Star Rebel

Hulzein Dynasty #1

by F.M. Busby

THE MAKING OF A REBEL

At thirteen, Bran Tregare was stripped of his home, his name and his family, and sent to the brutal space academy known as the Slaughterhouse.

At seventeen, he'd survived the sadistic discipline of a starcaptain called the Butcher to become an ace pilot, crack gunner and hardened killer.

At twenty, he escaped with an armed warship to begin a one-man war against Earth's imperial masters.

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

216 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

Francis Marion Busby

see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F._M._B...

Reviews

[Beth Friedman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Holds up pretty well on reread, though I'm pretty sure the time lag between the two trips to Number One were seriously fudged. Other than that, a good job of interpolating events from previous books that also happened in this one.

[Billy Heaning]

Brutal is what I remember the most from this book. I read it about ten years ago and decided to re-read it again. And it is brutal. We get to see the crucible that Bran Tregare went through to become the daring rebel he is today. The space battles are succinct and understated -- nothing like the crackling pyrotechnics and scintillating screens of, say, someone like Doc Smith, but the tension is most definitely there. The science part of the fiction is quasi-hard: Busby pays attention to detail and creates a perpetually-consistent world, where super high accelerations create time dilation effects, acceleration = artificial gravity, and acquiring the possession of a single laser turret on a spaceship can mean the difference between life and death. I kinda lost the rhythm when he introduced the Shrakken aliens, but all in all, this is worth reading and if you're an aspiring sci-fi writer, these are good books to cut your teeth on.

[Joel Hacker · Rating 3 out of 5]

A return to the shorter form definitely works in Busby's advantage.
This, and the subsequent book, seem to be prequels dealing with Bran Tregare's background and catching us up to where he is when we meet him in Rissa Kerguelen. I'm guessing the deviation from what we've been told of his background previously is supposed to be chalked up to a combination of him spreading misinformation about himself and the inevitable 'telephone' effect of information being relayed across the galaxy with time distortion thrown into the mix.
Its a fun pulpy adventure, and we get *some* more background on the Slaughterhouse, though again I feel like Busby is always shying away from really embracing the horrors of the society that's creating these personalities. If there's a weak point I think its cramming in too many of the characters from 'Rissa' in ways that make it feel artificial and that there should be more closeness and trust between them when we see them united again later.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Power play in family causes a young boy to be left behind enrolled in a cruel military school. Under constant stress and physical punishments cadets do survive to go to space. They are not any safer in space punishments determined b cruel captains are spaced. Bran learns how to fight back and eventually does get his armored escaped ship. When faced with "traders" on the planets he is not as much a pirate as others make him out to be.

[Freyja · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you want space battles, fist fights, and politics, this is your book. There is plenty of action from start to finish. Any lull in the action is just setting up for the next action. It was hard to put down. It tells how Bran Tregare came to be how he is. If you want to read all the books, don't miss this book.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Does a great job providing Bran Tregare's (of the earlier Rissa Kerguelan trilogy) full backstory, with engaging characters and lots of shipboard action. The "UET" is a really nasty entity and I am looking forward to their (hopefully) downfall in the next books.

[Ingrid · Rating 2 out of 5]

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[Marsha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not great literature, but an old-fashioned space adventure combined with a coming-of-age novel.

[James]

"At thirteen, Bran Tregare was stripped of his home, his name, and his family, and sent to the brutal space academy known as the Slaughterhouse."

[Isabel Brady · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not great. Not horrible either. But why is the protagonist irresistible to all women even as a thirteen-year-old child? Ew.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

First read this back in middle school in the 80s. Loved the series and it inspired my imagination. I didn't know at the time but I was reading about a dystopian future. It wasn't a fun place to grow up and being a child wasn't protection. Yet the hero of the book does find his place.

Second read: This was a much more progressive book than I realized. Topics like misogyny and homophobia were given time. No woman was ever able to become captain or any similar leadership role (top role, at least) and they certainly weren’t treated well. Bran couldn’t understand why. Homosexual behavior was punished by things like being tossed into perpetual poverty and/or removal of genitals. That’s assuming they weren’t outright killed. Again, Bran couldn’t make any sense of it and was willing to “look the other way” when it came to a couple he encountered, as well as allow them to just be themselves when that option became available.

His life was brutal, he lost everything and everyone he knew, people he cares for keep dying or leave, and it’s impacted how he handles threats or gets what he wants. Mostly he wants to end the UET but that doesn’t happen by playing nice.

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

pure space opera - nothing much philosophical going on, but there is enough detail to make it an interesting story. My only critique is that the action happens at very slow intervals and when it does it is about 1 page long. Meanwhile, it takes 50 pages to get to the next piece of action. But that buildup keeps you turning the page...

[Catherine A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

First novel in a dystopian space opera series, where corporations rule countries and worlds, where the poor are enslaved in "full welfare" facilities, where children are trained in Darwinistic/Spartan military academies and where extremist feminists experiment with parthenogenesis. Not for the faint-hearted....

[Ferret · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the bad scifi. This is an SF bildungsroman which seems to be part of Busby's larger space opera universe. It's one of the most brutal pilot academies I've ever seen written, very much on the Spartan model.

[Deidre · Rating 4 out of 5]

First read these starting in early 80s, and still rereading..

[G.M.]

Top 5 All time Favorite Book ever - One of my all time favorite authors and one of my Top 5 Book Series!

[Karen Dransfield · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another re-read. Continuing the story of Bran. Still enjoyed it. Like the setting.