Lieutenant Sam Bitka, U.S. Naval Reserve, is getting used to civilian life when he is called back to active duty. Tensions between Earth and the alien Varoki are on the rise, and Sam is assiged as tactical officer aboard the deep space destroyer USS Puebla. Dispatched to the distant world of K'tok to protect human colonists, he wants nothing more than to serve out his active duty time and get back to his civilian life.
But when the Varoki launch a crippling surprise attack against the Earth coalition fleet, Sam finds himself suddenly in command of the USS Puebla, a job he is far from certain he can discharge successfully. What’s more, mounting evidence points to a much larger and more sinister alien plan.
Now, Sam must deal with faltering leadership in the human task force and an alien enemy who always seems one step ahead of them. Time for Sam to step up and rise to the challenge of command.
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Top stuffFar and away the best Hornblower-in-Spaaace I've read. Aside from the genre-required FTL handwaving and some rather rose-tinted spectacles regarding the efficacy of software patches, it has a really solid grounding in real science, real tech, real constraints,real ingenuity... while at the same time not losing sight of the importance of story and character.To call this combination "rare" would be an understatement.
Note that this book takes place in the same universe as "How Dark the World Becomes" and "Come the Revolution", but no familiarity with those is needed to enjoy this one. It would work perfectly well as a standalone.Posted on
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Iron Bottom Sound in SpaceThis is a great Mil-SciFi read. The characters are well developed with some depth, the setting is interesting (Earth as a junior bit player in the galaxy), and the combat action superb. The characters act and talk like real people, and Chadwick leavens his setting background and tech with story development and action, so the story never bogs down.
And as I'm reading I kept thinking, boy this sounds familiar somehow -- then the author explains in the notes that the story was influenced by the experiences of WW2 DD captains during the Guadalcanal campaign. Very cool, and it worked!
Looking forward to more from Chadwick with these characters!Posted on
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Outstanding Book - Waiting for SequelFrank Chadwick has written an outstanding military space opera/adventure. The main characters are reasonably well developed. The storyline is gripping. The pacing of the story from beginning to end is well measured and enjoyable. Most of the story did not surprise me, though a few parts did, but that in no way lessened my enjoyment of this very enjoyable book.
I really want to see a sequel that follows the further adventures of Lt. Bitka and Lt. Commander Atwater-Jones. Don't let me down, Mr. Chadwick! :-)Posted on
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ExcellentRead the whole book in one go. Been a long time since I enjoyed a book so much. 'A Hunting We Will Go!' raised goose bumps.
Thank you and well done. Please write some more.Posted on
