Baptism of Fire

Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: After reading this book, I put it on the list for my English students to read. It is well written, captivating and when you are done, you want more. I eagerly await the promised sequel. We need more fiction like this.

Rating:
Summary: excellent fiction, well written and captivating. More please
Review: After reading this book, I put it on the list for my English students to read. It is well written, captivating and when you are done, you want more. I eagerly await the promised sequel. We need more fiction like this.

Rating:
Summary: An Inspiring Navy Adventure Tale for Everyone
Review: If you've longed for a woman hero in the heroic tradition of Horatio Hornblower, you will love this swashbuckling tale. Written by prize-winning historian Linda Grant De Pauw, the story is set in a Navy of the future when "gender prejudice has long since vanished from memory."

When Maggie Steele graduates from the Naval Academy at Annapolis in the year 2080, Earth is at war in space, and is relying on its Navy to make the universe safe for hominids.
But has the new simulation training, known as SOCRATES, prepared the new officer for the rigors of service in space where the tachyonic inertial effect limits use of electronic technology?
Telepathic aliens, pirates, epidemics, and chronic conflict among members of the impressed crew complicate the challenge of command in space as a young woman confronts her Baptism of Fire.

"Crackles with action, crisp dialog, and astringent realism." -- Jean Ebbert, Navy Times

Since 1983, The MINERVA Center, a non-profit educational foundation, has provided "information and inspiration" to those concerned about military women.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: Only on the surface is this "futuristic idealism". Linda Grant De Pauw tells us about a society that is inhuman and racist to the core. This space opera is way above average, expertly written, with surprises on every single page, great characters and filled with suspense. Excellent! I'm waiting for the sequel.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: Only on the surface is this "futuristic idealism". Linda Grant De Pauw tells us about a society that is inhuman and racist to the core. This space opera is way above average, expertly written, with surprises on every single page, great characters and filled with suspense. Excellent! I'm waiting for the sequel.

Rating:
Summary: Futuristic space navy novel akin to Hornblower stories
Review: This novel is set in a time when women participate not only in combat command but also actively as grunts, Marines, gunners and sailors. Gender has no bearing.

Lt. Maggie Steele is the newly assigned line officer to the HMS Lafayette, a dreadnought with a crew of 5000, led by six line officers and two med/life support officers. The crew, some veteran, some pressed into service are of two species: those from Earth and the "Colonials," hominid aliens that differ in two respects from Earthlings. They have no voice boxes and cannot speak, but they can communicate telepathically. De Pauw describes life aboard the futuristic ship (punishments, regulations, food, religion, quarantine, navigation, inoculations, discipline, liberty and the presence of Marines) with an eye for nautical detail and an ear for dialog that is neither sexist nor obscene but conveys the passion of military personnel.

Due to a horrific mistake by the young officer on duty on Christmas Eve, the bridge is invaded by pirates. Dr. Parker, one of the med/life support officers , is a Colonial and telepathically she finds out from the captain's steward about the carnage occuring above decks. Lt. Steele had just left the officers' party to come down to the dispensary and hears the graphic story from the doctor.

Steele devises a plan of action to retake the ship. Then, as the only line officer aboard, must perform the duties of captain, navigator, engine room officer, hold a trial and execute the pirates, make plans to refuel the ship, calculate the Lafayette's position, plot a course to the nearest base (over a year's travel away), command the crew, hold inspections, supervise drills, and make decisions.

Baptism of Fire holds your attention with its descriptive scenarios and futuristic idealism. It is a book for anyone who likes a good adventure