Flagship (Starship, Book 5) [Hardcover]

Mike Resnick (Author)

Book Description

Series: Starship | Publication Date: December 22, 2009

The date is 1970 of the Galactic Era, almost three thousand years from now, and the Republic, created by the human race but not yet dominated by it, finds itself in an all-out war against the Teroni Federation, an alliance of races that resent Man's growing military and economic power. The rebel starship, the Theodore Roosevelt, under the command of Wilson Cole, is preparing to lead Cole's ragtag armada into the Republic, even though he is outnumbered thousands to one. Cole is convinced that the government has become an arrogant and unfeeling political entity and must be overthrown. The trick is to avoid armed conflict with the vast array of ships, numbering in the millions, in the Republic's Navy. For a time Cole's forces strike from cover and race off to safety, but he soon sees that is no way to conquer the mightiest political and military machine in the history of the galaxy. He realises that he must reach Deluros VIII, the headquarters world of the Republic (and of the race of Man), in order to have any effect on the government at all - but Deluros VIII is the best-protected world in the Republic. But a new threat looms on the horizon. Cole, the Valkyrie, David Copperfield, Sharon Blacksmith, Jacovic, and the rest of the crew of the Teddy R face their greatest challenge yet, and the outcome will determine the fate of the entire galaxy.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Hugo-winner Resnick sets his fifth Starship novel, a classic sprawling space opera, in the vast Birthright universe. Newcomers would probably prefer having the informative appendix shifted to a prologue, but even those who skip ahead will find themselves drawn in by the valiant struggle waged by Wilson Cole and his motley assortment of allies (including an alien convinced he is the real David Copperfield, and an eight-handed criminal kingpin) against the nameless interstellar Republic. The odds are appropriately daunting: while their foes have three and a half million ships, Cole can only muster about 800, forcing the rebel leader to rely on his wits rather than strength to prevail. The cleverness of his schemes and the interesting political struggles will remind genre TV fans of Babylon 5. The only real flaw is a rather contrived conclusion. (Dec.)
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From Booklist

Wilson Cole heads a vastly outnumbered, largely out-gunned armada of rebels, and Teddy R, his ship, is wanted across the galaxy. He is absolutely convinced that the Republic is hopelessly corrupt, or at least its top politicians are, and that somehow he must overthrow it/them. His people can’t afford armed conflict, so he wages a brilliant war of propaganda and trickery. Of course, in order to make sure it has the correct effect, he must get to Deluros VIII, capital of the Republic, and deal with the politicos himself. When he and his loyal crew, understandably a bit concerned about his mysterious plans as they travel closer to the heart of the Republic, reach the Deluros system, there’s another threat to deal with, which means that events take an entirely unexpected turn. Cole thinks well on his feet, though, and turns the tables quite nicely. Fun, fast-paced, laced with a satisfying amount of moral quandary, Cole and crew’s adventures in rebellion constitute excellent entertainment. --Regina Schroeder

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 335 pages
• Publisher: Pyr (December 22, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591027888
• ISBN-13: 978-1591027881
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #425,447 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Unbelievable, July 1, 2010

By 

Don E. Wheeler, MD - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Flagship (Starship, Book 5) (Kindle Edition)

If you were to read books of the "Starship" series one-after-the-other, you would find a tremendous about of repeated material -- themes, expressions, situations, even paragraphs lifted from one book and pasted into a later one. Indeed, if I had a nickel for every time the captain wished he had 50 'Vals' so that he could conquer the Republic . . . Well, you get my drift.

The last book, "Flagship" is so unbelievable it's pitiful. A Republic with 60,000 inhabited planets has a central administrative world that can be take by surprise by not just one, but two different small military forces is a nonsense.

I really am sorry I bought the last two books, especially for the price they are offered as kindle books. I would recommend other readers find other examples of space opera to follow, and abandon this one.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Shame on me, May 23, 2010

By 

Gary Gibson "gibsong" (Sydney, New South Wales Australia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Flagship (Starship, Book 5) (Hardcover)

Deus ex machina

Latin for "god from the machine"; is a plot device whereby a seemingly inextricable problem is suddenly and abruptly solved with the contrived and unexpected intervention of some new character, ability, or object.

Never mind the plot inconsistencies and the poor character development, the real kicker in this book was the incredibly contrived plot device to wrap up the series. The coincidental timing of the attack by the previously unknown aliens was just dreadful.

Now, I admit it. I read the whole series, mainly because they were light and fluffy, very easy to pick up and very easy to put down. White bread books really. I should have stopped after the first book, but I like to give an author more than one book, plus, the good reviews fooled me and led me on. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice (or five times), shame on me. Never again shall I read one of your books Mr. Resnick.

Try reading the Lost Fleet series by Jack Campbell instead.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nicely done sci-fi fiction, January 2, 2010

By 

W. Free (VA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Flagship (Starship, Book 5) (Hardcover)

First off - I have never read any of Mike Resnick's works, whether a part of the Starship series or anything else. And it appears I have jumped into the series after 4 other books with this cast of characters have been written. That's what you get for grabbing something on a whim from the county library.

With that said, I found this to be an enjoyable read. It wasn't too heavy, and even the backstory on the relationships between the characters was easy to pick up on. There was just enough there (in case you hadn't read the preceding books), but it certainly didn't dwell on establishing the backstory. But this wasn't some lightweight collection of prose that the author dashed out. It is well-thought out and, to my mind at least, logical.

The story moved at a decent pace, and I really do not recall any sections that seemed to stall out. The overall storyline flowed pretty smoothly and transitioned between sections well. It's clear that Mr. Resnick has experience writing (and probably a good editor to team with) to make this book accessible to someone like me (who hasn't read anything else) and still satisfy those who follow his work (like the other 2 reviews so far).

I'd recommend this book to any fan of science fiction, particularly if you like the military sci-fi side of things. I will probably go back and try to read the preceding books in this series.