Dave BaraBesprekingen

Seemed like not a lot happened or got resolved but it was enjoyable. Going to get book 2 soon.

This is not literature. This is not high quality fiction, to be discussed in parlor's while sipping brandy. Not even during an afternoon respite, perhaps with some mint juleps or even just a cup of tea and biscuits.

For the record, I also didn't agree that this was a successor to the likes of Asimov (I've seen that reference).

So what *was* it, and why did I give it 4 stars? Bara's book was in line with Dickson's Childe Cycle, starting at Dorsai!, and that's not too shabby (Dorsai! will always be ranked in my top favorite books of all time). Impulse is a military space opera. Big events, big stakes, some big curtain tugs and waving of hands, and some big dumb objects. While I don't know if any one element of the story stood out for me (though it did remind me a bit of another guilty pleasure, Terry Nixon's Empire of Bones books), I found myself unable to put the book down. Maybe it helped that in this rare case, I was actually carting around a paperback copy of the book, but I found myself reading the entire book in just three days. In a week where I've been sick and missing all of my regular cadences, that says something.

With summer starting up here in the Northern Hemisphere, Impulse makes a great beach read. You're not reading a book like this because you want to explore the human condition - you're reading it for some fun adventure, and it delivers.

If you haven’t read much military SF then this book is going to seem really great. If you have read several books then you know what will happen in the book. I could see every plot twist as it came along. All the women love our hero, he has loyal friends that he co-ops into his secret mission without bothering to tell them, yet he is clueless about his friends backgrounds even though they have been friends for years in the academy. There is advanced technology that is doled out to the planets by the wise Historians. And yet they are in search of the ancient artifacts that give them access to the Founders technology that they use. The book ends with winning the battle but you can see the long war ahead of them.

Digital review copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley

childishly written

"I should have been excited, but instead I felt a sense of detachment. I just wanted this ordeal over one way or another.

This description of Captain Peter Cochrane's thoughts as he awaits the decisive battle aptly describes my feelings about "Defiant." Only stubbornness kept me plodding through this book to the end.

Nothing of interest happens in the first quarter of the book which consists of a series of dinners, discussions, briefings, and lots of talk to set up the story. We are reintroduced to the three women who inexplicably fell in love with Cochrane —almost at first sight—as they again wind up in his company. Update: He married one of them—Karina— but all three are still in love with him.

The middle of the book suffers from too much repetition. Cochran's Lightship jumps into a system, fights a battle, and jumps back out. Repeatedly.

The author does provide a twist three-quarters of the way through the book that catches the reader by surprise. I do not recall any hints that would have allowed perceptive readers to anticipate the twist. Nevertheless, I was sure that Cochrane would vanquish the foes of the Republic and I was wishing he would hurry up and get it over with.

This is the third book—"the end of a trilogy" in the words of the author—in a series preceded by "Impulse" and "Starbound." It's common for authors to claim that readers do not need to begin their book series at the beginning. Bara does not make that claim and I think that is wise. I read the first two novels in the series when they first appeared but the time between entries made it difficult to recall details about earlier events. While the basic story can be understood by beginning with "Defiant," readers will understand it better and may enjoy it more if they start at the beginning.

I did not find Cochrane to be a likeable protagonist. The descriptions of his romantic sentiments are awkward and clunky and he comes across as the pipe-dream of an immature adolescent. He is no more appealing as a commanding officer. He repeatedly demonstrates an unwillingness to trust his subordinates and his interactions with his wife are sexist.

Bara's depiction of Cochrane and Karina as holding power as royal members of the ruling families of planets forming the union in addition to their military rank calls to mind Lieutenant Daniel O'Leary and Mistress Adele Mundy in David Drake's RCN series. Drake's series is far superior, featuring with an extensive cast of interesting subordinate characters and better writing.

For this to be a series, Mr. Bara needed to do a much better job of character development, scene setting, pacing, basically everything. Even the science was bad (geosynchronous orbit at 300 miles?!)

Starbound is marginally better than Impulse, the first book in this series titled The Lighthouse Chronicles. Starbound is essentially two stories in one. The first 100 pages are reminiscent of the old "serials" that used to be offered during the Saturday afternoon matinees when I was a child. The author creates a seemingly inescapable scenario, then in desperation Cochran come up with a new, untested weapon or procedure as a last effort to survive. Cochran is forced to overcome opposition from the other officers who are skeptical but convinces Captain Maclintock to give it a try. Of course the plan works and they survive. Once is okay, but Bara's strategy is to repeat the formula again and again until—long after we became bored with the approach—he apparently became bored also.

Then Cochran and Kierkopf are detached and sent to face an inquest into the loss of the Impulse and they wind up in the midst of a civil war. Taking a page from David Drake's Lt. Leary (Republic of Cinnabar Navy; RCN) series, it turns out that Cochran is the son of the ruler of his home world of Quantar. That makes Cochran a Prince, so in civilian life he outranks his military superiors but when fulfilling his military duties he is subordinate. Drake has been at this game much longer than Bara, however, and the RCN series much more interesting.

I had resolved during the first 100 pages that this would be the last book in this series I would read. The latter half of the book is better, however, and I am at least open to the possibility of reading the next offering. We'll see.

Read 3/16

I enjoyed this but probably not as much as the sequel. Clearly the author was still developing his writing skills and this book is less fluent and less excisting than its successor. Stiil, I was glad to have answers to some of the basic questions about the background to his universe which had not been covered in the sequel. Good, solid space opera, and I still love the fact that FTL travel in this story is a difficult, dangerous process rather than the Star Trek/Star Wars, flick a switch, hey we're cruising in hyperspace approach. Great stuff.½

I really enjoyed this book, cracking good old-fashioned space opera, harks back to EE Doc Smith with a touch of Dune and Starship Troopers thrown in. But I highly recommend reading the first in the series before attempting this one, I haven't and I found the backstory confusing. Who exactly are the First Empire and why are they so hostile? Why are all the Earth colonies seemingly only just re-discovering each other? Why is Earth such a peripheral player in this story? Who are the Earth Historians? None of these things are satisfactorily explained in this book and I'm hoping the first book does the job. But if you can put all that aside, this is just a terrific read, and I want more.

This was one of those books you are happy to find. I couldn't put it down. I will be recommending this to my sci fi book group.

I was prepared to like this book much more than I did. Unfortunately, the writing and particularly the character development was somewhat amateurish. The early part of the book was quite interesting but the story bogged down when the Lightship arrived in the Lavant system and Cochrane was suddenly converted into a diplomat instead of an officer. The entire sequence with Cochrane in the palace was rather pedestrian and boring.

The author failed to provide a plausible scenario for some of Cochrane's situations. For example, we are expected to believe that two very accomplished women fell in love with him almost at first sight. The author failed to describe any behavior on the part of Cochrane or any interactions with either woman that makes their infatuation seem realistic. One begins as an arranged marriage but in a couple of pages seems to have morphed into genuine, heart-breaking love. The other is partially explained very late in the book as some sort of transference from Cochrane's dead brother. Meanwhile, Cochrane seems to have no lasting feelings for his "love" who died off-sceen before the story begins.

The story ends rather abruptly with the amateurish attempt to create concern that Cochrane might have been blinded. It seemed almost like the author had reached his page limit and figured he better end it somehow.

This story is similar in many ways to Elizabeth Moon's excellent 5-volume Vatta series, which I recommend enthusiastically. Another fun read is David Drake's Lt. Leary/RCN series, now at 10 volumes.

I had hoped that Impulse would be somewhat comparable to Moon's and Drake's efforts, but it falls far short. Still, this is apparently Bara's first book while Moon and Drake have decades of experience. Perhaps his writing will improve. I am planning to read the next book in the series but if it is not better it will be my last.½

Was ready to read the next book in the series, but it is not released yet.½