Prometheus

Rating:
Summary: Prometheus
Review: Hello I'm a 14 year old who has been grinding my teeth for a year to find the third book in this "series"(i only say it that because while they share a parallel plot they are totally different from another) you may try to call me on this point but that is your thoughts and feelings to the books. While they were all good I feel Bill Forstchen could have taken more time to write on this series and maybe streched it out to 3 or 4 more books taking it a year at a time at the academy, putting him into the normal fleet and making 3 or 4 more from that it is really disapointing to me I even took Star Voyager Academy and Article 23 to Boy scout camp and shared it with 2 fellow scouts while they enjoy all books they shared my views with number 3, we even had a serious discusion/debate over it that streched for several hours, maybe if he made a prequel or 2 before Prometheus or a follow up of some kind I can be contempt but until then, I will be disapointed with Bill's work and hope he dosen'tdo this with another series.

Rating:
Summary: Prometheus
Review: Hello I'm a 14 year old who has been grinding my teeth for a year to find the third book in this "series"(i only say it that because while they share a parallel plot they are totally different from another) you may try to call me on this point but that is your thoughts and feelings to the books. While they were all good I feel Bill Forstchen could have taken more time to write on this series and maybe streched it out to 3 or 4 more books taking it a year at a time at the academy, putting him into the normal fleet and making 3 or 4 more from that it is really disapointing to me I even took Star Voyager Academy and Article 23 to Boy scout camp and shared it with 2 fellow scouts while they enjoy all books they shared my views with number 3, we even had a serious discusion/debate over it that streched for several hours, maybe if he made a prequel or 2 before Prometheus or a follow up of some kind I can be contempt but until then, I will be disapointed with Bill's work and hope he dosen'tdo this with another series.

Rating:
Summary: A very poor sequel
Review: I'd like to start of by stating that I am a very big fan of Forstchen's work, especially his "Lost Regiment" series. When he started the "Star Voyager Academy" series, I thought the idea of a pre-Civil War West Point set in space would be very interesting, and the first two books did not disappoint. However, the third book, while well-written, utterly fails as a sequel. I think its always a bad idea to have a sequel set 20 years after the last book, and this is especially true in this case, where the first two books covered a total of two years time. The main characters, exquisitely detailed in the first two books, have changed to the point where they are completely unrecognizable, and the reader is given only a sparse summary to explain these changes. Further, the explanation seems to conflict with the character's personalities and the events in the first two books. Even more unfortunately, the abrupt shift in the story line has affected my affection for the first two books. As a stand alone book "Prometheus" is not a bad read. Forstchen is a skilled and entertaining writer. As a sequel, the book is terrible. The events in the book could just as easily be happening to three other characters. In fact, I wish they had happened to three other characters, and the author had continued the series where "Article 23" left off.

Rating:
Summary: An entertaining sequal
Review: Prometheus is the sequel to Article 23 and Star Voyager Academy. Instead of picking up the story where Article 23 ended, the way a sequal should, twenty years have passed since we last saw the characters.This book reunites the heroes Justin, Matt and Tonya in a war fought against an alien invader. The story is entertaining and the plot is NOT predictable. Mr Forstchen, as always, tells a good story. My only complaint is the missing twenty years. Apparently the civil war between the Colonies and Earth that we saw coming in Article 23 happened during that missing time. Justin fought for Earth, Matt fought for the Colonies, and Tonya joined a neutral peace keeping force headed by Thorson their mutual mentor. Apparently the three fought some battle together before splitting up and this experience changed them. Then their seperate experience on different sides of the civil war changed them some more. The people that they are at 36, their age when this novel opens, are not the people they were at 16, their age at the close of Article 23. That made empathizing with the characters more difficult than it should have been and the transition from one novel to the next a bumpier road than it needed to be.Even with that chunk left out, it was an enjoyable story; especially when read with the first two books. I read this book in about four hours, it flowed nicely and pulled my attention smoothly through the story. If you enjoy military science fiction, you will enjoy this novel.

Rating:
Summary: A pretty good book
Review: Readers who enjoy sci-fi that isn't entirely alien or highly complicated will probably like this book. Those who prefer the really esoteric sci-fi that really makes you scratch your head should look elsewhere. People who read the two previous books in the series might be dissapointed with chronological advancement of the storyline. The first two books dealt with young idealistic cadets. But this book suddenly and unexpectedly leaps forward. Suddenly our young characters are old grizzled veterans trying to recover from the civil war that was only foreshadowed in the prevous books, also the alien threat which was only briefly touched on in the first two books becomes a central component of the plot. Still the book was fun and exciting, lots of action, and space battles. It also continues with the Heinlein (Starshiptroopers) style social commentary of the first two books.

Rating:
Summary: A pretty good book
Review: Readers who enjoy sci-fi that isn't entirely alien or highly complicated will probably like this book. Those who prefer the really esoteric sci-fi that really makes you scratch your head should look elsewhere. People who read the two previous books in the series might be dissapointed with chronological advancement of the storyline. The first two books dealt with young idealistic cadets. But this book suddenly and unexpectedly leaps forward. Suddenly our young characters are old grizzled veterans trying to recover from the civil war that was only foreshadowed in the prevous books, also the alien threat which was only briefly touched on in the first two books becomes a central component of the plot. Still the book was fun and exciting, lots of action, and space battles. It also continues with the Heinlein (Starshiptroopers) style social commentary of the first two books.

Rating:
Summary: Best book of the series by far.
Review: The first two books in the Star Voyager Academy series (SVA itself and 'Article 23') struck me as amusing Young Adult titles but in general not quite on par with his usual work. The 3rd book is a dramatic departure from the mold of the first 2. set some 20 years after 'Article 23', it shows a harder, more mature side and interweaves his usual solid Mil-Sci-Fi battle scenes with political intrgue and lots of character development. One of Forstchens best efforts, imo

Rating:
Summary: Decent book for never have read any of the series
Review: This book has no dependancies on any of the other books in the series. I happened to pick it up one day out of the blue, not knowing it was part of a series (it says nothing of it on the cover). It read with no problem. By the looks of the other reviews, I probably have a different outlook on the characters than they do, since I only know of the characters what I learned from the book.

Good book, and a somewhat exciting plot. It is a short read. In some places it gives detail when none is due, and in some places, it lacks detail. Overall, you won't be disappointed...

Rating:
Summary: excellent
Review: This is a good read, if you treat this book on its own and not part of a series,I strongly recommend you read it ...this book has alot good hardcore si/fi some great space power politics and slight continuation on other 2 books with 20 years difference.if you like this book get back to me let me know how you feel

thanks

Rating:
Summary: A good read... if it had been in another series!
Review: This is a very well-written bit of military/political SF, with a strong foundation of historicity. However, it bears no relation at all to the first 2 books in the series, which were pleasant, updated versions of Bob Heinlein's old "Space Cadets." After reading just the first chapter, my son and I almost hurt ourselves laughing, as we tried to imagine what happened to Bill Forstchen in between the completion of book 2 and this sequel. Our best guess was that his wife left him for another woman and sued for divorce, his kids left home and changed their names, the bank foreclosed on his boat, and an editor said nasty things about a work-in-progress! Seriously, Bill, the reason most of us pick up a sequel in a series is that we liked some element of the first books! In this book, the idealistic young hero of books 1 and 2 becomes a bitter, alcoholic hermit civilian-- and oh, yeah, Atlanta and NYC and a bunch of other cities get scragged by alien nukes. This is not a plot-spoiler-- this all happens before the end of chapter one! And there is nowhere near enough character development to emotionally adjust a fan of the series to Justin Bell's new persona. This is a good book, yes-- but it should be the first book of an all-new series. Should you read this book? If you like solid military SF with a strong dose of realistic politics, yep. But if you were a fan of the first 2 books, I recommend that, before you read it, you have a friend go through the book with white-out and a pencil, changing the names of the three protagonists to Smith, Jones and Johnson. Oh, and while you're thinking about it, send Bill Forstchen a "get well" card, too!