. And men going "I love the support they provide me, of course they are in charge".
If you like Heinlein, then you will like this book. If you would like to see Heinlein-style writing through a modern lens, this book is not it.
Still have to leave this as a 1-star because of reason #5 below. I enjoyed it, but it should have been so much better.
***
7/17/2023
Full disclosure: Received for free at a convention as an attendee of the Baen Roadshow. No review required.
DNF - got to page 135 of 362
The good - science fiction. Loved getting to see engineering instead of the normal military or soap opera. What does it take to get the spaceships of our dreams off the ground and keep them flying?
The bad ... The one star I'm giving this book gives a good indication there is a lot.
1. Superhuman - Everything Dave Walker puts his mind to gets accomplished - a "c" student, who crushes his additional certificates easily (at least he is shown studying and working toward the career advancement certs and gives enough time that the certifications are plausible, and the "c" level is explained in that he had to work through school - which is understandable). But also perfect physique and an amazing fighter. Similar to the better-than-human / white man perfection happened a lot in the Heinlein era, and this slides a touch back from that - still, way too much.
2. Male Gaze - Again, this slides back from the worst of the lot and it is easily explained as a 19 to 20 year old boy (not man) ridden with hormones, but if I had to read Dave trying to evaluate Pam's breasts through her shipsuit one more time - ugh! If the others issues did not exist, then I would have just moved forward. (Again, very Heinlein-era.)
3. Females defined in their relation to males - Again, this could just be brushed off as part of his age ... if the rest of the book wasn't so pervasive with the reversion to 1970's sci-fi ... published in 2022, this should have been much better. Eileen isn't the problem - her husband is. Sara, the ship's cook, is more often referred to as the Captain's wife. And so forth. But, you know kids, the other adults met aren't "Jane" and "John" but "Paul's Mom" and "the Janitor".
4. Women not in positions of power - Yes, the head of engineering is a woman, but political leaders, ship captains, and basically every "top" of a pyramid of power is male. Women are either professional sex workers or women trying to get with the main character so he protect them or provide for them.
5. Rape used as a term to describe hot-monkey-sex. Page 130 "She damn near raped me after that, not that I wasn't willing." NO NO NO NO!!! - It's this line that made me give the book a one-star rating. For me, one-star is given for books creating active-harm and this misuse of the term "rape" for an enjoyable, if over-whelming athletic, mutually consent act is WRONG.
6. Woman as Property and Prize - Several times Dave assured Pam, from pages 118 to 130, he would not Rape her while she had a panic attack. (White man-child rescuing a woman ... and getting sex as a reward troupe also making an appearance.) To calm her down he claims her as HIS PROPERTY!!! (which turns her on).
***
I read a lot of books like this - because if you read 60s, 70s, and 80s science fiction and fantasy, that is what was available. But we DON'T need this in 2022.
December 19, 2022
Well, I have to say that I did enjoy this book. BUT it is far from the best seller book that Amazon and a few other sites seems to want it to be. I’m not sure how Amazon’s algorithms work but that #1 in that it had a while ago or their 5 star rating is rather misleading.
This is a decent science fiction adventure. A solid three star book but definitely not anything more than that. The story is okay, the main protagonist is good, and the book is not poorly written.
The story however, is borderline young adult. The way things play out is sometimes just too simple and unrealistic. It is kind of a young adult adventure dream. Also, although the book does not stoop all the way to urban porn there is quite a few annoying teenage sex fantasy bits in the book.
This is the kind of book I have no problem reading while watching some moderately interesting TV-show at the same time because it does not really take that much effort to read.
This is a decent science fiction adventure. A solid three star book but definitely not anything more than that. The story is okay, the main protagonist is good, and the book is not poorly written.
The story however, is borderline young adult. The way things play out is sometimes just too simple and unrealistic. It is kind of a young adult adventure dream. Also, although the book does not stoop all the way to urban porn there is quite a few annoying teenage sex fantasy bits in the book.
This is the kind of book I have no problem reading while watching some moderately interesting TV-show at the same time because it does not really take that much effort to read.
June 22, 2023
I'm not going to put this one on my shelf for the year as it was a DNF, but I saw how high it was rated, and just couldn't sit quietly by and let somebody else stumble into this awful read. I suppose there's a chance it might have gotten better after the first 50-75 pages, but I highly doubt it. The writing was just abysmal. I've sat through some books I really didn't like just to avoid DNF'ing it, but couldn't muster the strength to do it in this case.
Read
April 4, 2026Well, the font choices weren't bad. And every chapter had a heading naming the location where most of the events occurred.
December 7, 2022
What a Ride!
This is the kind of book that you can’t help but feel sad to finish. I kept looking over and over at the small percentage in the corner hoping it wasn’t over yet.
I’ve been a fan of the author for a long time. Even going so far as to have donated to his audiobook campaign for his series, Portal of Infinity. I got my little coin somewhere around here.
In this novel, we follow Daves sojourn into space and all the crazy political/technical craziness and intrigue that a young low level engineer would never have elsewhere. He saves a few damsels, blows out a number of backs, and makes a great many pirate friends along the way.
This is not a heavy book. It’s themes are simple easy to follow. Sometimes comedic and sometimes melancholic, the book follows through with exactly it is. A young man adventure in space finding friends and adventure along the way.
Get this book for a great book read and personally and even better listen (audible).
This is the kind of book that you can’t help but feel sad to finish. I kept looking over and over at the small percentage in the corner hoping it wasn’t over yet.
I’ve been a fan of the author for a long time. Even going so far as to have donated to his audiobook campaign for his series, Portal of Infinity. I got my little coin somewhere around here.
In this novel, we follow Daves sojourn into space and all the crazy political/technical craziness and intrigue that a young low level engineer would never have elsewhere. He saves a few damsels, blows out a number of backs, and makes a great many pirate friends along the way.
This is not a heavy book. It’s themes are simple easy to follow. Sometimes comedic and sometimes melancholic, the book follows through with exactly it is. A young man adventure in space finding friends and adventure along the way.
Get this book for a great book read and personally and even better listen (audible).
December 7, 2022
good story, great fun
Hard SF is sometimes boring to read. Van Stry makes it anything but boring, with down-to-earth characters and a plot that will make you want to cheer them on. The hero isn’t a perfect man, but he is a family man. He’s determined to make something of himself, and along the way he makes friends and creates family. All while keeping up with his engineering certs.
I really hope this book has sequels coming!
Hard SF is sometimes boring to read. Van Stry makes it anything but boring, with down-to-earth characters and a plot that will make you want to cheer them on. The hero isn’t a perfect man, but he is a family man. He’s determined to make something of himself, and along the way he makes friends and creates family. All while keeping up with his engineering certs.
I really hope this book has sequels coming!
March 5, 2025
Amazing start to a series
An amazing start to a new series by an amazing author. I absolutely love it. Great scifi series. Really hope book two releases soon. Everything John Van Stry writes is great.
An amazing start to a new series by an amazing author. I absolutely love it. Great scifi series. Really hope book two releases soon. Everything John Van Stry writes is great.
April 19, 2023
This is a 3.5-star review. Every time I talked myself into rounding it up to 4 stars, I found another reason to make it 3 stars.
I picked up Summer's End because it is a finalist for this year's Prometheus Award given to works of fiction that explore or incorporate libertarian themes. Prometheus Award winners are almost always pretty good. This is a worthy finalist.
Our protagonist is Dave "Mongoose" Walker. A former gang-banger who was literally scared straight and made it through enough college to get a certificate as a 5th-class engineer. In the opening pages, his brother tells him trouble is coming Dave's way. His brother has acquired an engineering position for him on a tramp starship. Go now. Dave does.
The author does a great job of using Dave to bring us into a reality of interplanetary travel and settlement. Dave learns a bit about repairing/maintaining various parts of the ship. But we are spared the description of weeks of travel between destinations. This keeps the story/action moving and interesting.
Dave has all sorts of unusual challenges tossed his way. His biological mother's new-ish husband wants him dead for political reasons. Dave ends up being taken by pirates/buccaneers (there apparently is a useful difference). He just happens to have a skill that he can use to negotiate for his release.
This leads to one major criticism of the book. Coincidence. While every book has to have a specific set of narrative circumstances occur for the book to make sense, it begins to strain credulity when, later in the book, so many of Dave's issues are either caused by and/or resolved by people that were tangentially introduced earlier in the book. And in most cases, those people all know each other in some capacity or another independent of their relationship with Dave. The world is a small place, but it ain't that small. Also, there are more than a few occasions where a character that is of interest to Dave for one reason just happens to have the skill set needed to solve an unrelated problem that Dave is dealing with.
A second criticism is basic spelling, grammar, and wordsmithery. A common complaint that I hear about books published by Baen is that there isn't any clear indication of editorial input. The spelling and grammar errors were just enough to tip my inner editor. There were a few instances where I found the phrasing of a sentence or a paragraphneeded to require required* re-reading a few times to determine what the author was intending to say.
A third criticism is how the author treats a sizeable number of female characters. They are "hot". Hot as in "Hot babe sittin' beside me in my 'Cuda." At least one other review notes that female characters are "frustratingly" undeveloped. With the exception of Dave and one or maybe two other main characters, all of the other characters are undeveloped.
Take away (or diminish) two of those criticisms and this becomes a solid 4-star review (maybe 4.5) as the author does a very good job of incorporating a lot of real-world social structures and issues. He dials them up a bit and projects current trends to create a believable future where people are leaving Earth to avoid overregulation. He also points out that leaving Earth is not a panacea; some new polities develop some pretty horrendous beliefs and corporations really aren't to be trusted.
The slow burn in the book is about social structures and trust. Dave succeeds because he demonstrates himself to be worthy of trust primarily because his life has shown him that trust is the only real value a person has. Gangs, families, business partners, corporations, neighborhoods, cities, and societies all rely on high levels of trust if they are going to continue to exist.
The characters and plot were compelling enough to keep me reading all the way to the end. The conclusion was satisfying. I'd like to read more about all of these characters in the future and see if the author can develop them more fully.
*Read the text that was striked out. Read the replacement. Which one reads more clearly. This book contained too many similar passages.
I picked up Summer's End because it is a finalist for this year's Prometheus Award given to works of fiction that explore or incorporate libertarian themes. Prometheus Award winners are almost always pretty good. This is a worthy finalist.
Our protagonist is Dave "Mongoose" Walker. A former gang-banger who was literally scared straight and made it through enough college to get a certificate as a 5th-class engineer. In the opening pages, his brother tells him trouble is coming Dave's way. His brother has acquired an engineering position for him on a tramp starship. Go now. Dave does.
The author does a great job of using Dave to bring us into a reality of interplanetary travel and settlement. Dave learns a bit about repairing/maintaining various parts of the ship. But we are spared the description of weeks of travel between destinations. This keeps the story/action moving and interesting.
Dave has all sorts of unusual challenges tossed his way. His biological mother's new-ish husband wants him dead for political reasons. Dave ends up being taken by pirates/buccaneers (there apparently is a useful difference). He just happens to have a skill that he can use to negotiate for his release.
This leads to one major criticism of the book. Coincidence. While every book has to have a specific set of narrative circumstances occur for the book to make sense, it begins to strain credulity when, later in the book, so many of Dave's issues are either caused by and/or resolved by people that were tangentially introduced earlier in the book. And in most cases, those people all know each other in some capacity or another independent of their relationship with Dave. The world is a small place, but it ain't that small. Also, there are more than a few occasions where a character that is of interest to Dave for one reason just happens to have the skill set needed to solve an unrelated problem that Dave is dealing with.
A second criticism is basic spelling, grammar, and wordsmithery. A common complaint that I hear about books published by Baen is that there isn't any clear indication of editorial input. The spelling and grammar errors were just enough to tip my inner editor. There were a few instances where I found the phrasing of a sentence or a paragraph
A third criticism is how the author treats a sizeable number of female characters. They are "hot". Hot as in "Hot babe sittin' beside me in my 'Cuda." At least one other review notes that female characters are "frustratingly" undeveloped. With the exception of Dave and one or maybe two other main characters, all of the other characters are undeveloped.
Take away (or diminish) two of those criticisms and this becomes a solid 4-star review (maybe 4.5) as the author does a very good job of incorporating a lot of real-world social structures and issues. He dials them up a bit and projects current trends to create a believable future where people are leaving Earth to avoid overregulation. He also points out that leaving Earth is not a panacea; some new polities develop some pretty horrendous beliefs and corporations really aren't to be trusted.
The slow burn in the book is about social structures and trust. Dave succeeds because he demonstrates himself to be worthy of trust primarily because his life has shown him that trust is the only real value a person has. Gangs, families, business partners, corporations, neighborhoods, cities, and societies all rely on high levels of trust if they are going to continue to exist.
The characters and plot were compelling enough to keep me reading all the way to the end. The conclusion was satisfying. I'd like to read more about all of these characters in the future and see if the author can develop them more fully.
*Read the text that was striked out. Read the replacement. Which one reads more clearly. This book contained too many similar passages.
February 5, 2023
At Summer's End (paper from Baen) Dave Walker leaves Earth as assistant engineer on a tramp freighter Iowa Hill, running because his step father, who he never met, wants him dead. In John Van Stry’s future earth, has settled on three castes; drones who don’t work, proles who have to work, and elies who own everything. Dave’s mother had slummed with his father a Prole until the luxurious life of the elie called her back and her current husband want’s the black sheep of the family gone. His gang history on Earth gave him some skills to fight off assassins as the Iowa Hill goes from port to port in the solar system. Dave is a solid worker and within a year has moved up a grade and gotten several certification that would allow him to move to a better freighter when pirates, who weren’t really pirates capture him and the first mate, a woman terrified of being raped. That’s only the beginning. This is a fun tale taking place in a very settled future. I really enjoyed the tale and wouldn’t mind returning for a sequel.
December 18, 2022
a very good political sci-fi story
this story was well executed it had a lot of characters that you knew how they felt and how they thought about things as the character building was well done. the way the characters interacted with each other led to the story going places that were not quite seen at first but were welcome. the backstory was well done and led Credence to the story as well as an interesting read without becoming too minutely detailed. there is lots of action lots of intrigue a little bit of horror sort of speak of some situations altogether a will told story. and there is also a little bit of romance without going into too much detail and it was definitely mostly Fade to Black. it was done Tastefully though which adds to the story and the full 3d picture of the characters. I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series I want to find out what happens next.
this story was well executed it had a lot of characters that you knew how they felt and how they thought about things as the character building was well done. the way the characters interacted with each other led to the story going places that were not quite seen at first but were welcome. the backstory was well done and led Credence to the story as well as an interesting read without becoming too minutely detailed. there is lots of action lots of intrigue a little bit of horror sort of speak of some situations altogether a will told story. and there is also a little bit of romance without going into too much detail and it was definitely mostly Fade to Black. it was done Tastefully though which adds to the story and the full 3d picture of the characters. I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series I want to find out what happens next.
January 10, 2023
Builds up, but you need to push past the first few chapters
I have thoroughly enjoyed all but one of John’s novels, I like his style but he has missed the mark for me before (I could not finish Lost Souls). The first few chapters felt off, he didn’t really explain the social structure of this future Earth and Dole, Prole and Elie is not explained and neither is the MC’s background and motivation so you are left to struggle through early chapters. I stopped reading the book several times and read several other books until I picked this one back up again. Once you get to understand the MC better the story flowed much better and became hard to put down. I think the author intentionally leads you to misjudge the MC early and I think the story really only picked up when some of that innocent persona image is blown away which is given away in the books synopsis by the line ‘he’s being forced to remember: how to be ruthless’.
I have thoroughly enjoyed all but one of John’s novels, I like his style but he has missed the mark for me before (I could not finish Lost Souls). The first few chapters felt off, he didn’t really explain the social structure of this future Earth and Dole, Prole and Elie is not explained and neither is the MC’s background and motivation so you are left to struggle through early chapters. I stopped reading the book several times and read several other books until I picked this one back up again. Once you get to understand the MC better the story flowed much better and became hard to put down. I think the author intentionally leads you to misjudge the MC early and I think the story really only picked up when some of that innocent persona image is blown away which is given away in the books synopsis by the line ‘he’s being forced to remember: how to be ruthless’.
December 6, 2022
Dave’s past has finally caught up with him and a stepfather he has never met has a hit out on him. Dave’s bio mom abandoned him as a baby to be raised by his poor day and she never looked back once she returned to her super wealthy family. By chance the first engineer’s birth his brother has located for him is a good fit and has a great boss to show him how to live in the outer system. Things take a turn when he is captured by pirates but because of his engineering skills he is able to trade work for release. And then things really start falling into place for him. Dave is a nice guy who falls up the entire book. Even when things look bad, they come out ok in the end. The book was enjoyable, and I would probably pick up the next one to see what happens.
Digital review copy provided by the publisher
Digital review copy provided by the publisher
March 21, 2023
So author made a universe and it was darker than usual life in our solar system... that was good... also tech side was interesting and some social structures were also new in syfy for me. Now the meh part... book might have been shorter, as there was lots of useless interaction between ppl and lots of strongman stuff or senseless violence was like really... im usually all in on senseless violence but mehh.. also the heroes journey was from shaky school boy to epic gang-banger in like 5 minutes... So i hope next book is better or interaction between characters gets more natural, but it was interesting!
November 16, 2022
Spoiler Free Review is of the Baen eARC
If you like John's work already, you will love Summer's End. It's closer to standard SF than most of his writing, but he plays in the genre well. I was impressed both with the characterizations and with the 'flow' of the story (one of John's strong points). In several places I was positively reminded of RAH's Citizen of the Galaxy, more in tone than in any particular omage.
I also like that it runs longer than many of his other recent works. Not that the others are bad, but more of a Good Thing is just a better thing ; )
If you like John's work already, you will love Summer's End. It's closer to standard SF than most of his writing, but he plays in the genre well. I was impressed both with the characterizations and with the 'flow' of the story (one of John's strong points). In several places I was positively reminded of RAH's Citizen of the Galaxy, more in tone than in any particular omage.
I also like that it runs longer than many of his other recent works. Not that the others are bad, but more of a Good Thing is just a better thing ; )
December 30, 2022
Fantastic sci fi adventure
I read a library copy of Summer's End, but I will buy the ebook as soon as I can. I had read some of Van Stry's shory stories, but I wasn't sure what this book would be like. I was pleasantly surprised. Although there is graphic violence, it isn't a large part of the story. Dave and the supporting characters are believable and interesting. The worldbuilding is a little dark and much too believable, but the hope of a better future underlies the entire plot. I thoroughly enjoyed Summer's End and hope Dave, Kacey, and Ben have more adventures.
I read a library copy of Summer's End, but I will buy the ebook as soon as I can. I had read some of Van Stry's shory stories, but I wasn't sure what this book would be like. I was pleasantly surprised. Although there is graphic violence, it isn't a large part of the story. Dave and the supporting characters are believable and interesting. The worldbuilding is a little dark and much too believable, but the hope of a better future underlies the entire plot. I thoroughly enjoyed Summer's End and hope Dave, Kacey, and Ben have more adventures.
September 21, 2023
This was an OK SciFi book from an author that I have read a few of his books. As others have remarked this book does have a feel of "old school" SciFi with definite male-leaning scenes. Women are described in ways that some feel are sexist. YMMV
I did have a hard time reading this book because I just couldn't get behind the MC. This book didn't involve a harem, unlike a lot of this author's books.
I will not read anymore of this series. Lately, this author has not written anything that I like. Might have to write this author off as one I am not reading any more.
I did have a hard time reading this book because I just couldn't get behind the MC. This book didn't involve a harem, unlike a lot of this author's books.
I will not read anymore of this series. Lately, this author has not written anything that I like. Might have to write this author off as one I am not reading any more.
December 7, 2022
Yet another good book by Mr Van Str.
I was looking forward to this book since I first heard about it on Facebook and I was not disappointed.
The story has what I consider to be fairly broad spread of the basic tropes of sci-fi about early space colonisation pre FTL but when written by an author who has mastered the art of telling a story it makes it easier to believe that the future described could be real.
I eagerly await the continuation of this story.
I was looking forward to this book since I first heard about it on Facebook and I was not disappointed.
The story has what I consider to be fairly broad spread of the basic tropes of sci-fi about early space colonisation pre FTL but when written by an author who has mastered the art of telling a story it makes it easier to believe that the future described could be real.
I eagerly await the continuation of this story.
December 16, 2022
Well worth it
John has been self publishing a number of good stories over the years. When he announced that Baen had picked him up for a new series, I pre ordered asap. I'm glad I did. This is a great story and I'm actually glad that certain aspects (harem) of his previous stories are not in this one, even if the hints were there. The world and story appear to be well conceived. I look forward to the next one.
John has been self publishing a number of good stories over the years. When he announced that Baen had picked him up for a new series, I pre ordered asap. I'm glad I did. This is a great story and I'm actually glad that certain aspects (harem) of his previous stories are not in this one, even if the hints were there. The world and story appear to be well conceived. I look forward to the next one.
January 10, 2023
Picked this book up at the library on Saturday. Started it Sunday while watching sports on tv. I turned off the tv and read this until I could not keep my eyes open and finished it Monday afternoon. Easliy the best book that I have read this year and the best Sci-Fi that I have read in the past six months. Great character development, believable science, very well written. I hope this becomes a series.
January 3, 2023
Outstanding Heinlein-esque Adventure
Escapes from Earth slums - check. Makes friends wherever he goes - check. Intriguing characters and situations - CHECK!
VanStry creates a familiar future, with a protagonist a bit tougher and meaner than your average Heinlein lead.
This was a great read that left me wanting a sequel.
Escapes from Earth slums - check. Makes friends wherever he goes - check. Intriguing characters and situations - CHECK!
VanStry creates a familiar future, with a protagonist a bit tougher and meaner than your average Heinlein lead.
This was a great read that left me wanting a sequel.
June 23, 2023
Help me read more books
Great tale here. I'd love to read more in this world, if such a thing exists. This was a very well done piece. I don't recognize this author, but I suppose I need to keep an eye out for more from them in the future. If you're a scifi fan, you really should pick up this book, it's a very good read.
Great tale here. I'd love to read more in this world, if such a thing exists. This was a very well done piece. I don't recognize this author, but I suppose I need to keep an eye out for more from them in the future. If you're a scifi fan, you really should pick up this book, it's a very good read.
December 9, 2023
Maybe I’m getting old and jaded but this book struck me as being written as a teenage boys wish fulfillment fantasy. The misogynistic tenor was off putting and the character all of a sudden becomes a highly skilled killer was just so simplistic it rang hollow. I didn’t finish the book and I can’t even care even a little how it ends
February 23, 2025
Enjoyed it. MC kept it interesting as we jumped from action point to action point. However I would have enjoyed some more mundane details as filler between the action plot points as sometimes the time gaps just skipped over 6 months in an instant to hit the next spot of action in the plot. looking forward to continuing series but hoping it improves as the author writes more books!
July 21, 2025
As a prequel to the Wolfhounds series, this really begins to set the background. As a standalone, this was a fascinating combination of Heinlein's "Starman Jones", Elliot Kay's Poor Man's War series and RJ Blain's "Life-Debt". I heartily recommend this to fans of David Weber, Robert Heinlein and Glynn Stewart.
August 8, 2025
5 stars
This book was a great adventure. Worthy of 5 stars. The story, background and characters were very interesting and intriguing. The plot might have a couple of obvious “surprises” but nothing to subtract from the overall experience. Highly recommended for anyone interested in the genre.
This book was a great adventure. Worthy of 5 stars. The story, background and characters were very interesting and intriguing. The plot might have a couple of obvious “surprises” but nothing to subtract from the overall experience. Highly recommended for anyone interested in the genre.
December 11, 2022
Great book
Good stand alone book but could be the start of an interesting new series. Pretty solid hard science science fiction vs space opera but not a lot of gritty minutiae most skip over.
Good stand alone book but could be the start of an interesting new series. Pretty solid hard science science fiction vs space opera but not a lot of gritty minutiae most skip over.
December 11, 2022
Great book
I really enjoyed this story. Really good space story, with relatable characters, believable tech and transportation times. It even mentions changing travel times based on orbits.
I really enjoyed this story. Really good space story, with relatable characters, believable tech and transportation times. It even mentions changing travel times based on orbits.
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