Galaxy Blues (Hardcover)

by Allen Steele (Author) "The narrative begins . . . our protagonist leaves Earth, in a rather illicit manner . . . subterfuge and the art of baseball. ..." (more)
Key Phrases: hisher voice, hisher head, hisher eyes, Prime Emissary, Loose Lucy, Morgan Goldstein (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
This grand interstellar adventure exemplifies Hugo-winner Steele's skill with near-future tech and struggle with human interactions. Kicked out of the Western Hemisphere Union Astronautica space fleet, 20-ish Jules Truffaut cleverly stows away on the Robert E. Lee, bound for the Coyote Federation, where he intends to defect. Circumstances force him to accept a mysterious job as shuttle pilot for billionaire Morgan Goldstein, who's plotting to corner trade with the alien hjadd. Steele (Spindrift) makes in-flight technicalities almost tangible, and he equips his hissing, grunting, slithering aliens with convincing motivations. He's less adept at portraying the human crew who accompany Truffaut to a vast space city, where the interstellar coalition called the Talus must decide whether to allow humans to join. Subplots such as Jules's attraction to sexy crew member Rain Thompson and Goldstein's predictable big-boss machinations are tepid, even stereotypical, but a rousing climax rescues the crew and the novel from boredom. (Apr.)
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From Booklist
In Steele’s new Coyote-universe yarn, spaceman Jules Truffaut has been grounded, unjustly, he feels. So he stows away on a starship to Coyote, arriving via a crash landing in a stolen lifeboat. To avoid deportation back to Earth and prison, he joins an expedition to the aliens of Rho Coronae Borealis, with whom a swashbuckling billionaire wants to establish trade relations. Managing to offend aliens and employers alike, Truffaut is tapped to pilot a mission to a rampaging black hole. Truffaut’s bad luck rouses speculation about his competence, but his determination and lack of self-pity make him a pleasure to tag along with. --Roland Green

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Ace Hardcover; First Edition edition (April 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0441015646
• ISBN-13: 978-0441015641
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #223,291 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars GOOD BUT HE'S DONE MUCH BETTER, December 21, 2008

By	corey (south carolina, orangeburg) - See all my reviews

if you've never read an allen steele book, please don't start with this one. he really is a great writer, but unfortunately this book doesn't quite showcase this. the plot is rather thin, the characters don't have as nearly as much depth as the ones he usually creates. i read it in a day and i've already forgotten the main character. still a big fan of allen steele though, and look forward to better writing in the future.

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, April 20, 2009

By	LT "Sci Fi fan" (Fayetteville, NC USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Galaxy Blues (Paperback)

Not up to the author's usual standards.
First the good points. This is an easy to read book. It flows well. It is a good book to read while spending the day in airports - it passes the time and does not distract or compel one with plot or sterling characters or such. Sort of a "B" movie book.
Now to why this was a disappointment. This author is a story teller. He is the sort that could take a day in the office and turn it into a riveting tale. His character development and story setup are superb. Usually. Not here.
Jules, main character, is allegedly the product of excellent military training and background. Yet the character acts more like a teenage drama queen. It is evident the character has never developed the habits of command or discipline. His reaction to authority is displaying juvenile 'attitude' at best. This bloke has never been subject to a military environment and this is a serious lapse for this author.
The mission commander has never commanded before from the very stereotype actions and reactions. Given that this is a dude (and his wife) who has actually lived with the aliens they were pretty ignorant in dealing with them. Given their also supposed military background they provided no sort of a mission brief or prep. Just not typical of professionals at the level they should be at.
Come on, hiring someone who did not even know how to don a space suit properly with no pre-mission training? I will buy the politics of hiring powerful folks girl who has no experience - but the lack of training or oversight is criminal. Sorry, I live and work with military professionals and such actions just do not run true.
Let me pull up short here as I am just running on due to being disappointed in this book. In summary, the mind reader is the most believable character. The rich guy's character is as substantial as smoke. The pilot, don't go there as that character is soooo poorly built. Etc. Maybe this was supposed to be a book for the teen age audience?
In short, the expected believable characters and development of these is lacking in this book. The sense of the author 'spinning a tale' is absent.
Do not give up on the author for this book. No one is perfect and his track record is pretty impressive till this clunker. And it an easy to read book for a clunker.
If this is the first book you have read by this author, try another before X'ing him from your read list.

1.0 out of 5 stars Vertigo, January 25, 2009

By	Traveller "Where in the world are you today?" (Seattle, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Galaxy Blues (Hardcover)

Vertigo is the feeling that ensues when you happen to read not only the best book you've devoured in 5 years but also the worst one in less than two days time.

"Galaxy Blues" is awful. I'd love to be able to sue the publisher to get the time of my life that I wasted on it back.

The story is puerile. A quick summary: Folksy Guy. Tricksy Aliens. Let's outrace the black hole! "You stink, alien". Everybody is happy and maybe gets to, hmm, you know, kiss a girl (giggle).