Customer Reviews

Swarm (Star Force Series)

5 star:		(212)
4 star:		(74)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(17)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

I have been reading science fiction for half a century. I read Robert Heinlein and Isaac Asimov in first edition. In all the years that have passed I have never before read a book that I would realistically compare with Heinlein. Now I have. When you pick up this book, physically or digitally, be prepared to be unwilling to put it down until you finish it!

Swarm is just sufficiently full of true science and seasoned just enough with fiction to pass muster as something Heinlein would have written. Joe average is quite literally yanked out of his calm, pleasant life and forced into a life or death situation not only for himself but for all of humanity. In classic science fiction commonly the protagonist was an egg-head who was fully up to date on the newest radio technology, in this case a computer science professor has to shoulder the responsibility of saving the world.

Heinlein was convinced that a well-educated American engineer or scientist could take on the most advanced tyrants in the universe. More, he was convinced that given a hint of whatever was behind the technology of that tyrant, American academics and engineers could reproduce and even better it. His optimistic view was overshadowed by the post-apocalyptic mood that seemed to grip scifi writers in the waning years of the 20th century. B.V. Larson has recaptured that indomitable spirit exemplified by Heinlein that sees the best of American scientific culture and the self sacrificing nature and courage of professional soldiers as a force that makes humanity far too much to chew for any alien invader.

The highest complement I can give is due this book. I squirmed with the lead character as he faced the death of his family and again and again the horror of total war. In the end though Larson make me feel good to be an American and a human being. I ache to read the next in what I sincerely hope is a long series.

Having read a number of books now from this author, I felt safe in just grabbing this one without reading the synopsis or the reviews. My faith was justified as this turned out to be a great book. A real page turner. I sat down and read it in an afternoon and was left wanting more. Larson states that he may turn it into a series if it does well enough. I hope it does!

Great escape reading. I love a book that has you cheering for the individual. Well written, with good character development. There is enough time spent on the main character in the begining to invest you in rooting for his survival.

As there is little swearing or graphic sex, this book would also be appropriate for teens.

I was surprised to find that I did not like this book, given the overwhelmingly positive reviews. I've concurrently purchased and read quite a few of the other similarly priced indie sci-fi ebooks written at the same time, and I enjoyed all of them, and found them almost all high quality, well written, and entertaining. However, this one was the one that I felt underperformed by a fair margin - even given the low price ($2.99)

The book is fast-paced, but at great cost to the characters. As an adult reader, I found none of them believable - they all seemed to me oversimplified caricatures of a teenage boy's fantasy reality. This is coming from a reader who loves action, no less.

In particular, I found the protagonist's development completely unrealistic. A schoolteacher by background, becomes a military genius on his very first battle, manages to forget the graphic deaths of his two kids within days, and is found busily carousing intimately with a too-conveniently placed naked early 20s female sidekick in that time. This oversimplified character and plot development is so cliche and unoriginal that I thought only kids would be able to overlook it. The descriptions of the female sidekick pretty much sum up the level of writing in this book - in the midst of a high-tension, life-or-death scenario, generous wording is given to pay particular attention to her shapely form, state of undress, and appealing features. Oh yes, and she's naked pretty much the entire first few days they're together. Seriously? This sort of writing is straight out of a low-budget "B Movie" script - it was a shock to me to encounter such banality in sci-fi book.

The rest of the book is also greatly oversimplified for a fan of hard science fiction. If you like reading stories with detailed, unexpected and deep twists, this definitely is not one of them - I could predict every encounter and the outcome way before it even happened. I'm doubly surprised so many reviewers here found the "challenges" imaginative. When the key idea of the protagonist is to repulse an alien attack with no more complexity than aiming all your weapons at one spot instead of all over the place, I'm not impressed. (That was the main strategy for the initial few encounters, and is responsible for major successes!) I'm not expecting something as original and well done as "Ender's Game" here, but I was beyond underwhelmed with the military strategy demonstrated in this book.

I suspect I would have enjoyed this a lot more as a 13 year old male with little experience with hard scifi and the reality and complexity of adult human interaction. But let me be absolutely clear here - this is not even close to what the old masters of scifi (Asimov, Clarke, Heinlein, etc.) would produce in terms of quality, despite what some other reviewers have implied. One idea in a single sentence from those authors has more depth and complexity than anything found in this work.

This book is pretty much one of the best bargains on the kindle store right now for anyone, and I mean ANYONE who loves sci fi.

The opening chapters are engrossing, and the plot development and resolution are flat out amazing. It's rare for me to try a new author without any recommendations, but after picking up this book I can safely say that Mr. Larson is now on my "Gotta read" list.

The price is a bargain for what you get, which is not only a self contained story that is very well written, but also a terrific lead in to a new series.

Grab it, it's amazing, and you won't be let down by it.

This book surely has some nice concepts and ideas (like for example the way the main figure solves this certain problem of lacking a real screen or some kind of visual output as we are used to).

Nevertheless, it really seemed like a book written for a younger public (but still above 16 I would suppose).
By this, I mean that it lacks the depth, details, plot twists and the genuine feel of a real good SF novel.

It's difficult to pinpoint, but I really feel that there are some really awkward turns in the story; not the mention the entire mood of the narrator (the main character telling about his horrible "abduction").

It rather feels like some kind of short story for use in some SF Omnibus:
And it sure uses some fairly old ideas (like in the older works of Heinlein or Ron Hobbard I'd venture...).

*** Possible SPOILER ALERT ***
People are abducted and then subjected to horrible and (most often) very fatal tests (alien abduction theme)
The survivors will then attack some unknown foe ("We want brains" ... not for food, but to take decisions...)
The main hero's kids both die horribly right at the beginning, but he's still capable of going on like nothing's ever happened (No need to worry...).
Inevitably, there's also some very cute (naked) girl (the sidekick!)...
And last but no least: a group of strangers bombard themselves to some kind of government or group of space marines....

Generally, it lacks some depth (like some other comments already mentioned), it feels written in a hurry at some points, but generally it still makes for some very acceptable reading:
I would recommend to view it like reading a "good-price" pocket book while on vacation.
Also, it is important to note that the price indeed reflects this: it won't break the bank.

Perhaps I was expecting too much after reading some SF Space Opera spanning several volumes...
So you have to consider that it's indeed entertaining for being a stand-alone book.
Although I'm not sure it would really make it as the first book of some new space-saga.


Pascal P.


EDIT:
I upgraded to 3 stars because I got a comment (from Murphy Mac) asking why I gave only 2 stars for something I myself called entertaining. And since I indeed agree with his comment and because I myself think that I underrated this novel... let's add a star and elevate it to a more correct 3 stars.

REMARK:
Indeed, it is not bad at all.
Only, for me personally (and given I already said I preferred to read "space saga" stories) it did not rate very high.
Still, I have to say that it's quite an enjoyable read for a standalone novel !

When I bought this book, I was looking for cheap fiction. But Swarm turned out to be much more of what I was expecting. It begins with dark and stunning action, and then follows with a complex an intriguing plot, that keeps you reading late in the night. The style is straight and personal, and you feel intimate with the protagonist pretty soon.
A strong and memorable reading, by all accounts, and not less than other more expensive books. I would definitely pick up another one of this same author instead of one of say, S. King.

I really enjoyed Swarm and it is up there with my favorite sci fi. It is just one enjoyable read that is packed with logic, creativity and emotional distress.

This book has such practical ideas for today. This book gives us the hope that nanotechnology can be a great technological force for both the military and the medical community.

The biggest take home message is that if you can clear your head of emotional baggage, you can think your way out of most any dire situation.

This enjoyable book has a lot of life lessons. I will read the whole series.

Evan L. Lipkis MD

Swarm is one of those books you'll fall asleep reading it's so hard to stop. I read this in under a week and shall, as soon as I've finished this review, purchase the next in the 'series'.
A definite must for sci-fi fans.

I only recently started reading Mr. Larsons books and I am glad I did, i find myself taken back to when sci-fi left a lingering, stirring feel in me, something most material these days, fails to do.

The first book I read was Velocity and I thoroughly recommend reading that, if you haven't already, I had difficulty putting that book down. I then grabbed more of his work, swarm, mech etc.. and whilst this is only the second book of his that I have read, I have a feeling I'm going to have a great time reading every single word this author has ever put in print.

The beauty of Larson is that he doesn't just write a story, he sits down next to you, hands you a nice hot coffee, throws an arm over your shoulder, and tells you a tale that you wont, or should I say, you can't get bored with.

I would gladly recommend this book and the author who wrote it to anyone that is sick and tired of the recycled garbage that a lot of new books seem to be filled with these days.