Customer Reviews

Exodus (Starfire)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

When Weber and White wrote Shiva Option, it ended with the humans and their allies triumphant against the Bugs. A protracted interstellar total war against a ghastly enemy. A follow on book set in the same universe would face considerable problems, in trying to depict another opponent of similar danger.

But White and Meier came up with an ingenious twist. Deploying aliens that can reincarnate, and have memories of their earlier lives. Of course the idea of reincarnation exists in several major religions. But in fiction, outside the fantasy realm, it is rare to see this idea portrayed well. The only other recent attempt was Replay by Ken Grimwood. A singular tour de force. Exodus does not match it for utter originality, but in the field of space opera, it is quite a creditable effort.

In length, Exodus is also much shorter than both Shiva Option and In Death Ground. Unlike those, where the Bug society was never gone into any depth, the enemy in Exodus has been fleshed out as a logically coherent alien race and society.

As an aside, the dustjacket and initial pages refer to Meier as having written 5 other novels. It does not name them. Some of you will remember these as having been co-authored with Steve Stirling and written in the 80s. A little surprising that these aren't listed, as they were also published by Baen.

Exodus (2006) is the fifth SF novel in the Starfire series, following Insurrection. The initial work in this series is Crusade.

In the previous volume, Trevayne rallied the Rim worlds against the rebels. He held a warp point route around the rebels to the Terran Federation itself. Then he was severely injured in the last battle of the war. He was placed in cryogenic suspension while awaiting advances in revival procedures.

In thus novel, Trevayne is a former Fleet Admiral. His body has been frozen for seven and a half decades while doctors have been developing techniques to revive him.

Miriam Ortega is the Chief Justice of the Rim Federation. She is also chairperson of the trustees for the person and property of Trevayne.

Sean F. X. Remko is a Fleet Admiral in the Terran Federation Navy. He is also a member of the Trevayne trustees.

Genji Yoshinaka is a retired Admiral in the Rim Federation Navy. He too is a Trevayne trustee.

Li Han is the First Space Lord of the Terran Republic Navy. She had commanded the rebel navy during the insurrection.

Li Magda is a Rear Admiral in the Terran Republic Navy. She is also the daughter of Li Han.

Ankaht is an alien from outside known space. She is shaxzhu, a reincarnated member of her species.

In this story, on Ardu, Ankaht brings the news to her father that a decision has been made to flee Sekahmant, a nearby giant star that will soon become a supernova. Enough ships cannot be built to carry the entire population of their world, so passengers will be selected as each ship is readied.

The first wave will be made with existing technology and later waves will incorporate new technology as it is developed. Different stars will be destinations for each wave. Most of the passengers will be placed in hibernation as the slower-than-light ships travel onward.

On Xanadu, Miriam informs Remko and Yoshinaka that sufficient medical knowledge has been developed to give an eighty-five percent chance of reviving Trevayne. The process will involve cloning his body and then transferring his brain into the clone. They vote to go ahead with the effort.

Five years later, Trevayne awakes to find himself somewhere other than his ship infirmary. The doctor informs him that it has been eight decades since he was frozen. Then Trevayne slips back into the dark. The next time he awakes, Miriam is there to welcome him to a new life.

The first wave of alien ships is decelerating as it approaches its destination. Two astronomy graduate students on Bellerophon discover an anomaly in the star plates. Their analysis shows that the source is artificial, a fleet of reaction drives. The news creates a sensation.

Li Han receives news of these aliens from the RFN. She is still more concerned with the Tangri than the new aliens, but she notifies her ships of a possible threat.

The RFN sends a taskforce to check the anomaly. Their orders are to avoid conflict. But the aliens are suspicious and open fire when one squadron lights them up with targeting scans. Then human captains also order their ships to fire on the aliens despite repeated orders to hold their fire.

The RFN ships withdrawn with heavy losses. The alien senior admiral is determined to destroy any threats to his passengers. Ankaht cannot get him to consider a ceasefire.

This tale brings Li Magda to Xanadu for a war conference. Trevayne meets her there. At first, his recent memories make him wary of a rebel leader. But Ian soon begins to relate to a fellow officer who happens to be the daughter of his former enemy. It helps that they are about the same apparent age.

This story concludes with many dangling plot lines, although a sequel has not yet been announced. Maybe fans can persuade the publisher to commission another book. Read and enjoy!

Recommended for White & Meier fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of naval combat, political intrigue, and courageous beings.

-Arthur W. Jordin

I was quite eager to read this book as a continuation of the Stars at War universe. While a action filled, if disjounted read, it is more of a parallel offshoot of the Starfire universe than a continuation.

As one example, apparently the author(s) felt that they needed a 'gimmick' to further handicap humanity's ability to defend itself. So the warp nodes now have a size limit on the starships they can transport, a limit that never existed in the previous stories and a change that makes the mass transits of the early episodes impossible.

In the end, I was more irritated than enticed by the book - there were just too many continuity disconnects between universe of this story and the previous stories for it to hang as a believable sequel. Good try, but not a winner.

Steve White & Shirley Meier's EXODUS offers up a fine sequel to THE SHIVA OPTION, and fans of this prior book will be the most likely enthusiasts for its ongoing saga. Here decades have passed and the original warriors of the 'battle against the bugs' have grown complacent. How can they win against aliens who know they will be reincarnated when they die? Fast action and gripping drama makes EXODUS a pick for any who enjoyed THE SHIVA OPTION.

I have loved the Star Fire series by Steve White ever since I read "On Death Ground". This one takes place 80 years after the events in "Insurrection". I am hoping that he will eventually go back do handle some of the eariler wars.

Wars that start because of poor communication are probably the saddest. Steve White explores this premise in "Exodus", along with co-author Shirley Meier. These new aliens do not exhibit the pure malevolence of the Bugs, but because of their empathic abilities and their capability of reincarnating their dead, this could just as well be a bug war writ new. It is a bit of a stretch to believe that sentient aliens, whose exodus sets up the premise for this story, would not be more prepared for an encounter with other sentient species. This single issue strains the credibility of the entire story.

It has been a few years since I have read about "Tabbys" and "Horse Heads", Ophiuchi and Gorm, the TRN, RFN, and PSUN, so the opening of the book was a little disorienting. Once the story settled down, though, it became enjoyable enough, leaping forward 80 years after the events of "The Shiva Option" to reunite some old adversaries. I use "enjoyable enough" only insofar as it was good to revisit this universe and these characters. "Exodus" does not read with the urgency of "In Death Ground"--its themes of war and peace do not quite recall "Crusade" and "Insurrection"--but all of the elements are there and, since this book doesn't even pretend to offer a conclusion, another book will be along by and by to further develop the story. Perhaps because Weber didn't collaborate on this project, there are fewer acronyms flying around and the battle scenes are more contained. "Exodus" serves mostly as an introduction to some new characters and a re-introduction to some old ones (with a few others disposed of in battle). It will disappoint in places and satisfy in others. It is worth the paperback price but certainly not the hardcover price.

Not much of a follow up to the series. Very let down by the book. The other reviewers have done a good job outlining this book's strengths and weaknesses.....