The Far Side of the Stars - David Drake Book Review

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Review Summaries

" Baen, Oct 2003, 25.00, 436 pp. ISBN: 074347158X The Republic of Cinnebar and the Alliance are at peace which means changing swords into plows and leaving some folks out of work as the war provided them employment. With his warship the Princess Cecile mothballed, Lieutenant Daniel Leary and Signals Officer Adele Mundy are two of those legendary heroes seeking jobs. So when Count Kimov and his wife Valentina decide to hunt for exotic prey in the Galactic North they buy the mothballed Princess Cecile and hire Leary and crew to escort them there. However, just because an armistice has been signed, peace is not everywhere. Soon Leary and company are struggling with deadly dragons and a treacherous Alliance battle fleet ready to destroy Cinnebar and kill anyone who might give away the deceitful plan of preemptive first strike. However, besides a star war at a level not seen before, it is the Oracle that frightens Leary the most. The Republic of Cinnebar tales are some of the best space opera novels in recent years. The latest one, THE FAR SIDE OF THE STARS, is a delightful tale that starts by showing what happens to old soldiers whose glory time looks over, but quickly spins into an action-packed, faster then the speed of light war of the worlds' tale. Leary is a great protagonist who is a fish out of water when peace exists throughout the galaxy, but in a hostile life threatening environs, his true grit is that he is the outer space John Wayne. David Drake entertains the troops with this wild ride. Harriet Klausner "
Harriet Klausner, Resident David Drake Scholar

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Overall Review

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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Book
Descript. of chases or violence - 10%
planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30%
Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 20%

Tone of book - suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - science fiction story
Political power play Yes
Political plotlets - preventing/managing clash/war between govts/kingdoms
If an invasion, from Earth/human POV: - fighting overt invasion (attacking aliens)
War or Invasion Yes
Major kinds of combat: - spaceship battles
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book

Main Character
Identity: - Male
Profession/status: - pilot, civilian
Age: - 20's-30's
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - very athletic

Main Adversary
Identity: - an entire race
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount

Setting
A substantial portion of this book takes place on a non-Earth planetary body: - humans in a futuristic society
Planet outside solar system? Yes

Style
Person? - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
scientific jargon? (SF only) - none/very little science jargon needed
How much dialogue? - significantly more dialog than descript

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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).

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