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tacoheathen75's review against another edition
5.0
Great intro to a new series
And yet another great book by Mr. Stewart. I'll admit I was hoping for another Starship Mage book, but this one easily filled the need. Strong main character, believable supporting cast, and the plot never felt like it bogged down. I also liked the bits of information about the overall universe, but it was never fully fledged out... And that is just fine. Read it, and you'll gleefully understand better than I'm explaining.
I felt there was a bit of stretching done about the villains' introduction, but it was handled in believable manner after I kept reading. I'm really looking forward to the next book in this series.
That's all. Bye bye.
And yet another great book by Mr. Stewart. I'll admit I was hoping for another Starship Mage book, but this one easily filled the need. Strong main character, believable supporting cast, and the plot never felt like it bogged down. I also liked the bits of information about the overall universe, but it was never fully fledged out... And that is just fine. Read it, and you'll gleefully understand better than I'm explaining.
I felt there was a bit of stretching done about the villains' introduction, but it was handled in believable manner after I kept reading. I'm really looking forward to the next book in this series.
That's all. Bye bye.
righteousridel's review
4.0
Corporations in Space
Conviction is set in a classic space opera universe, with WW2-style dogfights and carrier-based power projection. With plenty of pew-pew and a narrative centered on a Starfighter pilot, readers looking for military sci-fi should be happy. While some efforts to make Conviction unique come up short, the author actually undersells the superbly realized concept of a Nova Fighter.
This solo narrative from Kira Demirci is as fast-paced as her flight from Apollo to the Syntactic Cluster. Despite being a refugee/emigrant, her situation is neither deperate nor in-doubt. Wielding both resources and unique skills, the vast majority of the first act feels more like a primer on space corporations. Business structures, contracts, legal entities; it’s a very unique topic as far as science-fiction is concerned… though not what one expects when following the exploits of a decorated ace pilot.
In fact, there’s something exceptional about the extrapolation of technology and applying it to mundane matters. “Artificial Stupids” is the lovely in-universe term for AI, which has proliferated and taken over most menial services. Holograms allow for quick redecoration of rooms, and computers installed in everyone’s heads manages all of society: identification, ownership documents, and of course, communications. It’s both impressive and yet unimaginative, like how the Jetsons proposed a flying car and a wall-sized video phone.
But we’re here for military sci-fi, and Glynn Stewart delivers plenty of starfighter combat and carrier groups smashing into each other. The universe is realistically imagined; the pocket fiefdoms and local hegemonies a natural result of technological limitations and logistical delays. There’s a lot of background worldbuilding that went into humanity’s spread into the stars, and nowhere is this more obvious than the incredible Nova FTL drive. As presented, there are two types of drives, one of which carries a lot but recharges slowly, while the other is its exact opposite. The result is filled with tactical possibilities and strategic depth.
While I feel the author missed a tremendous storytelling opportunity by resettling Kira too easily, the third act surprised me. In particular, the Nova Fighter is the result of small technological details compounding into something… fundamental. To me, that’s the very definition of science-fiction literature.
Recommended.
Series Overall Spoiler-Free Thoughts
★★★★☆ Conviction (Scattered Stars: Conviction #1)
★★★★☆ Deception (Scattered Stars: Conviction #2)
★★★★★ Equilibrium (Scattered Stars: Conviction #3)
It starts off slowly, but if you manage to suffer through the establishment of corporations in space, you’ll find at its heart a complex space opera involving all aspects of politics: trade and economics, force generation, and of course, starfighter dogfights.
★★★★☆ - Recommended
Conviction is set in a classic space opera universe, with WW2-style dogfights and carrier-based power projection. With plenty of pew-pew and a narrative centered on a Starfighter pilot, readers looking for military sci-fi should be happy. While some efforts to make Conviction unique come up short, the author actually undersells the superbly realized concept of a Nova Fighter.
This solo narrative from Kira Demirci is as fast-paced as her flight from Apollo to the Syntactic Cluster. Despite being a refugee/emigrant, her situation is neither deperate nor in-doubt. Wielding both resources and unique skills, the vast majority of the first act feels more like a primer on space corporations. Business structures, contracts, legal entities; it’s a very unique topic as far as science-fiction is concerned… though not what one expects when following the exploits of a decorated ace pilot.
In fact, there’s something exceptional about the extrapolation of technology and applying it to mundane matters. “Artificial Stupids” is the lovely in-universe term for AI, which has proliferated and taken over most menial services. Holograms allow for quick redecoration of rooms, and computers installed in everyone’s heads manages all of society: identification, ownership documents, and of course, communications. It’s both impressive and yet unimaginative, like how the Jetsons proposed a flying car and a wall-sized video phone.
But we’re here for military sci-fi, and Glynn Stewart delivers plenty of starfighter combat and carrier groups smashing into each other. The universe is realistically imagined; the pocket fiefdoms and local hegemonies a natural result of technological limitations and logistical delays. There’s a lot of background worldbuilding that went into humanity’s spread into the stars, and nowhere is this more obvious than the incredible Nova FTL drive. As presented, there are two types of drives, one of which carries a lot but recharges slowly, while the other is its exact opposite. The result is filled with tactical possibilities and strategic depth.
While I feel the author missed a tremendous storytelling opportunity by resettling Kira too easily, the third act surprised me. In particular, the Nova Fighter is the result of small technological details compounding into something… fundamental. To me, that’s the very definition of science-fiction literature.
Recommended.
Series Overall Spoiler-Free Thoughts
★★★★☆ Conviction (Scattered Stars: Conviction #1)
★★★★☆ Deception (Scattered Stars: Conviction #2)
★★★★★ Equilibrium (Scattered Stars: Conviction #3)
It starts off slowly, but if you manage to suffer through the establishment of corporations in space, you’ll find at its heart a complex space opera involving all aspects of politics: trade and economics, force generation, and of course, starfighter dogfights.
★★★★☆ - Recommended
jimmer's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
bory's review
2.0
2.5 stars.
Here's the thing, Glynn Stewart churns out books at a rate I've not actually seen before. The man basically publishes a book a month. And they're are fairly competently written. How? Why? No one know.
I've read several of his books before - the first six installments of the Duchy of Terra, from the Terran Privateer through the Imperium Defiant, and I liked them well enough, though less towards later books. It's not that they got worse, but more so that they all felt like the same book. But here, with Conviction, is a new universe, with new characters, so I figured I'll give it a go... and, yeah, it still feels like the same book. Again, it's not bad. I've just already read it six times.
Glynn Stewart, as far as I understand it, used to be an accountant and, boy, does it show. He has this obsession with figures that, honestly, make my eyes glaze over. Everything is measured, everything's size, distance, etc. is listed. And it all amounts to white noise. That a spaceship is fifty-five kilo cubic meters in size is meaningless information because, let's be honest, the average person reading this has no concept of what this actually looks like. Putting something along the lines of "which is comparable to a large old Earth cruise liner" somewhere in there so that our 21-century based brains have a real world comprehension basis would go a long way to make these books better, I think.
Also, can I, please, finally stumble upon a book this year that does not have a forced, unnecessary romantic subplot?
Anyway, not to be overly negative. The action scenes are fun, and the main character is likable enough. There is a grander plot taking place, which is interesting, and the antagonists appear intriguing. I might continue with the series.
Edit: scrolling through the next book, I spy with my little eye yet another unnecessary, forced romantic subplot. I'm out. Bye, Felicia.
Here's the thing, Glynn Stewart churns out books at a rate I've not actually seen before. The man basically publishes a book a month. And they're are fairly competently written. How? Why? No one know.
I've read several of his books before - the first six installments of the Duchy of Terra, from the Terran Privateer through the Imperium Defiant, and I liked them well enough, though less towards later books. It's not that they got worse, but more so that they all felt like the same book. But here, with Conviction, is a new universe, with new characters, so I figured I'll give it a go... and, yeah, it still feels like the same book. Again, it's not bad. I've just already read it six times.
Glynn Stewart, as far as I understand it, used to be an accountant and, boy, does it show. He has this obsession with figures that, honestly, make my eyes glaze over. Everything is measured, everything's size, distance, etc. is listed. And it all amounts to white noise. That a spaceship is fifty-five kilo cubic meters in size is meaningless information because, let's be honest, the average person reading this has no concept of what this actually looks like. Putting something along the lines of "which is comparable to a large old Earth cruise liner" somewhere in there so that our 21-century based brains have a real world comprehension basis would go a long way to make these books better, I think.
Also, can I, please, finally stumble upon a book this year that does not have a forced, unnecessary romantic subplot?
Anyway, not to be overly negative. The action scenes are fun, and the main character is likable enough. There is a grander plot taking place, which is interesting, and the antagonists appear intriguing. I might continue with the series.
Edit: scrolling through the next book, I spy with my little eye yet another unnecessary, forced romantic subplot. I'm out. Bye, Felicia.
rpmiller's review
3.0
The usual space wars in many ways. However, it is somewhat interesting. If there is a series, I have not yet decided whether to read more.
I should mention that this book complies with the bully culture of political correctness as viewed by some unknown portion of the English speaking population, and probably of populations using other languages. It is sometimes difficult to figure out exactly what is meant by "their". Also, the portion of the population that seems to worry about gender (or other) identity appears very high. Another aspect I wonder about is why the skin color of various characters is so significant to the author when such identity groups would seem superficial to many people. In my opinion, the use of non-standard pronouns and identifying people by their skin color is only done to appease the bullies. On the other hand, why don't we use a single pronoun to refer to people (or even things, as I believe the author refers to a spaceship as she)? He used to be used for that purpose, although that may not be appropriate for historical reasons. How about "che"? Why should I care if the person is male, female or other, or what gender that person considers cheself, or whether their partner (s) is of a particular gender or gender identity?
Anyway, none of the topics I mention in the previous complaint seem to have any impact on the story.
I should mention that this book complies with the bully culture of political correctness as viewed by some unknown portion of the English speaking population, and probably of populations using other languages. It is sometimes difficult to figure out exactly what is meant by "their". Also, the portion of the population that seems to worry about gender (or other) identity appears very high. Another aspect I wonder about is why the skin color of various characters is so significant to the author when such identity groups would seem superficial to many people. In my opinion, the use of non-standard pronouns and identifying people by their skin color is only done to appease the bullies. On the other hand, why don't we use a single pronoun to refer to people (or even things, as I believe the author refers to a spaceship as she)? He used to be used for that purpose, although that may not be appropriate for historical reasons. How about "che"? Why should I care if the person is male, female or other, or what gender that person considers cheself, or whether their partner (s) is of a particular gender or gender identity?
Anyway, none of the topics I mention in the previous complaint seem to have any impact on the story.
tome15's review
3.0
Stewart, Glynn. Conviction. Scattered Stars No. 1. Faolan’s Pen, 2020.
Glynn Stewart is a journeyman writer of science fantasy and space opera. Conviction is a space opera in the mode of the Davide Weber’s Honor Harrington series. Kira is the leader of a Nova fighter group whose side lost the war, and as part of the treaty, her government declared her a war criminal. She is pursued by assassins from both sides. She somehow obtains several new fighters and hopes to reunite the survivors of her group as a mercenary force in a small, distant kingdom. As a war-weary vet, she lacks the youthful fire we usually see in the Harrington books. Stewart does the action scenes effectively, but he phones in the military tech details that fascinate Weber. 3 stars.
Glynn Stewart is a journeyman writer of science fantasy and space opera. Conviction is a space opera in the mode of the Davide Weber’s Honor Harrington series. Kira is the leader of a Nova fighter group whose side lost the war, and as part of the treaty, her government declared her a war criminal. She is pursued by assassins from both sides. She somehow obtains several new fighters and hopes to reunite the survivors of her group as a mercenary force in a small, distant kingdom. As a war-weary vet, she lacks the youthful fire we usually see in the Harrington books. Stewart does the action scenes effectively, but he phones in the military tech details that fascinate Weber. 3 stars.
suzjustsuz's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 stars
This one is for all you military gun porn enthusiast, of which I am not one.
This one is for all you military gun porn enthusiast, of which I am not one.
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