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Darkship #2
Darkship Renegades
Entry number two in Sarah A. Hoyt’s rollicking and popular Darkship series, sequel to Darkship Thieves,and winner of the Prometheus Award. After rescuing her star pilot husband and discovering the dark secret of her own past on Earth, Athena Hera Sinistra returns to space habitat Eden to start life anew. Not happening. Thena and Kit are placed under arrest for the crime of coming back alive. The only escape from a death sentence: return to Earth and bring back the lost method for creating the Powertrees, the energy source of both Eden and Earth whose technological origins have been lost to war. But that mission is secondary to a greater imperative. Above all else, Thena must not get caught. If she does, then suicide is to be the only option.
With the odds heavily stacked against not only success, but survival, Thena comes to understand what her cynical accusers do not: it is not merely one woman’s life on the line anymore. For it’s on Earth where the adventure truly begins. Thena realizes that what is truly at stake is the fate of Eden and Earth alike, the continuance of the darkship fleet–and freedom for all in the Solar system–and beyond.
With the odds heavily stacked against not only success, but survival, Thena comes to understand what her cynical accusers do not: it is not merely one woman’s life on the line anymore. For it’s on Earth where the adventure truly begins. Thena realizes that what is truly at stake is the fate of Eden and Earth alike, the continuance of the darkship fleet–and freedom for all in the Solar system–and beyond.
400 pages, Paperback
First published December 4, 2012
6 people are currently reading
248 people want to read
About the author
Sarah A. Hoyt
203 books175 followersSarah A. Hoyt was born (and raised) in Portugal and now lives in Colorado with her husband, two sons, and a variable number of cats, depending on how many show up to beg on the door step.
In between lays the sort of resume that used to be de-rigueur for writers. She has never actually wrestled alligators, but she did at one point very briefly tie bows on bags of potpourri for a living. She has also washed dishes and ironed clothes for a living. Worst of all she was, for a long time, a multilingual scientific translator.
At some point, though, she got tired of making an honest living and started writing. She has over 30 published novels, in science fiction, fantasy, mystery, historical mystery, historical fantasy and historical biography. Her short stories have been published in Analog, Asimov's, Amazing Stories, Weird Tales, and a number of anthologies from DAW and Baen. Her space-opera novel Darkship Thieves was the 2011 Prometheus Award Winner, and the third novel in the series, A Few Good Men, was a finalist for the honor. She also won the Dragon Award for Uncharted (with Kevin J. Anderson.)
a.k.a. Sarah D'Almeida
a.k.a. Elise Hyatt
a.k.a. Sarah Marqués
In between lays the sort of resume that used to be de-rigueur for writers. She has never actually wrestled alligators, but she did at one point very briefly tie bows on bags of potpourri for a living. She has also washed dishes and ironed clothes for a living. Worst of all she was, for a long time, a multilingual scientific translator.
At some point, though, she got tired of making an honest living and started writing. She has over 30 published novels, in science fiction, fantasy, mystery, historical mystery, historical fantasy and historical biography. Her short stories have been published in Analog, Asimov's, Amazing Stories, Weird Tales, and a number of anthologies from DAW and Baen. Her space-opera novel Darkship Thieves was the 2011 Prometheus Award Winner, and the third novel in the series, A Few Good Men, was a finalist for the honor. She also won the Dragon Award for Uncharted (with Kevin J. Anderson.)
a.k.a. Sarah D'Almeida
a.k.a. Elise Hyatt
a.k.a. Sarah Marqués
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
February 27, 2013
Ouch. I hate it when authors neuter advances of prior books in subsequent works. I greatly enjoyed DarkShip Thieves, and one large reason was that I just liked Thena and Kit so much. They're fun characters in their own right and when they get together, that's multiplied in spades. This book begins with Thena becoming a dithering idiot in crucial moments and then remaps their whole relationship with a medical problem. That's big, but only one of many aspects of this novel that don't make a lot of sense, to me (or that feel overtly manipulated by the author). I'm sad to see my love for the series die, but once I realized I was dreading coming back to the story, I decided it was time to quit.
June 3, 2013
I read the first story DarkShip Thieves a while ago, and liked it a lot. The characters were unique and the setting was creative. I don't remember the details, and this was pre-Goodreads for me, so I don't have a written review. But I don't remember it being as frenetic as this second story. Here we follow the same characters through a different problem and plot. And as part of it, we lose Kit's personality for most of the book. The author continues to pose interesting ethical questions and provide clever responses, similar to Heinlein's The Moon is a Harsh Mistress "tanstaafl". But the characters are much thinner here, and the pacing is way too fast.
November 24, 2012
In ‘Darkship Thieves’, space opera debut by Sarah A. Hoyt, Kit and Thena barely escape Earth. In the long awaited sequel, ‘Darkship Renegades’, they try their luck again. It’s not their choice as returning to Eden alive marks them as traitors. They face trial and the political machinations of a man who would rule Eden, a place that has, until this point, flourished without a ‘head of state’, resulting in a chain of events which culminate in another daring escape from Earth’s orbit. The mission: to retrieve and interpret the technology to grow powertrees, thus freeing Eden from the need to harvest powerpods from Earth’s trees. The complications: Multiple and varied.
Kit is seriously injured before the team of four can depart. Doc Bartholomew, one of the last surviving ‘mules’ (genetically enhanced men designed to rule Earth), performs a risky procedure to save him. The results are not wholly expected and complicate the mission. The ship assigned to the team begins to fall apart shortly after departure and while Thena and the fourth member of their crew, Zen, move from one repair to the other, Kit slowly recovers and changes. When they arrive on Earth, he is not himself.
The success of the mission depends on many factors and Thena has to solve puzzles and fight for her life and that of her husband before she can attempt to deliver Eden from a dictator-in-waiting.
Sarah Hoyt does a really nice job of reintroducing her characters and their world. Though it has been a number of years since I read ‘Darkship Thieves’, Kit and Thena quickly became familiar once more. The introduction of Kit’s ‘sister’, Zen, another clone of Jarl (another ‘mule’), was a nice twist. The complications of Kit’s recovery were truly disturbing and the examination of what it is to be human quite fascinating. The plot is concise and there are hints of further plots waiting in the wings, ideas and directions the author might explore in the next book.
I did have difficulty staying focused, however. The author clearly loves her characters and her world. Unfortunately, she indulges herself in expressing that love a little too often and in the wrong places. Naturally, there is a story behind the ‘mules’ and their relationship with humanity. This is explored and explained in the first novel and further examination is warranted in ‘Darkship Renegades’. It is relevant to the plot. The great swathes of exposition interjected between dialogue and action were distracting, sometimes overwhelming and often repetitive or redundant. I kept finding myself flipping ahead a few pages to get back to the action or conversation and then having to flip back to remind myself what a character had said earlier. A minor quibble as Thena’s voice is engaging. But at four hundred pages, ‘Darkship Renegades’ represents an investment of time. Four hundred pages can flow seamlessly or they can stop and stutter.
Regardless, I am interested in the continuing adventures of Kit and Thena. I’d like to see the fallout of the ‘little’ revolution on Earth and the future of Eden. The romantic within wants to know if they start a family. Of course, they’ve barely survived two trips to Earth, so it’s completely selfish of me to want them to attempt another. But that’s readers for you.
Review written for and originally published at SFCrowsnest.
Kit is seriously injured before the team of four can depart. Doc Bartholomew, one of the last surviving ‘mules’ (genetically enhanced men designed to rule Earth), performs a risky procedure to save him. The results are not wholly expected and complicate the mission. The ship assigned to the team begins to fall apart shortly after departure and while Thena and the fourth member of their crew, Zen, move from one repair to the other, Kit slowly recovers and changes. When they arrive on Earth, he is not himself.
The success of the mission depends on many factors and Thena has to solve puzzles and fight for her life and that of her husband before she can attempt to deliver Eden from a dictator-in-waiting.
Sarah Hoyt does a really nice job of reintroducing her characters and their world. Though it has been a number of years since I read ‘Darkship Thieves’, Kit and Thena quickly became familiar once more. The introduction of Kit’s ‘sister’, Zen, another clone of Jarl (another ‘mule’), was a nice twist. The complications of Kit’s recovery were truly disturbing and the examination of what it is to be human quite fascinating. The plot is concise and there are hints of further plots waiting in the wings, ideas and directions the author might explore in the next book.
I did have difficulty staying focused, however. The author clearly loves her characters and her world. Unfortunately, she indulges herself in expressing that love a little too often and in the wrong places. Naturally, there is a story behind the ‘mules’ and their relationship with humanity. This is explored and explained in the first novel and further examination is warranted in ‘Darkship Renegades’. It is relevant to the plot. The great swathes of exposition interjected between dialogue and action were distracting, sometimes overwhelming and often repetitive or redundant. I kept finding myself flipping ahead a few pages to get back to the action or conversation and then having to flip back to remind myself what a character had said earlier. A minor quibble as Thena’s voice is engaging. But at four hundred pages, ‘Darkship Renegades’ represents an investment of time. Four hundred pages can flow seamlessly or they can stop and stutter.
Regardless, I am interested in the continuing adventures of Kit and Thena. I’d like to see the fallout of the ‘little’ revolution on Earth and the future of Eden. The romantic within wants to know if they start a family. Of course, they’ve barely survived two trips to Earth, so it’s completely selfish of me to want them to attempt another. But that’s readers for you.
Review written for and originally published at SFCrowsnest.
August 12, 2016
This was so boring compared to the first one. I didn't want to read philosophy on bio-engineering and humanity. I wanted live warrior woman vicariously through Thena. Way, way, way too much talking in this book and not nearly enough action. Kit was in pitiful condition most of the time, the guy's head was not his own, so the romance was missing as well. If this had been the first in the series I never would have read a second.
June 10, 2014
A stunning display of OKness!
December 31, 2021
Darkship Thieves ended with Kit and Thena heading back to Eden, having escaped Earth and lit the spark of revolution. At the beginning of this novel, we discover that things have changed for the worse while they were gone. A tyrant is using the Energy Board to seize control, and he accuses Kit of betraying Eden to Earth. Kit's only hope is to go back to Earth and bring back the secret of the powertrees.
Except the villain has no intention of letting Kit and his family succeed, and sets assassins on them. Kit is injured, and Doc Bartholomeu tries a desperate long-shot treatment to save his life as they're leaving in a newly-fitted spaceship. However, it has unexpected side effects, and yet another set of secrets about Kit's background come out, showing just how messed up the upbringing of the Mules really was -- and just how much of our ethical sense is inculcated at a subconscious level, such that we not only can't explain why something feels wrong, but often become upset when pressured to do so in a way that seems to challenge that sense of wrongness.
And then things get worse. The spaceship literally starts falling apart. It's been infected with engineered bacteria, presumably to ensure our heroes never make it at all. Even escaping to Circum is chancy because they don't want to risk infecting the station.
Going to Earth seems to be going from bad to worse, because the nannite ghost of Kit's ur-brother in his head is growing stronger and stronger, threatening to take over his body. At the same time, the ghostly Jarl is their only hope to bring the secret of the powertrees back to Eden and break the stranglehold of the Energy Board
Yes, it does have a happy ending, but it comes at a terrible price. And while some of the people who died fighting for Eden's freedom were those whose time had come, all too many were just beginning their lives. But changes are being made to prevent a recurrence of the tragedy of the commons which enabled the tyrant to gain power over others.
Except the villain has no intention of letting Kit and his family succeed, and sets assassins on them. Kit is injured, and Doc Bartholomeu tries a desperate long-shot treatment to save his life as they're leaving in a newly-fitted spaceship. However, it has unexpected side effects, and yet another set of secrets about Kit's background come out, showing just how messed up the upbringing of the Mules really was -- and just how much of our ethical sense is inculcated at a subconscious level, such that we not only can't explain why something feels wrong, but often become upset when pressured to do so in a way that seems to challenge that sense of wrongness.
And then things get worse. The spaceship literally starts falling apart. It's been infected with engineered bacteria, presumably to ensure our heroes never make it at all. Even escaping to Circum is chancy because they don't want to risk infecting the station.
Going to Earth seems to be going from bad to worse, because the nannite ghost of Kit's ur-brother in his head is growing stronger and stronger, threatening to take over his body. At the same time, the ghostly Jarl is their only hope to bring the secret of the powertrees back to Eden and break the stranglehold of the Energy Board
Yes, it does have a happy ending, but it comes at a terrible price. And while some of the people who died fighting for Eden's freedom were those whose time had come, all too many were just beginning their lives. But changes are being made to prevent a recurrence of the tragedy of the commons which enabled the tyrant to gain power over others.
January 25, 2018
Strong female protagonist (strong as in "Oh what a well-written, believable character whose competence and vulnerability make for an entertaining character arc"), interesting plot, great support characters and fluid writing style, what's not to love?
February 22, 2018
I adored the first one in this series, but something was missing from this one. I'm not quite sure what it was.
October 19, 2018
First half of book in a near perpetual whine, 2nd half better.
Read
July 1, 2019I didn't enjoy this as much as its predecessor (Darkship Thieves), perhaps because the pacing seemed irregular. However, the concepts were intriguing.
July 28, 2020
Three separate elements I completely couldn't stand, but well written, and nifty where I could put up with the tropes.
May 31, 2018
A wonderful story of beating the odds and battling tyrants. Thena is a wonderful character. Not quite as 'fly off the handle' as in the previous book, she still doesn't always quite think things fully through before committing herself to action. For some reason I always envision her as a young version of Beautiful But Evil Space Princess, though without the accent. We got much more insight into the Jarl Ingemar character. Kit didn't get much screen time, nor did Zen (I think Zen could be a character greatly expanded, possibly even into her own novel). But seeing a little more background into the history of the mules.
This story was pretty fast paced and coherent. But I couldn't help thinking there should have been more going on. It was fairly narrow in scope. A Few Good Men I think will be an excellent companion to this novel and I am rather looking forward to reading it.
The eBook was formatted well with no obvious spelling/grammatical errors.
This story was pretty fast paced and coherent. But I couldn't help thinking there should have been more going on. It was fairly narrow in scope. A Few Good Men I think will be an excellent companion to this novel and I am rather looking forward to reading it.
The eBook was formatted well with no obvious spelling/grammatical errors.
June 3, 2014
“Darkship Renegades” by Sarah A. Hoyt is the sequel to her entertaining space opera novel “Darkship Thieves”. In this book Kit & Athena return from their adventures and find Eden now under the control of one man and themselves on trial as traitors. There only hope is to return to Earth again and try to understand the technology and science behind growing powertrees which could free Eden from relying on risky harvest runs to Earth. However, before they leave Kit is badly injured an in attempt to save him Doc Bartholomew undertakes a risky procedure. The results are not as expected and when Kit regains consciousness it becomes clear that he is no longer the same man. However, the mission must go on even if it means the Kit we all know maybe lost forever.
This is a very different book from the previous novel in that a lot of it is given over to philosophising over political, sociological and psychological issues rather than focusing just on action and adventure. Yes there are elements of action interspersed throughout the novel but nothing like the fast paced mayhem that we saw in “Darkship Thieves”. I actually found it quite nice to experience something a little different and more complex this time. At times I found myself truly fascinated and enjoying following the overall journey that the story was taking me on. However, I do need to add that at times the pace seemed a bit too slow due to Hoyt sometimes going a bit too far in her philosophising. If she had found a better way of toning these thoughtful moments down and merging them better into the action and adventure it would probably have been an excellent book rather than just an average one.
One of the biggest flaws I found in this book though was in regards to the characters; in “Darkship Thieves” the big appeal was the fearless strong willed heroine Thena and her relationship with the ever sarcastic Kit. However, in this book both these elements have been reduced with Thena seemingly ineffective at doing anything these days and Kit suffering from a medical condition which means he isn’t the same man anymore thus affecting their relationship. Honestly, after all the work done in the previous novel to build these characters up it was a bit frustrating to see this all undone.
Overall, I found “Darkship Renegades” to be a reasonably enjoyable story but it didn’t entertain me to the same level as the previous novel in the series. The changes to the characters were a bit frustrating and the philosophising can slow down the plot but there was still enough there to keep me interested. If you have read the first book you are still likely to get something out of reading this one.
This is a very different book from the previous novel in that a lot of it is given over to philosophising over political, sociological and psychological issues rather than focusing just on action and adventure. Yes there are elements of action interspersed throughout the novel but nothing like the fast paced mayhem that we saw in “Darkship Thieves”. I actually found it quite nice to experience something a little different and more complex this time. At times I found myself truly fascinated and enjoying following the overall journey that the story was taking me on. However, I do need to add that at times the pace seemed a bit too slow due to Hoyt sometimes going a bit too far in her philosophising. If she had found a better way of toning these thoughtful moments down and merging them better into the action and adventure it would probably have been an excellent book rather than just an average one.
One of the biggest flaws I found in this book though was in regards to the characters; in “Darkship Thieves” the big appeal was the fearless strong willed heroine Thena and her relationship with the ever sarcastic Kit. However, in this book both these elements have been reduced with Thena seemingly ineffective at doing anything these days and Kit suffering from a medical condition which means he isn’t the same man anymore thus affecting their relationship. Honestly, after all the work done in the previous novel to build these characters up it was a bit frustrating to see this all undone.
Overall, I found “Darkship Renegades” to be a reasonably enjoyable story but it didn’t entertain me to the same level as the previous novel in the series. The changes to the characters were a bit frustrating and the philosophising can slow down the plot but there was still enough there to keep me interested. If you have read the first book you are still likely to get something out of reading this one.
August 5, 2013
I had trouble reviewing Ms. Hoyt’s previous entry in this series, Darkship Thieves. At the time, I ended the review by saying “It felt very uneven and not all that ‘real’.” After reading this book, I have a better understanding of what I don’t like about this series.
Sarah Hoyt is a strong libertarian and an admirer of Robert Anson Heinlein. (She dedicated this book to her son, Robert Anson Hoyt.) I think these books are intended to be an imitation of, and homage to, Heinlein’s more openly political novels.
Hoyt has her characters sharing political asides with each other and also shares their inner monologues and thoughts. In these novels though, it doesn’t really work. Hoyt is not as good of a writer as Heinlein (but who is?) and isn’t able to pull off what he can pull off. The political insertions feel awkward and contrived rather than natural. It makes the story limp along and is, in my opinion, what drags this down from being a 4-star adventure story.
March 17, 2013
This book had two *huge* problems.
1) I didn't like Thena. She was a spoiled brat with too much attitude, and quite frankly, she did a lot of dumb things, mostly to further the plot. One thing which boggled my mind was when she shook her wounded husband, who had been shot in the head and several other places and was bleeding profusely. It took her a while to figure out she had to stop the bleeding.
2) Logic and plot holes *galore*. It would be spoilerish to list them all.
Even though I had the audio set at double speed, I can't believe I finished it. It helped that I was doing cleaning and gardening to distract me.
1) I didn't like Thena. She was a spoiled brat with too much attitude, and quite frankly, she did a lot of dumb things, mostly to further the plot. One thing which boggled my mind was when she shook her wounded husband, who had been shot in the head and several other places and was bleeding profusely. It took her a while to figure out she had to stop the bleeding.
2) Logic and plot holes *galore*. It would be spoilerish to list them all.
Even though I had the audio set at double speed, I can't believe I finished it. It helped that I was doing cleaning and gardening to distract me.
August 24, 2013
Very disappointing. I enjoyed the first in the series a lot, but this book just doesn't cut it. It has a stupid, unbelievable plot. It has probably the stupidest ending that I've ever read. But mostly, it is full of smart people doing dumb things. Mostly it is the narrator who has misunderstood something, so she does something she shouldn't do. It's incredibly obvious that she is wrong, but she explains ad nauseum how confused she was as if that makes it all b etter.
This is now the third book if Hoyt's that I've read, and probably the last. That seems to be her main plot device. It was cute the first time, annoying the second time, and intolerable the third time.
This is now the third book if Hoyt's that I've read, and probably the last. That seems to be her main plot device. It was cute the first time, annoying the second time, and intolerable the third time.
October 2, 2012
Sarah A. Hoyt is rapidly becoming one of my favorite writers.
Darkship Renegades is good space opera. There is adventure, action, a little romance, and some serious do-or-die situations. What's not to like?
Darkship Renegades is the sequel to Sarah's earlier Prometheus Award wining Darkship Thieves. I would suggest reading both.
(Note: This review is based on the ARC ebook from Baen books; the print version not yet being available at the time of writing.
http://www.baenebooks.com/p-1717-dark...)
Darkship Renegades is good space opera. There is adventure, action, a little romance, and some serious do-or-die situations. What's not to like?
Darkship Renegades is the sequel to Sarah's earlier Prometheus Award wining Darkship Thieves. I would suggest reading both.
(Note: This review is based on the ARC ebook from Baen books; the print version not yet being available at the time of writing.
http://www.baenebooks.com/p-1717-dark...)
December 26, 2014
As soon as I finished book 1 which I got from the library I immediately purchased this ebook from Amazon. Sadly my library doesn't have book 2 or 3. This is a really terrific series. There is more psychology than science fiction but it presents a very interesting analysis of the foibles of society and humanity in general. But it is still a very futuristic interesting world. I love the main characters both of whom are flawed and yet likeable. I look forward to reading the third book even though it is featuring a different set of characters.
April 9, 2013
Great continuation of the story in Darkship Thieves. I was surprised that they happened into new troubles so quickly... More of the story behind the Good Men is revealed and some of Earth's path is hinted at as well. Worth reading! (Though I hated having to worry about Kit for nearly the entire story...)
May 2, 2014
Just like the first book, Darkship Thieves, Darkship Renegades delievered on all my expectations as well as taking things to the next level. I really enjoyed this book just as I enjoyed the first book in this series and I hope that Sarah Hoyt continues to build upon this wonderful universe of which she has created. I highly recommend these books to all fans of scifi space operas.
September 28, 2015
A solid follow up to Hoyt's "Darkship Theives," though not QUITE as good. Hoyt's world continues to fascinate me, though--she comes up with some really interesting concepts and ideas. Even though the plot can get a bit predictable, the strength of the main character's voice and the freshness of the ideas make this book totally worth reading.
May 11, 2024
I really liked the first book in this series, but this one had too much philosophizing on moral issues related to cloning. It stopped the action at rather critical points while Thena thought about all the background and potential outcomes of every option. Lots of good plot points but bogged down. Kit was lost mentally through much of this. Hope the next installment is better.
March 12, 2013
The writing was too explanatory. Everything was said, re-said, rehashed, and explained in as many dry ways at possible. This slowed down the reading and made a less enjoyable read than Darkship Thieves.
April 9, 2013
Audiobook : I loved the first book. this second book felt slow.(a lot of reminding of facts that where already explained.lot repeating ).not as entertaining. it was just okay. l stuck with it till the end.
January 23, 2014
Ahhh...there were things about this plot and the underlying political philosophy that didn't make a whole lot of sense but it was so much fun to read I didn't notice until it was over.
3.5 stars.
On to book 3!
3.5 stars.
On to book 3!
March 22, 2015
I learned to love the first book - not at first but later I did. This one it just missed something for me and I could not get into it. I got to the point where I couldn't wait for it to end. I'm afraid to read anything else in the series now. 2-1/2 stars
January 28, 2013
Very excellent sequel. Left room for more...
July 17, 2013
This picks up right where the first book stopped, and our heroes end up returning to earth. I liked this less than the first book, and the last bit of action was a mess, but it was still fun.
February 24, 2014
I did not like this as much as the first book, but still felt it was entertaining with more of a stress on characters' internal battles.
March 2, 2014
I loved book one. This one wasn't quite as exciting though I did enjoy the Kit/Jarl subplot.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews