Pirate (Starship, Book 2)

Features

• Cover Type: Hard Cover with 344 pages
• Published by: Pyr December 5, 2006
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 1591024900
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-1591024903
• Book Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches
• Weighs: 1.4 pounds

From Publishers Weekly
One of the characters in this sequel to Starship: Mutiny (2005) asks, "Whatever happened to heroes who didn't think everything through, but just walked in with weapons blazing?" The answer is "They're buried in graveyards all across the galaxy." This sums up nicely Hugo-winner Resnick's approach to military SF, which isn't so much about fighting and hardware as it is about strategy and leadership. Having busted their commander, Wilson Cole, out of the brig for disobeying orders that would have cost millions of lives, the crew of the starship Theodore Roosevelt find themselves on the run from their own fleet. The plan? Hoist the Jolly Roger! Since Captain Cole is a moral man, he must figure out a way to practice piracy without actually harming anyone—at least, anyone who doesn't have it coming. As he and the Teddy R. stumble their way through Piracy for Dummies, they make new enemies and find new allies that make the difference between real pirates and military professionals all the more apparent. Readers craving intelligent, character-driven SF need look no further. (Dec.)
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Book Description
The date is 1967 of the Galactic Era, almost three thousand years from now. The Republic, created by the human race but not yet dominated by it, is in the midst of an all-out war with the Teroni Federation. After his latest exploit saved millions of lives but embarrassed his superiors, Captain Wilson Cole, a man with a reputation for exceeding orders but getting results, found himself the victim of the media feeding frenzy, a political scapegoat despite years of dedicated military service. Faced with a court martial, he was rescued by the loyal crew of his ship, the Theodore Roosevelt. Now branded mutineers, the crew of the Teddy R. has quit the Republic, never to return.

Seeking to find a new life for themselves, Wilson Cole and comrades remake the Teddy R. as a pirate ship and set sail for the lawless Inner Frontier. Here, powerful warlords, cut-throat pirates, and struggling colonies compete for survival in a game where you rarely get a second chance to learn the rules. But military discipline is poor preparation for a life of pillaging and plundering, and Coles principles naturally limit his targets. Seeking an education on the nature of piracy, Cole hunts more knowledgeable players. Enter the gorgeous but deadly Valkyrie, Val for short, and the enigmatic alien fence known as David Copperfield. But hanging over everything is the fearsome alien pirate-the Hammerhead Shark.

With Starship: Pirate, five-time Hugo winner Mike Resnick continues the story begun in his very first military SF. Will the galaxy ever be the same?

Reader Reviews
I liked Resnick's STARSHIP: MUTINY but I like this book much better. There was less frustration as I read it. I think this is because of the situation the hero finds himself in. In the last book, Cole Wilson demonstrated himself to be extremely capable as a starship officer. He was so capable that he had a habit of showing up his superiors. As a result, he was exiled to an area where it was not expected that he would see much action. When action did threaten, he again made the right choices, going against the grain and showing up his commander. The result it that he saved about 5 million people and went on trial for mutiny. As the book concludes, his crew has broken him out of the brig and run off with him. They have some idea of becoming pirates. That's where this book begins and there is a problem. These people have turned pirate because they have nothing else to do. Even so, they are the "good" guys. They don't want to attack and kill innocents. They hit upon the idea of only raiding other pirates but that two has its problems. Nobody is properly trained in the art of piracy, people get killed; the return on investment is very low. They come up with some help in the form of an alien fencer of stolen goods with a soft spot for David Copperfield and a "pirate queen" who has been duped out of her ship. As they try to help her in getting it back, they learn that piracy is not all it is cracked up to be. This is a fast paced adventure. There is nothing stunning about it; it just holds the attention and provides entertainment. That's fine with me. Comment | | (Report this)