The Starfarers Series Books 1–2: Starfarers * Transition

by Vonda N. McIntyre

The first two books in “the most important series in science fiction” from the New York Times–bestselling author of Dreamsnake (Ursula K. Le Guin, author of the Earthsea series).  Starfarers   The Starfarer is a self-sufficient spaceship with a functioning ecosystem, able to navigate from one star system to another via cosmic string, and it is about to embark on a deep space expedition in search of alien contact. Its global crew has come together in the spirit of cooperation and scientific advancement. But Earth struggles with anti-science and anti-technology factions, and there are those who want to turn the Starfarer into a military base. One of them is on board. And he will stop at nothing—including sabotage—to enforce his agenda . . .  Transition   After the crew members of the Starfarer hijack their own ship, they intercept an alien message and attempt to decipher its complex patterns. It could be an introduction, a warning, or a trap. In Tau Ceti, the first star system humans have ever visited, they discover worlds possessing life but no higher forms of intelligence. And with a saboteur still in their midst, tensions rise as the ship and its team hurtle toward a meeting more than three millennia in the making . . .  Praise for the Starfarers Series   “McIntyre is a master SF stylist, creating well-rounded, believable and distinctive characters, and she excels at lush descriptions that allow the reader to visualize the action.” —Publishers Weekly   “The series features a diverse cast, especially for its 1989 debut date, and a series of interstellar hijinks, the likes of which only McIntyre could conjure.” —Tor.com   “A fine novel of adventure.” —Greg Bear on Starfarers   “The most exciting and satisfying science fiction I have read this year.” —Ursula K. Le Guin on Metaphase

Genres: Science Fiction

688 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 12, 2021

About the author

Vonda Neel McIntyre was a U.S. science fiction author. She was one of the first successful graduates of the Clarion Science fiction writers workshop. She attended the workshop in 1970. By 1973 she had won her first Nebula Award, for the novelette "Of Mist, and Grass and Sand." This later became part of the novel Dreamsnake, which won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards. The novelette and novel both concern a female healer in a desolate primitivized venue. McIntyre's debut novel was The Exile Waiting which was published in 1975. Her novel Dreamsnake won the Nebula Award and Hugo Award for best novel in 1978 and her novel The Moon and the Sun won the Nebula in 1997. She has also written a number of Star Trek and Star Wars novels, including Enterprise: The First Adventure and The Entropy Effect. She wrote the novelizations of the films Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.

Reviews

[Andrew Brooks · Rating 2 out of 5]

Going to have to give this one up. Shame, really, as there's the bones of a good story in here, but the author is too totally tied up in the interpersonal drama.
Sounds strange, eh? Because a space opera by definition involves drama. But in this, the author focuses on the interactions of here central partnership (her name for non-nuclear family groups), and does so at the expense of that (supposedly) main storyline. While I applaud the non-traditional family groups, a lot of the interactions are irrelevant, as far as I can see, and a fair amount actually puts the actors out of character!
The first book of this two book set I was generous and let it squeeze to third star, because by the end of it, the failings weren't yet obvious.
The second volume, I struggled mightily to see if it would go somewhere and kept getting more frustrated instead. So DNF, which is automatically a one star.
Average two stars for the set.

[Jill Carroll · Rating 3 out of 5]

From 1989-90, the first two books of a four book series. This has not aged well. The prose is serviceable, and the main characters and worldbuilding are okay (though there are more than 20 named characters to keep track of), but the plot holes and cheesiness remind me of the worst original Star Trek episodes. Not horrible but I won’t be seeking out the rest of the series.

[Michael Griswold · Rating 4 out of 5]

Original take on first contact

Not as brilliant as some of her other novels, it still turned the pages pretty fast. The three way relationship felt foreign and more confusing to the plot for me. I still grew to like most of the characters though.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 - 3.75 really. I liked the first book better than the 2nd, I think. I liked both of these enough to continue.