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47th out of 95 books
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The Battle at the Moons of Hell (Helfort's War #1)
“A planet-stomping space opera that bursts off the page like a tactical nuke.”
–John Birmingham, author of Weapons of Choice
The Hammer Worlds–the most brutal and oppressive interstellar government in the universe–have hijacked the Federated Worlds cruise ship Mumtaz, seizing its valuable terraforming cargo and damning its passengers to mining the moons of the prison planet ...more
–John Birmingham, author of Weapons of Choice
The Hammer Worlds–the most brutal and oppressive interstellar government in the universe–have hijacked the Federated Worlds cruise ship Mumtaz, seizing its valuable terraforming cargo and damning its passengers to mining the moons of the prison planet ...more
Mass Market Paperback, 384 pages
Published
September 25th 2007
by Del Rey
(first published 2007)
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Slow pacing, no character arc and very dry.
While this book shows promise for a new author, it still needs work. The pacing is very, very slow. Nothing happens until the final 40 pages of the book. If the author was trying to make a point that soldering is 99% boredom and 1% of sheer terror, then he makes his point very well. It just doesn't make a very good read. I'm not against slowly paced books, if there are other interesting aspects to focus on, such as character development. But t...more
While this book shows promise for a new author, it still needs work. The pacing is very, very slow. Nothing happens until the final 40 pages of the book. If the author was trying to make a point that soldering is 99% boredom and 1% of sheer terror, then he makes his point very well. It just doesn't make a very good read. I'm not against slowly paced books, if there are other interesting aspects to focus on, such as character development. But t...more
I picked this book up because I was in the mood for dudely SF, and there's really very little more dudely SF to me than a book that starts with a cadet in the academy and takes then through their first command. As such, it was quite decent, and better than some; it managed not to embarrass itself as far as gender and ethnic representation or physics go, although it wasn't really interested in the first two. (I do like a book that worries about its spacesuits giving people the bends. \o/) Wom...more
Simple, plain vanilla plot. Characters are basic, the usual folks in the usual familiar roles. Comfortable military scifi that fulfills the genre standards. Young graduating cadet Michael Helfort from a military family is eager to prove himself, and his sister and mother are captured by The Hammer, a political group in control of a sector of planets where the government sounds similar to North Korea/the Soviet Union type of government with some crazy religious fundamentalism thrown in as an afte...more
Excellent military science fiction reading. Has good character building although I wasn't sure at first if the main character, Michael Helfort, was going to do anything special. You follow him through a short time a the space academy as a cadet and then to his first assignment.
The story develops the situation within the galaxy where two dominant civilizations are either just finishing a war or getting ready for the next. The Federation, which is Helfort's side, just won a hard fou...more
The story develops the situation within the galaxy where two dominant civilizations are either just finishing a war or getting ready for the next. The Federation, which is Helfort's side, just won a hard fou...more
So, not bad, but not too much action, all of the battles of space-based, ships throwing slugs / firing missiles at each other with some lasers , the action is redundant and if you've read One battle you've read them all.
all in all, a not bad book, not too many technical details about every instrument on the ship which is a VERY good thing IMO :) if you like naval battles in space, you should read it, still Helmsman series were better at this thing.
I am looking forward to...more
all in all, a not bad book, not too many technical details about every instrument on the ship which is a VERY good thing IMO :) if you like naval battles in space, you should read it, still Helmsman series were better at this thing.
I am looking forward to...more
It could have done without some of the detailed battle description (can't he just describe the technical details once, and then say something like "the heavy destroyers continued to bombard the small scouts with their misiles and rail guns"?), and the hero is awfully goody two-shoes, but otherwise a fun read. There's a high body count, but mostly you don't get to know the characters well enough to care that much.
Roberta
rated it
Recommends it for:
SF fans, military SF fans
Recommended to Roberta by:
David broussard
Shelves:
sciencefiction
A good solid military science fiction story with political intrigue added. The main character Helfort has something to prove. He lost his seniority at the space academy and to top it off, his mom and sister are on a ship that is hijacked by pirates hired by a hostile government to the federation. He must do his job to the best of his ability and face death multiple times on a scout ship to help rescue his parents while learning how to be a junior officer in the space navy.
A typica...more
A typica...more
A fun little sci fi romp, a bit contrived perhaps and not as focused in it's story as the Lost Fleet series, but still a lot of fun to read. I think it lacks a greater protagonist than the Hammer, who are too obvious a villain for a space opera.
Ended better than it started. Couldn't put it down toward the end. A little technical at times, but the gbattles were good. I also liked the political side of the conflict, since it showed oth sides. I look forward to reading the second book.
A little short on the physics of space combat -- see The Lost Fleet series (by Jack Campbell) for that -- but an enjoyable series. The author's naval experience clearly shows through in his writing, which is a huge plus.
A decent space-opera, but nothing more (not much "science" nor ideas - just a decent adventure story)
A pretty decent space opera, but there's not a whole lot that really stands out to differentiate it or make it better than another.
Old Earth still has power, but is an offscreen player.
The Fed is the "good guys" and The Hammer of Kraa are the "bad guys". The good guys are pretty decent folks, without any sign of corruption and the bad guys are hard core Stalinist purger types.
I'm not disappointed that I bought this book, but it's not one I...more
Old Earth still has power, but is an offscreen player.
The Fed is the "good guys" and The Hammer of Kraa are the "bad guys". The good guys are pretty decent folks, without any sign of corruption and the bad guys are hard core Stalinist purger types.
I'm not disappointed that I bought this book, but it's not one I...more
That of all the far ranging subjects covered in the Science Fiction genre, the greatest advances come in the weaponry of the military. "Sigh"
Formulaic ... but a good read. Mind-candy, ya know?
Cathy Bulliner
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Graham Sharp Paul, born in Sri Lanka, received an honors degree in archaeology and anthropology from Cambridge University and an MBA from Macquarie University. He joined the Royal Navy in 1972, qualifying as a mine warfare and clearance diving officer before reaching the rank of lieutenant commander with the Navy's mine warfare flotilla. In 1983 he transferred to the Royal Australian Navy, serving...more
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The hero's sister f...more
Sep 30, 2009 02:12pm