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tashaseegmiller's review against another edition
4.0
This was the first science fiction I've read in a long time, and I really enjoyed it. The wording threw me a little at the beginning, with the sentence structure bring different from what I am used to reading, but it was consistent throughout and I quickly adapted to it. The characters are unique, as is the setting, but not so much that it is inaccessible to people who don't just read this genre. Fun read, interested to see where Cavanaugh goes with the second one.
sarahthereadingaddict's review against another edition
5.0
This isn't just usual genre, but I'm so glad I asked Beth what book she recommended, for a reading challenge. It's exciting and in my head I had the fighter (things from starwars) in my head while they're doing their training. I like Byron and understood his frustration with Bassa.
Bassa's thoughts around Byron are only good but he doesn't seem to going about it the right way.
There is a very sad bit in this book (I wont mention more because no spoilers).
The building apprehension during the flights is so electric. It's exciting and also anxiety provoking.
Brilliantly written, I'm so glad I tried this book, I may be tempted to try another in this genre.
Bassa's thoughts around Byron are only good but he doesn't seem to going about it the right way.
There is a very sad bit in this book (I wont mention more because no spoilers).
The building apprehension during the flights is so electric. It's exciting and also anxiety provoking.
Brilliantly written, I'm so glad I tried this book, I may be tempted to try another in this genre.
mxsallybend's review
4.0
Alex J. Cavanaugh's previous novels, CassaStar and CassaFire, have been compared to the militaristic sci-fi novels of Heinlein - and with good reason. There is definitely a 'pulp' feel to his work in that it's straightforward in the telling, a linear sort of adventure story that hasn't forgotten the wonder and the joy of imagining the future.
That same feeling is embraced in CassaStorm but, as an avid genre fan of Alex's generation, I think it's safe to say there are other influences at work as well. In terms of story, setting, and spacecraft, there's a flavor of the original Battlestar Galactica series here, as well as something reminiscent of the Buck Rodgers television series with Gil Gerard. In terms of people and themes, I can definitely see the influence of Star Trek: The Next Generation - which I think is inescapable - but, if I'm not mistaken, there's a little something of Alien Nation as well, particularly in way Alex deals with racial conflict.
That's not to say CassaStorm is at all derivative or overly familiar, just that it feels as if there's a shared sense of sci-fi fandom behind it, a cultural awareness that fuels the wonder and connects the joy of the reader with that of the author. And, even if I'm completely wrong in pegging Alex's influences, there's no denying that reading his work reminds me of enjoying those shows myself.
One thing Alex does really well is 'sell' the reader on his world building. There's absolutely no doubt we're dealing with alien races on alien worlds, possessed of alien technology, and even a little bit of what some might call magic. He doesn't oversell it or try to make things too alien, but he also hasn't simply settled for slapping a new label on Earth, or a shiny chrome veneer on humanity. I bought into the Cassans, the Tgrens, and all the rest quite easily, and was suitably wowed by the technology of the ancient alien ship.
Another thing I enjoyed about the story is the father-son dynamic between Byron and Bassan. Having so much of your story hinge on an adolescent can be dangerous, but the relationship with his father pulls it all together. I understood the emotional distancing involved, and appreciated the awkward ways in which Byron was forced to demonstrate his affections. What's more, the final resolution of their tale is altogether rewarding, without becoming overly sentimental or 'sweet.'
Probably my favorite aspect of the novel, however, is one that I'm reluctant to say too much about. The idea of the all-powerful probe and the half-buried alien ship is fantastic, and while the concept of races being seeded across the galaxy is hardly a new one, I think Alex did an amazing job of exploring the possibilities and the consequences.
My only complaint about the novel, and it's something I only noticed in retrospect, is that we don't often know what anybody or anything really looks like. It may be a deliberate vagueness on the part of the author, allowing readers to imagine their own details, but it's definitely unusual in a genre which often bombards the reader with visuals to justify just how alien everything is.
All-in-all, an enjoyable, fast-paced read that not only delivered on the final climax, but also managed to pleasantly surprise me. If you're a fan of even one of the influenced I mentioned, then give CassaStorm a read.
Originally reviewed at Beauty in Ruins
That same feeling is embraced in CassaStorm but, as an avid genre fan of Alex's generation, I think it's safe to say there are other influences at work as well. In terms of story, setting, and spacecraft, there's a flavor of the original Battlestar Galactica series here, as well as something reminiscent of the Buck Rodgers television series with Gil Gerard. In terms of people and themes, I can definitely see the influence of Star Trek: The Next Generation - which I think is inescapable - but, if I'm not mistaken, there's a little something of Alien Nation as well, particularly in way Alex deals with racial conflict.
That's not to say CassaStorm is at all derivative or overly familiar, just that it feels as if there's a shared sense of sci-fi fandom behind it, a cultural awareness that fuels the wonder and connects the joy of the reader with that of the author. And, even if I'm completely wrong in pegging Alex's influences, there's no denying that reading his work reminds me of enjoying those shows myself.
One thing Alex does really well is 'sell' the reader on his world building. There's absolutely no doubt we're dealing with alien races on alien worlds, possessed of alien technology, and even a little bit of what some might call magic. He doesn't oversell it or try to make things too alien, but he also hasn't simply settled for slapping a new label on Earth, or a shiny chrome veneer on humanity. I bought into the Cassans, the Tgrens, and all the rest quite easily, and was suitably wowed by the technology of the ancient alien ship.
Another thing I enjoyed about the story is the father-son dynamic between Byron and Bassan. Having so much of your story hinge on an adolescent can be dangerous, but the relationship with his father pulls it all together. I understood the emotional distancing involved, and appreciated the awkward ways in which Byron was forced to demonstrate his affections. What's more, the final resolution of their tale is altogether rewarding, without becoming overly sentimental or 'sweet.'
Probably my favorite aspect of the novel, however, is one that I'm reluctant to say too much about. The idea of the all-powerful probe and the half-buried alien ship is fantastic, and while the concept of races being seeded across the galaxy is hardly a new one, I think Alex did an amazing job of exploring the possibilities and the consequences.
My only complaint about the novel, and it's something I only noticed in retrospect, is that we don't often know what anybody or anything really looks like. It may be a deliberate vagueness on the part of the author, allowing readers to imagine their own details, but it's definitely unusual in a genre which often bombards the reader with visuals to justify just how alien everything is.
All-in-all, an enjoyable, fast-paced read that not only delivered on the final climax, but also managed to pleasantly surprise me. If you're a fan of even one of the influenced I mentioned, then give CassaStorm a read.
Originally reviewed at Beauty in Ruins
pjonsson's review against another edition
4.0
This book in the "Cassa" series is another quite good book. It's well written and captures your interest.
I'm as suprised with this one as with the previous book that I liked it so much since it's very much focused on the characters and perhaps not so much on the actual "hardware". I wouldn't even call this one "military" sci-fi, which is my main interest, since it was not very much real military action in it.
Still I liked it very much and am looking forward to the next one.
I'm as suprised with this one as with the previous book that I liked it so much since it's very much focused on the characters and perhaps not so much on the actual "hardware". I wouldn't even call this one "military" sci-fi, which is my main interest, since it was not very much real military action in it.
Still I liked it very much and am looking forward to the next one.
pjonsson's review against another edition
3.0
I really liked the first book in the Cassastar series. The second was also good reading and I have been looking forward to this one, the third in the series. This is also a good book but it went off in a direction that I was not so happy with. Although there are some skirmishes this is not exactly a book that I would classify as military science fiction. Neither was the previous one but I still enjoyed that one. The first book, the best one in the series, was most definitely military science fiction and this is what made me start reading the series.
Byron is still one of the main characters in this book however the book is really more about his son Bassan than anything else. It follows from the second book and the discovery of alien relic on Tgren. It jumps quite a few years ahead though. Mysterious things happens to Bassan when he touches one of the consoles in the relic and to keep everyone on their toes the mysterious probe returns, this time wreaking havoc and destruction where it goes.
So far so good. However, this is when the story starts to dig itself down in a racial theme with a lot of prejudice and stereotypes on all sides. It also starts to talk about an 11th race made up by randomly mixing the other 10 races in the book. This just sounds ludicrous to me. From this point the book just spent way too much energy bickering about racial issues, arguing over half-breeds etc. The ending was pretty imaginative but at the same time more of the same finger-pointing this time with a strong dose of anti-war preaching added.
Now, I have nothing against the message as such but I am not a great fan of these things embedded in what I expected to be more of an adventure book, and I thought the random mixing of races and then calling it an 11th race was not a good one. Thus I did not really get the same enjoyment out of this book as I did out of the previous ones.
As I wrote above, it is still a good book. Just not as good as I hoped.
Byron is still one of the main characters in this book however the book is really more about his son Bassan than anything else. It follows from the second book and the discovery of alien relic on Tgren. It jumps quite a few years ahead though. Mysterious things happens to Bassan when he touches one of the consoles in the relic and to keep everyone on their toes the mysterious probe returns, this time wreaking havoc and destruction where it goes.
So far so good. However, this is when the story starts to dig itself down in a racial theme with a lot of prejudice and stereotypes on all sides. It also starts to talk about an 11th race made up by randomly mixing the other 10 races in the book. This just sounds ludicrous to me. From this point the book just spent way too much energy bickering about racial issues, arguing over half-breeds etc. The ending was pretty imaginative but at the same time more of the same finger-pointing this time with a strong dose of anti-war preaching added.
Now, I have nothing against the message as such but I am not a great fan of these things embedded in what I expected to be more of an adventure book, and I thought the random mixing of races and then calling it an 11th race was not a good one. Thus I did not really get the same enjoyment out of this book as I did out of the previous ones.
As I wrote above, it is still a good book. Just not as good as I hoped.
marriott's review against another edition
4.0
I'm really starting to enjoy the "Space Opera" type of book. I like the easy reading style which is going to help me churn through the book reading challenge this year!
CassaStar sits slightly apart from a lot of the other books I've read in this genre as the story was much more involved in the relationship of the characters. A lot of the description involved feelings and thoughts with some action and adventure sprinkled in to keep it interesting.
To echo a few other reviewers, the book should have been a bit longer to cover a bit more of the universe surrounding the story. I'll definitely be reading the next book in the series and can only hope there are a few more to come as a great foundation has been set for some excellent stories.
CassaStar sits slightly apart from a lot of the other books I've read in this genre as the story was much more involved in the relationship of the characters. A lot of the description involved feelings and thoughts with some action and adventure sprinkled in to keep it interesting.
To echo a few other reviewers, the book should have been a bit longer to cover a bit more of the universe surrounding the story. I'll definitely be reading the next book in the series and can only hope there are a few more to come as a great foundation has been set for some excellent stories.
marriott's review against another edition
4.0
This was a great follow up to the first book. In terms of readability, it has much better flow.
Hope we hear more from Athee and Byron soon!
Hope we hear more from Athee and Byron soon!
seak's review against another edition
3.0
I'm really glad Alex J. Cavanaugh contacted me to review his book, CassaStar.
This was a fun tale of friendship and overcoming the odds that I flew through pretty fast. With this in mind, it wasn't a perfect book and that's why this review will be divided into The Good and The Bad. Very creative I know.
The Good
At first I was really annoyed with the main character, Byron and he, in turn, is annoyed at almost everyone he meets. Byron gives off a surly attitude mixed with a cockiness, which quickly becomes understandable (to my satisfaction) and even relatable as you come to learn about his motives and past.
Byron and all characters in CassaStar are from Cassa and Cassans have an innate ability for telepathy. Each person can not only read each others thoughts, but their emotions as well. Except that Byron has become adept at closing himself off, or putting up his shields, to others.
I couldn't help thinking how much this could help our own society if we could only read people's true intentions instead of being quick to get offended all the time, especially when offense is not intended. Benefit of the doubt anyone? I'm not always the best at that. Although that's perfectly fine on the internet. :)
The story itself is straightforward, which is a nice change of pace, and becomes a pleasant tale of friendship and even poignant towards the latter half of the book. I guess I was in a contemplative mood while reading this because I found myself wondering how closed off I am towards people when all they could use is a friend. I feel bad that it's not always the case that I reach out a hand to those in need and overcome my own comfort zones.
The Bad
While I enjoyed the story, there are a couple gripes I had that I just couldn't get over.
The main thing I had a problem with in CassaStar was the motivations for not only Byron, but the whole fleet against the alien race, the Vindicarns. Byron becomes a fighter pilot because he has nothing left, but that leaves the story a little stale. What does it matter if he doesn't move on to become a pilot in the fleet? It didn't seem like was more than Byron would be disappointed and have to do something else. To engage my emotions, I needed this to be more life and death if not xenocide.
When the fleet starts fighting the Vindicarns, I again found motivation lacking. What had this race done to the Cassans? It really wasn't anything more than they were attacking their ships and I needed more than this. Did they blow up your home planet? Did they kiss your girlfriend behind your back?
The last thing was the cookie-cutter ending. Things just fit nicely into a box and it was perfect for our protagonist to step in. Too perfect.
When Should You Read CassaStar?
CassaStar was a fun romp in space with fighting spaceships and aliens. It's straight-forward and easy to follow, which is a good thing to read when you're, for instance, in law school and all you do is read/analyze technical cases.
3 out of 5 Stars
This was a fun tale of friendship and overcoming the odds that I flew through pretty fast. With this in mind, it wasn't a perfect book and that's why this review will be divided into The Good and The Bad. Very creative I know.
The Good
At first I was really annoyed with the main character, Byron and he, in turn, is annoyed at almost everyone he meets. Byron gives off a surly attitude mixed with a cockiness, which quickly becomes understandable (to my satisfaction) and even relatable as you come to learn about his motives and past.
Byron and all characters in CassaStar are from Cassa and Cassans have an innate ability for telepathy. Each person can not only read each others thoughts, but their emotions as well. Except that Byron has become adept at closing himself off, or putting up his shields, to others.
I couldn't help thinking how much this could help our own society if we could only read people's true intentions instead of being quick to get offended all the time, especially when offense is not intended. Benefit of the doubt anyone? I'm not always the best at that. Although that's perfectly fine on the internet. :)
The story itself is straightforward, which is a nice change of pace, and becomes a pleasant tale of friendship and even poignant towards the latter half of the book. I guess I was in a contemplative mood while reading this because I found myself wondering how closed off I am towards people when all they could use is a friend. I feel bad that it's not always the case that I reach out a hand to those in need and overcome my own comfort zones.
The Bad
While I enjoyed the story, there are a couple gripes I had that I just couldn't get over.
The main thing I had a problem with in CassaStar was the motivations for not only Byron, but the whole fleet against the alien race, the Vindicarns. Byron becomes a fighter pilot because he has nothing left, but that leaves the story a little stale. What does it matter if he doesn't move on to become a pilot in the fleet? It didn't seem like was more than Byron would be disappointed and have to do something else. To engage my emotions, I needed this to be more life and death if not xenocide.
When the fleet starts fighting the Vindicarns, I again found motivation lacking. What had this race done to the Cassans? It really wasn't anything more than they were attacking their ships and I needed more than this. Did they blow up your home planet? Did they kiss your girlfriend behind your back?
The last thing was the cookie-cutter ending. Things just fit nicely into a box and it was perfect for our protagonist to step in. Too perfect.
When Should You Read CassaStar?
CassaStar was a fun romp in space with fighting spaceships and aliens. It's straight-forward and easy to follow, which is a good thing to read when you're, for instance, in law school and all you do is read/analyze technical cases.
3 out of 5 Stars
jemifraser's review against another edition
5.0
Loved it! A great sci-fi adventure letting us really get to know Byron. I really enjoyed the addition of the Tgren society and Athee in particular. Mevine is another great character. The plot is intriguing and the ending very satisfying. Great book! :)
jemifraser's review
So good!! What a great wrap up to the trilogy! The characters and the world get deeper and even more intriguing. Love the new 2ndary characters, especially Bassan & Piten. I didn't see the ending coming and yet it's a perfect fit. A fantastic read!