Starship: Pirate (Starship, Book 2) (Hardcover)

~ Mike Resnick (Author)
Key Phrases: oxygen world, pulse gun, subspace radio, Inner Frontier, Four Eyes, David Copperfield (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

One of the characters in this sequel to Starship: Mutiny (2005) asks, "Whatever happened to heroes who didn't think everything through, but just walked in with weapons blazing?" The answer is "They're buried in graveyards all across the galaxy." This sums up nicely Hugo-winner Resnick's approach to military SF, which isn't so much about fighting and hardware as it is about strategy and leadership. Having busted their commander, Wilson Cole, out of the brig for disobeying orders that would have cost millions of lives, the crew of the starship Theodore Roosevelt find themselves on the run from their own fleet. The plan? Hoist the Jolly Roger! Since Captain Cole is a moral man, he must figure out a way to practice piracy without actually harming anyone—at least, anyone who doesn't have it coming. As he and the Teddy R. stumble their way through Piracy for Dummies, they make new enemies and find new allies that make the difference between real pirates and military professionals all the more apparent. Readers craving intelligent, character-driven SF need look no further. (Dec.)
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Review

"Resnick maintains his swift prose delivery. This was another two-day read. Bring on the next one!" -- SF Signal, January 13, 2009

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 344 pages
• Publisher: Pyr (December 5, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591024900
• ISBN-13: 978-1591024903
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #156,769 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Better Sequel, January 12, 2007

By	John A Lee III "jal3" (San Antonio, TX) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I liked Resnick's STARSHIP: MUTINY but I like this book much better. There was less frustration as I read it. I think this is because of the situation the hero finds himself in.

In the last book, Cole Wilson demonstrated himself to be extremely capable as a starship officer. He was so capable that he had a habit of showing up his superiors. As a result, he was exiled to an area where it was not expected that he would see much action. When action did threaten, he again made the right choices, going against the grain and showing up his commander. The result it that he saved about 5 million people and went on trial for mutiny. As the book concludes, his crew has broken him out of the brig and run off with him. They have some idea of becoming pirates.

That's where this book begins and there is a problem. These people have turned pirate because they have nothing else to do. Even so, they are the "good" guys. They don't want to attack and kill innocents. They hit upon the idea of only raiding other pirates but that two has its problems. Nobody is properly trained in the art of piracy, people get killed; the return on investment is very low.

They come up with some help in the form of an alien fencer of stolen goods with a soft spot for David Copperfield and a "pirate queen" who has been duped out of her ship. As they try to help her in getting it back, they learn that piracy is not all it is cracked up to be.

This is a fast paced adventure. There is nothing stunning about it; it just holds the attention and provides entertainment. That's fine with me.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Space Opera Yarn, January 31, 2007

By	John Matlock "Gunny" (Winnemucca, NV) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Second in the Starship series (Starship: Mutiny was the first), this is a blasters blazing space opera filled with all kinds of moral dilemas -- for instance, how do you become a pirate but not hurt anyone who in your judgment doesn't deserve to be hurt. After all, Captain Wilson Cole is a save the universe type, not a true pirate out to get everything he can for himself.

Enter beautiful but deadly Valkyrie, and the strange alien known as David Copperfield (will they still be reading that in 3,000 years), and of course there's the real pirate king.

Is this book, like David Copperfield obviously will, going to be around as revered literature in 3,000 years - not likely. Is it a fun read for a cold evening or an airplane ride.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wilson Cole, My Hero!, December 7, 2006

By	Michael B. Nelson "mbnels" (Tuba City AZ) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The heroic adventures of Wilson Cole, Captain Extraordinaire continue in this novel, the second of the STARSHIP series. Wilson Cole, after kicking himself out of the Navy does what every Navy Man dreams of doing--he becomes a Pirate! The only catch is, he doesn't want to actually hurt anyone who doesn't deserve it, doesn't want to steal from anyone who shouldn't be stolen from, and the last thing he wants to do is injure any of his former Navy comrades by entering into a battle while Pirating. How does he solve this quandary? Read STARSHIP: PIRATE to find out. It you enjoy well plotted action novels with strong characters, this is the one for you!