Customer Reviews

The Far Side of the Stars

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Far Side of the Stars is the third in Drake's RCN series, light space-operas starring Lt. Daniel Leary, a young starship captain in the Republic of Cinnabar Navy, and his faithful, deadly Signal Officer Adele Mundy. I liked With the Lightnings, the first book of this series, a lot: <http://www.sfsite.com/10b/with43.htm>, but didn't much care for Lt. Leary, Commanding, the darker sequel. This one's an improvement, I thought, but still....

The RCN series is Drake's SF tribute to Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin "Master & Commander" series -- itself a knockoff of Forester's Hornblower stories [note 1]. The sfnalization of Jack Aubrey's Royal Navy is a bit too literal for my taste -- Drake has starships with actual *sails*, complete with sailors in the rigging, and warships exchanging broadsides of solid-shot missiles. Granted, these are Casimir-effect sails, and antimatter-powered missiles that have a top speed of 0.6 c, but still....

Leary and Mundy (the fighting librarian!) were a fresh, fun combination in LIGHTNINGS. In this book, they, and their supporting cast, seem a little shopworn. One of the pleasures of a good series is watching the characters and background develop and grow richer from book to book. So far, Leary, Mundy and their universe seem pretty static -- and I'm starting to think that they aren't really very likeable, or very interesting, people. The plot is episodic, which is fine, but, you know, we've seen this stuff before.... And the auctorial pushing, shoving and hammering-to fit are distressingly obvious.

Hmm. I see I haven't said much about what actually happens in the book. And I don't think I will, actually: you can get a plot summary from the Usual Sources, but I don't think it's really going to help you decide whether or not to read the book. Anyway, if you're new to the series, you need to start with #1. And stop there, would be my advice.

Bottom line: STARS is decent commercial fiction and a not-unpleasant way to spend a few hours. Fans of Leary & Mundy will want to check it out [note 2]. But Drake has done better. And I believe I'll let someone else take the lead in trying out the next RCN Leary/Mundy book.

Baen's cover art comes in for (often well-deserved) brickbats, and this is a prime example. The man in the heavily-armored spacesuit (click on cover to enlarge), who appears to be riding a souped-up Space Ski-Doo --and the four different typefaces in the title, all contribute to, well, an *unusual* cover. Eye-catching, to be sure. It definitely doesn't match my mental picture of STARS...

STARS comes with a bonus: a really neat CD, which includes the complete texts for 26(!) of Drake's books, including an audio version of STARS and other cool stuff. This is a new Baen marketing idea, and a good one.
_________
Note 1). the O'Brian books are popular with a lot of SF fans (including me). And everyone should try at least one Hornblower....

Note 2). One hazard the book-reviewer faces is that critical reading of light, commercial fiction may spoil the fun for the reviewer. For this one, I was truly in the mood for a light, escapist read, and read it pretty much like I'd read any such book. It just didn't quite do the job for me, and I'm adding this note to make sure you know that I like Drake, and I like this kind of book, and I think I gave it a fair shake. And it's not a *bad* book -- just a little disappointing. Your mileage may vary.

Review copyright 2004 by Peter D. Tillman
First published at SF Site

The saga of Lt. Daniel Leary and Adele Mundy has been one of the better series written by Drake in the past few years. Unpretentious and fun it combines just the right amount of hard-hitting action with humor and frivolity, just what you would expect from a twenty-three year old naval officer.

THE FAR SIDE OF THE STARS is the third in the series and amply fulfills the requirements for escapist literature. While the characters are not particularly deep nor is there any real reason to expect a great deal of growth, after all were looking for fun here not a literature lesson, regardless we do start to see a definite change in the relationship between the characters. Adele is obviously in love with Daniel although she would probably rather eat the barrel of her own pistol than admit it, and Daniel, well there is something going on there, what it is will remain to be seen. Have to save something for future volumes now don't we?

All in all this installment of the Leary series is a great read with more than its fair share of fun and excitement. You bet I RECOMMEND it and am waiting eagerly for more to come!

The RCN (Republic of Cinnabar Navy) series revolves around Lt. David Leary, a politician's son, who entered the navy to get away from his father and politics. Leary proves to be an able commander and an expert tactician... and something of a womanizer. The series also follows Adele Mundy, the only survivor of a political massacre of her family. She is a computer wiz who's so good it's not exactly believable. In many ways, the books are seen through her eyes as she begins to emerge from the shell she created when her family was killed.

The Far Side of the Stars follows Lt. Leary and Adele Mundy to the weak Confederacy of the Galactic North in the newly decommissioned and sold Princess Cecile. With the war between the Republic of Cinnabar and the Alliance now over, Leary leaves the navy and is hired by eccentric nobles from a far off planet. With the crew of the Cecile and Adele in tow, they head out into rough territory in search of the Earth Diamond, a diamond said to hollowed and to contain the continents of the earth inscribed on the inside. Adele has a dual purpose, courtesy of Cinnabar intelligence, find out if an Alliance base has been built in the Confederacy.

The result is a search across numerous planets for the jewel, a confrontation with Alliance pirates and finally a discovery that may just see the end of the Princess Cecile and her crew.

~*~

Despite his obvious skill at writing, David Drake has never been one of my favorite authors. Many of his books, perhaps colored by his experience as a combat veteran of Vietnam, are grim with a dark sort of humor about them.

The RCN series, of which The Far Side of the Stars is the third book, is refreshingly different than many of his other books. For one thing, the tone is lighter, and the characters, at least some of them, have a feel about them that is very unlike many of Drake's earlier novels. While it contains some of the darker view of life that Drake is well known for, there is a sort of optimism in the characters that seems refreshing for his writing.

To the Far Side of the Stars, like the previous novels in the series, is at points a little over the top. Adele is such a computer wiz that it's unbelievable. But despite this, it does manage to easily follow in the tradition and mood of the previous novels. It's a classic adventure story, sort of a cross between star Trek and Honor Harrington.

Lt. Leary remains his indomitable self throughout the novel. But Adele Mundy is where this story seems to focus. I've always enjoyed her character. She is alone in the universe, with no personal attachment left, and then with Lt. Leary showing her friendship, she begins to change. In this novel, she grows significantly. Her shell begins to crack and a hint of something growing between her and Lt. Leary is revealed.

I rather enjoyed this novel. It, along with the other books in the series is a great deal of fun. I just wish that Drake would take less time to come out with novels in the series.

I love the characters in the Lt. Leary series and looked forward to the next installment. But I was a bit disappointed with The Far Side of the Stars. The characters, especially Daniel, turned one dimensional. Instead of being well knit with the characters triumphing through their own abilities, the storyline is very choppy, very contrived, and not very believable. Lt. Mon is gotten out of the way with scarcely a "By God" and never seen or heard of again, though the character and his fate should have been worth some further discussion. The crew has to leap from planet to planet, never getting a good picture/feel for any of them, to set up a completely unbelievable set of coincidences. The merging with the tree is a VERY old theme, and stretches happenstance way too far since Daniel's neighbor just happens to be...(take a guess. You could see it coming from the time they landed on that particular planet) The convenient rich couple who are conveniently gotten out of the way (sort of like Lt. Mon) and the last second reformation of old Cinnebar citizens are just too much. However, it's hard for Mr. Drake to write a bad book. And with those characters, it's even harder. But he did try. I hope the next 'Lt. Leary' has a bit more thought and originality to it.

I had some difficulty with this book, even though I have read many of David Drake's other books with great enjoyment and enthusiasm.

Generally, the "galactic politics" themes in this book bored me to death. We have a young captain in a small warship struggling to survive in a very savage pond. Naturally, there are corrupt officials and dirty deals, and the Lieutenant and his shipmates have to be clever, quick, and devious to survive. But unfortunately, this is pretty trite.

Another reviewer mentioned fairly shallow characters that are pretty much without complexity. This is okay in an action novel, but all this political intrigue combined with fairly superficial characters -- it just "wears on a reader."

What I did discover is that David Drake does not disappoint with action-based "future war" narratives. Embedded in this book are a number of simply excellent battle scenes-- gunfights in skid-row taverns, naval battles between the Lieutenant's frigate and much larger vessels (light-cruiser class). When the ion cannon are blazing and the hyperdrive missiles are flaring, no one writes better than David Drake.

Since the novel is a thinly linked picaresque type novel, and is essentially a series of short stories connected only by a very loose overall plot, I decided to read the book that way.

So I skimmed and skimmed, and when the ion bolts were blazing and the missile traces crossed the heavens, I settled in for a very careful read!

Unfortunately, this means I read half the book carefully and skimmed the rest. But I just could not really get through this book on its own terms.

One other thing I might mention-- Drake describes the spaceships in the book with old fashioned terms appropriate to the sailing ships of Napoleon's time. Use of terms such as "hatches," "rigging," "forecastle" and the like are presumably supposed to lend a sort of "Horatio Hornblower" excitement to the story. Unfortunately, it just seems totally absurd.

David Drake is a wonderful writer and has done some EXCELLENT books. Unfortunately, this is not one of them.

Daniel Leary and Adele Mundy are as different as night and day. He's simply an excellent naval officer with a knack for combat, astrogation, drinking and wenching... except when he's being a naturalist and a bit of a philosopher. She's just an emotionless ex-librarian with a knack for information retrieval, espionage, and guns... except for that soft spot she has for her crew, her country, and her best friend Daniel.

The Far Side of the Stars, the third Leary-Mundy adventure with the RCN, is full of unexpected revelations and discoveries. As always, Drake writes battles believably; but in this series, his sense of humor, adventure, and romance comes out to play.

Yes, romance. Leary and Mundy continue possibly the most low-key, slow-motion romance ever. (Drake _likes_ smart, relatively unemotional women in love in Spocky ways -- see _Birds of Prey_ and the Lord of the Isles series.) but things begin bubbling with a couple of the subsidiary characters, amusingly enough. If you don't mind being _very_ patient and characters that are the opposite of cute and fluffy, Drake is for you. Just don't expect more than one or two bones thrown to you per book.

See, Drake is pretty low-key himself, as a writer. His writing and characterization are quiet, not showy. Pay close attention or you'll miss something special.

This story is the third in the Republic of Cinnabar Navy series. This series of stories takes place in the far-future, where mankind has spread through hundreds of inhabated planets in the galaxy. However, power is split among a number of warring factions in control of the more central and civilized star systems, with a good number of backwards and "pirate-infested" systems around the edges.

THE FAR SIDE OF THE STARS(2003) picks up where the 2nd book LT LEARY COMMANDING(2000) and 1st book WITH THE LIGHTNINGS(1998) left off... the main characters Leary (Lt. in the RCN), and Mundy (ex-Librarian, turned Signals Officer) return to Cinnabar, where they must take care of "business at home" for a bit, amid an apparent truce between Cinnabar and The Alliance.. But they become aware that their old ship, PRINCESS CECILE, is being sold off to a rich couple (Klimovs) seeking adventure on outback worlds in "The Commonwealth of God", and it looks like the old crew will be broken up - but Lt. Leary (now reserve Lt. Leary) finds a way to keep the ship and most of the crew together to seek adventure in "The Galactic North", as well as keep an eye out for the interests of Cinnabar against the "evil" Alliance of Stars - who, even under a flag of truce, is scheming for advantage in this part of the Galaxy.

The Leary series is very similar to the John Grimes series of stories produced by A. Bertram Chandler in the 60's/70's/80's (albiet a bit more sophisticated, and technologically up-to-date). Indeed, it is apparent that Drake gives homage to Chandler, by naming the Captain of the rival Alliance ship "Captain Bertram".

I found this book to be more interesting than the last one in the series, as there is much more variety... with a huge bar room brawl/riot, a dragon-like alien hunt, varied sexual escapades, along with the usual melees and space battles.

One nitpick... The author does a good job of describing Mundy's ability to control the RF frequency domain; but when he mentions actual frequencies, he is not dealing with reality... 15 KiloHertz for a base frequency is barely above audio frequencies - and couldn't be used to pass gas, let alone a complicated "program", as was described in Chapter 19... even 15 MegaHertz would be low and inappropriate for this work - try 151.820Mhz, or 15 Ghz next time.

The Far Side of the Stars, with it's rather obvious take on Aubrey-Maturin in both title and its characters, is an intriguing read, something that gives a certain feel of nostalgia for the previous canon, but spins in itself a world of its own.

In general, the characters are familiar, both when introduced in the first RCN book and now into this third volume. I very much enjoyed the characterization of Leary and Mundy, though they do seem a bit familiar to a fan of O'Brian's work, they also have a life of their own and as far as I'm concerned seeing a friendship of their sort is very much an enjoyable thing to read.

The plot of the book is again derivitive but fresh in that it takes a set of old ideas and puts them into an interesting setting. I do think the tree was a bit contrieved and the redemption of the ex-RCN officers a bit too pat, but that's a minor quibble compared to the generally interesting book.

Perhaps most is that I enjoyed reading the book as it reminded me so much of O'Brian's masterpiece series, the supporting cast, the personalities the general prose and feel were all very similar, and I guess perhaps it might be an acquired taste, but one that is exquisite once it is...

The Republic of Cinnebar and the Alliance are at peace which means changing swords into plows and leaving some folks out of work as the war provided them employment. With his warship the Princess Cecile mothballed, Lieutenant Daniel Leary and Signals Officer Adele Mundy are two of those legendary heroes seeking jobs. So when Count Kimov and his wife Valentina decide to hunt for exotic prey in the Galactic North they buy the mothballed Princess Cecile and hire Leary and crew to escort them there.

However, just because an armistice has been signed, peace is not everywhere. Soon Leary and company are struggling with deadly dragons and a treacherous Alliance battle fleet ready to destroy Cinnebar and kill anyone who might give away the deceitful plan of preemptive first strike. However, besides a star war at a level not seen before, it is the Oracle that frightens Leary the most.

The Republic of Cinnebar tales are some of the best space opera novels in recent years. The latest one, THE FAR SIDE OF THE STARS, is a delightful tale that starts by showing what happens to old soldiers whose glory time looks over, but quickly spins into an action-packed, faster then the speed of light war of the worlds' tale. Leary is a great protagonist who is a fish out of water when peace exists throughout the galaxy, but in a hostile life threatening environs, his true grit is that he is the outer space John Wayne. David Drake entertains the troops with this wild ride.

Harriet Klausner

Though I feel that the female lead is somewhat uncaring of the lower classes, more than she should be if she lived as one for years, I still feel the book is agood read.