The Helmsman (The Helmsman, 1) [Hardcover]

Bill Baldwin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 26, 2003 | Series: The Helmsman, 1

Book # 2 in the best selling Helmsman saga! Ursis nodded soberly out the Hyperscreens toward the merchant ships, then turned to Brim. "Out there, Wilf Ansor," he brooded, "are real heroes of war. To fight from behind disruptors of warship is something anyone can do. One can always count on lucky shooting to save him from disaster—or heavy armor plate at least. But to face enemy with only black void and thin sheet of hullmetal separating you from disruptors—and then stay in formation—that is kind of bravery we Sodeskayans record in Great Books."

Editorial Reviews

Review

"... The series should reach best selling status once again. ...The battle action is tremendous and the characters well defined." -- Midwest Book Review

"A fun tale.... There’s a nice, understated romance that Rafael Sabatini would have been proud of." -- Henry L Lazarus, Philadelphia Weekly Press/University City Review

"What fun reading. I thoroughly enjoyed the characters, relationships and the battles." -- Marsha Barker, Northeast Texas Library System --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

About the Author

Bill Baldwin is the author of the bestselling Helmsman series and Canby’s Legion. He is a graduate of The Mercersburg Academy and the University of Pittsburgh, where he earned a B.A. in Journalism and a Master of Letters degree. He served as a Lieutenant at the U.S. Air Force Missile Test Center, Foreign Technology Division, Cape Canaveral, Florida, supporting Project Mercury as Chief of the Reports Division. Later, Baldwin served as a contractor for the NASA Manned Spacecraft Center.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 316 pages
• Publisher: Timberwolf Press; 2 Rev Upd edition (July 26, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1587521504
• ISBN-13: 978-1587521508
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #594,391 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great sci-fi tale, November 18, 2003

By 

Todd Hunter (Wichita, KS) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Helmsman (The Helmsman, 1) (Hardcover)

I was a bit hesitant, after reading most of the first chapter, because it seemed like there was a ton of really "heavy" description of stuff, and it was starting to bog down.

But I continued reading, and I was glad I did. Though the "heavy" descriptions may not get any lighter, the pace definitely picks up to a good level. This book is an excellent sci-fi tale, with interesting (not to mention fun) characters, a terrific plot (except for at least one point which I'll bring up later), and an ending which makes you want to read the next book in the series (which I want to).

There was a slight disturbance for me with the relationship between the main character (Wilf Brim) and his love interest. The fact that she decides to continue on with her arranged marriage to another man, and keep Brim around `on the side' seemed to rub me the wrong way. The marriage didn't happen in this book, though, so there's always hope things will turn out for the best.

Plenty of action, a little romance thrown in, and plenty of cool technologies to marvel over make this book a good one in my opinion. I enjoyed it thoroughly, and I believe you will too.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Rollicking GOOD Time!!!!, October 13, 2003

By 

B. Heite "nickursis" (Falls City, OR United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Helmsman (The Helmsman, 1) (Hardcover)

This book is the start of a classic, fun, SCI-FI series that you will not regret reading. The Directors cut is worth every bit for its quality, printing and layout. The story is as fun as ever, and is one of those fun books that you can read and reread again and again. It is a lot like the stories of the late Robert Heinlein, in the lines of "The Rolling Stones" and "Starship Troopers". By the time you finish, you will find you do care what happens to Wilf Ansor Brim, will he get the Princess Margot, and what will happen in the Galactic war? The story loosely follows WW1/WW2 history, with many of the grand battles, long deployments, and special missions. It has a lot of the elements of fun and adventure, where Wilf meets up with characters from every spectrum, and beats the odds. Bill Baldwin has created a wonderfully fun series, which ages well, and is well worth the investment. Give it to your kids to read, and get them hooked on reading by having fun, and going back to the days when SCI-FI was an adventure, and not always hooked on deep technical accuracy to explain everything. In the Wilf Brim universe, starships travel faster than light because they can, and Bear like people have replaced Scotty as the ever present "fix it" engineers. Get it, and have fun!!! ...

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Helmsman, August 22, 2003

By 

"ajpandolfi2" (fla) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Helmsman (The Helmsman, 1) (Hardcover)

I picked this book up a little over 20 years ago. I was working a night shift and once I started reading this story I just couldn't put it down. From the very first you can't help but Cheer Wilf Brim on. As you get drawn in to the story you find yourself wanting to fight his battles with him. As Brim flies his way to glory he builds respect and friends in his travels and the respect of the royal family who see his as the greatest weapon in their fight against a tyrant bent on controling the galaxy at any cost. Be warned once you start reading you'll be on the edge of your seat. The rest of this series will hold you captive from book to book and thankfully the next in the series is almost here and all I can say is it has been a long wait.