The Rising (The Flight Engineer Volume 1) [Hardcover]

S. M. Stirling (Author), David B. Mattingly (Illustrator), James Doohan (Collaborator)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1996

The first Ace pilot in the war against the secessionist Mollies, Peter Raeder loses his hand in battle and must face pirate raiders and his predecessor's betrayer in order to claim a new position aboard the Invincible.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The commercial hook to this novel, which launches not only the new line of Baen Starline titles and the line's first series, is that it also launches the fiction career of Doohan?whom most readers will recognize, if not by his name, then by his picture splashed across the novel's dust jacket. For Doohan is "Scotty" of Star Trek fame. Here, collaborating with veteran military SF writer Stirling (Drakon), he offers a far future in which the interplanetary Commonwealth is beset by Mollies, an offshoot group of religious fanatics, and their alien-anthropod allies, the Fibians. The primary object of contention is antihydrogen, used to fuel interplanetary ships. The novel introduces the series' major characters.There's Flight Engineer Peter Raeder (he of the "black-Irish good looks"), who's a Heinleinian hero, independent and competent yet neither mean nor humorless; offputting but hyperefficient Second Lieutenant Cynthia Robbins; and engineering chief Paddy Casey from New Hibernia. It also sets the stage for future volumes, offering plenty of high-tech action for fans of SF adventure, as well as a modestly satisfying central mystery that Raeder is assigned to solve. This isn't great SF, but Trekkies are likely to beam it up right off the bookstore shelves. Author tour.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 377 pages
• Publisher: Baen Books; 1ST edition (November 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671877585
• ISBN-13: 978-0671877583
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,080,599 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Space opera -- not!, April 19, 2000

By 

Ken Coar "Rodent of Unusual Size" (in 1.0 AU Solar orbit) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Rising (Volume 1 of the Flight Engineer - Star Trek's Scotty) (Mass Market Paperback)

Good SF from an actor is not what I expected. I picked up the book in an airport just for old times' sake, and was more than pleasantly surprised. The technology is believable, the situations and conflicts well-described, the flow from scene to scene is smooth, scene changes don't leave you teetering and feeling dissatisfied, and the character development is quite good. While Shatner's Tek novels clearly show the influence of his mentor (Ron Goulart), Doohan has outdone him in establishing a unique 'voice.' Stirling's expertise at depicting elements of conflict meshes indistinguishably. If you're an SF reader, and/or a Trekkie, this book is outstanding and well worth it. It stands well alone, so you needn't get the next in the series to achieve a sense of closure.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Clean, technical, and humorous, accurate, well written, September 12, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Dallas, Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Rising (The Flight Engineer Volume 1) (Hardcover)

"The Rising" has a good story line, and contains the humor which is one aspect of the draw of the original "Star Trek" line. This is not one of those non-technical "science-fantasies" but will rivet the book to the hands of the most technically oriented. Also like the original series it has a people side to it and it has lessons on leadership. And as a special bonus, it's morally clean! No sex scenes and only 4 or 5 "cuss" words, and all of them quite appropriate for the situation. I can recommend this to my children as well as adults with a clear conscience. Yet the book is quite enjoyable - why can't other authors do this??!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Review, March 31, 2004

By 

David G Cartwright (England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Rising (The Flight Engineer, Book 1) (Hardcover)

First of all something to congratulate the author with is it has nicely escaped the Star Trek genre. It is not just another romp through the galaxy USS Enterprise story, not that there is anything wrong with those.
This book drops the reader into the life of ex-pilot turned Flight Engineer Peter Raeder as he leaves his flying days behind him and ventures onto the deck of a spick and span state of the art spaceship. However all is not well, a lot happens in this story with several plot lines and sub plots. From intergalactic wars right down to the quirkiness of Raeders subordinates it feels like a real, plausible environment.
Of course no SF story is complete without science, luckily this book does not drown us in techno babble. The science is believable and doesn't distract the reader from the story.
Another thing that I enjoyed about this book is it is not a perfect place. Even on the "good guys" side not everything is well. Space Command has its fair share of incompetence and blundering bureaucracy, which gives rough edges to the futuristic world. It is good to see some things never change.
The camaraderie and relationships, and especially Raeders own thoughts about the people he knows give an interesting insight in his world. A well-rounded novel, however one complaint that the demise of Larkin at the end of the novel is somewhat of an anti-climax, but it is hardly a major spoiler.