The Cobra Trilogy (Baen Books Megabooks) [Paperback]

Timothy Zahn (Author)

Book Description

Series: Baen Books Megabooks | Publication Date: November 3, 2009

The colony worlds Adirondack and Silvern fell to the Troft forces almost without a struggle. Outnumbered and on the defensive, Earth made a desperate decision. It would attack the aliens not from space, but on the ground—with forces the Trofts did not even suspect. Thus were created the Cobras, a guerilla force whose weapons were surgically implanted, invisible to the unsuspecting eye, yet undeniably deadly. But power brings temptation . . . and not all the Cobras could be trusted to fight for Earth alone. Jonny Moreau would learn the uses—and abuses—of his special abilities, and what it truly meant to be a Cobra.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Timothy Zahn is a Hugo Award-winner, and author of the New York Times best seller Heir to the Empire. Born in Chicago, he earned a B.S. in physics from Michigan State University and an M.S. in physics from the University of Illinois. He sold his first story to Analog in 1978, and immediately attracted attention as a new writer of science fiction based on real, cutting-edge science. Baen recently published his popular Cobra trilogy in one volume. His other popular series include the “Conqueror” and “Dragonback” novels. Zahn has written over twenty novels, including the recent works Angelmass and Manta’s Gift.

Product Details

• Paperback: 960 pages
• Publisher: Baen; Reprint edition (November 3, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1439133182
• ISBN-13: 978-1439133187
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #579,604 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Timothy Zahn is the Hugo Award-winning author of more than a dozen original science fiction novels and the bestselling Star Wars trilogy Heir to the Empire, among other works. He lives in the Pacific Northwest.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable premise - Worth reading., March 28, 2005

By 

A. Byers "A Voracious Reader" (Salem, OR United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Cobra Trilogy (The Cobra Series) (Hardcover)

The Cobra trilogy was enjoyable but not worth raving about. I'd recommend it to voracious Sci-fi readers, but not many others. For someone who hasn't read much science fiction, this would be a great one to start with. There is enough science to make it seem plausible and yet not stifle or drown the stories for a new reader.

The ideas and science applications are not totally new, but the stories, characters and settings make up for the lack of originality in the science.

Also, Timothy Zahn has created a continuity with the characters and their family that really made the entire volume seems real and personal.

There are many things that could be picked apart, but wouldn't do much good at this point. I liked it a lot, and for most Sci-fi fans, especially military Sci-fi fans, they will love it as well.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing Trilogy, May 22, 2007

By 

Karl Shook (Chicago Illinois) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Cobra Trilogy (Paperback)

This thing is hard to write a short review on since it is actually three books in one. It is about a family, beginning with Jonny Moreau, who for three generations were implanted with high tech weaponry to make them super soldiers. But as has been typical of Timothy Zahn throughout his career these stories are about far more than that. It deals quite a lot with how a society deals having such high tech warriors in their midst. A factor that leads Jonny Moureau into politics, and his oldest son Corwin, who is not a Cobra, follows in his footsteps. Being a Cobra and a politician can put a strain on family life. But it's hard to tell at times which is the bigger problem. The original story Cobra is written as a group of short stories because two of the "chapters" were originally published as short stories. I'm not sure which ones. This is well worth the read for any Timothy Zahn fan.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A surprisingly deep and intimate look a the life of a soldier, February 3, 2011

By 

Bob A. Reiss "Audiobook Reviews: The Guilded ... (Bensalem, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cobra: Cobra Trilogy, Book 1 (Audible Audio Edition)

I always liked to mix up my reading. If I have been reading a few mysteries, I will try to grab some science fiction. If I have been reading something serious, I will look for something funny. And if I have been reading heavier, intense literature, I try and look for something light and fun. With that mindset, I grabbed up and began to listen to Cobra by Timothy Zahn. Reading the summaries Cobra was about enhanced super soldiers, so I expected something light, with a bunch of action and explosions. I had never read Zahn before, but I knew he wrote some Star Wars novels, so that is basically what I expected, a shoot em' up Western in Space.

That is not what I got. Instead, I got a detailed and intimate tale of the life of a soldier. Instead of raging armies of super soldiers taking on tanks and Mecha, there was a well told story about the effects of war on a single man. There was action, but most of it was one man, escaping bad guys, or taking on subversive plots with not just lasers and bombs but his mind. Even more so, the book was a look at what happens to soldiers when they are taken from war, and placed back into society, those people they were duty bound to protect, now looking at them with fear and scorn. The beauty of Cobra is that is followed our protagonist past his battle days, and shows you his life from multiple perspectives. It allows you to see how the active duty life of a soldier is only his first battle.

Cobra exceeded my expectations and again taught me that you can't always judge a book by its publisher generated blurb. As with many science fiction series, the seep sonorous voice of Stefan Rudnicki handled the narration. This tale was right in Rudnicki's wheelhouse, a character driven science fiction tale.