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John Grimes: Far Traveller Couriers #7-8 included
John Grimes: Reserve Commodore
A compendium of nine A. Bertram Chandler Stories
- GenresScience Fiction
517 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2004
34 people want to read
About the author
A. Bertram Chandler
338 books53 followersArthur Bertram Chandler (28 March 1912–6 June 1984) was an Australian science fiction author. He also wrote under the pseudonyms George Whitley, George Whitely, Paul T. Sherman, Andrew Dunstan, and S.H.M.
He was born in Aldershot, England. He was a merchant marine officer, sailing the world in everything from tramp steamers to troopships. He emigrated to Australia in 1956 and became an Australian citizen. He commanded various ships in the Australian and New Zealand merchant navies, and was the last master of the Australian aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne as the law required that it have an officer on board while it was laid up waiting to be towed to China to be broken up.
He was born in Aldershot, England. He was a merchant marine officer, sailing the world in everything from tramp steamers to troopships. He emigrated to Australia in 1956 and became an Australian citizen. He commanded various ships in the Australian and New Zealand merchant navies, and was the last master of the Australian aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne as the law required that it have an officer on board while it was laid up waiting to be towed to China to be broken up.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 6, 2019
This is a Science Fiction Book Club omnibus that includes the novels The Last Amazon, The Wild Ones, and Catch the Star Winds along with the short stories "Grimes at Glenrowan," "Grimes and the Great Race," "Grimes Among the Gourmets," "Grimes and the Odd Gods," "Grimes and the Jailbirds," and "Chance Encounter."
The John Grimes novels of A. Bertram Chandler were my gateway into the wider world of space opera science fiction. These are novels in the series I hadn't read before. The Last Amazon and The Wild Ones were the last two novels Chandler wrote before he passed away. Of the novels, The Wild Ones about Grimes determining whether an alien species hunted for their pelts is sentient was my favorite. I loved the automata character seeking her own path in life. Even so, it contained some casually racist remarks that seemed shocking in a novel from as late as 1984. That said, Chandler's novels feature strong gender and racial diversity. I sense Chandler the experienced sailor and writer struggling with the attitudes of his youth in this book.
Of the short stories, I really liked "Grimes at Glenrowan" in which Grimes goes back and sees how one of his ancestors was tied to the infamous Ned Kelly. The story has an almost steampunk sensibility.
The John Grimes novels of A. Bertram Chandler were my gateway into the wider world of space opera science fiction. These are novels in the series I hadn't read before. The Last Amazon and The Wild Ones were the last two novels Chandler wrote before he passed away. Of the novels, The Wild Ones about Grimes determining whether an alien species hunted for their pelts is sentient was my favorite. I loved the automata character seeking her own path in life. Even so, it contained some casually racist remarks that seemed shocking in a novel from as late as 1984. That said, Chandler's novels feature strong gender and racial diversity. I sense Chandler the experienced sailor and writer struggling with the attitudes of his youth in this book.
Of the short stories, I really liked "Grimes at Glenrowan" in which Grimes goes back and sees how one of his ancestors was tied to the infamous Ned Kelly. The story has an almost steampunk sensibility.
November 30, 2025
DNF
This book promised a lot, grand adventures through space, pulp, a rich universe with plenty of lore, but what I got instead was a posh Australian bumbling his way through misadventures. He is rude, pretentious, a little racist, and greedy. He talks down to his crew and ogles over every woman (whether they fully “human” or not). The sci fi part is bureaucratic and painfully boring. Mostly men talking through smoke in armchairs about how many men they’ll send into a battle they wouldn’t fight.
I might one day come back to finish this, if you get past the boring and racist parts, you can find John (the main character) kinda funny for the wrong reasons. He’s a bit of a character, not one I’d like to meet in real life, but one that is entertaining to read.
This book promised a lot, grand adventures through space, pulp, a rich universe with plenty of lore, but what I got instead was a posh Australian bumbling his way through misadventures. He is rude, pretentious, a little racist, and greedy. He talks down to his crew and ogles over every woman (whether they fully “human” or not). The sci fi part is bureaucratic and painfully boring. Mostly men talking through smoke in armchairs about how many men they’ll send into a battle they wouldn’t fight.
I might one day come back to finish this, if you get past the boring and racist parts, you can find John (the main character) kinda funny for the wrong reasons. He’s a bit of a character, not one I’d like to meet in real life, but one that is entertaining to read.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews