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sueodd's review against another edition
3.0
Meh. This was written in the early 1980s and it shows. I enjoyed Zahn's Star Wars books, which is probably why I put this series on my TBR, but I won't be continuing with it.
The Blackcollar reads like a classic kung-fu movie, rather than a novel. Characters aren't developed at all, and a bunch of the Blackcollars are given so little personality they are basically interchangeable. The action sequences are written well, and there a lot of action sequences, but the plot is basic. In the future, humans have been conquered by an alien species. The resistance sends a young operative, Allen Caine, to another planet on a secret mission. He is to contact whatever is left of the resistance on that planet and gain access to the government archives to find a secret that was hidden away by the resistance. Despite there being no intel about the situation on that planet, he makes contact with zero difficulty (super easy, barely an inconvenience). Caine finds the famed Blackcollars, the most elite human fighting force, and together they embark on a mission to yet another planet, where they hope to find five Nova class starships that were hidden away before the aliens won. Apparently, just five of these ships would be enough to possibly overthrow the aliens. Yeah, that's flimsy.
I'm not even bothered by the dated technology and complete lack of women (ok, there were a few women but one was a honey pot and the other was so plain that Caine's only thought was disappointment). I expect that from sci-fi this old. But I want more depth to my characters and a little more effort put into a believable plot. The narrative also jumps around from Caine and Lathe (the head Blackcollar) to random POVs of the humans working for the aliens, which is jarring at times because there is no break in the kindle version between the POVs. Because we get the POVs of the enemy, we lose a lot of suspense. The major twist, a spy in the resistance organization, is overused to the point where I laughed when the final spy was revealed. But not as hard as I laughed at the character named Tardy Spadafora.
The Blackcollar reads like a classic kung-fu movie, rather than a novel. Characters aren't developed at all, and a bunch of the Blackcollars are given so little personality they are basically interchangeable. The action sequences are written well, and there a lot of action sequences, but the plot is basic. In the future, humans have been conquered by an alien species. The resistance sends a young operative, Allen Caine, to another planet on a secret mission. He is to contact whatever is left of the resistance on that planet and gain access to the government archives to find a secret that was hidden away by the resistance. Despite there being no intel about the situation on that planet, he makes contact with zero difficulty (super easy, barely an inconvenience). Caine finds the famed Blackcollars, the most elite human fighting force, and together they embark on a mission to yet another planet, where they hope to find five Nova class starships that were hidden away before the aliens won. Apparently, just five of these ships would be enough to possibly overthrow the aliens. Yeah, that's flimsy.
I'm not even bothered by the dated technology and complete lack of women (ok, there were a few women but one was a honey pot and the other was so plain that Caine's only thought was disappointment). I expect that from sci-fi this old. But I want more depth to my characters and a little more effort put into a believable plot. The narrative also jumps around from Caine and Lathe (the head Blackcollar) to random POVs of the humans working for the aliens, which is jarring at times because there is no break in the kindle version between the POVs. Because we get the POVs of the enemy, we lose a lot of suspense. The major twist, a spy in the resistance organization, is overused to the point where I laughed when the final spy was revealed. But not as hard as I laughed at the character named Tardy Spadafora.
cdeane61's review against another edition
4.0
A quick fun read, if not the most plausible of scenarios.
Still, good enough that I will look up the next one and give that a read also.
If you are a fan of military sci-fi, then this is for you
Still, good enough that I will look up the next one and give that a read also.
If you are a fan of military sci-fi, then this is for you
enno's review
2.0
I got this as a free eBook, and it turned out not to be very good. The characters are boring, the story never really gets beyond some kind of pseudo-ninja fiction. There is a lot of better science fiction, and my time is limited, so I decided not to actually finish reading.
ambermarshall's review
2.0
I've read a couple of Timothy Zahn books, but this one just isn't doing it for me, so I'm calling it at ~70%. Some old ninjas (they seriously use nunchaku and shuriken) rebanding to expel alien occupiers.
thecanary's review
3.0
Spies! Elite, genetically-enhanced guerrilla commandos! An alien occupation and one special agent sent out on a suicide mission to contact a resistance cell on another planet -
It was love at first premise.
The human worlds have been under occupation for nearly thirty years now. Allen Caine has spent his entire life preparing for an infiltration mission: impersonate a government official, get off Earth, travel to a former colony planet, and rally the resistance movement there…assuming there even is one there, anymore. Because in his head, Caine has information that, for the first time in decades, could mean a fighting chance against the alien occupation.
A wrench is thrown in Allen’s plans within the first six pages, and the story is off. Even when Allen makes contact with Earth’s once-elite guerilla commandos, in a world where anyone could be a collaborator and anyone could be a spy, betrayal is just one trap away.
It’s wonderful. And fun. And there are nunchucks, and shuriken, and covert operations, and concepts like loyalty conditioning. Blackcollar, with its well thought-out fighting sequences and political intrigue, hits my space adventure sweet tooth. The Blackcollar military units and their culture are believably crafted, and though the protagonists’ personalities do blur together at times, the main antagonist is nicely fleshed out. The overall story tension is only slightly softened by my own confidence in the universal and undeniable fact that no matter how bad things get, my favorite ninja protagonist will have anticipated everything and have a super-clever plot to turn it to his advantage. Yet Zahn even manages to upend that near the end with an unexpected confrontation and betrayal (among several).
You can read my full review here.
Copy provided by publisher.
It was love at first premise.
The human worlds have been under occupation for nearly thirty years now. Allen Caine has spent his entire life preparing for an infiltration mission: impersonate a government official, get off Earth, travel to a former colony planet, and rally the resistance movement there…assuming there even is one there, anymore. Because in his head, Caine has information that, for the first time in decades, could mean a fighting chance against the alien occupation.
A wrench is thrown in Allen’s plans within the first six pages, and the story is off. Even when Allen makes contact with Earth’s once-elite guerilla commandos, in a world where anyone could be a collaborator and anyone could be a spy, betrayal is just one trap away.
It’s wonderful. And fun. And there are nunchucks, and shuriken, and covert operations, and concepts like loyalty conditioning. Blackcollar, with its well thought-out fighting sequences and political intrigue, hits my space adventure sweet tooth. The Blackcollar military units and their culture are believably crafted, and though the protagonists’ personalities do blur together at times, the main antagonist is nicely fleshed out. The overall story tension is only slightly softened by my own confidence in the universal and undeniable fact that no matter how bad things get, my favorite ninja protagonist will have anticipated everything and have a super-clever plot to turn it to his advantage. Yet Zahn even manages to upend that near the end with an unexpected confrontation and betrayal (among several).
You can read my full review here.
Copy provided by publisher.
tome15's review
3.0
This book deserves another star if you value nonstop action. However, if you want a more character driven story, three stars is appropriate. This early novel by Zahn has all the strengths and weaknesses of the Star Wars novelizations. I can see why he was chosen to write them.
drtlovesbooks's review
3.0
For some reason, I got it in my head that I wanted to track down a book I'd had when I was a kid. But all I remembered was the cover image - couldn't remember the author, title, character names, nothing. So I went to the Reddit forum What's That Book?, and wrote this:
And within 24 hours, someone came back at me with the title of this series. (!) I looked it up on Amazon, and there's the cover I was thinking of! Amazing!
So of course, I had to read it. But when I get my hands on it, I realize it's the second book in a series. As a kid, I did not know this - I'd just read that second book and walked away. 'Cause I was, y'know, not too bright.
So I track down the other two books in the series, and this one was first.
This is typical '80's sci-fi: Space ninjas versus aliens.
It's not great. But it's, surprisingly, not terrible, either.
Hey there, Gang.
I'm trying to track down the title of a book I read as a kid; it would have been published in the 1980's (maybe late '70's, but more likely mid-'80's). I am working off a long-buried memory here, but here's what I've got for details:
The main characters are soldiers who get some sort of serum, plus they have some cool black outfits with headpiece/helmets, goggles, maybe built-in wings (like modern wingsuits).
There are a few scenes where they are jumping out of planes.
The cover art of the paperback I had mostly featured one of these soldiers, with a few others in the background; the dude in front looked a bit like Batman.
That's about all I have to go on, which I realize is not much. Any help would be appreciated!
And within 24 hours, someone came back at me with the title of this series. (!) I looked it up on Amazon, and there's the cover I was thinking of! Amazing!
So of course, I had to read it. But when I get my hands on it, I realize it's the second book in a series. As a kid, I did not know this - I'd just read that second book and walked away. 'Cause I was, y'know, not too bright.
So I track down the other two books in the series, and this one was first.
This is typical '80's sci-fi: Space ninjas versus aliens.
It's not great. But it's, surprisingly, not terrible, either.