Exodus (Starfire) [Library Binding]

Steve White (Author), Shirley Meier (Author)

Book Description

Series: Starfire | Publication Date: November 11, 2008

Once before, the sentient races in the known part of the galaxy¿humans, Orions, Ophiuchi and Gorm¿had united to defeat alien invaders. The ¿bugs¿ were as incomprehensibly alien as they were revoltingly evil, using all other living things, intelligent or not, as food, and they had been defeated at a terrible cost. Decades have since passed and the gallant warriors of the battle against the bugs have grown old, while new generations have grown complacent . . . dangerously so. Long ago, much of the population of an entire planet had built a huge fleet of ships, each ship larger than a city, and fled their world before its sun went nova. Those slower-than-light ships traversed many light years, and have now arrived at the world they intend to make their new home. They regard the fact that the planet is already colonized by humans as a mere inconvenience, the more so since their mode of communication is so different from anything humans use that they do not consider humans and their allies to be truly intelligent. And the arriving aliens know¿or, at least, they believe¿that when they die they will be reincarnated, so they do not hesitate to attack humans and their allies with suicidal fury. This time, the intelligent races of the old alliance will not have to worry about becoming an invader¿s meal¿but that will be small comfort if the invaders decide that genocide is justified for their own survival. . . .

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Steve White completed a tour of duty in Vietnam as a Naval officer. His SF adventure trilogy for Baen comprising The Disinherited, Legacy, and Debt of Ages was highly successful, as was Prince of Sunset, and its sequel Emperor of Dawn. With David Weber, he has collaborated on Insurrection, Crusade, In Death Ground, and the New York Times best seller The Shiva Option. His most recent books for Baen were the epic fantasy Demon¿s Gate and the science fiction adventure novel Blood of the Heroes.

Shirley Meier is a Shitasu Therapist, an Artist, and the author and co-author of several novels in the Fifth Millennium series, including Shadow's Daughter, Shadow's Son, The Cage, Saber and Shadow, and others. She lives in Huntsville, Ontario. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Library Binding: 368 pages
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1439572534
• ISBN-13: 978-1439572535
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #11,054,728 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good, but not a finished work, January 15, 2007

By 

celes_knight (United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Exodus (Hardcover)

This is the fifth book(?) in the Starfire series. The whole series is:
Crusade
In Death Ground
Shiva Option
Insurrection
Exodus

If you haven't yet read those, I suggest reading them before this book.

The editorial reviews go into the plot, so I won't cover that. The book is similar to the other Starfire books, with lots of great starship battles. And it has some insightful looks into the social effects of cryogenic technology, long term space travel, and reincarnation. The characters are well fleshed out, and the action and pacing is good.

I think that this is my favorite Starfire novel since In Death Ground, but (as other have said) it suffers from being an unfinished work.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars so-so, January 27, 2007

By 

monsieurms "monsieurms" (USA East Coast) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Exodus (Hardcover)

One hallmark of the Starfire books has been their page-turning, pulse pounding style, which often makes them hard to put down. This book loses collaborator David Weber, and much of that "what happens next" tension with it. Further, this is only a half story. The book recounts the beginning of the war and the development of an allied plan--and then ends. It has the feel of all foreplay, no finish. Finally, this book is an obvious attempt to fashion a more nuanced villain. The portents of the end seem rather predictable, but maybe I'll be proven wrong.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not a whole book, January 2, 2007

By 

E. Padin (Brooklyn.NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Exodus (Hardcover)

So far this story is a good read and somewhat entertaining. All you Weber fans will notice his absence as the fleet engagements are just missing that little extra something that Weber adds so well.

Still and all, it's a good read but my biggest gripe is that this is not a complete work. It seems that a lot of authors (or more likely publishers) are now taking an entire book and splitting it in two to maximize revenue. The story will be complete after you read (and pay for) the second book. Personally, I will wait for part 2 to hit the library, used bookshelf or other aftermarket source before I agree to shell out more pennies.

In the future, I think that I will wait for reviews like this before I commit to a book and get burned again. I have nothing against episodic tales, but I believe there should be some up-front disclosure. I would prefer to decide before I commit to a multi-volume tale instead of having to find out after reading ¾ of the book. This is especially true when the first volume is such a short read.