Rating: 
Summary: Mediocre adventure story
Review: You can read about the storyline in the other reviews so I won't repeat it here. I found this a mediocre adventure story that disappointed slightly in three ways: the characters had no depth, there was too much gore for my taste, and there wasn't very much science fiction in it. Except for a space battle in the last 20 pages, the book could have transpired on present-day Earth. Science fiction should either be good literature or have interesting science in it, I'm fine with either, but this book has neither. If you want adventure stories about plucky junior officers, I recommend the Hornblower novels instead.
Rating: 
Summary: Nicely done light space-opera. 4.5 stars
Review: _________________________________________
A more descriptive title might be "The Lieutenant & the
Librarian". Lt. Daniel Leary, estranged from his powerful father, is
a supernumerary on a diplomatic mission from Cinnabar to Kostroma, a wealthy trading planet squeezed between two expanding
empires, Cinnabar and the Alliance.Adele Mundy survived the political massacre of her family on
Cinnabar. She's the newly-appointed Electoral Librarian in
Kostroma's capitol. Drake sets the scene in a leisurely fashion, but
once an Alliance-sponsored coup unfolds, the action is fast and
furious -- and clever and fun. The Lieutenant is an interesting fellow -- a promising astrogator,
he's also an amateur naturalist and a bit of a lady's man. He
dreams of command, and is plunged into it to rescue a
detachment of Cinnabar sailors cut off in the coup. He proves to be
competent and infectiously optimistic: given lemons, he makes
lemonade, lemon cream pie or lemon-drop cookies, as the
situation requires. He befriends the Librarian, rescues her when
the coup turns ugly, and learns that besides being a computer
whiz, she's a a crack shot and a cool head. They become an
amazingly effective team. No, there's no romance between them
-- at least, not yet. Comparisons to Nick Seafort and Honor Harrington are
inevitable; fans of either won't be disappointed. Drake's "Hornblower" [note 1] is more to my taste - it's not quite so compulsively
readable as the Seafort Saga, but more plausible and with *much*
more likeable characters. There's never much doubt of the
(general) outcome, but getting there is all the fun. Drake writes in
a clean, transparent style that's a joy to read. We haven't seen the
last of Daniel and Adele. I'm ready for the next.
_____________
Note 1) -- more accurately, his trubute to Patrick O'Brian's "Master & Commander" series, itself a Hornblower knockoff. review copyright 1998 by Peter D. Tillman
Rating:
Summary: Nicely done light space-opera. 4.5 stars
Review: _________________________________________
A more descriptive title might be "The Lieutenant & the
Librarian". Lt. Daniel Leary, estranged from his powerful father, is
a supernumerary on a diplomatic mission from Cinnabar to Kostroma, a wealthy trading planet squeezed between two expanding
empires, Cinnabar and the Alliance. Adele Mundy survived the political massacre of her family on
Cinnabar. She's the newly-appointed Electoral Librarian in
Kostroma's capitol. Drake sets the scene in a leisurely fashion, but
once an Alliance-sponsored coup unfolds, the action is fast and
furious -- and clever and fun. The Lieutenant is an interesting fellow -- a promising astrogator,
he's also an amateur naturalist and a bit of a lady's man. He
dreams of command, and is plunged into it to rescue a
detachment of Cinnabar sailors cut off in the coup. He proves to be
competent and infectiously optimistic: given lemons, he makes
lemonade, lemon cream pie or lemon-drop cookies, as the
situation requires. He befriends the Librarian, rescues her when
the coup turns ugly, and learns that besides being a computer
whiz, she's a a crack shot and a cool head. They become an
amazingly effective team. No, there's no romance between them
-- at least, not yet. Comparisons to Nick Seafort and Honor Harrington are
inevitable; fans of either won't be disappointed. Drake's "Hornblower" [note 1] is more to my taste - it's not quite so compulsively
readable as the Seafort Saga, but more plausible and with *much*
more likeable characters. There's never much doubt of the
(general) outcome, but getting there is all the fun. Drake writes in
a clean, transparent style that's a joy to read. We haven't seen the
last of Daniel and Adele. I'm ready for the next.
_____________
Note 1) -- more accurately, his trubute to Patrick O'Brian's "Master & Commander" series, itself a Hornblower knockoff. review copyright 1998 by Peter D. Tillman
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