| Title | : | Starship: Pirate (Starship, #2) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1591024900 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781591024903 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 336 |
| Publication | : | First published December 5, 2005 |
Starship: Pirate (Starship, #2) Reviews
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The "Pirate" picks up just where the "Mutiny" ended and continues in the same fashion and style. The only difference form the first one is a couple of new secondary characters and a new "career" of infamous Wilson Cole. I honestly feel the the whole five books will feel like reading one big book with five chapters in it's contents. Same three stars for same cons and pros.
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4.0 to 4.5 stars. Great thinking man's space opera. Fast, easy read that keeps you entertained throughout. Wilson Cole is an excellent character.
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Leído en 2012.
Space opera militarista muy amena. Continuista con el primero de la saga. -
Against my will I find myself drawn more and more into Resnick's work. The book is much like the first, and is definitely a light read for a lazy afternoon. The story is fairly linear, revolving around one primary character and his interaction with the setting. That character is what makes this all worth the time spent reading the book, and ultimately the series. Don't come to this book looking for deep philosopical topics, or deep dives into theoretical science. This book is solidly positioned as an action adventure book very similar in feel to Harry Harrison's Stainless Steel Rat series.
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VOTO ALL'INTERO CICLO: 3,4
Il ciclo Starship di Mike Resnick è una space-opera militare che fa il verso ad opere certamente più autorevoli e qualitativamente migliori: non è affatto eccelsa, ma dalla sua ha una lettura estremamente semplice ( forse fin troppo!) e il "dono" della sintesi.
Insomma, è un qualcosa da leggere nel pieno della rilassatezza, senza pretendere troppo.
I 3 libri centrali senza sono senza dubbio i più divertenti, mentre il primo volume è fin troppo arronzato, per i miei gusti, mentre il capitolo conclusivo ha un epilogo da top-paraculata.
Insomma, consigliato a chi ama la space- opera militare e non ha niente di meglio da leggere sottomano. -
Better than the first book, but that's not saying much. 'Starship: Pirates' still suffers from the same issues that made 'Starship: Mutiny' somewhat of a bland reading experience. While this book is fun in some ways, overall there's really a lack of a compelling story or plot that drives this story forward. For the the most part, it's just Wilson Cole (our protagonist) thinking or talking his way out from one event to another that's strung along. It's really hard for a reader to be able to associate with a protagonist that seems to have come fully developed right from the beginning without any personal conflict or struggles to generate any drama. And with Cole constantly acting with his know it all attitude, it also deflates any feeling of crisis to any event.
What also doesn't help this series is the fact that it's billed as 'military sci-fi', but seems to lack much of either. We do have our Captains, and Sergeants, and Aliens, and Spaceships; but these are just tropes placed in this story without any real bearing to the plot. For the most part, this story could easily have been placed in the South Pacific, 200 years ago, much as less in space 3000 years in the future. This is basically space opera (of the Buck Rogers sort) thinly disguised as military sci-fi. It's safe to say, Master & Commander (an 18th century naval series) is probably more military sci-fi, than the 'Starship' series is. At least there, there were actual battles galore. -
I didn't like this book at first. It lacks most of the taut plotting and excitement that is found through the rest of Resnick's body of work. I went so far as to re-read the first two chapters of
The Widowmaker just to see if I was misremembering how good Resnick is (I wasn't). Having finished the book and started on the next in the series, I now find it to be of perfectly acceptable quality. It's not as good as Resnick's best, and the main character is 100% wish fulfillment, but I'm enjoying reading it, which is what ultimately matters. -
I enjoyed the second Wilson Cole book a lot more than second time than I did during my original read-through. Having fled the Republic and faced with a need to sustain himself and the ship, Cole turns to piracy. It's a low point for the Cole and the crew, and the first time felt like a low point in the series. This time it felt more like hardship that really fleshes out the characters and of course introduces some of the best of the recurring characters such as Val and David Copperfield. I utterly enjoyed rereading the book.
2015: The kids are probably as hooked on these characters and this story as any that I've shared with them. On to meet the Platinum Duke! -
Cole se ha cansado de su honrada vida como capitán de una fabulosa nave de guerra y ahora se va a dedicar a ser un pirata noob, pero con gran ingenio y todo extrañamente le sale redondo.
La novela se divide en 3 relatos distintos pero que tiene algo que servirá para el siguiente relato. Las aventuras de Cole son llenas de clichés que no fallan, por ello es un entretenimiento constante, no bajo el ritmo en ningún momento, la historia es simple y se agradece.
Robarán a quien se lo merece, de forma muy inteligente, pero algunas veces es necesario un poco de sangre.
Este tomo me ha recordado a la seria Firefly con razas alienígenas y más humor. -
Slightly disappointing even if you're expecting a light read after a hard day at work. Resnick's space opera is a straightforward adventure with no surprises, hard choices and casualties.
No matter how hard and unusual situation Cole is in, he just knows what to do and has so much luck (his arrogance annoyed me so much too), that it's simply unbelievable as a story.
Although I gave it just two stars, if you have a long evening and want to read something not ambitious and typical (for a space opera with the macho type man, who knows it all and no other character matters at all) it may be your title to chose and have fun reading it. -
Segundo libro de la saga Starship en la que seguimos acompañando al Capitan Cole y a su tripulación a bordo de la Teddy R.
Un poco más flojo que el anterior aunque con momentos divertidos al seguir las desventuras que sufren los protagonistas en su nuevo periplo de hacerse piratas con principios éticos al estilo de las novelas y películas de la antigua Tierra.
Sigue aumentando los protagonistas de la novela con la inclusión de varios personajes que parece que nos acompañaran en más aventuras.
El perista David Copperfield es un crack 😂🤣😂
3/5 -
So you are on the run from both of the largest navies in the galaxy. What next? Become a pirate of course. The only problem is that Wilson Cole is still a man of morals and principle. Even with his brilliant mind, being a Pirate with principles becomes very challenging.
It was a fun adventure to see how the crew of the 'Teddy R' balances these opposing ideas and survive the challenges involved. -
The second Starship novel by Resnick finds Captain Cole traversing the backwaters of the galaxy and deciding that the key to survival is to become a pirate, but only to raid the ships of bad guys. Along the way, he encounters and enlists the aid of the amazon-like woman, Valkyrie (Val for short). Various adventures ensue, paving the way toward the next phase of the Captain and crew's next phase of conflict with the Republic, contained in volume three of the series.
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Como el anterior. Quizá un poquito peor ya que se pierde la novedad.
Sin fondo, ni temáticas espectaculares ni personajes profundos. Un pasapáginas simple y eficaz que cumple. No es gran cosa pero tampoco pretende serlo. Muy de la época pulp de la space opera. Es simpático, el protagonista es un estereotipo caricaturizado pero está hecho así a propósito. -
Mike Resnick can write. I guess I like his style because he follows my train of thought. He leaves out my side musings and lasers right to the crux.
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Bueno, el segundo del comandante (ahora capitán) Cole. Quizá con menos acción que el primero pero para nada menos entretenido.
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Space Opera ... DEL BUENO !!!
Como a mí me gusta, con acción, cachondeo, aventuras ... en fin, de todo un poco.
Leí los 5 del tirón y acabé leyendo los 2 últimos en Inglés, no digo más ... -
Light, fast, reasonably funny - really enjoying this series so far.
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Αξιοπρεπέστατη συνέχεια του 1ου Starship, που μπορεί να μην είναι το καλύτερο έγο τυο Resnick, αλλά οι λίστες για τα ψώνια του είναι καλύτερα έργα από πολλών άλλων.
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Mike Resnick – irgend etwas sagte mir der Name, als das Rezensionsexemplar eintrudelte, wenn ich auch nicht genau festmachen konnte, was. Ich habe dann auch erst nachgesehen, als ich im Buch bei den Anhängen angekommen war: Mike Resnick (geboren 1942) ist einer der produktivsten und meist ausgezeichneten SF-Autoren der Vereinigten Staaten. Leider ist der Erfinder des »Birthright«-Universums dennoch an mir weitestgehend unbemerkt vorbei gegangen, auch wenn mir zumindest der Titel »Walpurgis III« etwas sagte. Dumm gelaufen, nach der Lektüre von »Wilson Cole: Die Piraten« stelle ich fest, dass ich hier offenbar einiges nachzuholen habe...
Der Roman ist der zweite eines (bislang) Vierteilers der Abenteuer um das Republik-Schlachtschiff THEODORE ROOSEVELT und dessen Kommandanten Wilson Cole. Im ersten (den ich leider noch nicht gelesen habe) machen sich Cole und die restlichen Protagonisten in der 3000 Jahre in der Zukunft gelegenen Republik offenbar durch Befehlsverweigerung (durch die mehrere Millionen Lebewesen gerettet wurden) dermaßen unbeliebt, dass die ROOSEVELT jetzt das meist gesuchte Schiff der Galaxis ist. Man flüchtet in den inneren Rand, einen mehr oder weniger gesetzlosen Teil der Milchstrasse, und Cole ist klar, dass es nur einen Weg gibt, Schiff und Crew das Überleben zu sichern: Man muss zu Piraten werden.
Leider ist das nicht ganz so einfach, denn dummerweise passt das übliche Piratenleben und -Handeln nicht zu den moralischen Grundsätzen von Captain und Besatzung, so dass man sich schnell darüber im Klaren ist: Es werden nur die »Bösen« überfallen. Aber auch das geht verständlicherweise nicht ohne gewisse Probleme ab...
Beim Lesen von »Die Piraten« fühlte ich mich angesichts der Erzählform in die - für mich - gute alte SF-Zeit in den Siebzigern und Achtzigern zurückversetzt, in denen ich unter anderem Romane von Harry Harrison, Arthur Bertram Chandler oder Bob Asprin gelesen habe, die ganz ähnlich waren: Auch dort stand oftmals die kurzweilige Unterhaltung in einem SF-Setting im Vordergrund, ohne den Leser mit allzu viel Hardcore-Technik, erhobenem Zeigefinder oder überbordendem Hintergrund zu belasten. Und dies gelingt verblüffenderweise auch Mike Resnick und das obwohl »Die Piraten« in seinem massiv gut ausgebauten und Jahrtausende überspannenden »Birthright«-Universum spielt, in dem seit 1982 sagenhafte 34 Romane und unzählige Kurzgeschichten erschienen sind. Der Leser muss zur Lektüre des vorliegenden Bandes davon nichts wissen, da es hier hauptsächlich um Personen geht - mögen sie nun menschlich oder außerirdisch sein.
Mike Resnick Abgesehen von der flotten und stilsicheren Erzählweise kommt auch der Humor definitiv nicht zu kurz, denn die Dialoge zwischen den Protagonisten sind gekennzeichnet von flapsigen Sprüchen in einer Art und Weise, die anderer Military-SF so gern mal abgeht und deswegen bisweilen für Unlesbarkeit sorgt. Allerdings würde ich den Roman ohnehin nicht als typischen Vertreter dieses Genres einordnen wollen, dafür sind weder Stil noch Art der Erzählung militärisch genug.
Auch wenn diverse Ideen und Charaktere schräg sind, Resnicks Erzählung ist zwar witzig, driftet aber nie in Richtung Klamauk ab, anders als beispielsweise bei Asprins »Chaos-Kompanie« oder Harrisons »Stahlratte« (wobei ich die damit in keinster Weise abwerten möchte, ganz im Gegenteil).
Die deutsche Übersetzung scheint - ohne dass ich das Original kenne - im Großen und Ganzen okay zu sein, wenngleich sie mir an diversen Stellen ein wenig holprig erschien und ein paar Übertragungen von amerikanischen Redewendungen etwas gequält daher kamen. Das tut dem überaus großen Lesevergnügen aber keinen Abbruch.
Hier wird definitiv nicht das Genre neu erfunden, aber dafür eine höchst unterhaltsame SF-Geschichte so leicht und locker erzählt, dass ich sie in kürzester Zeit durchgelesen hatte.
SF-Fans, die Freunde humorigen, kurzweiligen Raumfahrergarns ohne Hard-Science oder tiefschürfende philosophische Hintergründe sind, dafür aber sympathische Charaktere und handfeste Abenteuer im Weltraum mögen, können hier bedenkenlos ihre Credits investieren. Und ich werde ganz sicher mal versuchen, an mehr Lesestoff von Resnick zu kommen... -
The book was so fabulous.
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After enjoying myself immensely with Starship: Mutiny I had to go straight on to Starship: Pirate. The ending of the first book was great and it opened a whole lot of interesting situations up to the crew of the Teddy R. Starship: Pirate was never going to be the same sort of book as Mutiny, but I jumped into it in the hope that the essence of what I enjoyed was still present. Suffice to say that I had as much fun here as I did in the first, but this time with some excellent new characters thrown into the mix!
It's the aftermath of the mutiny trail, during which the crew of the Teddy R busted Wilson Cole out of jail, and now the former Navy ship finds itself on the run. The only place it can go where they will be relatively safe is the Inner Frontier, a place devoid of Republic influence and with more than its fair share of opportunities. With few choices at their disposal and the need to run a ship while paying and feeding the crew, the only real option the find themselves faced with is Piracy. With Cole having such a strong moral code the targets he's willing to let them face becomes very small indeed, but with his cunning they soon find themselves bringing in the hard cash.
I was a little sceptical about how Resnick would pull off a Navy crew converting to the life of crime as pirates on the Inner Frontier, but I shouldn't have worried. Once again he manages to write with style and flair, delivering a mighty novel in such a short page count. There are no prolonged passages where Resnick is having to explain anything, instead letting the story tell itself through the characters, all of which are great to see again, plus the new additions to the cast help spice things up a bit.
Cole is still his usual self, leading the crew of the Teddy R and making the right choices. But what we also get are great supporting characters: Forrice, Cole's best friend and 1st officer; Sharron, security chief on the Teddy R and also Cole's lover; Val, a seven foot tall pirate queen that Cole encounters on an excursion; David Copperfield, an alien fence that has taken to the works of Charles Dickens. These are all characters that bring life to the pages of Starship: Pirate and can easily deliver the action and conversation required to enjoy the book. Mike Resnick sure has an expert way with characters!
I must admit that I particularly liked the introduction of Val to the crew of the Teddy R. She's vicious and deadly, but has other qualities lurking behind those that make her the sort of character that you just enjoy being with. Her interactions are mostly with Cole, but given her background she still manages to fit in easily on a Navy ship. The friendship between Cole and Forrice is also a highlight and allows the reader to really get into the characters, letting us see more than just the day to day life on board a military ship.
I can safely say that after this book I am hooked on Mike Resnick. Roll on Starship: Mercenary! -
Book two of the Starship series is an excellent continuation of the saga of the warship Theodore Roosevelt (affectionately referred to as the "Teddy R."). While the war between the Republic and Teroni Federation rages on. Our hero, commander Cole is rescued from court-martial by a handful of faithful crew members. So they have stolen a Republic starship and are on the run with the resources of the entire Navy on their tail. The Teroni would like nothing better than to blow him out of the water. There’s a price on his head and every bounty hunter in ten galaxies wants to get their hands on him.
What do they do now? Become pirates of course! The crew heads out to the far reaches of the outer rim, a back water frontier far from the laws and dictates of the Republic. Resnick continues to develop the multi-dimensional Wilson Cole as a leader. He is an expert in every aspect of engineering, weaponry, and capabilities of the Teddy R. He is a military strategist, consummate politician, and a master of espionage among other talents. He understands his crew on a human level, gives them empowerment over their individual areas, values their opinions, and trusts hem implicitly as they trust in him. For Cole, the welfare of the crew is supreme above all else.
Resnick continues to build the depth, complexities, and back stories of many characters. We know these people, and we know what makes them work as a team, and we see how they solve the problems thrown their way at every turn. Resnick introduces some marvelous characters such as the eccentric “David Copperfield”, an inter-planetary fence for stolen goods who is also a Charles Dickens expert and rare centuries old earth books. We find that Cole is also very well educated and knows a lot about literature, among other academic disciplines. One new character I am sure we will see more of in future installments is Valkyrie, or Val as she is called amongst a slew of aliases. Wilson Cole has finally met his match with this new ally who can teach him more than he ever new existed about the pirate culture and activity on the outer rim.
This series is great fun and a real page turner! -
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. -
While mutiny felt like a staging area, Pirate feels like the unheard of opening band that is so full of life and willingness to prove it self that it does just that while shoving a new can of kickass down your throat. Pirate is such a quest swashbuckling laden book, a book that explains not just how to be a pirate in outerspace, but a good pirate. Captain Wilson Cole, Republic Mutineer is out of a job, now he must find a way to pay his crew, for fuel, food, and repairs. But how? Piracy. But with a Wilson Cole twist, he doesn't want to rob poor helpless innocent merchants, or just doing their job military targets, or even the odd shooting fish in a barrel planet settlement, no...he plans to steal from pirates. For they are not innocent, just doing their jobs, helpless, or even fish to be shot in a barrel. a most satisfying way of doing business.
While its good in theory, its pretty apparent early on that Captain Cole is out of his comfort zone and needs help on how to navigate the hammerhead shark infested waters of piracy on the open sea, err space. Enter the Valkyrie, newly recruited as a 3rd officer, the 6"5 red headed gorgeous pirate queen who can more than handle herself inclose quarters hand to hand but even more so in the ways of being a space pirate. As Captain Cole makes his way through the ins and outs of space piracy he picks up new crewmen and ways of thinking along the way.
This book is refreshing and a real page turner, new characters and old characters all share the same bulkhead, making for interesting mess hall conversation. -
Like the first book of the series, this is a fun, but rather simplistic book. Ship that mutinied in the first book decides to go pirate. First they take on another pirate (not wanting to go after innocents or military people just doing their job), then run into problems fencing the stuff that their target killed brutally for. This brings them a few new crew members, into conflict with another pirate, and a change of careers again.
The plot is very much and A then B then C then climax sort of plot. No secondary plots, no real character development, no real complications, and a few areas are glossed over rather quickly. Fun, but in no way challenging to the reader. And it still doesn't feel like part of the universe I've enjoyed in other books (although it also takes place more than a thousand years before the volumes I've read, like the excellent
Santiago: A Myth of the Far Future.
Still, I plan to read the remaining three books in the next few months, since the writing is engaging, and sometimes you just want a little mind candy. -
This is going to be a short review, because there’s not much to say.
Everything I said of
Starship: Mutiny also applies to this book. There isn’t even much character development to speak of; the author seems content with the characters the way they are, and this is just an exercise in throwing them into a different situation to see what happens. There is a new character introduced in the person of the Valkyrie, and there are a few brief incidents of interpersonal conflict.
It still serves as a light read that isn’t horribly written and has a certain element of golden-sci-fi throwback feel to it. Assuming you read the first book, however you felt about it will determine how you feel about this one; the differences are only in the details of the plot.
Starship: Mutiny -
This is a review of the audio version. The narration is fine. Unlike some narrators, whose voices get too soft to hear in a car, the sound quality is excellent.
Mike Resnick is an excellent author. Starship: Pirate left me flat. Yes, I plowed through it but I never had the feeling of "I can't wait to resume listening." Because I am not a writer, I can't tell anyone how to write a character with depth or agency. The guys and gals here (with the exception of the wonderfully named Jack in the Box) lack depth. Their reactions are predictable. They lack quirky hobbies or interests. How Mr. Resnick uses his typewriter to paint with more depth in other books I can't explain; nor can I explain why the magic didn't happen in Starship for me.
Plus, the price is too high. At $9.59 as I write it is more than a paperback for a bunch of electrons.
My usual disclaimer: I bought the book, I don't know the author or publisher, and I was not asked to review it. Whenever you see a negative review of a book, do the author the courtesy of downloading the free sample and making your own judgment. You might like what I do not.