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aqiul's review
2.0
Read the full review - Book Review: Constitution
I have read military scifi before so maybe that's where this recommendation comes from. I like the genre because the books are usually quick to read, full of action and very entertaining. That was sadly not the case with Constitution. This book is as cliched as military scifi could possibly be.
If you've watched the first episode of the new Battlestar Galactica, you kind of have an idea of what is going to happen in the first 100 pages of this book. It also reads like a lot of other military scifi books that are based on the 'aging hero ship' concept of one lone ship standing against an invasion while other more advanced ships blow up like cans full of confetti.
To recap,
1. Humanity was in a war once which they barely won due to the ships of the time being super dependable.
2. The enemy hasn't been seen in 75 years and now there's a new fleet of advanced ships that are replacing the old ships.
3. The last of the old ships has been slated for decommissioning and is being turned into a museum; it's captain is a controversial figure in the space navy and its XO is a drunk old war vet. (oh hey Saul Tigh is here!)
4. The enemy is now back and the new ships are weaker than a wet tissue paper. Only the last remaining old ship can save everyone now!
Even the enemy sort of resembles the Cylons. They have a hive mind of some sort and for some reason unknown to us, they want to wipe out all humanity. On their path of destruction, they have already wiped out entire planets full of humans. Billions of lives have been lost in the single greatest tragedy in humanity's history. All of this is just glossed over with a few sentences in the book. 'Oh the Russian sector isn't responding and has probably been wiped out' gets a lukewarm reaction from a ship crew, admirals and more.
The person assigned to decommission the Constitution and turn her into a museum doesn't get along well with the captain at the beginning. But then, as she proves her worth in battle, they seem to become fast friends. The new ships built by humanity have smart armor which can become useless by something equivalent to "knowing the right frequencies". Even Star Trek makes it difficult to get the right frequency and once attacked, they realize that their shields aren't helping. The space fleet here doesn't realize it through the entire book. Every last ship is wiped out and no one thinks to 'change the goddamn frequency'. In the empire of Cliches, there is prosperity and wealth.
Most other reviewers have bashed this book for being a ripoff of Battlestar Galactica and I completely agree with them. If that wasn't enough, the ending couldn't be worse. Well it could have been worse if Superman suddenly showed up and blew the aliens out of the sky.
At any rate, there's a ton of other good military scifi books that are worth your time. Instead of reading Constitution, go watch Battlestar Galactica, you'll thank me later. Or go read Armor by John Steakley.
Skip this book if you can.
I have read military scifi before so maybe that's where this recommendation comes from. I like the genre because the books are usually quick to read, full of action and very entertaining. That was sadly not the case with Constitution. This book is as cliched as military scifi could possibly be.
If you've watched the first episode of the new Battlestar Galactica, you kind of have an idea of what is going to happen in the first 100 pages of this book. It also reads like a lot of other military scifi books that are based on the 'aging hero ship' concept of one lone ship standing against an invasion while other more advanced ships blow up like cans full of confetti.
To recap,
1. Humanity was in a war once which they barely won due to the ships of the time being super dependable.
2. The enemy hasn't been seen in 75 years and now there's a new fleet of advanced ships that are replacing the old ships.
3. The last of the old ships has been slated for decommissioning and is being turned into a museum; it's captain is a controversial figure in the space navy and its XO is a drunk old war vet. (oh hey Saul Tigh is here!)
4. The enemy is now back and the new ships are weaker than a wet tissue paper. Only the last remaining old ship can save everyone now!
Even the enemy sort of resembles the Cylons. They have a hive mind of some sort and for some reason unknown to us, they want to wipe out all humanity. On their path of destruction, they have already wiped out entire planets full of humans. Billions of lives have been lost in the single greatest tragedy in humanity's history. All of this is just glossed over with a few sentences in the book. 'Oh the Russian sector isn't responding and has probably been wiped out' gets a lukewarm reaction from a ship crew, admirals and more.
The person assigned to decommission the Constitution and turn her into a museum doesn't get along well with the captain at the beginning. But then, as she proves her worth in battle, they seem to become fast friends. The new ships built by humanity have smart armor which can become useless by something equivalent to "knowing the right frequencies". Even Star Trek makes it difficult to get the right frequency and once attacked, they realize that their shields aren't helping. The space fleet here doesn't realize it through the entire book. Every last ship is wiped out and no one thinks to 'change the goddamn frequency'. In the empire of Cliches, there is prosperity and wealth.
Most other reviewers have bashed this book for being a ripoff of Battlestar Galactica and I completely agree with them. If that wasn't enough, the ending couldn't be worse. Well it could have been worse if Superman suddenly showed up and blew the aliens out of the sky.
At any rate, there's a ton of other good military scifi books that are worth your time. Instead of reading Constitution, go watch Battlestar Galactica, you'll thank me later. Or go read Armor by John Steakley.
Skip this book if you can.
sebastian_n's review
4.0
Somewhere between 3.5 and 4.0. Good enough where I want to see what happens next.
thekingbee's review against another edition
4.0
Have you ever thought to yourself that you wanted to read battlestar galactica, but with more action and less philosophy?
brettt's review against another edition
2.0
Nick Webb sets his "Legacy Fleet" trilogy in a universe where many years of peace make humanity unready when a sneak attack happens. The ISS Constitution is one of the oldest ships still serving, a drain on resources and manpower that needs to be mothballed in order to create a more modern fleet. Her captain, Timothy Granger, is almost as much of a relic and his blunt, suffer-no-fools-no-matter-their-rank has won him few friends in the service.
But when the alien Swarm reappears 75 years after their complete defeat, armed with new technology and the means to defeat the newer ships of the human fleet, the Constitution may be the only ship capable of still fighting them off long enough to save Earth itself. And Granger may be the only captain who can pull it off.
If you're a sci-fi fan and this scenario sounds a little familiar, that's because it's behind both versions of Battlestar Galactica and the number of point-to-point similarities between the television series and the first book in Webb's trilogy is more than statistically significant. Webb's style and narrative don't offer much of a hook on their own, and he doesn't spin the story out enough in this first volume for it to be very sticky in its own right, until the very end. Enough questions show up in the very last pages to offer some possibility Webb plans to take his story in a different direction.
And as long as the series stays on the Kindle Unlimited program that lets me read it for free while I have my Amazon Prime subscription, that's just enough to make me take a look at future volumes. After all, I'm going to be on the treadmill anyway and they'd have to be pretty bad to be worse than the real estate fixer-upper shows that folks who work out when I do seem to prefer.
Original available here.
But when the alien Swarm reappears 75 years after their complete defeat, armed with new technology and the means to defeat the newer ships of the human fleet, the Constitution may be the only ship capable of still fighting them off long enough to save Earth itself. And Granger may be the only captain who can pull it off.
If you're a sci-fi fan and this scenario sounds a little familiar, that's because it's behind both versions of Battlestar Galactica and the number of point-to-point similarities between the television series and the first book in Webb's trilogy is more than statistically significant. Webb's style and narrative don't offer much of a hook on their own, and he doesn't spin the story out enough in this first volume for it to be very sticky in its own right, until the very end. Enough questions show up in the very last pages to offer some possibility Webb plans to take his story in a different direction.
And as long as the series stays on the Kindle Unlimited program that lets me read it for free while I have my Amazon Prime subscription, that's just enough to make me take a look at future volumes. After all, I'm going to be on the treadmill anyway and they'd have to be pretty bad to be worse than the real estate fixer-upper shows that folks who work out when I do seem to prefer.
Original available here.
conalo's review against another edition
3.0
This was a fun read that provided good characters and entertaining action leading to a decent conclusion. With that said, this book did feel somewhat like I had already read this book before and was definitely somewhat derivative. I did enjoy this well enough to continue with this series and hopefully it will seem less like I have been down this road already.
3.5 Stars and recommended for fans of military sci-fi action novels.
3.5 Stars and recommended for fans of military sci-fi action novels.
stupendoussteve's review against another edition
3.0
Not terrible, it is very similar to Battlestar Galactica with even less character development. I did not really like the wast versus west routine somehow being carried hundreds of years into into the future with obvious nods toward Putin and jokes about bailing France out yet again.
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