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andrewspink's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
This is an old science fiction book that has not aged well. Some things like characters smoking cigarettes and pipes on a space ship are just archaic. Use of verier scales is quaint (I bet 90% of under 25s don't even know what that old technology is). All the aristocratic titles are just bizarre. But what is really bad is all the stuff about how democracy is weak and can only be protected by the occasional massacre of undesirable elements. But then this was written at the time that the CIA was overthrowing democracies and installing dictators in various countries. Apparently some writers at that time thought that was a good idea as well.
scarfin_and_barfin's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
3.5
jdhacker's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I was worried in the first 10-15 pages, it was feeling a little clunky, but after that it moved along at a pretty fast clip.
A don't want to call this entry in H. Beam Piper's Federation timeline a standard 60s space opera, though I did think that's what I was in store for. As we follow the main character Trask from an initial revenge tail into a more 'rebuilding of civilization' yarn we also get into a lot of politics. While not as intricate, if for no other reason than being much more brief, than Herbert's Dune in universe political discourse I think fans of the latter will find something to enjoy here. Otherwise, just enjoy the good old fashioned space combat or world building stuff if those are your bag.
I know there's a lot of criticism of Piper and his views on libertarianism, democracy, feudalism, and authoritarianism. Besides taking that sort of thing with a grain of sale when reading stories from this era, it is explicitly mentioned in the end of the book that perhaps all currently known forms of government are doomed to failure until we're able to come up with something radically different. Until then, keep refining and hope they last a little longer and work a little better each time. I feel that's perhaps more demonstrative of the overall point, rather than a false dichotomy between pre-existing systems.
Random side note, there is a *very* similar ship name here to what is used in The Expanse. Curious if anyone else noticed or knows if this was an inspiration?
A don't want to call this entry in H. Beam Piper's Federation timeline a standard 60s space opera, though I did think that's what I was in store for. As we follow the main character Trask from an initial revenge tail into a more 'rebuilding of civilization' yarn we also get into a lot of politics. While not as intricate, if for no other reason than being much more brief, than Herbert's Dune in universe political discourse I think fans of the latter will find something to enjoy here. Otherwise, just enjoy the good old fashioned space combat or world building stuff if those are your bag.
I know there's a lot of criticism of Piper and his views on libertarianism, democracy, feudalism, and authoritarianism. Besides taking that sort of thing with a grain of sale when reading stories from this era, it is explicitly mentioned in the end of the book that perhaps all currently known forms of government are doomed to failure until we're able to come up with something radically different. Until then, keep refining and hope they last a little longer and work a little better each time. I feel that's perhaps more demonstrative of the overall point, rather than a false dichotomy between pre-existing systems.
Random side note, there is a *very* similar ship name here to what is used in The Expanse. Curious if anyone else noticed or knows if this was an inspiration?
tagryn101's review against another edition
3.0
Fairly straightforward space opera without a lot of plot twists. Enjoyable, as long as one is willing to accept it as a product of its time; while not blatantly misogynistic, its a pretty clearly male-centered cast of characters.
firecat's review against another edition
2.0
I listened to this novel as a Librivox free, public domain audio book. It is competently narrated by Mark Nelson. He's not in the league of the good professional audio book readers, but he's much better than some of the Librivox volunteer readers.
As for the novel itself, it is a fairly typical early 1960s space opera.
As for the novel itself, it is a fairly typical early 1960s space opera.
pkoby's review
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
bzedan's review
5.0
Can we all bask for a moment in the glory of that title?
With Space Kings and their Space Feudalism! And Space Amish (sort of)! It's interesting and I think another example of how Piper (like another favourite of mine, David Drake) pulls from historic battles and whatnot. The only problem with Piper is that his books are great, I just don't want to ruin a fun story for someone else. This one has revenge, though—and a space ship named Nemesis. Oooh. By this point in time, colonising is out, along with the core society that ran it. The Vikings are the new colonisers. Interesting and interestinger.
With Space Kings and their Space Feudalism! And Space Amish (sort of)! It's interesting and I think another example of how Piper (like another favourite of mine, David Drake) pulls from historic battles and whatnot. The only problem with Piper is that his books are great, I just don't want to ruin a fun story for someone else. This one has revenge, though—and a space ship named Nemesis. Oooh. By this point in time, colonising is out, along with the core society that ran it. The Vikings are the new colonisers. Interesting and interestinger.
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