Adventure Books - Page 6

1634: The Baltic War (The Ring of Fire)

David Weber, Eric Flint

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 33 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

           The Baltic War which began in the novel 1633 is still raging, and the time-lost Americans of Grantville—the West Virginia town hurled back into the seventeenth century by a mysterious cosmic accident—are caught in the middle of it.

 

           Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden and Emperor of the United States of Europe, prepares a counter-attack on the combined forces of France, Spain, England, and Denmark—former enemies which have allied in the League of Ostend to destroy the threat to their power that the Americans represent—which are besieging the German city of Luebeck.

 

            Elsewhere in war-torn Europe, several American plans are approaching fruition. Admiral Simpson of Grantville frantically races against time to finish the USE Navy’s ironclad ships—desperately needed to break the Ostender blockade of the Baltic ports. A commando unit sent by Mike Stearns to England prepares the rescue the Americans being held in the Tower of London. In Amsterdam, Rebecca Stearns continues three-way negotiations with the Prince of Orange and the Spanish Cardinal-Infante who has conquered most of the Netherlands. And, in Copenhagen, the captured young USE naval officer Eddie Cantrell tries to persuade the King of Denmark to break with the Ostender alliance, all while pursuing a dangerous romantic involvement with one of the Danish princesses.

Titanicus (Warhammer 40,000 Novel)

Dan Abnett

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Great Book, with just a few reservations 4 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

I never played the tabletop Warhammer 40k Game. I got turned on to it when my brother-in-law gave me the "Dawn of War" video game back in 2006. I enjoyed the game and then saw "Brothers of the Snake" in the new Sci-Fi section of the bookstore a few years ago. I purchased it and got hooked. Since then, I've consumed the Ultramarine Omnibus, all of the Horus heresey novels and all of the Gaunts Ghosts novels.

I have three reservations about this novel that prevent me from giving it five stars. I've listed the reservations as least concerning to most concerning.

First, Dan Abnett's books always tend to get the action going pretty quickly (within first 30 or 40 pages) and the action stays at a high pace until literally the last page of the book. Unfortunately, this sometimes makes the end of his books feel rushed. I had that feeling in Titanicus as well. During the book there were many good and detailed descriptions of Titan versus Titan combat. However, near the end of the book, there is an epic battle against an enemy force of over sixty titans. This "historic" battle is described almost at a high summary level over the course of just two or three pages. I would have liked some more "blow by blow" coverages of this battle.

Second, Dan Abnett likes to juggle alot of characters in his books. This has worked well in the Gaunts Ghosts novels mainly because there were a few characters in the initial books and characters were slowly added over the series. The reader to a new Gaunts Ghosts novel is already familiar with most of the characters. In Titanicus, there are alot of characters, all of whom are new to the reader. It was alot of characters to try to keep track of in 400 pages and I sometimes found myself asking "Now who's this guy again???"

Third, and most annoying point: Dan Abnett will often use terms or phrases that he doens't define. He did this in "Legion" as well, but would often embed the definition later in the book. In many cases, he used terms that were never defined anywhere in the book. I found myself wondering "What is a noosphere?" "What is the manifold?" "Which one is bigger, a warhound or a warlord titan?" "What is a skitarri?" "What's the MRU?" Since Titanicus deals with the Mechanicum, there are alot of technical terms and processes, none of which are really described. I found this to be very distracting. Maybe someone with experience with the tabletop game or the background material might have a better understanding of these terms and this might not be such of an issue to them.

If someone were to ask me about this book, I would say to read Dan Abnett's other books first. I would not recommend this book as a first read for someone new to the Warhammer 40,000 universe.

Editorial Review:

 

Black Library’s best-selling SF author Dan Abnett takes his talents to a whole new level recounting an epic tale of Titans, the massive war machines of Warhammer 40,000.

 

 

Fury (Star Wars: Legacy of the Force, Book 7)

Aaron Allston

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 33 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Legacy of the Force: Fury 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This was a disappointing read after 'Inferno'. Aaron Allston writes a good book, but this book wasn't the greatest.

Jacen/Caedus is very pathetic in this. Kidnapping his daughter to force his secret lover to turn her fleets over to him. How unbeleivable can you get! He spends a lot of time fuming about how unfair the rest of the galaxy is and how he is only doing what is best. To end this book he strangles, using the Force, a junior officer because she was not able to predict that a shuttle actually contained Luke, Ben, Han, Leia, another Jedi and some others to destract Jacen/Caedus and rescue Allana.

The Jedi are trying, unsuccessfully, to kill Jacen/Caedus and so far have succeeded in planting a tracer on him. Hopefully he won't change his clothes.

The Allana passages read like something out of a children's book. They could have been a book of their own. "What will I do if Jacen doesn't say the special words?" Ha, Ha, Ha.

Luke is still greiving over Mara's death and Ben is a little childish in the first half of the book. At least he grows up in the end.

Han and Leia have some very interesting scenes in this book. They had to go to some rather extreme lengths to gather some imformation to help Jaina, Jag, and Zekk track down Alema Rar. Now they have a good way to locate Jacen's/Caedus's ship.

Jaina, Jag, and Zekk are getting very close to locating Alema Rar. The breastplate and crushgaunts that Boba Fett sent proved very effective in the scene on the astroid. I won't say anymore on this cause that would be a spoiler.

The Confederation has unleashed an ancient superweapon in the Corellia system.

Luke and the Jedi plan an operation to rescue Allana and to destroy Centerpoint Station.

Wedge and Tycho get some brief scenes in this book and are now semi-allied with the Jedi, at least that is the case with Tycho, Wedge is diffently on the side of the Jedi.

I recommend this book only if you have read some of the other books in this series or have read a lot of the reviews for these book. Otherwise, you could skip this book.

May the Force be with us!!

Editorial Review:

Fighting alongside the Corellian rebels, Han and Leia are locked in a war against their son Jacen, who grows more powerful and more dangerous with each passing day. Nothing can stop Jacen’s determination to bring peace with a glorious Galactic Alliance victory–whatever the price.

While Luke grieves the loss of his beloved wife and deals with his guilt over killing the wrong person in retaliation, Jaina, Jag, and Zekk hunt for the real assassin, unaware that the culprit commands Sith powers that can cloud their minds and misdirect their attacks–and even turn them back on themselves.

As Luke and Ben Skywalker struggle to find their place among the chaos, Jacen, shunned by friends and family, launches an invasion to rescue the only person still loyal to him. But with the battle raging on, and the galaxy growing more turbulent and riotous, there’s no question that it is Jacen who is most wanted: dead or alive.

Star Trek: SCE: Wounds (Star Trek Corps of Engineers)

Ilsa J. Bick, Keith R. A. DeCandido, Terri Osborne, Cory Rushton

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Editorial Review:

The Dominion War has been over for a year, but its legacy lives on. Commander Sonya Gomez, former Starship Enterprise™ engineer, and her crack Starfleet Corps of Engineers team on the U.S.S. da Vinci find themselves dealing with many permutations of that legacy.

Two mysterious murders on the da Vinci lead to the Gamma Quadrant and a Dominion base. A pre-warp planet occupied by the Dominion still has scars from both sides of that conflict. Plus Gomez, computer expert Soloman, and Security Chief Corsi are haunted by demons from their past.

But the greatest threat of all comes from a visit to Deep Space 9™. A fissure has opened up between realities, endangering the very existence of the Bajoran system -- and also stranding Doctors Lense and Bashir on a war-torn planet from which they may never escape.

Sacrifice (Star Wars: Legacy of the Force, Book 5)

Karen Traviss

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 74 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Civil war rages as the Galactic Alliance–led by Cal Omas and the Jedi forces of Luke Skywalker–battles a confederation of breakaway planets that rally to the side of rebellious Corellia. Suspected of involvement in an assassination plot against Queen Mother Tenel Ka of the Hapes Consortium, Han and Leia Solo are on the run, hunted by none other than their own son, Jacen, whose increasingly authoritarian tactics as head of GA security have led Luke and Mara Skywalker to fear that their nephew may be treading perilously close to the dark side.

But as his family sees in Jacen the chilling legacy of his Sith grandfather, Darth Vader, many of the frontline troops adore him, and countless citizens see him as a savior. The galaxy has been torn apart by too many wars. All Jacen wants is safety and stability for all–and he’s prepared to do whatever it takes to achieve that goal.

To end the bloodshed and suffering, what sacrifice would be too great? That is the question tormenting Jacen. Already he has sacrificed much, embracing the pitiless teachings of Lumiya, the Dark Lady of the Sith, who has taught him that a strong will and noble purpose can hold the evil excesses of the dark side at bay, bringing peace and order to the galaxy–but at a price.

For there is one final test that Jacen must pass before he can gain the awesome power of a true Sith Lord: He must bring about the death of someone he values dearly. What troubles Jacen isn’t whether he has the strength to commit murder. He has steeled himself for that, and worse if necessary. No, the question that troubles Jacen is who the sacrifice should be.

As the strands of destiny draw ever more tightly together in a galaxy-spanning web, the shocking answer will shatter two families . . . and cast a grim shadow over the future.


From the Hardcover edition.

The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Douglas Adams

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Total reviews: 117 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

At last in paperback in one complete volume, here are the five classic novels from Douglas Adams’s beloved Hitchiker series.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
Seconds before the Earth is demolished for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is saved by Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised Guide. Together they stick out their thumbs to the stars and begin a wild journey through time and space.

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
Facing annihilation at the hands of warmongers is a curious time to crave tea. It could only happen to the cosmically displaced Arthur Dent and his comrades as they hurtle across the galaxy in a desperate search for a place to eat.

Life, the Universe and Everything
The unhappy inhabitants of planet Krikkit are sick of looking at the night sky– so they plan to destroy it. The universe, that is. Now only five individuals can avert Armageddon: mild-mannered Arthur Dent and his stalwart crew.

So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish
Back on Earth, Arthur Dent is ready to believe that the past eight years were all just a figment of his stressed-out imagination. But a gift-wrapped fishbowl with a cryptic inscription conspires to thrust him back to reality. So to speak.

Mostly Harmless
Just when Arthur Dent makes the terrible mistake of starting to enjoy life, all hell breaks loose. Can he save the Earth from total obliteration? Can he save the Guide from a hostile alien takeover? Can he save his daughter from herself?

Bloodlines (Star Wars: Legacy of the Force, Book 2)

Karen Traviss

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 59 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

A new era of exciting adventures and shocking revelations continues to unfold, as the legendary Star Wars saga sweeps forward into astonishing new territory.

Civil war looms as the fledgling Galactic Alliance confronts a growing number of rebellious worlds–and the approaching war is tearing the Skywalker and Solo families apart. Han and Leia return to Han’s homeworld, Corellia, the heart of the resistance. Their children, Jacen and Jaina, are soldiers in the Galactic Alliance’s campaign to crush the insurgents.

Jacen, now a complete master of the Force, has his own plans to bring order to the galaxy. Guided by his Sith mentor, Lumiya, and with Luke’s young son Ben at his side, Jacen embarks on the same path that his grandfather Darth Vader once did. And while Han and Leia watch their only son become a stranger, a secret assassin entangles the couple with a dreaded name from Han’s past: Boba Fett. In the new galactic order, friends and enemies are no longer what they seem. . . .

Betrayal (Star Wars: Legacy of the Force, Book 1)

Aaron Allston

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 93 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

“[Betrayal] blasts off a new string of adventures starring beloved Star Wars familiars . . . this new installment should please Star Wars fans.”
–Publishers Weekly

Honor and duty collide with friendship and blood ties as the Skywalker and Solo clans find themselves on opposing sides of an explosive conflict.

When a mission to uncover an illegal missile factory on the planet Adumar ends in a violent ambush–from which Jedi Knight Jacen Solo and his protégé and cousin, Ben Skywalker, narrowly escape with their lives–it’s the most alarming evidence yet that political unrest is threatening to ignite into total rebellion. The specter of full-scale war looms between a growing cadre of defiant planets and the Galactic Alliance that some fear is becoming a new Empire.

Determined to root out those behind the mayhem, Jacen follows a trail of cryptic clues to a rendezvous with the most shocking of revelations. Meanwhile Luke grapples with something even more troubling: dream visions of a shadowy figure whose Force power and ruthlessness remind him of Darth Vader. If Luke’s visions come to pass, they will bring untold pain to the Jedi Master . . . and to the galaxy.

True Colors (Star Wars: Republic Commando, Book 3)

Karen Traviss

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 29 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Traviss raises the bar for SW novels 5 out of 5 stars.
20 of 22 people found this review helpful.

True Colors is what most SW books are not: intelligent, dramatic, internally realistic, and morally complex.

A sequel to the previous Republic Commando novel, Triple Zero, True Colors follows Delta and Omega Squads as they seek to capture scientist Ko Sai, the master geneticist of the Republic's clone army. Having fled Kamino with records of the cloning program, she's now being hunted by Palpatine and other commercial cloners eager to appropriate her work. But where these parties are motivated by commercial and political potential, Delta and Omega Squads have a more personal interest, to coerce the scientist into prolonging their lives by slowing down the quick-aging process built into their genetic code.

It's a fairly simple story made complex by attention to character and theme, something most Star Wars writers glance over if they think of it at all. Many employ a comfortable shorthand in which certain kinds of characters or characteristics are good, others bad, and the situations in which they find themselves clear cut. Traviss, though, paints in shades of gray, in which heroes have faults, bad guys are sometimes good, and the choices they have to make rarely easy.

The clone soldiers struggle to comprehend the enormity - and irony - of their burden, to die for a Republic that claims to defend freedom and liberty but values its clone warriors less than machines. Though content to do that for which they have been bred, the clones begin to resent being taken for granted, especially by their Jedi generals, men and women who through their relationship with the Force claim to have a wider and deeper appreciation of life in all its forms. The Jedi are painfully aware of their responsibilities to the clones, but find themselves trapped by tradition and circumstance serving the Republic, setting aside the rights of their soldiers to first fight the greater threat posed by the Separatists.

With no one to look after their interests but themselves, the clone commandos and their Mandalorian trainers set in motion a plan to free themselves from the tyranny of genetics and societal neglect, to give themselves an opportunity to live a life of normal men. But to do that they have to go against their breeding and training to disobey orders, aid deserters, deceive trusted comrades, kill fellow clone troopers and Mandalorians, and put civilian associates at risk. Complicit in their schemes are two Jedi commanders who discover first hand the dangers of attachment to loved ones and the equally dangerous detachment from avoiding difficult decisions.

In the end the commandos and the Jedi find that by looking closely at the thing you hate, you begin to understand it, to see that it exists much the same as you, as the expression of conditions that brought you into existence. Ko Sai is from a society that as a result of ecological disaster had to euthanize weaker members of its species to survive. For the Kaminoans the universe is a cold and harsh place that demands difficult choices, choices other species seem unable to take, but from which the commandos do not shy. In taking extraordinary measures to protect their own kind, in not being able to depend on the help of outsiders, the clones and Ko Sai find they have something in common. And in a universe in which many see the clones as little more than crude fighting machines, the Jedi begin to see that what they might have considered brutish behavior is as much a result of breeding as it is the tasks the Jedi and the Republic call upon the clones to perform.

This is the finest Star Wars novel ever written. Where Triple Zero was weighed down by excessive detail on weaponry, technology, and Mandalorian culture, True Colors pulses with the warmth of life and the honest portrayal of human conflict. There is no SW novel that can compare in depth of character and ethical complexity (though Matthew Stover's novels come close). On the one hand I'm glad Traviss wrote it. It was a fine read and shows that licensed fiction need not be hackneyed product. On the other, I despair of reading anything as fine until Traviss' next Republic Commando novel.

If you enjoyed True Colors, then by all means check out Traviss Wess'har series, which covers much of the same thematic ground.

#

Editorial Review:

As the savage Clone Wars rage unchecked, the Republic’s deadliest warriors face the grim truth that the Separatists aren’t their only enemy–or even their worst.

In the Grand Army’s desperate fight to crush the Separatists, the secret special ops missions of its elite clone warriors have never been more critical . . . or more dangerous. A growing menace threatens Republic victory, and the members of Omega Squad make a shocking discovery that shakes their very loyalty.

As the lines continue to blur between friend and enemy, citizens–from civilians and sergeants to Jedi and generals–find themselves up against a new foe: the doubt in their own hearts and minds. The truth is a fragile, shifting illusion–and only the approaching inferno will reveal both sides in their true colors.

Star Strike (The Inheritance Trilogy, Book 1)

Ian Douglas

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 16 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Boring - Series Has Ran Out its Welcome 1 out of 5 stars.
2 of 4 people found this review helpful.

I real yawner.

I read the first six books in these three sets of Trilogies, and there were some good books that came out of this series, but I've completely had it with this series now - I basically tossed this book in the trash at Page 225, when the author names "Global Warming" as a #1 issue in mankind's history - above even the Xul threat whereby the Earth was basically WRECKED! ...even when the author had never mentioned "global warming" as any kind of real issue before in the series... it makes me sick when these SciFi authors pander to their peer group, and manage to work this garbage into their books... how can I believe a SciFi author's "predictions of the future", when they believe in superstitious future "ghosts" today?

The fact is, these books always had a problem with character development, and this entry is no different. There is simply no way to relate to any of the characters - with which you are never given an
explanation what they look like, or who they really are... and the re-using of the same family names over and over again, centuries and centuries later is ridiculous.

Additionally, the technology has "advanced" to the point that I can't relate to it at all - at least in the first few books, the technology was completely believable and perceivable... At this point in the series, I'd just as soon the Xul show up and destroy mankind, it would be very merciful.

FIN

Editorial Review:

Planet by planet, galaxy by galaxy, the inhabited universe has fallen to the alien Xul.

Now only one obstacle stands between them and total domination: the warriors of a resilient race the world-devourers nearly annihilated centuries ago . . .

A power vast, ancient, and terrifying, the mighty Xul have lost track of the insignificant humans hundreds of years after devastating their home world—which has enabled the United Star Marines to operate unnoticed and unhindered. A near-autonomous intergalactic policing force, they battle in defense of an Earth they may not live to see again. Now, following the trail of a vanished twenty-fourth-century transport, they are journeying through an unexplored stargate to the edge of an unknown galaxy many light years from their sun. For the last, best, and only chance to defeat the tyrants of the universe may at long last be at hand . . .