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The Flight Engineer #3
The Independent Command
THEY'RE SWARMING FOR THE KILL...AND WE ARE THE PREY!
Everybody knows how despicable the alien Fibians are. Allies of the fanatic Mollie rebels against the human Commonwealth, they show no mercy, they have no remorse, and they find human flesh delectable -- at least when served live. Fielding a gigantic starfleet against Earth and its colonies, they march like the giant spiders they resemble through humanity's nightmares, and soon they will march across its devastated worlds.
When the captain of the starship Invincible is incapacitated after a Fibian attack, only Peter Raeder -- former fighter pilot, starship flight engineer, and unorthodox hero of the war against the Mollies -- can be entrusted with command of the ship. His mission: to track down the alien raiders who took out his captain, and then to start hitting the enemy behind the lines.
It's a suicide mission, and Raeder knows it...until the fortunes of battle drive him deeper into alien space than he'd ever intended to go, the Invincible too damaged ever to return home. There he discovers that the monstrous Fibians may not be monsters after all...
416 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2000
7 people are currently reading
84 people want to read
About the author
James Doohan
20 books10 followersCanadian actor, best known for playing Scotty, the irascible but lovable Scottish Flight Engineer for the Starship Enterprise in various Star Trek series and films - See more at: http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/...
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
October 14, 2020
Nice ending to the trilogy. This volume started out a bit slow to me but quickly picked up and became the nice action packed read the 1st 2 books were. Enjoyable read. Recommended
May 22, 2024
After reading this novel, I kind of felt like they wanted to just kind of get the series finished, so it it kind of leapt through the events towards the end. That isn't to say that the book wasn't enjoyable, and I think that it might be better than the second novel of the Flight Engineer Series. (The first being my personal favorite.)
May 13, 2025
Okay ending but dragged quite a bit. Felt like too much filler but better than the second book. Peter Raeder is given command of the Invincible after the captain is injured from a Fibian attack. His mission is to track down the alien raiders and start hitting the enemy in their own territory. #TheIndependentCommand #JamesDoohan #SMStirling #sciencefiction #trilogy
October 17, 2021
Interesting finish
I will admit that I did not see that coming. A strong finish that could of been the jumping off point for another series. In fact, you might say it could of been made a wonderful foundation for some kind of science fiction space exploration series.
I will admit that I did not see that coming. A strong finish that could of been the jumping off point for another series. In fact, you might say it could of been made a wonderful foundation for some kind of science fiction space exploration series.
May 4, 2020
Great read!! Hope there is a fourth book!!!!
The three books were very well concieved and coherent. Loved following the trip characters.. Would like to see the story continue.
The three books were very well concieved and coherent. Loved following the trip characters.. Would like to see the story continue.
December 2, 2014
The best in the series, but still with flaws.
I finally made some sense of the universe in which the series took place. There was enough detail to understand that the reason the universe is so small is because interstellar space travel relies on "jump points", which have specific locations. So my previous complaint about so much traffic in space maybe wasn't fair (in a previous book), as if there are only a few jump points, then necessarily all traffic would come by in due course.
But there was a lot more this book failed on. I really hated the revisionist alteration of the jump point physics to move the plot along. "Hey, we're in trouble... any ideas? Maybe we can try that theoretical idea about using the jump points differently - what do you think?" Lame when it happens once, excruciating when it happens twice.
Also, once again I am complaining about "friction" in space. It's not so evident as in previous books, but they keep mentioning "we won't have enough fuel to return". Unless travelling in jumpspace is frictional, there should be no limit to how far you can travel in space with even a tiny amount of fuel. The complaint should be "we won't have enough fuel to return in time"... but this novel did it better than previous ones did, so that's a bit nitpicking.
Finally, one more glaring flaw. It's very jarring for the reader when the crucial action happens offstage. I hated it in previous books, and it happens once again here. The ship comes out of a jump point (pursued by enemy aliens so they can't retreat) only to find themselves in a trap. A complete armada, arranged in spherical positions, surrounding the jump point. What can they do? They begin to discuss a desperate plan, admitting that they could be destroyed at any second.
And then the action takes place offstage. The next thing you read is the alien commander who is livid that the humans escaped. What? How? No nail-biting suspense at how they barely made it? No description of the flight? Really, really jarring for the reader.
Also, a complaint for the author making the bad guys not only bad, but outright insane. In fact, the bad guys are so evil that when they encounter aliens, the aliens realize immediately that the heroes are basically good, and also that the humans' enemies are completely and utterly insane. The aliens only concern is the way the humans expand so quickly, but they quickly and easily ally with the humans. It would be nice to have a little more difficulty in determining that the actions of the protagonists is capable of being judged in different ways. Too black-and-white.
It was interesting to read the various Canadian references, and even one Star Trek reference. But all in all, this was just a so-so SF novel, barely second-rate at best. And it's the best of the series.
2.5 stars.
I finally made some sense of the universe in which the series took place. There was enough detail to understand that the reason the universe is so small is because interstellar space travel relies on "jump points", which have specific locations. So my previous complaint about so much traffic in space maybe wasn't fair (in a previous book), as if there are only a few jump points, then necessarily all traffic would come by in due course.
But there was a lot more this book failed on. I really hated the revisionist alteration of the jump point physics to move the plot along. "Hey, we're in trouble... any ideas? Maybe we can try that theoretical idea about using the jump points differently - what do you think?" Lame when it happens once, excruciating when it happens twice.
Also, once again I am complaining about "friction" in space. It's not so evident as in previous books, but they keep mentioning "we won't have enough fuel to return". Unless travelling in jumpspace is frictional, there should be no limit to how far you can travel in space with even a tiny amount of fuel. The complaint should be "we won't have enough fuel to return in time"... but this novel did it better than previous ones did, so that's a bit nitpicking.
Finally, one more glaring flaw. It's very jarring for the reader when the crucial action happens offstage. I hated it in previous books, and it happens once again here. The ship comes out of a jump point (pursued by enemy aliens so they can't retreat) only to find themselves in a trap. A complete armada, arranged in spherical positions, surrounding the jump point. What can they do? They begin to discuss a desperate plan, admitting that they could be destroyed at any second.
And then the action takes place offstage. The next thing you read is the alien commander who is livid that the humans escaped. What? How? No nail-biting suspense at how they barely made it? No description of the flight? Really, really jarring for the reader.
Also, a complaint for the author making the bad guys not only bad, but outright insane. In fact, the bad guys are so evil that when they encounter aliens, the aliens realize immediately that the heroes are basically good, and also that the humans' enemies are completely and utterly insane. The aliens only concern is the way the humans expand so quickly, but they quickly and easily ally with the humans. It would be nice to have a little more difficulty in determining that the actions of the protagonists is capable of being judged in different ways. Too black-and-white.
It was interesting to read the various Canadian references, and even one Star Trek reference. But all in all, this was just a so-so SF novel, barely second-rate at best. And it's the best of the series.
2.5 stars.
Read
July 12, 2014This was the best book in the trilogy and neatly wrapped things up. I enjoyed the interaction between the species. Fijians and humans are very different yet had so much in common. It cracked me up how Fibians found human facial expressions to be so disgusting!
I am really glad I read this trilogy over the summer. I enjoy science fiction and these books do not disappoint. Kiddos to the authors!
I am really glad I read this trilogy over the summer. I enjoy science fiction and these books do not disappoint. Kiddos to the authors!
August 10, 2012
James Doohan, after he was finished being Scotty on Star Trek, decided to write some science fiction. He teamed up with S.M. Stirling, and they made good space opera. The Independent Command is the third and final book they wrote together.
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January 9, 2010baen ebook
August 19, 2012
Started off slow and had a somewhat disjointed and jarring writing style in the beginning, but it dramatically improved about 1/3 of the way in and the rest of the book was quite interesting.
September 9, 2013
Not the most original or convincing science fiction but fun space opera all the same.
January 11, 2017
This is the last book in an excellent and entertaining series. I highly recommend it.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews