Space Opera Fans discussion

The Dec/Jan 2022 Limited Pick is Legacy by Bob Mauldin. Please use this thread to post questions, comments, and reviews, at any time.

Official description:
Witness the rise of man’s first galactic federation: The Terran Alliance.

When Simon and Katherine Hawke stumble upon an alien shuttle that has landed on earth, it’ll not only change the course of their lives, but of the entire world. Taking the shuttle into orbit, they discover a much larger ship left adrift with no one on board. Commandeering it, they confirm that we’re not alone in the universe and must prepare the human race for what is about to come.

Recruiting from all over the world, they begin to expand their fleet and build a federation to give humans a foothold in the galaxy. Thus the Terran Alliance is formed, led by Simon, Kitty, Gayle, and their new comrades.

Everything is going according to planned as they construct more ships, but the governments of the world are vying for control of these technologies. To make matters worse, their second encounter with an alien species is not one of peace. After the attack, they are left with more questions than answers as they face resistance from, not only outer space, but their home planet as well.

I have read this series twice. I rated it as three stars as a signal to myself that I need to wait until I’ve forgotten a lot of the plot points before rereading. It has the feel of a lot of the old Ace paperback SF books: completely implausible but lots of action, plus some references that SF fans will appreciate.

I’m rereading Legacy now. Here’s a good quote:
“You mean to tell me that I have a pair of redheaded identical twins on my ship? On a ship named after Robert Heinlein? This is just too hilarious.”

The scene where one character thanks her physics professor is even more hilarious IMO. Explaining why that scene is hilarious would spoil it.

Teresa wrote: "I have read this series twice. I rated it as three stars as a signal to myself that I need to wait until I’ve forgotten a lot of the plot points before rereading. It has the feel of a lot of the ol..."

You're getting me interested in this one!

It’s available on Kindle Unlimited but the purchase price is only $2.99 on the US Amazon site. Take the free preview and see if it hooks you.

Almost finished. Near the end of the book I remembered too many details of the final chapter and just couldn’t face it last night so switched to a fantasy. Time to read that final chapter now. I know it has to end like that to set up for book #2 but it just isn’t the way I like books to end.

And finished. Now to read a chapter or two of Spheres of Influence to get past that final chapter, then decide whether I want to keep rereading this series. I’m remembering a lot of details of the second book, but only snatches of books 3 and 4, so far.

It will be later in the month before I start this one. It will be my first read in this series.

Legacy

Just started it last night and I'm about 10% into the book. Overall I can see that there is some good ideas put together, and I see some potential in what is being built. But the amount of mid-western American cliches almost made me get a refund.

In the first 10% of the book we have been introduced to the brainiac who is beautiful, as well as a compentent physicist, mathematician, and systems analyst; the tall, dark, and dreamy retired-young super spy, and the comedic female best friend who swears a lot. Beyond that we have had some generic military men at desks/screens who are all trying to cover their asses if things go wrong, and an alien who in his dying moments passes a cryptic message and control of the alien ship to our brilliant physicist.

Makes me think about writing again, because if this can get published, then I've actually got a decent chance. I'll finish the book because it's a fast read so far, and probably the series because I need some new "trash"-scifi for the winter holidays.

I’m about 80% through book #2 of the series. In both this series and Bob's Saucer Repair by Jerry Boyd, the group of civilians with found tech becomes increasingly military and at least something similar to a government arises, as the number of people in the group increases. It makes sense, particularly when you are on a spaceship, and when you need to negotiate with various countries, planets, etc. At least Bob keeps insisting on his crew calling him Boss instead of Admiral.

I’m about half way through, the characters and dialogue are cringe worthy.

I'm sort of playing catch-up, and I only started reading this over the weekend. It kind of feels like a B-Movie type of Sci-Fi. I am strangely hooked, but I am not sure why! I'm about 25% through so far. I will finish and then decide if it's worth reading the next in the series!