Berserker Fury (Mass Market Paperback)

by Fred Saberhagen (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal
This seventh title in the Berserker series (Beserker Kill, LJ 9/15/93) finds the intelligent, deadly Berserker machines infiltrating human colonies to destroy them. The humans have cracked the Berserkers' codes and plan a battle defense. Although it helps to be familiar with the series, this novel can stand alone. Full of action and intrigue, Saberhagen's fast-paced military sf adventure is recommended for most collections or where the series is popular.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist
Saberhagen's murderous, robotic Berserkers return for another shot at the human Solarians. Spacer Nifty Gift (a human) deserts comrades on a recon mission; one of the deserted, Spacer Traskeluk, pursues vengeance; and the Berserkers mount an attack on the human outpost known as Fifty-Fifty--a fleet action in which the odds are heavily against the Solarians. Photojournalist Jory Yokusaka interviews Gift, covers the battle, and with Traskeluk defeats a Berserker disguised as a human android. Saberhagen's prose is plain, and the universe he gives us a bit unadorned and, by contemporary standards, too human-dominated. Moreover, the Battle of Fifty-Fifty is the Battle of Midway so meticulously transferred to interstellar space that one wonders whether Saberhagen's tongue isn't somewhere in cheek. Still, the action is nonstop. The Berserker Saga continues to draw and deserve readers, but it hasn't worn as well as it might have. Saberhagen's best stuff now is his Dracula novels and freestanding fantasies like Dancing Bears. Roland Green --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Tor Science Fiction (December 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812553764
• ISBN-13: 978-0812553765
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,116,421 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars ...could have been so good...., March 12, 1999

By	Robert (New Orleans, LA) - See all my reviews

I don't mind the "Battle of Midway" angle. I do think it could have been concealed a little better, but maybe the author wanted us all to see it. I actually got some entertainment out of seeing how he would work in certain historical events.

The side-story about our opening-scene protagonist was so-so. I could take it or leave it. Mr. Saberhagen's done better, and I've read worse.

Here's my main beef. This book reads like he wrote 10 pages at a time, and then just randomly shuffled the sections together. We haven't even fought the battle yet when we read about the analysts' thoughts on the outcome. Kinda makes it hard to even pretend you don't know what's going to happen at that point.

That's just one example. We constantly read about characters referring to things that they won't find out about for another 20 pages. And other nonsense along those lines. It made for very infuriating reading.

Mr. Saberhagen needed someone to read through his computer print-out and move a couple pages around.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Battle of Midway in Space, May 17, 1999

By	Michael Valdivielso (Alexandria, VA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Berserker Fury (Berserker Series/Fred Saberhagen) (Hardcover)

BErserker Fury was a space version of the Battle of Midway, but the real battle was less confusing. Time seems to have no meaning, as your point of view changes in both time and space, like a bad Doctor Who movie. Sometimes I don't know what character I am reading about. I happen to be a great fan and even sent him e-mail once, but this book could of been A LOT better if somebody else had gone over it with a magic marker and helped him cut out parts that were not needed.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars The pain, the pain..., June 21, 2001

By A Customer

You may or may not be annoyed that Saberhagen is lifting much of his plot from WWII- let's face it, Jerry Pournelle and many others are guilty of the same crime. What is more frustrating here is the author's stunted, wooden writing style. Often, he finds it necessary to repeat the same facts over and over again, as if he's straining to fill up space. Plot and characters aside, the actual use of the language itself is so frustrating that the book is unreadable.