Debatable Space [Kindle Edition]

Philip Palmer (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

It's rarely a good sign when an author tells readers with sad grasshopper minds to skip ahead if they're bored, as Palmer does in this muddled debut space opera. After grabbing readers with action sequences revolving around a plan to use former President of Humanity Lena Smith against her despotic son, Peter, whom Lena tenderly calls the most evil human being who has ever lived, a series of long, rambling Excerpts from the Thought Diary of Lena Smith, 2004– bring the action to a screeching halt. Lena's description of her thousand-year life and accounts of her sexual escapades and theology will weary many readers. The concepts, writing and plotting leave a great deal to be desired, and Palmer's attempt at humor centered on the notion of powerful, intelligent flame beasts addicted to bad television also falls flat. (Jan.)
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Product Description

Flanagan (who is, for want of a better word, a pirate) has a plan. It seems relatively simple: kidnap Lena, the Cheo's daughter, demand a vast ransom for her safe return, sit back and wait.

Only the Cheo, despotic ruler of the known universe, isn't playing ball. Flanagan and his crew have seen this before, of course, but since they've learned a few tricks from the bad old days and since they know something about Lena that should make the plan foolproof, the Cheo's defiance is a major setback. It is a situation that calls for extreme measures.

Luckily, Flanagan has considerable experience in this area . . .

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Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 610 KB
• Publisher: Orbit (May 30, 2009)
• Sold by: Hachette Book Group
• Language: English
• ASIN: B00286C1RY
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #118,265 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Is there an Anti-Nebula Award?, February 29, 2008

By 

G. Yorke "g_yorke" (California, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Debatable Space (Paperback)

I'm a fan of space opera, but the well-constructed Peter F. Hamilton or Iain M. Banks type. Debatable Space, alas, is not in their class ... far from it.

I skimmed the last 1/3 of "Debatable Space" because I couldn't stand to spend more time than necessary with it. I think the turning point was when, in a battle scene, one of the pirate fleet fired its laser weapons at the local sun, which then expanded and took a number of attacking ships with it (I'd have transcribed the exact language here, but I shipped the book off to Goodwill as fast as I could get it out of the house). There were about five things wrong with the believability of that sequence and it made we want to stop right there. But I perservered, through extended biographical detours and plot points that seemed to serve no purpose, to an ending that was anti-climatic and uninvolving.

I was fooled by well-done packaging and didn't due my usual due diligence before investing my time in the book. I should have been on the alert, since that same blurbage touts Palmer's radio and tv experience. I think there's a tendency among writers from those media to treat the vast amount of space a novel provides as a dumping ground for every idea they come up with. This is a prime example.

I read a lot of SF and Debatable Space is perhaps the worst thing I've read in a year.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars I don't often fail to finish a book, March 26, 2008

By 

J. Renaut (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Debatable Space (Paperback)

But I couldn't finish this one. As a male who dabbles in mediocre story writing, I'm very afraid of writing female characters. The main female character in this book is exactly the sort of character that I'm afraid of writing.

I think the author broke just about every rule anyone has ever made for men writing believable female characters. She stays in a ridiculous abusive relationship, but she talks about how bad it is, so somehow that's supposed to make it okay. She's utterly helpless, but thinks that her "I'm just as good as a man" attitude will get her through adversity. She has odd conversations with her AI butler or whatever he is that come across as a lazy way of filling in background details.

I believe this is the author's debut novel, so maybe things will be better in #2.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Debatable Novel, February 21, 2008

By 

C. Baker "cbaker" (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Debatable Space (Paperback)

Debatable Space is a rather banal, uninteresting space opera. The plot is silly and the characters are silly - and unbelievable. The book revolves around a group of space pirates who kidnap Lena, who they hope to ransom to the ruler of most of the inhabited universe, the Cheo (or Peter). Their ultimate goal is slowly revealed, but it's more than just a king's ransom they want. And while Lena has had a very long and interesting life, it too is unbelievable and a bore to read to about.

Given the drawn out plot, uninteresting characters that lack believability, and generally boilerplate storyline, I can't recommend this novel.