April 2018 NA THEMED Ships of my Fathers by Dan Thompson

[Teresa, Plan B is in Effect]

The April 2018 NA THEMED pick is Ships of My Fathers by Dan Thompson. Please use this thread to post questions, comments, and reviews, at any time.

The theme for this month is Entry Level spaceship job.

Description:
Michael was orphaned at seventeen, light-years from home. His inheritance: a starship, distant relatives he never knew existed, and inescapable questions that challenge everything he thought was true.

Michael's quest for answers takes him halfway across the Confederacy, from the gleaming corridors of the wealthy super-freighters to the dark holds of Father Chessman's pirate ships.

The truth is waiting for him, but he'll have to survive to find it.

[Teresa, Plan B is in Effect]

I enjoyed reading this one and the sequel. I will be rereading it in April and look forward to the discussion.

[Betsy]

I was reading the sequel, but was missing a lot of the references because I couldn't remember what happened in this book, which is first in the series. So today, I started rereading. I'm thinking I made a little mistake in nominating this for Entry Level Spaceship job. Michael actually grew up on a ship, working at a number of jobs under his adoptive father. But when he has to go work for his uncle he's treated as a beginner, so maybe I wasn't totally wrong.

[Betsy]

Finished this book, earlier this morning, about 3 a.m., not being able to put it down. So I enjoyed it just as much reading it this second time as the first. I consider it a fairly simple, straightforward space opera adventure. Not a very complex plot, not much world building, not much back story. But some of that may get fleshed out in future installments of the series.

[Chad]

Just starting this book....several reviews compared it to Nathan Lowell's Solar Clipper series which is one of my favorites, so I'm looking forward to it.

[Betsy]

I really enjoyed the quotes from Malcolm at the beginning of each chapter. They somehow brought Malcolm alive and seemed to make him a continuing part of the narrative.

[Jason]

This book has been on my radar for over a year. Will read it now for this month's book club read. I'm five chapters into it and I can already see shades of the Solar Clipper series.

[Chad]

So far it's keeping me intrigued. Wish the main charcter was a little less "foolish idiot that has to be saved by everyone else" but its probably a much more accurate real-life way this would happen to a 17 year old vs the over competent noob who fixes everything the professionals can't.

[Jason]

I finished it in two sittings. I can see the parallels with Nathan Lowell's Share series but whereas Lowell's series, at least in the earlier volumes, avoids a great deal of derring-do, Thompson drops his characters into a sea of intrigue as his main character Michael attempts to unravel the mystery of his adoptive father's life. I will definitely be following this author and this series.

[Teresa, Plan B is in Effect]

I’ve started my reread. The first chapter quote is a good one:
“You know those times when everything works out exactly how you planned? Yeah, me neither.”

[Teresa, Plan B is in Effect]

It’s a page turner all right. I’d forgotten how much it is inappropriate for YA. New Adult shouldn’t be a problem, but I wouldn’t want younger teens to see so much drinking, drug use, and casual sex by a 17yo. High school kids do that yes, but the way it is presented makes it seem like this is normal and acceptable.

[Teresa, Plan B is in Effect]

I stalled about a week ago, needing a dose of aliens. I’m having difficulty getting back into the book, likely due to having reread it about a year ago so it’s too fresh. It’s a good read but I should wait two years between my rereads. I remember far too many details right now, of what’s ahead in the story.

[Betsy]

Teresa wrote: "I stalled about a week ago, needing a dose of aliens. I’m having difficulty getting back into the book, likely due to having reread it about a year ago so it’s too fresh. It’s a good read but I sho..."

I really don't think you should always feel obligated to read the books each month, especially if you've already read them recently.

[Chad]

Betsy wrote: "Teresa wrote: "I stalled about a week ago, needing a dose of aliens. I’m having difficulty getting back into the book, likely due to having reread it about a year ago so it’s too fresh. It’s a good..."

Well sure, if you're a slacker :)

[Teresa, Plan B is in Effect]

A year is sometimes enough of a wait between rereads. It depends on the book and my mood. This time it wasn’t enough.

[Laz]

Just started today. I'll read quickly tomorrow.