Scan barcode
tome15's review
3.0
King, T. Jackson. Battlegroup. StarFight No. 2. T. Jackson King, 2016.
T. Jackson King is a prolific, often self-published, author of hard military science fiction. That sounds like a contradiction in terms, since most military science fiction has more fantasy than science. But King was a working archeologist and so knows a plausible future science idea when he sees it. Most military scifi is some sort of Napoleonic naval fantasy taken into an interstellar culture. And there is a little of that in Battlegroup, as there is some homage to Starship Troopers and Ender’s Game. But what distinguishes this book is that the wasp-like aliens actually act like terrestrial wasps, if you made them very bright and gave them FTL technology. And as a retired hippie and anti-Vietnam War protester, King does find a way to give peace a chance that is less fantastic than the one provided in the Ender series. Unfortunately, the characters in the StarFight series are not as nuanced as those created by Card or as witty as those created by Heinlein or Weber. Three and a half stars for a nod to science.
T. Jackson King is a prolific, often self-published, author of hard military science fiction. That sounds like a contradiction in terms, since most military science fiction has more fantasy than science. But King was a working archeologist and so knows a plausible future science idea when he sees it. Most military scifi is some sort of Napoleonic naval fantasy taken into an interstellar culture. And there is a little of that in Battlegroup, as there is some homage to Starship Troopers and Ender’s Game. But what distinguishes this book is that the wasp-like aliens actually act like terrestrial wasps, if you made them very bright and gave them FTL technology. And as a retired hippie and anti-Vietnam War protester, King does find a way to give peace a chance that is less fantastic than the one provided in the Ender series. Unfortunately, the characters in the StarFight series are not as nuanced as those created by Card or as witty as those created by Heinlein or Weber. Three and a half stars for a nod to science.
More...