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Star Corpsman #1
Bloodstar
In the 23rd Century, war is still hell . . .
Navy Corpsman Elliot Carlyle joined up to save lives and see the universe. Now he and Bravo Company's Black Wizards of the interstellar Fleet Marine Force are en route to Bloodworld--a hellish, volatile rock colonized by the fanatical Salvationists who desired an inhospitable world where they could suffer for humanity's sins. Their penance could prove fatal--for the Qesh, a strange alien race detected but still mysterious for six decades, have made violent first contact.
Suddenly countless lives depend upon Bravo Company--perhaps even the fate of homeworld Earth itself--as the Marines prepare to confront a vast force of powerful, inscrutable enemies. And one dedicated medic, singled out by an extraordinary act of valor, will find himself with an astounding opportunity to alter the universe forever . . .
Navy Corpsman Elliot Carlyle joined up to save lives and see the universe. Now he and Bravo Company's Black Wizards of the interstellar Fleet Marine Force are en route to Bloodworld--a hellish, volatile rock colonized by the fanatical Salvationists who desired an inhospitable world where they could suffer for humanity's sins. Their penance could prove fatal--for the Qesh, a strange alien race detected but still mysterious for six decades, have made violent first contact.
Suddenly countless lives depend upon Bravo Company--perhaps even the fate of homeworld Earth itself--as the Marines prepare to confront a vast force of powerful, inscrutable enemies. And one dedicated medic, singled out by an extraordinary act of valor, will find himself with an astounding opportunity to alter the universe forever . . .
355 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published August 28, 2012
90 people are currently reading
611 people want to read
About the author
Ian Douglas
99 books574 followersIan Douglas is a pseudonym used by William H. Keith Jr..
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 73 reviews
March 13, 2024
“Corpsman! Corpsman front!”
This could be a novel approach, no pun intended. I can’t recall whether I have read any other Military Science Fiction novels written from the perspective of a Corpsman (or Medic). They are probably out there, should anyone care to enlighten me.
It isn’t uncommon for Science Fiction stories to be heavy on science. There is, after all, a reason for the classification. If you’ve read some of the author’s other books, you’ll know he likes to include lots of technical details about weaponry and armament, as well as the physics of combat in space and in other inhospitable environments. Now add anatomy, physiology and biochemistry to the mix, then you have a good idea of what Bloodstar is about.
After a slow(ish) burning first third, the pace picks up nicely. Even though this is a bit of a departure from the author's other series', it had enough of the same hallmarks for me to enjoy it. Lots of stealth tactics in this one, as well.
His screaming was probably less from actual pain at this point than it was from realization: the sheer, mind-ripping horror of seeing a piece of yourself burned away.
Obviously, loads of action. Douglas writes action really, really well.
The focus here is on infantry based (or ground) combat, and since the novel occasionally deals (in loving detail) with battlefield injuries, there are some scenes that made me squirm more than a little bit. If you’re squeamish just bear that in mind.
Her combat armor would serve as a kind of rough-and-ready body cast, immobilizing her spine while I tried to move her.
Tried to move her. That was the operative phrase.
I was up against a major logistical problem now.
I will say that the author kept me invested in the outcome of each case, and in the plot in general. Often the challenges are as much about the physics and logistics of the specific situation, as the treatment of the wound(s) inflicted.
The issue opened some fascinating aspects of philosophy, not to mention medical ethics. For a start: is there such a thing as a soul?
I found it to be a pretty tense book, that starts revealing some unexpected layers toward the latter chapters. As an added bonus, it ends quite strong, and not in a way I would have expected or predicted.
“Welcome to the Passage of Night!”
In the end the novel surprised me. It has a dash of the old school, and it isn’t just a gore-fest. The technical details can be a bit overwhelming, I suppose, although it didn’t bother me.
The Galaxy was already a dark and scary place; it’s just become a bit darker, a bit scarier, and just a bit lonelier.
This could be a novel approach, no pun intended. I can’t recall whether I have read any other Military Science Fiction novels written from the perspective of a Corpsman (or Medic). They are probably out there, should anyone care to enlighten me.
It isn’t uncommon for Science Fiction stories to be heavy on science. There is, after all, a reason for the classification. If you’ve read some of the author’s other books, you’ll know he likes to include lots of technical details about weaponry and armament, as well as the physics of combat in space and in other inhospitable environments. Now add anatomy, physiology and biochemistry to the mix, then you have a good idea of what Bloodstar is about.
After a slow(ish) burning first third, the pace picks up nicely. Even though this is a bit of a departure from the author's other series', it had enough of the same hallmarks for me to enjoy it. Lots of stealth tactics in this one, as well.
His screaming was probably less from actual pain at this point than it was from realization: the sheer, mind-ripping horror of seeing a piece of yourself burned away.
Obviously, loads of action. Douglas writes action really, really well.
The focus here is on infantry based (or ground) combat, and since the novel occasionally deals (in loving detail) with battlefield injuries, there are some scenes that made me squirm more than a little bit. If you’re squeamish just bear that in mind.
Her combat armor would serve as a kind of rough-and-ready body cast, immobilizing her spine while I tried to move her.
Tried to move her. That was the operative phrase.
I was up against a major logistical problem now.
I will say that the author kept me invested in the outcome of each case, and in the plot in general. Often the challenges are as much about the physics and logistics of the specific situation, as the treatment of the wound(s) inflicted.
The issue opened some fascinating aspects of philosophy, not to mention medical ethics. For a start: is there such a thing as a soul?
I found it to be a pretty tense book, that starts revealing some unexpected layers toward the latter chapters. As an added bonus, it ends quite strong, and not in a way I would have expected or predicted.
“Welcome to the Passage of Night!”
In the end the novel surprised me. It has a dash of the old school, and it isn’t just a gore-fest. The technical details can be a bit overwhelming, I suppose, although it didn’t bother me.
The Galaxy was already a dark and scary place; it’s just become a bit darker, a bit scarier, and just a bit lonelier.
March 19, 2015
I just couldn't get through this book. I'm turning over a new leaf, where before I would suffer to the end just for the sake of finishing a book, now if I'm not into a story by the time I finish 50% of the book, I'm just going to stop reading it.
I was worried when I started reading some of the reviews with poor ratings for this book and it turns out I quite agree with them. I found this book painfully boring. I feel like there was a focus on tech and science in favor of characters. Also, the reviewer who complained about the constant explanation of a "tidally locked world" is spot on. I wanted to scream the fourth time this came up. The "hard-science" aspect of the book is certainly there, but it's heavily repetitive. Amidst a battle the author devotes a good chunk of time explaining how their quantum-scrambled communication system works, then proceeds to constantly add in the "quantum-scrambled" fact every time someone talks to someone else via their communications units. Look, we know it's "quantum-scrambled", I don't need a brief explanation every time someone uses it after the page I read on it right before. I felt the huge devotion to explanation, then re-explanation, rather than bothering to develop more than one character beyond just existing really made the book quite a slog.
The one fact that was somewhat interesting is the main character is a medic and we follow his journey. It's all in first person, which was okay, but the constant repetition made it feel like he was using flash cards for an exam at the end of the novel. At first I thought I didn't like the book because I'm really not interested in medical technology, but as I made it through more of the book the flaws really started to show through. There is no subtle balance between hard science and story, it's mostly hard science, with a blip of characters that show up from time to time. The religious colony they end up running into was also a sore spot, in many ways for me, mostly because I found the whole scenario tedious to read through. It wasn't exciting, or tense, which is what I felt it was supposed to be... instead it was just annoying.
By the time I read four or five other books in the time it took me to read half of this book, I knew this one was a lost cause. It seems this might be an outlier for Ian Douglas, so I'm going to try out his other, more popular, series. Perhaps I just made the mistake of delving into this as my first foray into Ian Douglas' world, so, I'm going to give him another chance... we'll see what happens.
I was worried when I started reading some of the reviews with poor ratings for this book and it turns out I quite agree with them. I found this book painfully boring. I feel like there was a focus on tech and science in favor of characters. Also, the reviewer who complained about the constant explanation of a "tidally locked world" is spot on. I wanted to scream the fourth time this came up. The "hard-science" aspect of the book is certainly there, but it's heavily repetitive. Amidst a battle the author devotes a good chunk of time explaining how their quantum-scrambled communication system works, then proceeds to constantly add in the "quantum-scrambled" fact every time someone talks to someone else via their communications units. Look, we know it's "quantum-scrambled", I don't need a brief explanation every time someone uses it after the page I read on it right before. I felt the huge devotion to explanation, then re-explanation, rather than bothering to develop more than one character beyond just existing really made the book quite a slog.
The one fact that was somewhat interesting is the main character is a medic and we follow his journey. It's all in first person, which was okay, but the constant repetition made it feel like he was using flash cards for an exam at the end of the novel. At first I thought I didn't like the book because I'm really not interested in medical technology, but as I made it through more of the book the flaws really started to show through. There is no subtle balance between hard science and story, it's mostly hard science, with a blip of characters that show up from time to time. The religious colony they end up running into was also a sore spot, in many ways for me, mostly because I found the whole scenario tedious to read through. It wasn't exciting, or tense, which is what I felt it was supposed to be... instead it was just annoying.
By the time I read four or five other books in the time it took me to read half of this book, I knew this one was a lost cause. It seems this might be an outlier for Ian Douglas, so I'm going to try out his other, more popular, series. Perhaps I just made the mistake of delving into this as my first foray into Ian Douglas' world, so, I'm going to give him another chance... we'll see what happens.
December 28, 2013
I generally like books by Ian Douglas, or I should perhaps write William H. Keith Jr. since this is the authors real name, but I have to say that this one never really caught my interest.
The book is as well written as other books from this author. The story is not bad, it holds together throughout the book. Unfortunately it kind of feels like the story is just an excuse for stringing a load of detailed medical interventions, even lectures, together. I have to admit that I am out if my expertise here. As a science fiction fan, computer engineer and physics interested person working at CERN (the real CERN, not the one in Dan Brown’s fantasies) I generally have a pretty good idea of the physical science part of the books I read. When it comes to medical stuff…not so much.
Maybe this is why I felt somewhat detached when reading this book. It is really detailed in the medical area and I am not hyper interested in that area of science and I can, obviously, not judge whether the detailed descriptions of the various medical facts and interventions made sense or not. Given the authors previous works I am fairly sure that he did not invent things out of the blue though.
It is a good book. If you like medical adventures in science fiction land then this is probably a great book for you. I am afraid that it is a wee bit outside my area of interest.
The book is as well written as other books from this author. The story is not bad, it holds together throughout the book. Unfortunately it kind of feels like the story is just an excuse for stringing a load of detailed medical interventions, even lectures, together. I have to admit that I am out if my expertise here. As a science fiction fan, computer engineer and physics interested person working at CERN (the real CERN, not the one in Dan Brown’s fantasies) I generally have a pretty good idea of the physical science part of the books I read. When it comes to medical stuff…not so much.
Maybe this is why I felt somewhat detached when reading this book. It is really detailed in the medical area and I am not hyper interested in that area of science and I can, obviously, not judge whether the detailed descriptions of the various medical facts and interventions made sense or not. Given the authors previous works I am fairly sure that he did not invent things out of the blue though.
It is a good book. If you like medical adventures in science fiction land then this is probably a great book for you. I am afraid that it is a wee bit outside my area of interest.
July 10, 2018
Nice military SiFi book. Good science based tech and very good writing on the military attitude and life. Recommended
June 13, 2015
This review was first published on Kurt's Frontier.
Synopsis:
Navy Corpsman Elliot Carlyle, also known as E-Car, or Doc, is part of the interstellar Fleet Marine Force, in Bravo Company’s Black Wizards. Trained in the latest battlefield medicine, he joined the navy to save lives and see the universe. The Black Wizards have been sent to Bloodworld, an inhospitable, volatile rock colonized by a group of religious fanatics with a Luddite philosophy. (That means they hate technology, for those who aren’t students of history.) They have chosen Bloodworld for their colony so they could suffer for humanity’s sins. They had no idea that they would fall in the sights of the Qesh, a strange, inscrutable race of warriors who have made violent first contact on Bloodworld.
Now countless lives depend on Bravo Company. They have to safeguard their home world’s location and scout the strength and capabilities of the Qesh. Doc has to safeguard the lives of those marines under his care, as well as religious fanatics who don’t hold with medicine, and enemy combatants that fate places in his charge, if only briefly.
Review:
This is a hard book to rate. Ian Douglas is obviously a master story teller. He has created a fascinating universe where nanotechnology has become the basis of medicine, science, and war. Under most circumstances, this would be a page turner. Unfortunately, the book has major weaknesses. The author continually stops the forward flow of the action to give backstory and to explain the technology being used. Some of the explanations became repetitive, rather than just explaining it once and giving an abbreviated description later. It appealed to the geek in me at first but soon became a drag as the story bogged down. This proved highly detrimental to a story that could have been interesting.
Synopsis:
Navy Corpsman Elliot Carlyle, also known as E-Car, or Doc, is part of the interstellar Fleet Marine Force, in Bravo Company’s Black Wizards. Trained in the latest battlefield medicine, he joined the navy to save lives and see the universe. The Black Wizards have been sent to Bloodworld, an inhospitable, volatile rock colonized by a group of religious fanatics with a Luddite philosophy. (That means they hate technology, for those who aren’t students of history.) They have chosen Bloodworld for their colony so they could suffer for humanity’s sins. They had no idea that they would fall in the sights of the Qesh, a strange, inscrutable race of warriors who have made violent first contact on Bloodworld.
Now countless lives depend on Bravo Company. They have to safeguard their home world’s location and scout the strength and capabilities of the Qesh. Doc has to safeguard the lives of those marines under his care, as well as religious fanatics who don’t hold with medicine, and enemy combatants that fate places in his charge, if only briefly.
Review:
This is a hard book to rate. Ian Douglas is obviously a master story teller. He has created a fascinating universe where nanotechnology has become the basis of medicine, science, and war. Under most circumstances, this would be a page turner. Unfortunately, the book has major weaknesses. The author continually stops the forward flow of the action to give backstory and to explain the technology being used. Some of the explanations became repetitive, rather than just explaining it once and giving an abbreviated description later. It appealed to the geek in me at first but soon became a drag as the story bogged down. This proved highly detrimental to a story that could have been interesting.
July 12, 2016
A good read for a military minded person like myself, especially as a former corpsman, but the medical info was a bit heavy handed foe the average reader. all in all, a very good book though.
August 2, 2020
Too much details and explanations not enough story. Usually like Douglas but may not continue this series
April 19, 2022
Série Star Copsman, tome 1 : Bloodstar
Lu en anglais
Elliot Carlisle achève sa formation d'infirmier militaire dans le corps des Marines, en 2246. Et, soudain, une urgence se présente. Les Qesh, une race extraterrestre très avancée, vient de se présenter dans un système solaire, peu éloigné de la terre, et dont la planète Bloodstar est habitée par les descendants d'une secte religieuse humaine isolée. Le risque est que les Qesh apprennent les coordonnées de la Terre et l'anéantissent avec des astéroïdes comme ils ont fait dans d'autres systèmes. Une expédition est mise sur pied avec les marines, dont Carlisle, pour prendre pied sur Bloodstar et s'assurer d'effacer toute référence aux coordonnées de la Terre. Pas facile, sans compter la méfiance des locaux, la gravité élevée, l'atmosphère empoisonnée et les Qesh bien présents dans le secteur.
Et c'est parti ! Des batailles du genre commando, mais avec un focus sur les actions de Carlisle qui, comme infirmier, fait de son mieux pour sauver ou rafistoler ses camarades grièvement blessés.
J'ai aimé et je l'ai trouvé intéressant, mais j'étais un peu frustré par le focus mis sur les opérations de l'infirmier plutôt que sur les batailles décisives qui se déroulaient autour de lui. De la science-fiction militaire avec toute une partie de hard science sur les avancées futures pour la science médicale (implants, drogues, génétique, nanotechnologies, repousse de tissus, etc). Il faut aussi dire que l'auteur a été infirmier médical pendant la guerre du Vietnam et connait le contexte des soins sur un champ de bataille
Lu en anglais
Elliot Carlisle achève sa formation d'infirmier militaire dans le corps des Marines, en 2246. Et, soudain, une urgence se présente. Les Qesh, une race extraterrestre très avancée, vient de se présenter dans un système solaire, peu éloigné de la terre, et dont la planète Bloodstar est habitée par les descendants d'une secte religieuse humaine isolée. Le risque est que les Qesh apprennent les coordonnées de la Terre et l'anéantissent avec des astéroïdes comme ils ont fait dans d'autres systèmes. Une expédition est mise sur pied avec les marines, dont Carlisle, pour prendre pied sur Bloodstar et s'assurer d'effacer toute référence aux coordonnées de la Terre. Pas facile, sans compter la méfiance des locaux, la gravité élevée, l'atmosphère empoisonnée et les Qesh bien présents dans le secteur.
Et c'est parti ! Des batailles du genre commando, mais avec un focus sur les actions de Carlisle qui, comme infirmier, fait de son mieux pour sauver ou rafistoler ses camarades grièvement blessés.
J'ai aimé et je l'ai trouvé intéressant, mais j'étais un peu frustré par le focus mis sur les opérations de l'infirmier plutôt que sur les batailles décisives qui se déroulaient autour de lui. De la science-fiction militaire avec toute une partie de hard science sur les avancées futures pour la science médicale (implants, drogues, génétique, nanotechnologies, repousse de tissus, etc). Il faut aussi dire que l'auteur a été infirmier médical pendant la guerre du Vietnam et connait le contexte des soins sur un champ de bataille
September 17, 2018
Pretty standard military science fiction. Protagonist joins up, gets assigned to some lowly unit instead of his preferred choice which turns out to be the unit that actually does the real work while the preferred choices are just show units.
The way in which the conflict was ended is so cliche that any reader would see it coming. As a result the ending was predictable which sort of reduced the enjoyment of the book.
The way in which the conflict was ended is so cliche that any reader would see it coming. As a result the ending was predictable which sort of reduced the enjoyment of the book.
October 4, 2022
The beginning of this book, and the writer's tendency to expand on things as if he's reading from an encyclopedia, prevented it from getting five stars. By the end though he had redeemed his slow and painful awkward start of it and it turned out to be a fun action adventure in the vein of Heinlein and Starship Troopers.
I would read book two if and when I come across it, but I don't know if I'll hunt it down.
I would read book two if and when I come across it, but I don't know if I'll hunt it down.
March 25, 2024
I could not finish. It's a great idea, but I really don't need a clinical analysis of a leg (or other kind of) wound. Just tell me that the marine broke his leg, that you shot him full of nanites, created a splint, and move on. It really does not require two pages of medical crap that I don't understand, and really don't need.
July 14, 2024
Not bad but not great either. Solid story that flowed pretty well but overly detailed on the science and medical information. Also, seems like these corpsman are expected to be too many things. Doctor, engineer, scientist and soldier. Too many hats for one person to wear, even in the science future.
July 12, 2018
Distant future with space marines. Follows a corpsman in his duties. Really like the different perspective that highlights the medical future. Some language. Descriptions of adult physical relationships. Engaging and a fairly tight storyline make it a good read.
August 14, 2018
Entirely too much science and not enough fiction. I feel like I have been through medical school. I will not read another Star Corpsman and I probably will take Ian Douglas off my to read list. I want to enjoy reading a book and this one I did not. Forced read that took over 3 months t read.
May 20, 2019
The book follows a medic in the naval academy. Ian Douglas does a great job of following his perspective. The only problem is all the science talk because it gets a little out of hand I just get lost. Overall great book.
November 23, 2020
A Hard Sci-Fi story about a space medic and his troop. It is a good story and focuses a lot on technical medical information. The information was presented in an interesting and easy to understand way. It was an enjoyable book that mixes military, medical, and science fiction together.
September 13, 2017
Half the time,i felt i was in a medical crash course for medics.The future seems so cyber engineered.
March 20, 2018
good military scifi. interesting focus on future tech field medic
November 21, 2019
Long, interminal passages about the technology with very little time spent fleshing out the protagonist, his background or other key characters. I don't think I'll continue with this series.
November 27, 2020
2.5
It wasn’t a bad book but I don’t love military science fiction and a lot of it was just describing (in so much detail) futuristic medic adventures.
It wasn’t a bad book but I don’t love military science fiction and a lot of it was just describing (in so much detail) futuristic medic adventures.
July 20, 2022
More science than fiction. Skimmed it.
November 2, 2022
Could not get into this SF story...
June 29, 2024
Military SF. Also fantasy.
So much infodump.
So much infodump.
January 25, 2013
This isn't your average military science fiction novel. The protagonist, Elliot Carlyle, is a United States Navy Corpsman, attached to the a company of US Marines. Where most MSF stories place the protagonist in the position of a combat leader, emphasising tactics and skill at arms, this story is seen through the eyes of a healer, and asks tough questions about humanity and the line between man and machine.
The prose is cleanly written, the technology believable and the universe-building well-done. Keith clearly knows a great deal about medicine, astronomy, physics and other related sciences, and has put a lot of thought into the design of the technology in this story. His alien species are suitably alien, though readers familiar with his previous works will see traces of them in the Qesh.
One of the recurring themes in this story is the line between man and machine. Most humans in this story universe are functionally cyborgs, using nanomachinery, implants and other technologies to boost human potential. This is heavily contrasted with the inhabitants of Bloodworld, who reject such technologies in the name of staying pure and human. Technology also exists to capture the essence of a human mind, allowing recovery from what would be fatal wounds in the 21st century. The protagonist himself grapples with the philosophical implications of the technologies he uses, and finds no easy answers.
The main knock against this story was that the science occasionally got in the way. During critical procedures, Keith would go into in-depth explanations, slowing down the prose and breaking the flow. While I like detail as much as the next hard science fiction fan, the detail got in the way of the storytelling. Further, while science buffs may appreciate the raw astronomical data, chemistry information and other nuggets, it felt as though Keith put some details in the story just to appeal to the geeks and show off his knowledge instead of delivering story-important information.
Conversely, some scenes suffered from too little detail, such as why the new US Marines employ energy weapons on a regular basis. In this story, a plasma weapon has replaced the 21st century squad automatic weapon. The plasma weapon is clearly much more powerful than regular energy weapons, but it is not demonstrated to have any kind of suppressive or automatic fire capability on par with a SAW. In this story , the plasma weapon would have been much more usefully employed as an anti-vehicle weapon or bunker buster, not unlike a rocket launcher -- and indeed was employed as such. No reason was given for the lack of suppressive fire capability, especially since modern-day combat studies have demonstrated how essential suppressive fire is for infantry, and infantry combat in this universe hasn't been fundamentally altered by game-changing technologies.
Nevertheless, these are trivial details in an otherwise engaging story. This is an impressive start to what I hope would be a powerful series.
The prose is cleanly written, the technology believable and the universe-building well-done. Keith clearly knows a great deal about medicine, astronomy, physics and other related sciences, and has put a lot of thought into the design of the technology in this story. His alien species are suitably alien, though readers familiar with his previous works will see traces of them in the Qesh.
One of the recurring themes in this story is the line between man and machine. Most humans in this story universe are functionally cyborgs, using nanomachinery, implants and other technologies to boost human potential. This is heavily contrasted with the inhabitants of Bloodworld, who reject such technologies in the name of staying pure and human. Technology also exists to capture the essence of a human mind, allowing recovery from what would be fatal wounds in the 21st century. The protagonist himself grapples with the philosophical implications of the technologies he uses, and finds no easy answers.
The main knock against this story was that the science occasionally got in the way. During critical procedures, Keith would go into in-depth explanations, slowing down the prose and breaking the flow. While I like detail as much as the next hard science fiction fan, the detail got in the way of the storytelling. Further, while science buffs may appreciate the raw astronomical data, chemistry information and other nuggets, it felt as though Keith put some details in the story just to appeal to the geeks and show off his knowledge instead of delivering story-important information.
Conversely, some scenes suffered from too little detail, such as why the new US Marines employ energy weapons on a regular basis. In this story, a plasma weapon has replaced the 21st century squad automatic weapon. The plasma weapon is clearly much more powerful than regular energy weapons, but it is not demonstrated to have any kind of suppressive or automatic fire capability on par with a SAW. In this story , the plasma weapon would have been much more usefully employed as an anti-vehicle weapon or bunker buster, not unlike a rocket launcher -- and indeed was employed as such. No reason was given for the lack of suppressive fire capability, especially since modern-day combat studies have demonstrated how essential suppressive fire is for infantry, and infantry combat in this universe hasn't been fundamentally altered by game-changing technologies.
Nevertheless, these are trivial details in an otherwise engaging story. This is an impressive start to what I hope would be a powerful series.
August 26, 2012
So: sci-fi, setup type "humanity vs aliens", not so sure about the specificity for Marines (usually authors just write / imply military, and of all branches of military, you don't see many including the marines), the whole "war is hell" line made me think that there's going to be some War Is Bad idealism in there, which could DEFINITELY be interesting, depending on how the author delivers it.
...in this case, very oddly.
So the good: this reminds me that sci-fi was at some point called "speculative fiction" or what sci-fi was originally ABOUT. The ESSENCE of it, if you will. In other words, it takes what we have right now and speculates to where we can be in terms of science and technology given a few more centuries, and then add in the interesting bits about the potential ramifications of those advancements and its effects on society. This it does very well. I was also thrilled to bits about the fact that it mentions dopamine and NMDA receptors and substantia nigra. (As I've mentioned to Lucy, being in grad school is a bit like being an extremely dedicated fan in a really tiny fandom -- whenever someone more "mainstream" mentions it / shows curiosity it's REALLY EXCITING and you REALLY want to share but at the same time you don't want to scare them away forever.) (Heh, fandot.) Though it grossly simplifies a lot of things for someone with no neuroscience / medical knowledge background at all it's a bit like crash course science with bits of plot thrown in.
...that's the bad part as well, sadly.
It's really BITS of plot.
The author goes into exhausting detail about gravity of the new worlds they are on, the percentage of composition of the atmosphere (I kid you not, he does list the actual fictional percentages), and as much a fan of brains as I am (...that sounded less creepy in my head, I promise), I can't help but think that other people will be bored by all this talk of medulla oblongata (mmMMMmmm how about that caudate nucleus). How many people pick up a book that, based on the back cover, promises spaceship and war for the survival of humanity, will stay around for 300 pages of xenobiology and calculations of atmospheric trajectory? Even I was starting to lose patience and I LIKE this sort of things.
The actual war? The book is 350 pages long. The actual war doesn't start until page 300.
...in this case, very oddly.
So the good: this reminds me that sci-fi was at some point called "speculative fiction" or what sci-fi was originally ABOUT. The ESSENCE of it, if you will. In other words, it takes what we have right now and speculates to where we can be in terms of science and technology given a few more centuries, and then add in the interesting bits about the potential ramifications of those advancements and its effects on society. This it does very well. I was also thrilled to bits about the fact that it mentions dopamine and NMDA receptors and substantia nigra. (As I've mentioned to Lucy, being in grad school is a bit like being an extremely dedicated fan in a really tiny fandom -- whenever someone more "mainstream" mentions it / shows curiosity it's REALLY EXCITING and you REALLY want to share but at the same time you don't want to scare them away forever.) (Heh, fandot.) Though it grossly simplifies a lot of things for someone with no neuroscience / medical knowledge background at all it's a bit like crash course science with bits of plot thrown in.
...that's the bad part as well, sadly.
It's really BITS of plot.
The author goes into exhausting detail about gravity of the new worlds they are on, the percentage of composition of the atmosphere (I kid you not, he does list the actual fictional percentages), and as much a fan of brains as I am (...that sounded less creepy in my head, I promise), I can't help but think that other people will be bored by all this talk of medulla oblongata (mmMMMmmm how about that caudate nucleus). How many people pick up a book that, based on the back cover, promises spaceship and war for the survival of humanity, will stay around for 300 pages of xenobiology and calculations of atmospheric trajectory? Even I was starting to lose patience and I LIKE this sort of things.
The actual war? The book is 350 pages long. The actual war doesn't start until page 300.
January 18, 2013
If you really know me, then you know that the second book I wrote a few years ago a was military science-fiction novel. If you didn’t know that already, well, there you go. Anyway, I’m a big fan of military sci-fi and always jump on the opportunity to check out new titles within the genre. STAR CORPSMAN: BLOODSTAR is a hearty addition to the field.
Ian Douglas is one of the many pen-names of American author William H. Keith, Jr. This gentleman is a power-house of an author and has written scads of books over the years. As a result, he has an amazing canon under his belt and is destined for the annals of science-fiction greatness.
STAR CORPSMAN: BLOODSTAR is a fairly fast-paced adventure that is written well with fluid prose and pulse-pounding intensity. The book is both historical and war record, detailing the history of the Fleet Marine Force as well the current deployment specifics. There’s plenty to captivate any reader here.
Douglas does an impressive job of world building, putting the reader in both familiar and uncharted territory. The landscapes are both hellish and intriguing, a dangerous combination for the characters involved. And the Qesh raced is deftly constructed, an enigmatic force to be reckoned with.
My sole complaint about STAR CORPSMAN: BLOODSTAR is that some of the more technical descriptions Douglas employs can sometimes bog the storyline down a bit; not to mention, they can sometimes make the reader (or at least this one) feel dumb at points. Still, there’s not enough of this to detract much from the book and it still offers more entertainment than not.
STAR CORPSMAN: BLOODSTAR is a buffet of wholesome military science-fiction at its purest. I recommend this book and offer it to anyone looking for a rousing, battle-filled excursion into intensity. The book was released a couple of months ago, so check it out now.
Ian Douglas is one of the many pen-names of American author William H. Keith, Jr. This gentleman is a power-house of an author and has written scads of books over the years. As a result, he has an amazing canon under his belt and is destined for the annals of science-fiction greatness.
STAR CORPSMAN: BLOODSTAR is a fairly fast-paced adventure that is written well with fluid prose and pulse-pounding intensity. The book is both historical and war record, detailing the history of the Fleet Marine Force as well the current deployment specifics. There’s plenty to captivate any reader here.
Douglas does an impressive job of world building, putting the reader in both familiar and uncharted territory. The landscapes are both hellish and intriguing, a dangerous combination for the characters involved. And the Qesh raced is deftly constructed, an enigmatic force to be reckoned with.
My sole complaint about STAR CORPSMAN: BLOODSTAR is that some of the more technical descriptions Douglas employs can sometimes bog the storyline down a bit; not to mention, they can sometimes make the reader (or at least this one) feel dumb at points. Still, there’s not enough of this to detract much from the book and it still offers more entertainment than not.
STAR CORPSMAN: BLOODSTAR is a buffet of wholesome military science-fiction at its purest. I recommend this book and offer it to anyone looking for a rousing, battle-filled excursion into intensity. The book was released a couple of months ago, so check it out now.
October 24, 2013
Right, this one is one of the most annoying and boring books I have read in a long time...
See, here is an author who seems to have read a couple of science-for-the-masses books, or watched BBC or National Geographic documentaries and now feels the need to share his understanding of science with us. You know what? Just don't.
No problem with Hard SciFi, but really, read the authors who can pull that kind of thing of,cause the don't Lecture us,
Reading Bloodstar I not only feel that the protagonist is a bit stupid, but I feel that the author thinks the reader is too, and feels the need to ejaculate scientific facts that should be common knowledge in greatest detail over and over again... If I ever hear an explanation of what tidally-linked planets mean I am gonna scream!
There are other annoying things, too, such as the random collection of ideas, pointlessly put together (global warming and a new ice age on earth, a frozen water planet, a half cold / half hothouse planet), the main character's burgeoise attitude to sex and his non ability to cope with his girlfriends death - oh, please - too many platitudes....
And really, for the biggest part of the book nothing happens, at all...
This is the reason why we need publishing houses and editors, who support authors in writing books or rather cleaning them up (I am making the assumption that this was not edited - which might be wrong - in which case an editor is in the wrong job)
See, here is an author who seems to have read a couple of science-for-the-masses books, or watched BBC or National Geographic documentaries and now feels the need to share his understanding of science with us. You know what? Just don't.
No problem with Hard SciFi, but really, read the authors who can pull that kind of thing of,cause the don't Lecture us,
Reading Bloodstar I not only feel that the protagonist is a bit stupid, but I feel that the author thinks the reader is too, and feels the need to ejaculate scientific facts that should be common knowledge in greatest detail over and over again... If I ever hear an explanation of what tidally-linked planets mean I am gonna scream!
There are other annoying things, too, such as the random collection of ideas, pointlessly put together (global warming and a new ice age on earth, a frozen water planet, a half cold / half hothouse planet), the main character's burgeoise attitude to sex and his non ability to cope with his girlfriends death - oh, please - too many platitudes....
And really, for the biggest part of the book nothing happens, at all...
This is the reason why we need publishing houses and editors, who support authors in writing books or rather cleaning them up (I am making the assumption that this was not edited - which might be wrong - in which case an editor is in the wrong job)
January 16, 2013
I have very, very mixed feelings about this book. As a fan of military science fiction, I have found that there is a dearth of what I call "Platoon" style military SF, which follows the exploits of individual enlisted people on the front lines (as opposed to "Patton" style military SF, which shows officers away from the battlefield having brilliant strategic thoughts while others do the dying for them (with apologies to Honor Harrington).
I probably should mention up front that I am an ex enlisted serviceman.
And, as someone who loves "Platoon" style military SF, I found the characters compelling, the action believable and interesting, and some very exciting sequences. Much of the book was excellent.
However, there's a lot of what I consider classically poor SF writing--pages upon pages of exposition that doesn't advance the plot and just lags. Purists might say that this is what hard SF is, but I can name a dozen hard SF writers who give great exposition without slowing the plot down and boring their readers.
Half this book was brilliantly written and exceptionally exciting. A quarter of it was very well done. Fifteen percent was good. Ten percent was quite dull.
Overall, I will probably read more of the series as it comes out. I want to like it better than I actually did.
I probably should mention up front that I am an ex enlisted serviceman.
And, as someone who loves "Platoon" style military SF, I found the characters compelling, the action believable and interesting, and some very exciting sequences. Much of the book was excellent.
However, there's a lot of what I consider classically poor SF writing--pages upon pages of exposition that doesn't advance the plot and just lags. Purists might say that this is what hard SF is, but I can name a dozen hard SF writers who give great exposition without slowing the plot down and boring their readers.
Half this book was brilliantly written and exceptionally exciting. A quarter of it was very well done. Fifteen percent was good. Ten percent was quite dull.
Overall, I will probably read more of the series as it comes out. I want to like it better than I actually did.
October 6, 2015
This was a good start of a series of Military SciFi. I served in the Navy. During my Naval service, I was under the care of several Corpsman, many of whom I still stay in touch. I also had a chance to serve alongside many Marines. The author gets the closeness of a Corpsman to his Marine charges, and the strange love-hate relationship between the Navy and Marine Corps.
I like the fact that the Marines have remained US Marines instead of joining what sounds like a one-world government (cue the ominous music and launch the religious nut-jobs). Will the US still be around in 400 years? Who knows, but I like the thought of my country still distinct from the rest.
The medical terms used in this book can be rather clinical. The author did a fair job not getting too deep in the minutia of battle care, while keeping the action flowing. This must have been a hard balance to strike. Enough of the medical jargon so we know what Doc is fixing, but not so much that it sounds like I am stuck in a Health Science lecture with Ferris Bueller's teacher.
Overall, this was a good read. I will add it to my home library for reread in the near future. I will try to read the author's other works and more in this series if available.
"Never trust anyone whose TV is bigger than their bookshelf" - Emilia Clarke's father.
I like the fact that the Marines have remained US Marines instead of joining what sounds like a one-world government (cue the ominous music and launch the religious nut-jobs). Will the US still be around in 400 years? Who knows, but I like the thought of my country still distinct from the rest.
The medical terms used in this book can be rather clinical. The author did a fair job not getting too deep in the minutia of battle care, while keeping the action flowing. This must have been a hard balance to strike. Enough of the medical jargon so we know what Doc is fixing, but not so much that it sounds like I am stuck in a Health Science lecture with Ferris Bueller's teacher.
Overall, this was a good read. I will add it to my home library for reread in the near future. I will try to read the author's other works and more in this series if available.
"Never trust anyone whose TV is bigger than their bookshelf" - Emilia Clarke's father.
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