Starship: Bunt

Starship #1

by Mike Resnick, Robert J. Szmidt (Translator)

Jest rok 1966 Ery Galaktycznej, trzy tysiąclecia od dnia dzisiejszego. Stworzona przez ludzi Republika musi stawić czoła zagrożeniu ze strony Federacji Teroni, związku obcych ras, które uważają dominację militarną i ekonomiczną człowieka w Galaktyce, za największe z zagrożeń.
Działania bojowe trwają w pobliżu jądra galaktyki i w jednym z jej ramion spiralnych. W tym samym czasie „Teodor Roosevelt” i dwie inne jednostki otrzymują rozkaz transferu do Gromady Feniksa i znajdujących się tam 73. zamieszkanych planet, które mają patrolować i chronić. „Teddy R” to przestarzały okręt wojenny, który powinien był zostać pocięty na żyletki zanim wybuchła ta wojna. Z załogą też nielepiej. Na jego pokład zsyłani są nieudacznicy, osoby mające problemy z dyscypliną i tym podobne indywidua. Ale pewnego dnia przybywa nowy oficer. Nazywa się Wilson Cole. Poprzedza go sława wielkiego ale niezdyscyplinowanego bohatera. Dwukrotnie już ignorował rozkazy dowództwa i przekraczał swoje kompetencje. W obu przypadkach jego niesubordynacja przyniosła Republice wielkie korzyści militarne. W obu przypadkach tracił też stanowisko dowódcy okrętu. Za trzecim, wylądował na pokładzie „Teddy’ego R.”, gdzie ma pełnić funkcję drugiego oficera, służąc pod rozkazami kapitana Makeo Fujiamy i komandor Podok, nieustraszonej wojowniczki z rasy Polonoi.

Genres: Science Fiction, Space Opera, Military Science Fiction, Fiction, Military Fiction, Audiobook, Space

385 pages, Paperback

First published November 28, 2005

About the author

Michael "Mike" Diamond Resnick, better known by his published name Mike Resnick, was a popular and prolific American science fiction author. He is, according to Locus, the all-time leading award winner, living or dead, for short science fiction. He was the winner of five Hugos, a Nebula, and other major awards in the United States, France, Spain, Japan, Croatia and Poland. and has been short-listed for major awards in England, Italy and Australia. He was the author of 68 novels, over 250 stories, and 2 screenplays, and was the editor of 41 anthologies. His work has been translated into 25 languages. He was the Guest of Honor at the 2012 Worldcon and can be found online as @ResnickMike on Twitter or at www.mikeresnick.com.

Reviews

[Perry Reed · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm going to write one review for this entire series...

The Starship series premise had me interested. Set well into the future when mankind is at war with the Teroni Federation, one naval officer finds reason to mutiny (hence, the first book, "Starship: Mutiny". Over time he becomes a pirate (book two: "Starship: Pirate"), a mercenary (book three: "Starship: Mercenary"), then rebels formally against the human government (book four: "Starship: Rebel") and finally takes on the humans directly (book five: "Starship: Flagship").

Sadly, the execution was nowhere near as good as the premise. The conceits are many: most of the books are made up almost entirely of the main character explaining (lecturing, really) to all of the rest of the characters why is doing, or did, whatever it is he's doing, or has done. None of the character possess remotely enough intelligence to compete with the blowhard main character who was so over-the-top arrogant and annoying I kept hoping he'd get killed off. Often, the characters are repeating almost word-for-word things they've said previously or in the prior books (particularly about the fighting prowess of one character). Then, there's the references to humans as "Man" (complete with the capital-M). I thought that kind of sexism was over when Star Trek switched from "where no man has gone before" to "no one".

The final struggle against the human government suffers from an unbelievable, and stupid, deus ex machina, required for the main characters to triumph, but not without first some more lecturing to the other characters, always too dumb to understand his big plans. The bad guys are no better, always doing EXACTLY what the main character predicts they will.

Don't waste your time with this series.

[Efka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though Mike Resnick's "Mutiny" is supposed to be his "first real military sci-fi book", it is much, much more military and fi, than sci. Basicaly there is no science in this science fiction book. It doesn't necessary mean that it is a bad thing, though. Mutiny is a very simplistic, straightforward, plot-based action book with a huge emphasis on military. And while I'm not really a die-hard fan of this genre, sometimes (especially after reading such a mammooth like Hyperion Cantos series) this kind of book is just the right thing you need to relax and just chill a bit without giving a flying... one about what is going on.

Both the plot and characters are so thin that they are almost translucent. There's nothing, absolutely nothing that could be perceived as at least a minor character development throughout the book. The plot is so standard, that it can be called generic. Villains are dumb and heroes are almost geniuses. But then again, as I've already said, that is not necessarilly bad. It's just the right kind of book for me at the moment, and despite all those drawbacks I actually enjoyed the book. I didn't enjoy it immenesly, I will never call this book great or terrific or wonderful, but.. It was fun and very easy to read and a real pageturner and I didn't have to even try to think anything while reading it, and for all those pros, well, I guess my 3* rating is well deserved.

P.s. - this book finally and irrevocably confirmed that "page number" is the most useless book stat in all Goodreads. It took me about 4 hours to get through all these 286 pages, while "The Rise of Endymion", at 700 pages, took me not 10, not 15, and most likely even more than 20 hours to finish. I subjectively guess that it took 23-25 hours. Statistically, that makes me reading "Mutiny" at around 1,19 page per minute, and "The Rise of Endymion" - roughly just 0,49 ppm. Hmm...

[Xabi1990 · Rating 4 out of 5]

7/10 en 2012. Media de los 7 libros leídos del autor : 7/10
Famoso sobre todo por su novela "Santiago, un mito del lejano futuro" (que está muy bien, 8/10), a mí me gustó mucho su saga de Space Opera militarista "Starship".

Space Opera donde los buenos son muy listos y muy fuertes, el “chico” es desobediente pero brillante y los malos son muy malos y poco listos. Perfecta para adolescentes o preadolescentes que pidan sencillamente muchos diálogos, mucha acción ... y poco más.

Los más creciditos se encontrarán con una novela (en realidad en España van publicados tres libros pero en inglés creo que ya van por el quinto) que tiene todo el tópico del género y donde los personajes son esbozos muy poco definidos y bastante pobres. Yo no se lo recomendaría a nadie que suela leer habitualmente, pero ya digo que para nóveles lectores jóvenes puede tener el atractivo de la acción/aventura.

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. A fun, quick read with an engaging lead character and a fast paced, well written plot. I seem to like most of what I read by Resnick.

[Jeff Yoak · Rating 5 out of 5]

I originally discovered the Starship series in 2009 after discovering Mike Resnick via short stories published on the Escape Pod podcast. I instantly fell in love. It is high on adventure, amazing characters and a fast-moving plot. It is interesting to read military sci fi from an author who almost never writes in the sub-genre. As such, the focus isn't so much on tactics, weapons and details of ships, but more on the people and what makes leadership.

Wilson Cole is the paradigmatic strong leader, but with tendency to resist stupid orders, and as such his career seems to repeatedly take a step forward and a step back. He's been stripped of two commands, and ultimately ends up assigned as a second officer in an outdated, hundred-year-old ship on the outskirts of the war, living in general boredom with other malcontents the Navy wished to relegate to obscurity.

His exploits under these conditions are anything but obscure, and ultimately cause him to cease control of his ship. While his actions are generally celebrated by the crew and appreciated by the Navy, public opinion makes it impossible to exonerate him and place him in command as justice would dictate. He is so loved by his crew that they break him out and steal the ship with him in command. This starts off the five-book series as Wilson Cole and the Teddy R. find their way back through many twists and turns.

My re-reading of the book in 2013 is off to an amazing start. I thought that I'd enjoy it again, and I'm right. In fact, this seems like another one of those addictive series that I'll have to read back-to-back until I'm done with the re-read, an oddity for me. I'd recommend this series to anyone who likes sci fi in general, even if you don't normally prefer the military sub-genre.


2015: This was a FANTASTIC books to share with the kids. I can't wait to continue the series with them.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic Military Sci Fi.

It's so easy to go wrong in this genre. It depends on what you like. This one is character driven. Not a lot of technical details BUT enough that you understand what's going on.

I was pumping my fists. I have several favorite characters and I totally felt the frustration of our main character as he usurped control and disobeyed stupid orders. He refused to be a cog in the bureaucracy of the Navy. It was a a great mutineer adventure and I'm off to buy the next bookS

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Starship: Mutiny is the first book in Mike Resnick's Starship series, a Military SF series with larger than life characters and a plot that begs you to keep on reading. I initially read this book a few years back and thoroughly enjoyed it, and since it's been a while since the review appeared on the blog I thought I'd polish it up and re-post it.

It's 3000 years into the future and the Republic are locked in a war against the Teroni Federation, an equally powerful starfaring society. Wilson Cole is a hero to the Republic citizens for winning battles that seemed unwinnable, and often not according to the orders he was given. The Republic Navy doesn't see him in this light, despite awarding him some of the highest medals it can, preferring to assign him to a ship full of misfits and sending them out to a remote cluster in the hope that he'll be out of the spotlight. As is typical when Cole is in the frame, things don't quite go according to plan...

Seeing as this book (actually, the whole series) follows Wilson Cole, let's have a look at the unwanted hero that the Navy has in its ranks. He's extremely intelligent, but has won battles by ignoring orders from his superiors, been demoted from Captain twice and now finds himself as the second officer on a ship of misfits. In fact, Wilson Cole is the sort of soldier that any Navy should be proud to have and his reasoning and tactics are second to none when he commands his ships, but disobeying orders doesn't earn him and friends in the higher command ranks.

We pick up Wilson's story as he joins the Theodore Roosevelt, one of the older ships in the fleet, and they are sent to an unimportant star cluster to keep them out of the way. The crew lack discipline, the captain does not care, and Wilson finds himself at a loss to their attitude. His first impressions on the captain, a human, and first officer, a podok, don't do much to help his cause on the Teddy R and it isn't long before he's hauled up by the captain about following orders to the letter and at loggerheads with the first officer over his decisions while in command during his shift.

This is a fairly short novel, but covers a lot of story and plenty of action. Resnick has a great skill at storytelling and I found myself in love with the setting he's created and enjoying the characters very much indeed. I get their motivations, their personalities and their actions - even the ones I dislike because of those traits. The plot moves quickly and fluidly and the conversations between the cast helping the pace to great amounts. There is plenty of action and the setting up and world building is done remarkably well in such a short page count.

Suffice to say that not everything goes according to plan in Starship: Mutiny, but that's where the enjoyment stems from. I want to know what is going to happen at the end of every chapter and often found myself continuing with the story for this very reason alone. Starship: Mutiny is a page turner, there is no other way to describe it.

If you love your Space Opera and Military SF then this is a novel you really need to read. If you're anything like me you'll blast through it and be left very much wanting to read the sequel, Starship: Pirate.

[Ryan Abe. · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are looking to get into bed for a quickie with a scifi with humor, action and a carefree adventurous attitude then look no further, Starship Mutiny has arrived. ill confess this isn't my first time reading the series but its still damn good and is still thoroughly enjoyable. The Main character Commander Wilson Cole is a twice promoted captain of huge warships, and twice demoted for actions taken under his own accord, regardless of whatever his standing orders were. it's not right to say that he is straight up insubordinate, so much as he is a shining example of an old military maxim, Never give an order you know won't be obeyed.


Labeled a loose cannon by the brass, a war hero by the republic citizens of the galaxy. His charisma, mental fortitude and sense of leadership reminds me an awful alot of another Captain of starship named Serenity. while they both have many similarities Commander Cole stands on his own two feet. He's transferred to the 60+ year old warship Teddy Roosevelt where the entire crew has a back story; as to why they ended up on an aging warship in the middle of deserted space. Now 2nd Officer on this rust bucket of a warship, through his previous exploits he has garnered a very real sense of loyalty and adoration from his crew.

This book is funny, the characters all have their own voice and alls due to their now disposition on the ship; all have surely attitudes. The overall arch of the story was engaging tho this book feels like a staging area for the next, Starship Pirate. It paints a pretty picture of a galaxy where humans interact with other sentient species fight along side each other in space engagements, enough to fill that urge to meet aliens and poke them with a human stick of humor. It touches on the ideologies of the Republic of worlds for which Cole fights for and how the galaxy he inhabits works enough for a solid foundation but enough is left to the imagination for a fully realized space adventure.

[Alejandro Orradre · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entretenida "space-opera" inicio de una trilogía que a su vez se ambienta en un universo creado por el autor (y donde suceden la mayoría de sus novelas). Se lee rápido, una prosa muy sencilla pero con el handicap de contar con unos personajes de cartón: los buenos lo son mucho y listos, los malos estúpidos y tenebrosos.

Pese a todo, recomendable si te gusta la sci-fi espacial.

[Geoff Sebesta · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had to ride the bus from southwest Austin to northeast today. It took three hours, and I read this entire book. It wasn't particularly good, but I finished it. The whole thing takes place in this completely undistinguished spaceship-battle future that the author swears up and down he's spent forty years fleshing out. It's about a spaceship captain who's so dang good that he keeps embarrassing his superiors with how awesome he is/how awesome they are not, and how he is awesome and kills enemy aliens with dash and flair while at the same time he is awesome and nice to his alien friends, because he is a modern spaceship captain and not prejudiced at all.

From the action point of view it's pretty good, sort of like Horatio Hornblower in space. They can fly way faster than light, for some reason that he never explains except to say that the FTL box is radioactive and if you look in it you die. But they still use lasers for shooting other ships. They also either have artificial gravity or are so good at living in 0g that they never mention it at all. So from the hard scifi point of view it's not so good. The aliens are impressively designed and cool but they have no personalities at all.

This book also boasted the longest author biography I've ever read. Like, four pages. For example; Mike Resnick is a qualified judge of some sort of dog or another. Like at dog shows and stuff, he's done whatever it takes to prove that he is a good judge of tiny little yapping dogs, which he breeds. This was in the author biography, so I know this, and now you know this.

In short, this book is a product of a startling lack of vision in space opera, but I read it about as quick as shit goes through a goose, so it has that to recommend it. Resnick writes stuff that is very easy to read.

[Randal · Rating 1 out of 5]

The protagonist is a self-important jackass in the Rugged Individualist mold. Problem is, when you put as little effort into creating a unique character as Resnick has done here, the Rugged Individualist ceases to be individual at all and becomes a type. In a western, this would be the battle-hardened scout, wiser than the rest of the cavalry in the ways of the Apache. In a war movie, it would be the battle-hardened platoon leader, wiser than the rest of the army in the ways of the Japanese. Here, he's a battle-hardened fleet officer, wiser than the rest of the navy in the ways of the aliens.
The only actors who I could conceive as playing the lead role in a movie version of this are John Wayne or Bruce Willis, and Willis is a stretch because his standard action hero drops a lot of clever quips and "clever" is not an adjective I would use to describe this book. Duke Wayne on the other hand could swagger through this role without even stopping to read the script.
Cartoon villains, cliched characters, incoherent philosophy, thin but speedy plot. Is not as bad as, say, Clive Cussler, but I am one and done with this author.
Given the enormous success of science fiction in film and video games, it's surprising how much boilerplate crap is written in contemporary sci-fi and how little intelligent speculative fiction. Where's Harlan Ellison when you need him, or Philip K. Dick? Were the 1970s actually the high point of sci-fi?

[Phoebe · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the first Resnick book I've read. I met him in Ohio at a conference, and he was a very nice guy. He's won Hugos and other awards, so I thought to see what the fuss is about. I started with the first book of a huge saga. It was a fast read but I was disappointed. So little character development, predictable events, a knows-all hero. Unlike my encounter with Jack Campbell, I'm not tempted to seek out the rest of the story.

[Toby Udstuen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book in a 5 book series and I recommend them all. This is NOT deep thinking science fiction nor is it represented as such. So forget Clarke, Niven, or Asimov and think Jack Campbell. This is a fun ride that makes killing time by reading a book a true joy.

[Ben. Newland · Rating 1 out of 5]

Crap! Enough said. Don’t read it. Can’t believe I got stuck with nothing else to read one evening and had to finish it out of self-defense. Barf.

[M Hamed · Rating 2 out of 5]

Star Trek Episode ,nothing special

[Tor Gar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aventura espacial militar con protagonista valiente e inteligente “oprimido” por la jerarquía. Un rebelde de manual demasiado listo para su propio bien.
Es muy sencillo y entretenido. No hay nada nuevo y el protagonista es perfecto y sus planes nunca fallan y sus deducciones son siempre acertadas lo que le resta algo de intriga. En algunos aspectos recuerda a Miles Vorkosigan pero sus historias son más elaboradas. Aquí es todo mucho más sencillo.

Me ha gustado bastante. No es un gran libro pero como pasapáginas de buen ritmo está muy bien.

[Trinity9bi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Una especie de quiero y no puedo. Un space opera a priori interesante que se va desinflando a medida que se suceden los dialogos. Personajes simplones, conversaciones simplonas, y actitudes simplonas que acompañan a una historia que me ha gustado a pesar de todo, por eso las 3 estrellas. Me gustaría seguir las aventuras de los personajes pero no estoy segura de querer leerlas escritas por la mano de su autor.

[Emili · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me ha faltado alguna batalla pero el comandante Wilson Cole no defrauda, deseando seguir con la saga.

[Jeffrey Grant · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an entertaining book, but it’s definitely a lighter read. The author and series were recommended when John Scalzi asked people on his blog to provide recommendations on who “writes like him”. I’ll allow that Mr. Resnick has a similar flavor, but I don’t think this example of his work is on the same level.

It follows Wilson Cole, a decorated but maligned officer in the human space fleet, which in this universe also encompasses a few non-human creatures, much the way the Star Trek Starfleet did. We follow him through three incidents where he must improvise a solution in spite of bureaucratic and obtuse regulations and officers.

Nothing about the story is particularly innovative and it often flirts and then jumps fully into bed with cliché. The whole thing reminds me of classic Star Trek, in fact, with Wilson Cole filling the role as both Kirk and McCoy; he is sarcastic and cynical, but not in a way that makes him bitter; it’s just enough to make him seem like someone you’d have a drink with, meanwhile his performance garners him popular support and the adoration of women. Beyond that he’s infallibile; his interpretations of the situations are always right, his solutions always work, people he likes are good, rational people, people he doesn’t like are flawed and despicable, without fail.

If someone is looking for a book similar to Scalzi’s sci-fi then they can certainly be steered in worse directions, and this is an example of military science fiction that doesn’t attempt to push a Libertarian political agenda nor read like a dictation of a first person shooter videogame, so it can recommend itself on those merits, but it doesn’t have the depth of story, characters, or ideas that a lot of sci-fi fans might want.

[Joe Martin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This piece of space opera stars Wilson Cole, a space navy officer who never met an order he liked and who makes a habit of being demoted for cause. He's assigned to the Theodore Roosevelt for his insubordination. Once there, he proceeds to violate orders multiple times before finally mutinying and taking over the ship.

This is all supposed to be in the service of a grand adventure, starring a supremely competent officer. It fails because Cole is a jerk who's constantly explaining his own superior understanding of what everyone else should be doing. Worse, he's a loose cannon who acts on his own initiative, always impressed by his own abilities. If you developed a plan no failed to tell him the entire thing, he's exactly the type of officer that would screw it up, by taking the part of it he did know and deciding to “improve” it.

All of the other characters are wafer thin and seemingly only exist to either admire Cole's brilliance or make Cole look more brilliant by playing the part of the idiotic foil. There's the weapons tech who worships Cole, just because he disciplined the tech for being high on duty. There's the alien best friend, who will support him no matter what. And there's the beautiful security chief who will tell him everything, subverting ship,security to do so, , and who (of course) ends up in his bed.

Having been blinded by the light shining from Cole's halo, I have no interest in reading any further in this series.

[Timothy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somewhat of a very light and spare book that attempts to come off as military sci-fi but is more of a series of events that justifies the title at the very end. While the main protagonist, Wilson Core, is likable enough, we're give little to no information about the character other than to treat him as the weary hero just because the author says so. Overall this book probably would have been fine if it was published during the 1960s, but as something that was published in 2005 and billed as the author's "very first military SF," it overall came to feel somewhat shallow instead.

Based on the appendix at the end (which I was not aware of until finishing the book), this is all part of a grand series (a la Azimov's Robot/Foundation), of which the Starship series seems to chronicle the end of what is called the Age of the Republic (that of which in itself is the first of five Ages of Man). Perhaps, if the reader was to read all the stories that lead up to this series, maybe it would have contributed to a more richer experience. But I doubt it.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Starship series features Wilson Cole (not to be confused with the pulp hero Cole Wilson, the Robin Hood-esque companion of The Avenger, though one has to wonder if the similarity of names isn't a sort of homage), who takes control of the Starship Theodore Roosevelt and leads its crew on a series of amazing, astounding, thrilling, and fantastic space opera adventures. They're very fast-paced and clever books, with witty dialog and fascinating characters. Set in Resnick's Birthright Universe, they're fun to read and it's interesting to note the changes from one volume to the next. Each book has a series of enjoyable appendixes offering more details of his works and how they fit together.

[Sue · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm really not sure why I have moved on to the next book in the series (and as I write, I think I have decided not to continue.) I do not like the main character: he's arrogant, knows everything, thinks very little of anyone else, is rude to his friends and ruder to his superiors. He makes completely nonsensical decisions based on what he thinks and not what he knows, and puts himself and his crews at risk with regular monotony. The fact that he ends up being "right" is more by accident than design.

I first read Mike Resnick when I read Travels with my Cat and I really liked that. This is not even in the same class. Very disappointing.

[Jeffrey Jelmeland · Rating 4 out of 5]

I stopped in at the library to pick up the next book in the Honor Harrington series when I saw this on the shelf. Recognizing the author's name I decided to give the book a shot. It certainly isn't the heavily detailed series that Honor Harrington is shaping up to be, but it is a nice, light read that doesn't skimp on humor. A nice, easy read with characters that you quickly form attachments to. I will definitely be tracking down the rest of the series.

[Adrienne · Rating 1 out of 5]

I bought the first 3 of these but having read reviews that say my problems with this book continue throughout the series, I think I'll return the other two. A character who arrives and solves years worth of problems in days/weeks and lectures everyone constantly about how they should feel, behave, and think is not what I want in military sci-fi. And the guy wasn't even likeable. The other characters only exist to ask him questions and/or die for his ideals.

[Roberto Jordá · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una space opera totalmente militar, muy entretenida pero le falta eso que aporta Miles a la saga de Mcmaster Bujold, y no me refiero a Miles que eso es inimitable. Falla en explicarnos su universo.

[Ralph Carlson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick and fun read. Looking forward to reading the other books in the series.

[Terra Epsilon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Od tego wszystko się zaczęło.

“– Zatem patrolujemy sektor, którego nikt nie chce, z załogą, której nikt nie chce, na pokładzie okrętu, którego nikt nie powinien chcieć – podsumował Cole. – Chyba mamy do czynienia z czysto matematyczną niemożliwością.”

Były Gwiezdne Wojny, był nawet Obcy, ale ani jedno, ani drugie – nawet mimo sympatii, jaką darzyłam i darzę te franczyzy – nie przyciągnęło mnie do gatunku space opery, tak jak seria Starship. Nawet moja miłość do Mass Effecta to tak naprawdę pokłosie właśnie tego.
,,Bunt” nie jest najlepszą książką, jaką napisano, nawet mimo sentymentu w pełni się z tym zgadzam, ale coś mnie w niej złapało na tyle, że od razu zakochałam się w całym gatunku. Miałam pewne obawy, aby wrócić do tej serii po latach… I tak, z większym doświadczeniem czytelniczym, jakie mam teraz ogólnie rzecz biorąc ,,Bunt” wypada naprawdę słabo, choć dalej bawiłam się przy nim równie dobrze, co przy pierwszym podejściu lata temu.
Bo to książka czysto rozrywkowa, przez wielkie ,,R”, gdzie sprawy ,,science” w science fiction zrzucono nawet i na trzeci plan, a wszystko kręci się wokół samej akcji. I paradoksalnie jest to też plus – bo lekkość i ,,rozrywkowość” stanowią strawne połączenie dla kogoś, kto chciałby sięgnąć po ten gatunek po raz pierwszy. Nie ma tu przytłoczenia naukowymi terminami i nawet mimo mnogości obcych ras, to te stanowią tylko tło bez większego znaczenia dla fabuły.

To historia przede wszystkim o buntowniczym, ale mającym serce (i rozum) w odpowiednim miejscu komandorze i załodze niezbyt… reprezentacyjnej. Całość śledzi się dla głównego bohatera, Wilsona Cole’a oraz załogi wyrzutków z ,,Teddy’ego R” – to jak (i czy w ogóle) wykaraskają się z kolejnych problemów, które rzuca im los. A te pojawiają się co chwilę, więc nudno nie jest. Dodając do tego charakterystyczne – oraz charakterne – postaci wychodzi wciągająca mieszanka, przy której masz się dobrze bawić. Tyle i aż tyle.

Samo uniwersum i cała intryga są proste, jak budowa cepa i wpisane w schemat prawie każdej space opery – jest ludzkość, zrzeszona w wielki twór wraz z innymi obcymi rasami, jest też inny wielki twór, wrogi ludzkości i obie frakcje się leją. No a ta niby dobra frakcja jest przeżarta biurokracją i ogólnie pojętym “chronidupskiem własnym”.
Wisienką na torcie jest tu Cole. Zwyczajny chłop, z którym chętnie wyskoczyłoby się na piwo, mający swoje wady, ale starający się postępować ,,prawo”. To bohater, który z jednej strony wierzy w pompatyczne hasła o służeniu ludzkości i misji, ale też twardo chodzi po ziemi i prędzej by go piorun strzelił niż sam zaczął rzucać takimi frazesami… Po prostu robi to, co robić trzeba, nie zawsze trzymając się sztywno regulaminu, bo życie i bezpieczeństwo ludzi… i innych istot jest ważniejsze niż jakiś tam regulamin. Stąd konfliktów i akcji tu nie brakuje, przez co nawet jeśli sporo można książce zarzucić – to na pewno nie to, że jest nudno i nie dostarcza rozrywki.

Czy polecam? Tak! Mimo braku oryginalności i niedociągnięć to przyjemna historia z ciekawym bohaterem, dostarczająca rozrywkę. Dla kogoś, kto chce dać szansę gatunkowi, albo chce przysłowiowo się ,,odmóżdżyć” pozycja jak znalazł.
Bo nie wszystko musi być głębokie i z przesłaniem, czasem wystarczy, aby przyjemnie zajęło nam czas i dało się odprężyć oraz przenieść w nieznany, fantastyczny świat.

[Jarosław Loretz · Rating 1 out of 5]

Czy ktoś mógłby już zabrać Resnickowi komputer, maszynę do pisania, czy na czym on tam sobie stuka? Facet pisze chyba wyłącznie z rozpędu, bo pomysły na fabułę ma tuzinkowe, a dialogi klepie od co najmniej dekady praktycznie takie same, w dodatku stosując żelazną zasadę 15% opisów i 85% dialogów, obowiązkowo nieprzytomnie rozwodnionych (to, co normalnie zmieściłoby się na jednej stronie, jest tak mocno obwieszone frazesami, miałkimi przekomarzankami i drętwymi perorami, że finalnie zajmuje stron dziesięć).

Książka czyta się po prostu FATALNIE. Od pierwszej strony towarzyszy lekturze nieodparte, pogłębiające się z każdą kolejną przewróconą kartką wrażenie, że "Bunt" jest jak worek z pierzem - szary, nieciekawie pachnący, przy naciśnięciu wielokrotnie zmniejszający swoją objętość. Bo co mamy z intrygi? Krnąbrny, wręcz arogancki oficer floty kosmicznej trafia na służbę gdzieś na rubieżach kosmosu i nadal kozaczy, lekceważąc rozkazy i przeprowadzając swoje własne ryzykowne misje. I tak trzy razy. Pożal się boże finału nie zdradzę, choć raczej nie jest trudny do odgadnięcia, zwłaszcza jeśli się zerknie na tytuły kolejnych tomów cyklu.

Postaci są papierowe i zarazem dość odpychające sztampową konstrukcją, dialogi są puste (jedyny ich plus to to, że można "gubić" całe ich strony bez szkody dla śledzonego wątku), a rokowania kolejnych czterech tomów tragiczne. "Starship" to duże wyzwanie dla miłośników space oper. Być może nawet zbyt duże, żeby był sens się z nim mierzyć i tracić podczas lektury wyrywane garściami włosy i obumierające z obezwładniającej pustoty miliony szarych komórek.

[ElGoblinVolador · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joder!! Me ha gustado mucho

Leída en una sentada. Me ha recordado a cuando hace una década (o más) leí “La Vieja Guardia” y me la termine también de una sentada.

No voy a engañar a nadie. Es una novela de una lectura rápida y entretenida. No penséis en obras literarias, pero su objetivo de entretener al lector y que disfrute lo consiguen.

Me encanta por ver la cantidad de alienígenas que presenta, algo que me gusta de estas novelas (si estás basada en un futuro lejano donde la humanidad anda por las estrellas, espero poder ver que hay alienígenas también y a ser posible que no sean calcos humanos aumentando o disminuyendo características de la anatomía humana)

Nos presentan personajes con un claro protagonista que se van desarrollando a lo largo de ¿3misiones? donde vemos como el protagonista trata de usar la inteligencia y el sentido común tan escaso entre los Altos Mandos de la Armada de la República. En algunos momentos el protagonista tiene unos puntos de humor quedando rancios que te hacen alzar una ceja y viendo que sobran o no aportan nada útil a la historia, pero afortunadamente son muy escasos.

Muy contento de este descubrimiento y triste porque después de leer el primero y pensando que seria una trilogía, he descubierto que es una pentalogía donde los dos últimos libros nunca se han traducido al español... otra mas de la editorial Timun Mas para apuntarla (a este paso voy a llamarlos Timo Más)

4/5