Customer Reviews

Starswarm (Library Edition)

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The "Jupiter Series" was started by Jerry Pournelle and Charles Sheffield in "Higher Education," and that first novel is still the best book in the series. Several others have been written by Sheffield solo, and they're all worth reading. I wish the two would get together and write a sequel using the first novel's characters, since we were left with the implication that such was coming. "Starswarm" is Pournelle going at it alone, and like many of his solo novels, they're good, but not as good as his collaborations. Like Larry Niven in recent years, Pournelle and another writer together prove the whole is greater than the parts. In this one, Pournelle creates a very interesting alien, a series of exciting and escalating conflicts, and a creditable resolution. My one quibble with him is that I doubt the kids centuries from now are still going to be playing "Warcraft" as their video game of choice. If you like science fiction, have fond memories of reading Robert Heinlein's juveniles, or are a young reader looking for more of the "Jupiter Series," "Starswarm" won't disappoint.

In his introduction to Starswarm Jerry Pournelle pays tribute to Robert Heinlein, as an inspiration when Pournelle was an adolescent reader and science student; and later as a mentor and friend. I will pay tribute to Pournelle: Starwarm could have been a Heinlein book. All of the elements of vintage Heinlein are there: the young protagonist who is different from his peers, the science that is out-of-reach for now, but conceivable for tomorrow. I have always enjoyed Pournelle as a writer in his own right. After reading this introduction, as I read Starwarm I remembered Citizen of the Galaxy and The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. I have missed science-based science fiction a la Robert Heinlein and enjoyed finding it again in Starswarm.

It has been a while since I read this book for the 3rd time but I still remember it well. I know that www.jerrypournelle.com has commented on it a few times that he was intending to write a Heinlein juvenile book. Well, he suceeded !

Great read, great concept and excellent flow. The first time that I read the book I could not put it down until I finished it at 4 am (much to my wife's displeasure !).

Starswarm is a great read from Jerry Pournelle. The book is about a kid named Kip who is living many years ahead of our present time. One of the living stations outside of earth is Starswarm Station, a research facility on planet Paradise. For as long as Kip has known, there has been a voice in his head - and he is not imagining things.
The voice can access virtually anything digital such as information and money. Kip has always used the voice to think - as it could answer any question. In time, Kip begins to search for his own answers to his mind-boggling guide. When he finds out the essence of Starswarm Station and everyone on it including himself is in danger, he has to do something.
I gave this book a rating of four stars because it was a page turning, suspense building mastermind of good writing. I also chose the rating because I was able to connect to this book on a personal level given that Kip is a young adult like myself. My final cause for this rating was the book's ending. The suspense and thrill of the incisive adventure was mind-blowing.

Starswarm is one of my favorite books. It is the story of a boy with a computer chip implanted in his head. The chip keeps him company and helps him with homework. But as he gets older, and finds out new things about the chip and who put it there, he is caught in a thrilling adventure that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

I think the Heinlein book others have referred to while discussing this book is actually, "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress", not "Citizen of the Galaxy"... and there ARE many similarities to TMIAHM (One of Heinlein's BEST IMO).

MANY of us grew up on Heinlein,. There's "young Heinlein" (directed mostly at kids, about kids).. and there's the "Older Heinlein" that is more adult oriented.

However, the genius in Pournelle's work is that he knows "people".

MANY of us that actually grew up to be Professional Engineers (and such) remember "Young Heinlein" and we went back to re-read those books as adults at some point, and then we are kind of disappointed at how "young an audience" those books were actually written for. Pournelle has taken a "Young Heinlein TYPE" of story, and written it for Adults. NO ONE likes thinking about their favorite TYPES of stories being "For kids"... Pournelle has bridged the gap.. many have tried to do it over the years (probably without knowing themselves what they were trying to do), but Pournelle has actually DONE IT (and probably KNOWS he did it).

***** Kudos Pournelle!!!! I'd give it 5 stars, except it's not "the book I judge all others by" (Richard K. Morgan's "Takeshi Kovacs" series)... however, I've already sold 8 more friends on buying it to read (or listen to)... It's that good.

There's just no GOOD way to explain the essence of the story itself except to say, "it's the Heinlein-type book you THOUGHT you were going back to re-read as an adult". *****

Reviewed by Trip Williams for Huntress Reviews.

In his foreword, Jerry Pournelle pays homage to the late great Robert Heinlein and the "juvenile" science fiction books that hooked so many into the genre. I certainly remember them with fond affection before Heinlein turned his talent along other paths, and re-read them to this day.

Starswarm is indeed a book very much in the style of those books, complete with the adolescent protagonist, his loyal friends, adults of superior intelligence, ethics and ability, and of course a swag of strange creatures and a talking computer.

There are echoes of "Citizen of the Galaxy" here, as well as from any number of other Heinlein juveniles, but the plot is Pournelle's own, underscored with more computer knowledge than Heinlein ever had, and it is as compulsive a read as any of Pournelle's other books.

I enjoyed it immensely, and I highly recommend it to anyone who likes these "coming of age in the space age" novels.

An enjoyable read. Written as a juvenille, this one is fun for all ages. An obvious tribute to Heinlein, half the fun of this novel is picking out the links with the master's classic work like The Star Beast, Citizen of the Galaxy, Time for the Stars, and others. Yet this is an original novel, not a boring pastiche or faded copy of other works. It offers an excellent and original presentation of an alien life form/civilization, as well as an exciting plot. RAH would have loved it, and been glad to call it his own. One of the few works I've read to recapture the magic of the originals.

Avoiding William Gibson terms like "wet-wired", Starswarm explores one of the possibilities of marrying humans to silicon. As a young boy on a colonized planet, Kip discovers he can hear a voice in his head. He soon learns that he is communicating with a computer that seems to have keen interest in his well-being. The reader learns along with Kip why he has a computer chip implant and as the story progresses, there is action, betrayal, aliens, an underlying murder mystery and of course one of the good Dr. Pournelle's favorite themes: political intrigue. I enjoyed this book, my only complaint being that it ended abruptly. (Ah, darn! It's over?) It is a SF book of the "juvenile" genre, so it lacks the rich textures and detail of books like The Mote in God's Eye or Footfall, but the trade-off is that Starswarm can be read in a few hours. I recommend it if you are looking for a fun, easy read but still want some interesting ideas. I definitely recommend it for young readers, as my teen-age daughter found Starswarm on my desk, she pestered me to finish it claiming the first few pages had "hooked" her.

If you read through these reviews, you will see one comment after another comparing Starswarm to Heinlein's earlier works. Its an apt conclusion. Pournelle crafted a nice story here.

Primarily, the plot surrounds a young kid 'Kip', who is growing up in a distant outpost on an alien planet. He has one friend, a young girl about his age, and a voice that talks to him in his head. The outpost is situated next to an ancient 'Starswarm', a name used for a certain huge plant that lives on this planet.

The plot develops in a pretty straight forward manner. Nothing too unexpected occurs. Basically you have a swashbuckling tale. If your looking for a good book and want a very light enjoyable read, this would fit the bill.