Resurrection

Rating:
Summary: Back to Galactica 1980 Quality
Review: After having read, re-read and thoroughly enjoying the previous two books, I found myself checking the Amazon website regularly for indications the third book was imminent... I was so anxious to have ordered it in advance... but, what a complete letdown. From both a characterization and story continuity perspective, Ressuerection was a very significant divestiture from Arm and Hawk. What in the galaxy happened to Dalton? I found myself hating this character in Book III... what a ridiculous redirection of her character wrt the Troy relationship. Apollo and Cassie... give me a break... what would have been appropriate was an exploration and degree of closure around the complex relationship with Sheba and Apollo after the twist in Hawk... weren't they to be sealed in Arm??? Just like it never happened. On top of all this, I had a hard time determining whether Starbuck was dead, alive, dying or being resurrected most of the time. Clearly the attention and focus and care taken with the first two books was absent. Overall, the characterization was poor - news flash to the authors... Apollo is a great character, but not the only one capable of sustained growth. What happened to the smart, intelligent Athena and Sheba, Tigh and Cain? Why is Cain made to appear as one small step away from insignficance when not being painted like a robotic, unbalanced, self serving despot? Cain was always enjoyable as the military " larger than life" warrior character... but also ( as in LL I + II ) for the deep affection he had for Sheba and Cassie... none of this in Ressurection. Killing Cain at the end was meaningless and almost like an afterthought ... but given the bungling of the character, perhaps a mercy. Equally damaging to the book was the complete and total misdirection and unlikely representation of Baltar. If this is an indication of Richard Hatch's views on BSG, I certainly hope he will have nothing to do with any resurection of the TV series in either movie or tv venues. This book had tremendous potential after the splendid Arm and Hawk, but threw it all away... barely worth checking out of a one book library. If there is to be a fourth book, Richard needs a lot more help then he accepted on this one.

Rating:
Summary: get the paperback
Review: After really enjoying Richard Hatch's first two books in this series, I was surprised at how terrible this book was. I have never seen a book edited this poorly. On top of that, many of the plots from the first two books were dropped, or took off at 90 degree angles for no reason. No good reasons (or any reason at all) were given for the changes. Perhaps it was all the fault of the new coauthor. If so, Mr. Hatch needs to do a better job of previewing what he attaches his name too.

Rating:
Summary: Worst editing ever
Review: After really enjoying Richard Hatch's first two books in this series, I was surprised at how terrible this book was. I have never seen a book edited this poorly. On top of that, many of the plots from the first two books were dropped, or took off at 90 degree angles for no reason. No good reasons (or any reason at all) were given for the changes. Perhaps it was all the fault of the new coauthor. If so, Mr. Hatch needs to do a better job of previewing what he attaches his name too.

Rating:
Summary: Well paced, exciting, and filled with surprises.
Review: Battle with the alien Chitain fleet has cost the colonial fleet a terrible price. As Commander Apollo decides to take his remaining people and ships to coordinates provided by a newly discovered holocube that maps the expansion across the galaxy of the now-vanished Thirteenth Tribe of Kobol, Commander Cain ("The Living Legend") challenges both his leadership and his decision. With food, fuel, and other resources running perilously low, Cain believes the fleet must make its stand instead of risking this journey into the unknown.

Apollo prevails for the moment, and the fleet soon finds itself at the Thirteenth Tribe's starting point. Kobol, home planet to their race. It's now (apparently) deserted and barren, blasted by the ancient Cylons just as viciously as the Twelve Colonies were by modern Cylons at the start of the fleet's own 20-yahren journey. Before this adventure is over, Apollo's closest and lifelong friend Starbuck will lie dead (no, this is not a spoiler - read the book to find out why!). His long romance with Cain's daughter, his comrade-in-arms Sheba, will end because he can't let go of his dead wife Serina. His sister and colleague Athena will join with another once-staunch ally, Council President Tighe, in supporting Cain's renewed challenge for control of the fleet; and the allied Cylon and Chitain fleets will find the Colonials again, at Kobol.

It appears that I enjoyed this book a great deal more than did other readers who've posted their reviews. Yes, I noticed the editing errors. They were distracting, but by no means spoiled the book for me. I thought it much better written than "Warhawk," in which we first met the Chitains. My only complaints are that Apollo's breakup with Sheba apparently took place off camera, which left me feeling cheated; and that some of Apollo's interior monologue scenes served the unfortunate purpose of "telling instead of showing."

With that said, I found the story generally well paced, exciting, and filled with surprises. I was pleased that the authors addressed the old TV series' sexism, instead of pretending that it never existed. If you were watching in 1978, as I was, you'll remember that women started flying Vipers into combat only when there were no longer enough men to do so; and that the episode in which that first happened treated it as the cutest thing imaginable. Meh. Nevertheless, I'd much rather have it addressed than pretend it never was filmed that way - and this book's authors have, while resolving the long rivalry between Apollo and Athena, dealt with the entire "Colonial culture and gender" issue both believably and gracefully.

I found the ending, with its foreshadowing of the next book, a delightful chill. I am not running out to buy that next book in hardcover - I will wait quite calmly for the paperback's eventual release. But I will get it then for sure, because I must know what Count Iblis is up to now!

Rating:
Summary: Great potential but . . .
Review: Having been a fan of the TV show, I was delighted when Richard Hatch started writing his Battlestar series and bought each book upon publication. I was looking forward to the third installment that would resolve the cliffhanger of "Will Starbuck survive?" (As if we didn't know)

Shortly before "Resurrection"s publication, I read a letter by Richard Hatch, explaining beforehand some problems with the publisher that caused him to be extremely unhappy with the finished product - I believe he said what they published was actually only a first draft. I hesitated but bought the book anyway and was actually pleasantly surprised -- I thought the story was the best of the three. Despite some glaring mistakes -- did ANYone edit this book? -- the story held me. Yes, there are huge holes, character names are confused, and the timing of one critical event is off, making me wonder if they were playing some kind of trick, and thus distrusting what I was reading. When it wasn't a trick, I thought "OOPS, there's a goof." BUT I really liked the story. I found it exciting, sometimes emotional and overall, gratifying -- much moreso than the previous two installments.

I wish Mr. Hatch and Mr. Timmons had been able to properly flesh out their characters and storylines -- no matter whose fault it was in the end. No one likes to read a half-finished book. It would have been a really great read then.

It's ironic to think that this book seems to have suffered the same fate as the TV show -- both had the potential to be so much more than just entertaining sci-fi -- but something with just that little extra depth that makes them truly special. It saddens me to think what could have been if just given the time and attention it deserved.

Rating:
Summary: oops
Review: I am a die hard BG fan. I also adore Richard Hatch, or at least Apollo's character. I read all the reviews before I bought teh books, but honestly I didn't want to believe they were bad. I chose to believe the one optimistic review. My mistake. The first two books were okay, a little slow in the action and kind of beating one event to death. But the last book was horrible. All of the characters were suddenly out-of-character and the action failed to keep my attention. i continued reading only because i prayed that something would improve. It didn't. I don't believe I will be buying the last book. The memories I have and the way I believe the characters are from the series will sustain me more than one of these books will. It is only with the deepest regret that I do not endorse these books.

Rating:
Summary: I enjoyed this!
Review: I bought this book and found it to be a fun read. .... I thought that the story was good and that it had some very emotional moments as well as a lot of action. I only wish that I didn't have to wait so long between books.

Rating:
Summary: get the paperback
Review: I gave this book one star when it came out in hardback. That edition was a major disappointment. Richard Hatch claimed that the publisher had printed a very early draft of the story by mistake. It sure looked that way to me. I hoped that the publisher would correct that mistake by using the completed draft in future printings. I have now read the paperback edition of Resurrection and they got it right. Resurrection is a marvelous novel that's on par with the first two books in the series. Skip the hardback, but order the paperback.

Rating:
Summary: This is what Battlestar Galactica tv series should have been
Review: I have read all three of these BG books. I have thouroughly enjoyed them. The authors have done a good job in staying true to their characters, and have injected those emotions and thoughts that make the simple tv characters become more interesting. I have especially enjoyed the expanded and more emotional best friend relationship between Starbuck and Apollo. There are some memorable characters from the series that are written into these storylines, and anyone who is a fan of Cain, Baltar, and the Noman will love these! I certainly hope Richard Hatch continues to write more on this series. There are a few typos and the book could use some editing, but the content is very satisfying.

Rating:
Summary: Not up to the standard of the others...
Review: I have to say, right off, that I really enjoyed the first two Battlestar books Richard Hatch was involved in. I've also been following Richard's attempts to revitalize Galactica, and have been favorably impressed. However, this book struck me as incredibly weak. I definitely felt letdown by this story. There's that old saying in writing (at least I heard it a lot in writing classes) that you should show, not tell. In this book, I felt like I was being hit over the head with how the story was supposed to go. It didn't engage me, it didn't draw me in at all. The writing felt very forced, the story even more so... this book just seemed to fail on every level. It read more like a comic book script than a novel. Maybe that's Stan Timmons' writing, but even the gem of a story within seemed weak compared to the previous outings. Too much rehashing of every Galactica episode and story. It just didn't feel fresh or new or exciting. A real letdown.