Customer Reviews

Pirates of Rosinante

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

 

 

Read the first two books (Long Shot for Rosinante, Revolution from Rosinante) before you read Pirates if you want to understand all the acronyms and political parties present in the novel. However, it is probably one of the best sci-fi novels I've read that deals with the future: Asteroid mining, artificial intelligences, warfare in space. Truly the product of a intelligent writer. This novel is best for people who are looking for something that isn't quite so mainstream, the same rehashed plot devices, technology, etc. Gilliland also demonstrates some interesting bits of engineering feats that will come in handy for any asteroid miner. In short, if you love sci-fi that might become science fact, this is your book.

This almost unknown book is a great mix of politics and the military where even techno-talk takes back stage. Truly close to the hard science level, with little to no explanations for the things you're to take for granted. I found it to be extremely hard to not finish this book soon after I began reading it. When one group of space inhabitance goes it alone and has to survive they find them selves on the edge of a blade with one hope to beat the clock. My true enjoyment is so closely related to the ending that I can really only say; The world they leave behind can never recover from what they get done.

This is the concluding volume of a science fiction trilogy about a space colony called Mundito Rosinante. It's fairly standard Space Opera fare.

The full trilogy consists of

1) The Revolution from Rosinante
2) Long Shot for Rosinante
3) The Pirates of Rosinante

Probably best read as part of the trilogy: some of the events in the book and motivation of some of the human and computer characters in "The Pirates of Rosinante" does not mean a great deal if you have not read the previous books in the series.

These books were written in the late 70's to early 80s, and set sixty years later in a future where a "North American Union combining the USA, Canada, Mexico and Cuba had been set up between 2004 and 2005. This federation had built a large space navy and colonies in various parts of the solar system but become repressive following an alleged attempted coup in 2033 and begun to collapse in 2039 with the secession of Mexico.

The habitat of Mundito Rosinante consists of two rotating cylinders, each 7 kilometers in diameter and 50 km in length, at the location of two small asteroids, Rosinante and Don Quixote, in an elliptical orbit which takes them from just outside the orbit of Mars to just inside that of Ceres. In the earlier books the colonists at Rosinante built a huge laser array and seceded from the North America Union on 22nd January 2042. The head of the North American Union, William Hulvey, resigned shortly afterwards.

The action of this book starts on 25th January 2042. A squabbling group of mutinous North American warships, the "Old Regimist Squadron" decide to join Rosinante, thus providing the newly independent colony with a fleet - and with a group of political dissidents, as the ORS contains several political parties, some of which only escape being hilariously funny by being sadistically brutal, and not all of which are happy with the move to Rosinante.

And meanwhile the Japanese government, who have previous history with respect of Rosinante, have nefarious plans for the colony's future ...

I can't get as excited about this book as some other reviewers. Quality of the plot, writing and humour is average for a space opera - it's OK but it was never going to win a Hugo or Nebula award.

Elements in the story include political intrigues which vary from the involved to the ludicrous, intelligent computers, dramatic action including hostage taking and space battles against evil and sadistic bad guys.

There is a fair amount of very crude language in the book and this combined with fairly explicit discriptions of the sexual sadism of one of the main villains in the book mean that I could not recommend it as suitable reading for children or anyone squeamish.

Bottom line - three stars. Might interest you for an hour or so if you like Space Opera.