Reviews

Earth Strike by Ian Douglas

jmoses's review against another edition

3.0

Interesting. A bit....I don't know...cliche, for me? On the one hand, I think it's a pretty accurate look at how interstellar combat might work without a "magic" FTL communication system, on the other this is more like an action movie than anything deeper. I mean, I enjoyed it, and I'll at least try the next entry, but it wasn't anything stunning.

jep6454's review against another edition

2.0

Jingoism at its finest but this time ITS IN SPACE. Space travel and combat was very interesting and well written but the Islamophobia in the first quarter kinda threw me off for the rest of it

rheren's review against another edition

3.0

This book is specifically "aircraft carrier/Top Gun" sci-fi, which wasn't a genre I had read before. Having read this author before, I know that one thing he does is very methodically and carefully lay out how a space battle involving near-light-speed projectiles, interstellar distances, and exotic theoretical technologies would actually play out, and this book does that amazingly well, and was very well-explained. I think that no other military sci-fi author does space battles as realistically as Ian Douglas. The characters and storyline are not very creative: it is the cliche "idiot government leaders hindering the virtuous, self-sacrificial military" trope, ignoring that just as many military operations are blown by military ineptitude as governmental ineptitude. But it's a staple of the genre: might as well get used to it.

canadajanes's review against another edition

2.0

The action was surprisingly good, so it would have gotten a solid three stars if not for the terrible Islamophobia and annoying lack of regard for civilians and civilian govn't.

kodermike's review against another edition

3.0

A solid pulp military sci-fi story, it wasn't bad, it just wasn't seat of the pants fun. I'm on the fence (hence the 3 stars) - it was a good read and good for filling the time, just not 4 star good :/

righteousridel's review against another edition

3.0

Star Carrier is entertaining military sci-fi that does exactly what was intended: show the impact of technology, expose you to the war and the aliens, and propose a plausible human society in a few centuries. The world building is solid, the narration is good, and the use of technology within the story is excellent.

What it fails to do is to really make you love the characters. I don't know how Ian Douglas fails, but I do know that I never cared much for any of them. There's nothing wrong with the cast - they are your typical competent military archetypes with a spattering of traumatic pasts, but there's also nothing special.

This is an 'easy' read. Recommended for military sci-fi fans.

Series Overall Spoiler-Free Thoughts

★★★☆☆ Earth Strike (Star Carrier, #1)
★★★☆☆ Center of Gravity (Star Carrier, #2)
★☆☆☆☆ Singularity (Star Carrier, #3)

Star Carrier is an easy read, but never excelled enough for me to care about the cast. Characters never grew beyond their archetype and intriguing worldbuilding was explained through info-dumps. Given the flawed nature of the ending, and my decision to avoid novels 4-6, my overall opinion is obvious:

★☆☆☆☆ - Not recommended.

prestonpre's review against another edition

1.0

Nope. Can't even do it. This is absolutely ridiculous. Reading pi aloud for hours is easier and more interesting.

fryguy451's review

3.0

Enjoyable, but slow in a few parts.

lyrrael's review against another edition

1.0

After thirty pages of flash-backs and info dumps, I gave up when the Admiral sent a twelve ship fighter squadron to attack an enemy fleet at light speed and didn't follow for eight plus hours. Uh-huh.

eudaimoniac's review

challenging tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0