Wolf Star (Tour of the Merrimack, No. 2) [Hardcover]

R. M. Meluch (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 3, 2006

In the long war with the Palatine Empire, the pride of the Terran space fleet are its sister starships, the U.S.S. Merrimack and the U.S.S. Monitor. Now that the Palatine forces have secretly captured the Monitor and its codes, they can remotely seize control of the Merrimack-leaving her almost helpless. But as both sides struggle for supremacy, they are about to be attacked by an alien life-form-the Hive, a biological force with only one imperative: to seek and devour.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. The American and Roman interstellar empires are still at war in Meluch's rousing far-future SF novel, set in a universe slightly altered from that of its predecessor, The Myriad (2005). Capt. John Farragut and the intrepid crew of the starship USS Merrimack take on the Romans with the skill, flair and foul-mouthed witticisms one would expect from space-faring sailors and marines, escaping one trap after another as they seek a hidden space station. When they find the station, they're shocked to learn it's been ravaged by the Hive, voracious bug-eyed monsters who'd be right at home on a 1930s pulp magazine cover: they eat anything alive, fly faster than light and are heading straight for human-colonized space. America and Rome must make peace to face this nearly unstoppable threat. Meluch has tightened up her prose and fleshed out her characters, and the parallel-universe twist renders this a perfectly good starting point. This is grand old-fashioned space opera, so toss your disbelief out the nearest airlock and dive in. (Jan.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

The second adventure of the Merrimack and her right good crew focuses on the war between Earth and the Palatine Empire. The empire is a group of seceded colonies that based its culture on the Roman Empire. Although doughty fighters, the Palatines have been at a disadvantage in interstellar flight technology. Now they may be developing Earth-equivalent technology and the potential to expand their sphere of influence. When the Merrimack is sent to investigate, she falls into a trap that only Captain Farragut's ingenuity keeps from becoming fatal. Add to this the advent of the Hive--space-dwelling group beings who are the deadly enemies of all other sentient life--and the ingredients of a fast-paced, space-action novel are assembled. Meluch's zany streak and slightly barbed wit help her round out the characters. Just how many Merrimack books Meluch and DAW plan hasn't been specified. Let us hope that it is a good many. Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: DAW Hardcover (January 3, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0756403243
• ISBN-13: 978-0756403249
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,751,823 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Still a good read, April 8, 2007

By 

John S. Dean "John" (Sturtevant, WI United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Wolf Star: Tour of the Merrimack #2 (Mass Market Paperback)

I started reading this book with mixed feelings, having seen the reviews here about it. Some people felt betrayed by the ending in the first book, and almost had to fight to read the second book. Some only read the second book because they had already purchased it.

I liked this book very much. The way she shows just how completely history can be changed, from the global, epic scale of events down to the insignificant minutae of someone's life - it was almost awe inspiring to follow, remembering from the first book how it had been previously, and seeing what she wrote now.

I agree that some of the characters don't seem as "lovable" in the second book, but then again that was part of the whole point I believe. What happens to us makes us who we are, and if something had happened differently, we would be colored differently by those incidents. She does a great job of weaving this new reality into being. I can't wait to see where she goes with the next book in the series.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, January 18, 2007

By 

Robert I. Katz (Port Jefferson, New York USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wolf Star: Tour of the Merrimack #2 (Mass Market Paperback)

I have always considered Rebecca Meluch to be one of the very best science fiction writers working today. I cannot understand why she has not received more acclaim. Wolf Star continues the series begun in The Myriad. At the end of the first book, an escape through a wormhole and back into the past slightly reset the current Universe. The Hive, the main enemy through the main section of The Myriad, seemed not to exist, and the Roman Empire was America's greatest enemy. In this book, the Hive re-appears, and it becomes apparent that the backstory of The Myriad is, with slight changes, the story of Wolf Star. As usual, Rebecca Meluch's characters are larger than life, well drawn, interesting, each with his own unique personality.

The plot is engaging, though I am not sure why she chose to write these books in what is essentially reverse order, the end of this book being the beginning of the last. Since we already have a pretty good idea of what is going to happen, a good deal of suspense is lost. Nevertheless, the details are exciting, the action engrossing and the characters sympathetic. A terrific story, and I'm looking forward to the next.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars All roads lead to Rome, January 4, 2006

By 

Jaelin "onaje" - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Wolf Star (Tour of the Merrimack, No. 2) (Hardcover)

I read it straight through and liked it a lot. It features more of the 'minor' characters introduced in the first book such as Don Cordillera and Calli. My one disappointment was that Augustus was present for very little of the book. I wanted to see more of an interaction between him and Farragut because of realization about Farragut that Augustus made in book one. Acutually another roman character hints on it again in this book and I really hope it's followed up in book three.