Burndive [Mass Market Paperback]

Karin Lowachee (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2003

From the author of the acclaimed and bestselling debut novel "Warchild" comesa new action-packed adventure about a young man's journey into adulthood amidinterstellar war. Original.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Ryan Azarcon, the son of a notorious starship captain and planetary aristocrat and grandson of an admiral and diplomat, is a good-looking, spoiled, young celebrity constantly hounded by the media. He is also, by virtue of his pedigree, in the middle of all the conflict generated by the ongoing war with the alien strits, whom Lowachee introduced in Warchild [BKL Mr 15 02]. As this story opens, Ryan is desperately trying to escape the memories of a bombing at his grandfather's embassy. Then, when his father takes unpopular action, Ryan is targeted by assassins. To protect him, Captain Azarcon orders him aboard his ship, the Macedon. Similarity to recent headlines and their generators lend plausibility to the tale, as does Ryan's reaction when he realizes that mediacrats can be deadly. Frieda Murray
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Aspect; Warner Books Ed edition (October 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446613185
• ISBN-13: 978-0446613187
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1 x 6.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #696,283 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well worth waiting for, November 6, 2003

By 

Mindsurfer (SC USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Burndive (Mass Market Paperback)

Waiting for Karin Lowachee to produce a sequel to her outstanding first novel "Warchild" was not easy. Jos and his friends would invade my daydreams. They would sneak up while working or driving or whatever and start dialogs seemingly right in my ear.
Frequently, I reread sections and speculated as to how things might continue. Over the year some satisfying (for me) paths developed and I began to wonder: Was I setting myself up for disappointment?

Well, "Burndive" finally arrived and she did none of what I expected. Instead, she thrust us into the POV of Ryan Azarcon, the rich spoiled son of Cairo Azarcon Captain of the Macedon. Ryan, who was only briefly mentioned in Warchild, was not, despite his own trauma, a sympathetic character. I was not pleased. Then, about a third of the way in she smoothly began weaving him into the Warchild main story. We were back among our friends. We had a couple of newbies to digest. I liked Sid - Ryan was still giving me indigestion - but that would change.

I loved it!

In these first two books (of a trilogy I've been told) Karin Lowachee has taken two totally dissimilar protagonist, from greatly different backgrounds, through different experiences, and brought them to the same place on the same side with a great supporting cast. The characterizations have depth. Their motivations and emotions are well drawn. The storyline has exciting space opera; convoluted politics, betrayals, and assassins in the midst of delicately balanced war and peace.

I'm looking forward to book three.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This time focusing on the son of the engimatic Captain, July 28, 2004

By 

Adam Missner (Roswell, GA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Burndive (Mass Market Paperback)

Burndive is the term for computer hacking in the world that Karin Lowachee has created. The first thing you will notice when reading Burndive is that their is essentially no burndiving in it. This is one of those interesting cases where the publisher must have picked the title, because it has nothing to do with the book. That being said, Burndive is an excellent follow-up to Warchild, this time focusing on the son of the enigmatic Captain Azarcon of the Macedon. Azarcon's 18-year-old son Ryan doesn't know his father, since he has been away his whole life, but his father's politics have led to an attack on Ryan's life which brings them into very close quarters. Burndive is less military scifi and more space opera, but the characters are compelling and deep and excellently drawn. The book is a little slow at first, but ends with a flourish that left me searching Amazon for the unfortunately unavailable sequel. I will be looking forward to it.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Problem With Sequels..., May 16, 2006

By 

Lyda Morehouse (Saint Paul, MN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Burndive (Mass Market Paperback)

...is that what a reader wants and what the author wants are often at odds. What a reader usually wants is more of the same -- more of the characters introduced in the first book, more of the world, generally MORE.

What an author often wants to do is something completely different. S/he wants to explore completely different characters, a different timeline -- anything to distinguish the first book from its follow-up.

I ended up reading this series out of order. I read CAGEBIRD first, then WARCHILD, and now this one. I could see how BURNDIVE might disappoint if followed on the heels of WARCHILD, but I loved it. I thought Lowachee took a huge risk giving us the point of view of spoiled Ryan Azarcon and forcing us, page by page, to care for him. In a way, we were like the Captain... who comes to truly care for his son by degrees.

It's a good book, and a true testimony to Lowachee's writing that I could read them all out of order and not feel like I missed anything.