Warhawk: Battlestar Galactica [Hardcover]

Richard Hatch (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1998

Battlestar Galactica: Warhawk continues the adventures of the "ragtag fleet" fleeing the evil Cylon Empire and its allies through the universe. In search of Earth, the Galactica crew comes across the Battlestar Pegasus, long thought lost in a conflict with the Cylons years ago. The crew of the Pegasus has establish a colony and is preparing for another battle against the Cylons. However, unknown to the colonials, the Cylons are on the verge of entering into an alliance with a new, and deadly, alien race.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Byron Preiss (September 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671011901
• ISBN-13: 978-0671011901
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,343,378 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Rip-Roaring Yarn Pits The Galactica Against Foe AND Friend, August 15, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Warhawk: Battlestar Galactica (Hardcover)

Richard Hatch and Chris Golden authored a splendid novel in Battlestar Galactica: Armageddon. But in its sequal, they manage to outdo themselves with a deft mixture of action, plot twists, and superb character interplay, all of which were in plentiful supply in Armageddon but fleshed out even more here.

Armageddon basically reintroduced the characters and premise of Battlestar Galactica. This being the case, that story had a minor drag to it; it was by no means a flaw, simply a minor drag. In Warhawk there is the advantage of familiarity, and the result is a faster paced story with more surprising twists.

The Galactica discovers a planet in the Xerik system, and to the surprise of Commander Apollo, Colonel Athena, and others, the planet is populated by survivors of the Twelve Colonies who had fled the Final Destruction at the hands of the Cylons during the chaotic period of time before the Galactica could assemble other survivors into its ragtag fleet of refugees. As if that weren't enough, this new human homeworld, known as Poseidon, is under the defense of the battlestar Pegasus, led by Commander Cain, both thought lost in the battle of Gomoray decades earlier.

But there's more. Poseidon has managed to create an industrial base with which it has built battlestars and battlecruisers. This small warfleet is the nucleus of what Cain intends to be the push that liberates the Twelve Worlds and overthrows the Cylon Empire once and for all. Apollo, Athena, and Quorom President Tigh vehemently point out that such a campaign is impossible, but Cain will not listen. Further, Cain has allied with an alien race known as the Chitain, whom he hopes will assist his mad scheme to overthrow Cylon.

But exploration by Apollo of Poseidon shows that it was once populated by elements of Kobol's Thirteenth Tribe. As he, Starbuck, and others explore further, they discover a horrifying secret as to what became of the planet's predecessor civilization, a secret tied directly to the Chitain.

The basic story is branched by several subplots, most notably the shocking autonomy held by the Great Traitor, Baltar, and his success at winning over converts to his story that he was forced by the Cylons to aid their cause rather than his having sided with them of his own volition.

The book is a winner in almost every respect. Only minor nits are evident to pick - the Cylon role in the story is unsatisfyingly minor - but they don't detract from an overall story that leaves the reader pleased and eagerly awaiting the inevitable third chapter of this new Battlestar Galactica continuity.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Richard Hatch admirably carries the Galactica torch, March 13, 2001

By 

John DiBello (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Warhawk: Battlestar Galactica (Hardcover)

One of my favorite quotes from TV's "Mystery Science Theater 3000" (spoken during a 1970s TV-movie): "At least I'll have 'Battlestar Galactica'...that'll *never* be cancelled!" Ulp. Well, at least Galactica lives on in this series of novels by show star Richard Hatch--no, not the fat naked guy from "Survivor," but the one and only Captain Apollo from the cult 1970s TV series.

Hatch drops us into a familiar world several years (or yahren) later: Commander Adama has passed on, Apollo has assumed command of the ragtag human fleet, Starbuck's a Captain, and the son of Apollo (the former Boxey, now called "Troy" in the only nod to the abortive and generally ignored "Galactica 1980" sequel) and the daughter of Starbuck are now top Colonial Warriors. But this isn't "Battlestar Galactica: The Next Generation"--most of the familiar TV cast are back, including popular TV series guest-stars like Commander Cain.

I enjoyed "Warhawk" a good deal more than most "Star Wars" novels because this provided what "Star Wars" books don't seem to give me anymore: the humor and adventure of the original. The dialogue is crisp and authoritative, each character sounding like his/her TV original, and the climatic Viper spacefight is as exciting as a fourth-act special-effects fest from the TV series. It's obvious the book is a sequel to Hatch's earlier book (which I haven't read): Apollo now has telepathic powers and the fate of human traitor Baltar picks up a storyline I was unfamiliar with, but Hatch does a good job of bringing readers up to speed on what has gone before that you don't need to have read "Armageddon"--but you'll want to.

Last I heard, the fate of bringing "Galactica" back to TV or movie screens was held up in a legal battle between series creator Glen A. Larson and Richard Hatch. While I'm the first to admit that surely Larson has the right to handle his creation as he sees fit, everyone would benefit from a truce and partnership between Larson and Hatch--Hatch shows here that his affection and care for the Galactica legacy benefits and entertains everyone--especially the fans.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Battlestar on the offensive! Warhawk is a triumph! part 1/2, September 16, 2003

By 

Wilz "[e-mail]" (United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Warhawk: Battlestar Galactica (Hardcover)

N.B. This review is in 2 parts.

Do not be put off by the uninspiring cover art! The sequel to Armageddon, also written by Hatch & Golden, is indeed a triumph. Hatch not only captures the essence of the original TV series but actually improves on it. I found the writing to be better than Armageddon but this could also be down to the fact that Warkhawk does not have the same number of plot strands and devices as Armageddon, and so the writing and story does seems more linear and structured.

"Warhawk" is a Colonial term refering to a military overlord. The term is indeed a reference to Commander Cain who was a character who appeared in the "living Legend" episode of the TV series, and subsequently was believed to be killed in a battle with Cylons at the end of the episode. However in the story of Warhawk, Apollo leads the Galactica to the planet Poseidon, believing it to be one of the outposts of the fabled 13th tribe. Instead, Poseidon is a planetary fortress of Cain who had surived the confrontation with the Cylons, and since then had joined up with a small lost fleet of ships that had fled the Colonies at the time of the massacre before establishing a base with them on Poseidon. Apollo and his followers are overjoyed at finding Cain but the celebration soon becomes sobered once Cain's ambitions, which are contrary to the Galactican mission of finding the Earth, are finally revealed.

Apollo learns that Cain has turned Poseidon into a vast armaments facility which is in production of a war fleet. There is something of a power clash between Cain and Apollo, as Cain wishes to go on the offensive against the Cylons. Apollo opposes the notion and is shocked to find that Poseidon is under martial law. There are other shocking developments, as it is revealed that Cain is trying to make allies with a mysterious warlike race known as the Chitain, who appear to have an agenda of their own. These developments result in Apollo leading Starbuck and Boomer on a diplomatic mission to the Chitain homeworld, leaving the galactica under the command of Athena.

But unknown to the Colonials, the Imperious leader (a villian which unfortunately was never explored in the TV series, thanks to the studio execs favouring a rather camp Baltar as the series main villain!) is hot on their heels due to receiving their coordinates from the mysterious Count Iblis. All this results in a brilliant and superbly written space battle which will have the reader hanging on for dear life on the edge of every page, as the Galactica finally goes on the offensive (which makes a welcome change from the Galactica trying to simply run from every threat it encounters).

Despite what other readers of said, Warhawk is very well written. Although there is not much action in most of the story, there is a brilliant climatic space battle which makes up for it. There are also new additions to the BSG saga such as new weapons like the viper-duet - a type of viper bomber developed by Cain's military. Also there are new aliens such as the Chitain who are a creepy insectoid/reptillian race, that are equipped with a scorpion-like stingers, and who seem to "glide" on a snake-like trunks. The Chitain certainly make a worthy addition to BSG saga since the TV series, I felt, never showed enough alien races during it's brief run.

The characterisation of Cain is also interesting, he appears to be a much more stern and aggressive character than his TV counterpart. I found this interpretation of Cain much better than the Lloyd Bridges portrayal of the character in the TV series. I felt that Bridges was miscast as Cain as he seemed to be at times merely lampooning general Patton with his overuse of "swagger-stick gesturing", rather than portraying a great Colonial warlord. His Cain appeared more shifty and smug rather than a hardened, fascist officer that the character seemed to be conceived as. But in Warhawk, Hatch does do justice to this concept as Cain appears to be a very militaristic and brave anti-hero among the Colonials. In the novel Cain requests advice from Colonial prisoner Baltar about the reptillian Cylons and their genetic make-up. Cain exudes delight upon hearing from Baltar that the Cylons, despite their cybernetic implants, can indeed feel pain and suffering, and he swears to Baltar & present company that he will make the Cylon race suffer for it's crimes against humanity.

(To be continued in part 2 of the review!)