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A World of Hurt: Starfist, Book X [Abridged, Audiobook] [Audio Cassette]

David Sherman (Author), Dan Cragg (Author), John Bedford Lloyd (Reader)
3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)


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Book Description

November 23, 2004 Starfist (Book 10)
With its down and dirty depiction of warfare written by men who know what it’s like to be under fire, the Starfist saga is a runaway success across America. Now, in the explosive new Starfist adventure, packed with fierce action and danger, Marines at war in future space find themselves pitted against a faceless, insatiable foe bent on destroying them. And that’s just for starters.

How bad is the upcoming mission facing the battle-hardened Marines of 34th Fleet Initial Strike Team (FIST), the military’s unofficial alien first-contact force? Bad enough to make the brass take the unprecedented step of issuing 34th FIST replacements for combat losses before the Marines even leave their home base.

In response to a series of unexplained deaths on a lonely outpost on the frontiers of human space, 34th FIST has been dispatched to investigate–and eradicate– the problem. Beyond that, the information available to Gunnery Sergeant Charlie Bass and his men is meager even by Marine standards. No one knows what awaits them, for the newly colonized world remains largely unexplored. That means 34th FIST can expect creatures they have never seen, or even heard of, much less trained for. It could be Skink acid shooters, could be anything, for the barren station has several secrets–all of them deadly.

But the last thing these Marines expect to find is themselves in the middle of an invasion and a mysterious war–with none other than 34th FIST as Enemy #1. Whatever happens, they’ll deal with it, because they’re Marines, determined to be ready . . . and to give worse than they get.


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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In Sherman and Cragg's 10th superior military SF novel (after 2003's Starfist: Lazarus Rising), the long-suffering troops of the 24th Marine Fleet Initial Strike Team (aka FIST) take on their alien nemesis, the malignant, acid-spewing Skinks, on a planet whose colonists have left most of it unexplored. Unbeknownst to the FIST team, a local system government, whose military chief decides that it's immoral to have all these warships and never use them, decides to invade the planet at about the same time. The results are unexpected, to say the least. There are basically two types of military SF: the first realistically depicts the horrors of war, while the second explores (usually affectionately and often in an idealized way) the sociology of the military unit. Most writers in the subgenre do one or the other well, but Sherman and Cragg, both retired career noncommissioned officers, excel at uniting these two approaches. Injecting freshness into a situation that was clichéd even in the days of Hugo Gernsback, they show how training and esprit de corps can overcome the most terrifying encounters. In contrast, the authors treat the stupidity of the book's comic-opera human antagonists with Swiftian invective. You don't have to be a military SF buff to appreciate this entertaining and instructive exercise.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

The best-selling military sf series Starfist continues with a volume less intense than Lazarus Rising [BKL N 1 03] but in its own way intelligent and agreeable. The planet of Maugham's Station reports an alien life form that uses jets of acid as weapons, which is the hallmark of the deadly Skinks. The 34th FIST is sent out, with Charlie Bass still commanding a platoon, though, as a newly commissioned ensign, with a certain amount to learn about how to lead as an officer instead of a gunnery sergeant. Meanwhile, the navy of the planet We're Here decides that Maugham's Station is involved in an ore piracy scheme that they intend to suppress as quickly and fiercely as possible. It turns out that Maugham's Station is a base for neither pirates nor Skinks, and Charlie Bass is likely to be as good as a junior officer as he was as a senior NCO. Meanwhile, We're Here's armed forces resemble the Keystone Kops on a bad day, which keeps the body count low. Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

  • Audio Cassette
  • Publisher: Random House Audio; Abridged edition (November 23, 2004)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0739313924
  • ISBN-13: 978-0739313923
  • Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.1 x 0.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,495,451 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

11 Reviews
5 star:
 (2)
4 star:
 (3)
3 star:
 (2)
2 star:
 (4)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.3 out of 5 stars (11 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars strong military outer space science fiction, October 31, 2004
When mankind went into space, it thought that it was the only sentient race, but soon found worlds with intelligent species just none as technologically advanced. The 34th Fist of the Confederation encountered intelligent and hostile space faring Skinks on two orbs and defeated them in battles, the war continues. The human populace remains unaware that the 34th Fist is under quarantine on Thorsfinni's World until humanity learns about the Skinks and other species.

Just after gunnery sergeant Charles Bass is promoted, his unit the 34th Fist goes to Maugham's Station because of the recent deaths by acid of colonists there; Skinks use acid guns as part of their weaponry. While exploring the valleys of death, the marines come under attack by acid, but no reports of Skinks have surfaced. While they seek the truth, an armada from the planet We're Here is traveling to the beleaguered station because they believe that an illegal mining operation has occurred on The Rock and the planet believes it is part of their empire. They think Maugham's Station is behind that operation and a trigger happy admiral is willing to go to war to stop them from mining that uninhabited, mineral rich planet.

Fans of military outer space science fiction will find action-packed STARFIST: A WORLD OF HURT fascinating. Surprisingly the hero is not featured doing solo deeds as the encounter scenes involve groups not individuals. Maugham's Station is described in vivid detail so that readers can picture the planet almost as much as filmgoers can mentally see the cantina scene of Star wars. Though in some ways all over the galaxy, David Sherman and Dan Cragg provide a terrific tale that makes military enterprises seem plausible in the deep reaches of space (see STAR WARS: JEDI TRIAL A CLONE WARS NOVEL - also released this month)

Harriet Klausner
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6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars It could have been a contender!, June 5, 2005
Overall this series is quite good. As a former Marine, I've found that the authors do a bang-up job of recalling long-forgotten memories of service and sacrifice. They've managed to combine snappy action and plotting with well-realized characters. Characters (such as Charlie Bass) who's fate we deeply care about.

That being said, "A World of Hurt," the tenth and latest in the "Starfist" series is a distinct disappointment. After the last two books in the series, "Kingdom's Fury" and "Lazarus Rising," we had the chance to really get to know several of the main characters: Charlie Bass, Lew Conorado, Brigadier Sturgeon, Cpl. Doyle, etc. They really came alive and of course there was the entire subplot with the supposed death and disappearance of Bass on Kingdom.

This was a major story arc, with the Marines grieving terribly at his "loss." However, his return from the dead is barely mentioned or explored in this novel. His promotion to officer status was similarly glossed over. It would have been quite interesting to have seen the reaction of the Marines to his return, rather than the matter of fact acceptance of his miraculous, "Lazarus" like revival. Or failing that, I would have enjoyed seeing the internal conflicts that Bass experienced as he assumed his new role of officer rather than enlisted man. They were hinted at in some of the throwaway lines in the book but nothing more. The Bass storyline is but one example of many that could have been fleshed out in this book.

Overall, it seems that the authors simply phoned this one in. Especially telling is the excruciating detail with which everyday activities are described. For Heaven's sake! If readers have been with the Marines of the 34th FIST to this point then they don't need to read the line "fast ride on a rough road" one more time. Ugh.

Here's hoping that the next installment serves to advance the overall story rather than serving as a placeholder.
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4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Good Book, January 12, 2005
This is a good solid book in the series. As with all of the Starfist series I read it in one day. I don't think this is one of the best though, after Kingdon's Fury and Lazarus Rising it had a tough act to follow. For fans of the series, a must read, but not as good as the others. Thanks to Dan and David for a good book in the series.

I am looking forward to the new series that is starting this summer.
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