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Star Hounds #2
Galactic Warriors
1st edition paperback, fine
- GenresScience Fiction
188 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published September 1, 1985
60 people want to read
About the author
David Bischoff
164 books103 followersaka Mark Grant (with Bruce King), Brad Quentin (with Terry Bisson)
Born in Washington D.C. and now living in Eugene, Oregon, David Bischoff writes science fiction books, short stories, and scripts for television. Though he has been writing since the early 1970s, and has had over 80 books published, David is best known for novelizations of popular movies and TV series including the Aliens, Gremlins, Star Trek: The Next Generation, and WarGames.
Born in Washington D.C. and now living in Eugene, Oregon, David Bischoff writes science fiction books, short stories, and scripts for television. Though he has been writing since the early 1970s, and has had over 80 books published, David is best known for novelizations of popular movies and TV series including the Aliens, Gremlins, Star Trek: The Next Generation, and WarGames.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
April 3, 2016
Review copy kindly provided by GR friend Saul Garnell.
This is the second installment in the Star Hounds series by David Bischoff. It continues the adventures of Laura Shemzak as she searches for her brother Cal, who is being detained by the mysterious and threatening Jaxdron.
We penetrate to the heart of the mystery that animates the Starbow, and find out what makes it tick. We also see into the plans of the devious Overfriends, whose bid for power is truly staggering.
This is altogether a more serious book than its predecessor, because it delves into the issues of what it means to be human and to have self-determination. The way in which planets and their inhabitants are exploited is an unpleasant reminder of various colonialist enterprises in the history of our own planet.
All this notwithstanding, we are still dealing with a comic space opera. The main characters seem to bounce from one hair-breadth scape to another. But what makes this book really fun for me is the snarkiness of its non-conformist heroine Laura, and the sparks that fly between her and the rebel Captain Tars Northern.
This is the second installment in the Star Hounds series by David Bischoff. It continues the adventures of Laura Shemzak as she searches for her brother Cal, who is being detained by the mysterious and threatening Jaxdron.
We penetrate to the heart of the mystery that animates the Starbow, and find out what makes it tick. We also see into the plans of the devious Overfriends, whose bid for power is truly staggering.
This is altogether a more serious book than its predecessor, because it delves into the issues of what it means to be human and to have self-determination. The way in which planets and their inhabitants are exploited is an unpleasant reminder of various colonialist enterprises in the history of our own planet.
All this notwithstanding, we are still dealing with a comic space opera. The main characters seem to bounce from one hair-breadth scape to another. But what makes this book really fun for me is the snarkiness of its non-conformist heroine Laura, and the sparks that fly between her and the rebel Captain Tars Northern.
March 21, 2012
note: David Bischoff and Ace Books apparently decided that this average length novel should be published in 3 short segments. Ok... using the same logic, I've split my review into 3 short chunks. There's no reason to do this, and it'll make it harder to read, and I'll have to warn you not to read a later part of the review without starting at the beginning first, but that's just like these novels, so it seems fitting.
continued from my review of The Infinite Battle...
Characters: Captain Tars Northern is apparently patterned after Starbuck (original Battlestar Galactica) or perhaps Han Solo (Star Wars). He's a memorable character, but not satisfying. The main character, Laura Shemzak, is rather like Princess Leia (Star Wars) in her stubborness, but more like a female Buck Rogers in her propensity to dive into danger. And Laura's brother, Cal Shemzak, is a reclusive genius-nerd who needs to be rescued from the aliens (think Buckaroo Banzai but a little less madcap).
Yes that's right - the entire time I was reading this book I was thinking about early 80's tv and movie sci-fi: Star Trek, Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, Buckaroo Banzai, Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon, etc.
Nothing wrong with that, but science fiction is a tricky genre. If you put in ideas, you don't want to use only tired cliches already established elsewhere. And no new ground is broken in this book. Having memorable characters helps this book, but as I mentioned previously, I couldn't get established TV personalities out of my head while reading this. And of course if the book is really written well, a lot of other flaws can be forgiven. But while this book is not badly written, it's not amazing either - it comes across as "product". What's the new SF hit of 1985? I can tell you that Ace Books was hoping for Starhounds (which actually wouldn't make a bad tv show... but we only have the book here, so that's what we'll judge).
continued at my review of The Macrocosmic Conflict...
continued from my review of The Infinite Battle...
Characters: Captain Tars Northern is apparently patterned after Starbuck (original Battlestar Galactica) or perhaps Han Solo (Star Wars). He's a memorable character, but not satisfying. The main character, Laura Shemzak, is rather like Princess Leia (Star Wars) in her stubborness, but more like a female Buck Rogers in her propensity to dive into danger. And Laura's brother, Cal Shemzak, is a reclusive genius-nerd who needs to be rescued from the aliens (think Buckaroo Banzai but a little less madcap).
Yes that's right - the entire time I was reading this book I was thinking about early 80's tv and movie sci-fi: Star Trek, Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, Buckaroo Banzai, Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon, etc.
Nothing wrong with that, but science fiction is a tricky genre. If you put in ideas, you don't want to use only tired cliches already established elsewhere. And no new ground is broken in this book. Having memorable characters helps this book, but as I mentioned previously, I couldn't get established TV personalities out of my head while reading this. And of course if the book is really written well, a lot of other flaws can be forgiven. But while this book is not badly written, it's not amazing either - it comes across as "product". What's the new SF hit of 1985? I can tell you that Ace Books was hoping for Starhounds (which actually wouldn't make a bad tv show... but we only have the book here, so that's what we'll judge).
continued at my review of The Macrocosmic Conflict...
July 7, 2013
While it is space opera (fluff), that doesn't stop it from being fun and enteraining. Some of the best and most popular books don't have a big social comment to make. We need both or reading would become dull. The continuing saga ... is fun. Keep it up.
December 28, 2015
Another fun space opera romp. These books should definitely be read in order, but they're quick, fun reads, so that's no problem.
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October 23, 2025Mass market paperback
October 21, 2016
Too "middle of the story" to really enjoy. Plenty of activity but no action. Doesn't make me want to read any more of them, either.
May 6, 2012
I'm in a special position to write a review because it was my privilege to work with David Bischoff and help him republish this as an eBook with Hotspur Publishing.
Book #2 in the series, GALACTIC WARRIORS, is a lot of fun. It's classic space opera, with a kick-ass heroin named Laura Shemzak. She's not only a cyborg, with incredible strength and agility, but she's absolutely drop-dead gorgeous. There is a love interest between her and her brother, Cal Shemzak, but don't get too grossed out by that. Cal and Laura are siblings because they were born from the same Federation cloning vats. Or were they? As the adventure unfolds, you'll need to decide what's true and what's not.
Then there's captain Tars Northern, a strapping Space Pirate who is smitten by Laura's beauty and courage. But his first allegiance is to his starship (The Starbow) and his loyal crew. Will love prevail as Tars and Laura fight treacherous forces lurking in both the Galactic Federation and the enemy Jaxdron empire? You'll have to read all the book's in the series to find out.
I found it an absolute blast to not only read this book and the others in the series, but to work with David and re-edit the book for today's readers. We made sure all the technologically dependent scenes have been updated, so that after almost three decades out of print, you'll find the ebook version as fresh and fun as ever. It's also fun to read the old paper versions too, just gloss over the parts that don't take your iPad/iTouch/Android wireless world into account :)
Book #2 in the series, GALACTIC WARRIORS, is a lot of fun. It's classic space opera, with a kick-ass heroin named Laura Shemzak. She's not only a cyborg, with incredible strength and agility, but she's absolutely drop-dead gorgeous. There is a love interest between her and her brother, Cal Shemzak, but don't get too grossed out by that. Cal and Laura are siblings because they were born from the same Federation cloning vats. Or were they? As the adventure unfolds, you'll need to decide what's true and what's not.
Then there's captain Tars Northern, a strapping Space Pirate who is smitten by Laura's beauty and courage. But his first allegiance is to his starship (The Starbow) and his loyal crew. Will love prevail as Tars and Laura fight treacherous forces lurking in both the Galactic Federation and the enemy Jaxdron empire? You'll have to read all the book's in the series to find out.
I found it an absolute blast to not only read this book and the others in the series, but to work with David and re-edit the book for today's readers. We made sure all the technologically dependent scenes have been updated, so that after almost three decades out of print, you'll find the ebook version as fresh and fun as ever. It's also fun to read the old paper versions too, just gloss over the parts that don't take your iPad/iTouch/Android wireless world into account :)
December 6, 2012
1987 Grade B-. Book Sh2. (Star Hounds 2)
2012 Grade B-. (Or grade B with speed reading)
The first about 20 pages is review from book 1 and can be skipped or speed through if you have just read book 1.
Where book 1 could be considered a complete episode (even though not fully resolved), this is definitely a "to be continued." I would make sure you have at least book 3 before reading it. This book is also a bit less interesting than book 1 and I found myself frequently skipping small fragments, like the end of a paragraph.
2012 Grade B-. (Or grade B with speed reading)
The first about 20 pages is review from book 1 and can be skipped or speed through if you have just read book 1.
Where book 1 could be considered a complete episode (even though not fully resolved), this is definitely a "to be continued." I would make sure you have at least book 3 before reading it. This book is also a bit less interesting than book 1 and I found myself frequently skipping small fragments, like the end of a paragraph.
October 8, 2014
If you haven't read the first book don't worry, the protagonist gives a pretty thorough recap in the first chapter.
The characters in this just seem off. All the emotions are extreme and simplistic, which takes away from what is actually a fairly decent plot.
The characters in this just seem off. All the emotions are extreme and simplistic, which takes away from what is actually a fairly decent plot.
December 19, 2007
read 12.17.85
read 07.06.87
read 07.06.87
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews