The Outpost

Rating:
Summary: Good but not Resnick good
Review: I'd wait for the paperback. I am not disappointed that I read it but it doesn't live up to his other works. There were some short stories in there that were quite good but the book as a whole didn't have as much flow as I expected; I did not become engaged by the characters as much as I expected; and I could put the book down (which I did not expect!).

Rating:
Summary: Very formula, not much imagination
Review: I'm not sure what an author of Resnick's caliber is doing writing this sort of escapist yawner. I think he must have been stuck somewhere with his laptop and banged it out in an afternoon. We've all seen too much of this type of yarn-spinning before.

A bit better than wasting an afternoon watching MTV, but not much.

Rating:
Summary: Very formula, not much imagination
Review: I'm not sure what an author of Resnick's caliber is doing writing this sort of escapist yawner. I think he must have been stuck somewhere with his laptop and banged it out in an afternoon. We've all seen too much of this type of yarn-spinning before.

A bit better than wasting an afternoon watching MTV, but not much.

Rating:
Summary: Quite a letdown
Review: I've been a Resnick fan for years, although I usually find his books in the back corners of used books stores or through eBay auctions. Mike's written alot of books, and it's unfortunate that most of them are out of print. What keeps me coming back for more are the continual themes of humanity that are present in all of his novels. No matter how whiz-bang golly gee his space operas become, his characters always remain fundamentally human. (Kirinyaga, Dark Lady, Miracle of Rare Design, and The Soul Eater being my favorites.

With "The Outpost," however, I don't see any of that. These characters are sophomoric cliches and the stories seem written for 13 year old boys. He gives most of the dialogue to a sex-deprived, foul-mouthed preacher who spends a quarter of every page lusting after the female characters.

The different stories and the changes of perspective are a nifty gimmick, but I didn't care about the characters enough to make it worthwhile. As a whiz-bang space opera it succeeds admirably, but if you're looking for something along the lines of Resnick's deeper work, pay a visit to a used book store or alot of his older stuff is available there.

Rating:
Summary: Not his best
Review: I've been a Resnick fan for years, although I usually find his books in the back corners of used books stores or through eBay auctions. Mike's written alot of books, and it's unfortunate that most of them are out of print. What keeps me coming back for more are the continual themes of humanity that are present in all of his novels. No matter how whiz-bang golly gee his space operas become, his characters always remain fundamentally human. (Kirinyaga, Dark Lady, Miracle of Rare Design, and The Soul Eater being my favorites.

With "The Outpost," however, I don't see any of that. These characters are sophomoric cliches and the stories seem written for 13 year old boys. He gives most of the dialogue to a sex-deprived, foul-mouthed preacher who spends a quarter of every page lusting after the female characters.

The different stories and the changes of perspective are a nifty gimmick, but I didn't care about the characters enough to make it worthwhile. As a whiz-bang space opera it succeeds admirably, but if you're looking for something along the lines of Resnick's deeper work, pay a visit to a used book store or alot of his older stuff is available there.

Rating:
Summary: Tall tales
Review: In first section of the book a cast of characters gathers in a bar called the Outpost and swap stories. Tall stories as it turns out. An alien attack is underway and the patrons depart to fight off the aliens. Mike Resnick tells the true story of what happens to each of the characters in the battle that ensues. Then, when all return to the Outpost, each tells his story and the reader can see for himself the embellishments and understatements. The stories throughout the book vary in interest and quality widely. Readable but nothing truly special. I think it started out as a character study but quickly degenerated into a hack work for money. Too bad. I still enjoyed it though.

Rating:
Summary: Good but not Resnick good
Review: THE OUTPOST is the last stop bar on the planet Henry II just before the Milky Way's centric black hole. The tavern is a place where the hostilities of the solar system are left off-planet. Enemies come here to share a drink and a tall tale or two. The owner Tomahawk and his bartender Reggie the Robot run a clean establishment until the aliens invade. With Willie the Bard chronically taking notes, everyone has a story to tell and that they do in this humorous, intelligent, but quite biting satirical anthology starring interchangeable heroes and villains.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable acerbic SF anthology
Review: THE OUTPOST is the last stop bar on the planet Henry II just before the Milky Way's centric black hole. The tavern is a place where the hostilities of the solar system are left off-planet. Enemies come here to share a drink and a tall tale or two. The owner Tomahawk and his bartender Reggie the Robot run a clean establishment until the aliens invade. With Willie the Bard chronically taking notes, everyone has a story to tell and that they do in this humorous, intelligent, but quite biting satirical anthology starring interchangeable heroes and villains.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Quite a letdown
Review: This book shows no trace of the writing that has earned Mike Resnick a Hugo and Nebula award. Dull, repetitious, unimaginative stories about ridiculous one-dimensional 'heros', as he calls them.

Evidently a book written for young teens judging from the constant boring sexual fantasies/exploits of the characters. It seemed totally pointless. After awhile, I used it to put me to sleep.

Rating:
Summary: Old fashioned escapist fun
Review: This is an old fashioned escapist collection of very short stories told in a bar room setting.A bar on the farthest reaches of the inner frontier of the gallaxy and patronized by only the toughest and craziest inhabitants of the universe. Both human and otherwise.
It is reminiscent of the early Spider Robinson Callahan's series before that went downhill and serious.
Anyone looking for the more dramatic Resnick stories needs to go elsewhere. This is humor pure and simple. No deep meanings or charectarizations. There's no time as the stories come fast and furious. This is the type of book I look for when I'm taking a break from more serious science fiction.

It's full of interesting though lite charectors telling stories of shape changing aliens, space opera like adventures, fortunes (in the form of whole palnets and even systems) won and lost and even an interesting bar/card trick.
Admitedly it's not exactly what I expected when I picked up the copy but I am more than pleasantly suprised. Hope you are too.