Customer Reviews

Action Stations: A Wing Commander Novel

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I like Forstchen's books, but this isn't up to his usual standard. The plot adheres a little too closely to the events of the Midway campaign in WWII. Sadly, the Confederation has forgotten all the lessons learned in that period, and needs to be re-taught the hard way.

I'd give this book a miss, and head straight for Freedom Flight. Then, you can go on to Forstchen's excellent End Run, Fleet Action, and Heart of the Tiger.

I really can't say enough about William Forstchen and the Wing Commander novels he has written. In each one he adds a little bit more to what has now become (at least in my mind) one of the most involved and well-developed sci-fi epics of our era, and Action Stations is no exception. Not to give too much away, but the plot of the novel parallels the beginning of America's involvement in WWII. Some have complained that it resembles it TOO closely, but I found it a very interesting approach. The characters are well-modeled, and Forstchen's handling of the Kilrathi is amazing, showing the almost "human" side of a few of them. It adds a totally new dimension to the race that you probably won't get from the movie or the games. I also found it noteworthy that once or twice the author even makes reference to the Wing Commander: Prophecy game, which I can only hope he will eventually write about. However, the best aspect of this novel is that the fans finally get to see Tolwyn in his younger days fresh out of the Academy, and how he came to be involved in the war. It's almost hard to read about him though, considering what he eventually does, but it reinforces even more the concept of the tragic figure or fallen hero that Tolwyn is. All in all, this is a great novel with intelligent dialogue, an enhrossing and believable (if somewhat borrowed) plot, and above all a story that needed to be told. (Note: the Foreword itself leaves you yearning for more).

A lot of people probably look at the title and cover art of this book and dismiss it as mass-produced pulp. However, the story itself is well-thought-out and even haunting in places. Several other reviewers have mentioned how closely the overall storyline resembles the beginning of WWII--what's really eerie is how well it describes 9/11, even though it was written back in 1998. The military drawdown, the political maneuvering that ignored the intel analysis, the badly-understood enemy engaging in small attacks before launching the big one...the scene of the Skyhook Tower collapsing now feels like a gut punch. It's a very visceral lesson in how we never seem to learn from the past.
All in all, a highly recommended read.

The Wing Commander Action Stations couldn't have been written without the idea that history repeats itself, and I don't mind reading about Pearl Habor as long as it is covered up by the WC universe... However the technology seems to be way out of bounds using tech that is not supposed to be available before 2668 (WCII)... But afterall it is readable and enjoyable as long as you don't read between the lines!

I never could get in to Wing Commander books because the war was already old news. The war had become part of people's lives in the books so it was hard to jump in to it. This book does an excellent job of starting you off since in the truest since of the word it is a prequel. It goes to the very beginnings of the wing commander universe and the war with the Kirathi that it is based on. I was hooked and couldn't put the book down. People critize certain aspects such as the supposly one dimensional characters like the politicians in the book being selfish scum who care more about votes than whats right. The sad fact is they were portrayed right. This book is very realistic for a sci-fi. A must read!

Aqui podremos saber como el conflicto entre los Kilrathis y la Confederacion comenzo. Tambien veremos los comienzos de la carrera de Geoff Tolwyn que todos conocemos como el Admiral que traiciono a todos, pero aqui nos muestra el otro lado de una persona que todos pensabamos conocer.

Este libro esta situado primero cronologicamente con respecto a los otros libros. Vemos como Tolwyn y Bandreich se hicieron amigos. Como el Baron Jukaga pudo saber tanto sobre nuestra civilizacion. Simplemente nos muestra todo a sus comienzos lo cual es muy lindo de leer cuando uno ya leyo las otras novelas. Pone las cosas un poco mas claras.

Action Stations details the beginning of the Kilrathi War and ends with climatic First Battle of McAuliffe. The story is modelled off Pearl Harbor and the beginning of the war in the Pacific Theatre, and I think it was done intelligently. Some of the characters are flat and the book does reinvent the WC Universe a bit, but overall Forstchen used his creative license very well. This is definetly a must read for all WC fans (myself included) and I hope newcomers to WC read it as well.

Contact has been made with the Kilrathi, tiger like creatures whom love to hunt and kill. The confederation is it's new target as they dish out random attacks. It is now up to a group of confed officers to save the confederation.

Great story telling of the beginnings of the Kilrathi War. Gives much background of Tolwyn when he was just an Ensign and how he came to be a great man amongst the Confederation. One can't help but see similarities between this story and Pearl Harbor but the story does take twists that make it uniquely suspenseful. I can highly recommend this book for Wing Commander fans.

Wing Commander: Action Stations is one of the best WC books yet. Forstchen characters are more developed then in his previous books. The story is very interesting, and involves some different aspects of Wing Commander. I strongly reccomend this book to any WC fan.