The Rising

Schmaltz 7
Violence 7
Romance 6
Nudity and Sex 2
Plot 7
Buckets o' Blood 4
Terror 1

Book information

Author: SM Stirling & James Doohan

Plot Synopsis: Peter Raeder is an ex Speed (read: high-performance space fightercraft) pilot who has lost his hand, and with it, his ability to play the controls of his craft like a virtuoso. Retrained and reposted, Raeder finds himself as chief flight commander on the Commonwealth Light Carrier Invincible where he finds his duties complicated by the pursuit of an enemy infiltrator who has managed to get him or herself posted to the crew. Of course, just to prove that life isn't all skittles and beer, there's currently a war going on and no rest for the wicked.

Commentary:The Rising is the first book in Baen's Starline series, and is also the first book penned (or co-penned) by James Doohan. I'll admit, I wasn't expecting this to be much more than a Bathroom Book to read during breaks at work, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that my low expectations weren't entirely justified. While the plot of The Rising is a fairly standard Whodunnit built on a typical military SF chassis, the execution is far more fun than the mixture would suggest. The main character (Raeder) is, to borrow from an Amazon review of the book, a Heinleinian hero; and I hasten to add, the least annoying variation of this brand of protagonist. He's competent and skilled and a firebrand, but he's not the universal hero. He does have a use for others around him, and quite often they carry as much of the load as he does. Which leads to another strength of the book's: the characters are fun to read. They don't fall into narrow stratifications the way many characters in the military SF genre tend to and thus they seem far more real than not.
    That said, the book is not without its flaws. The plot tends to jump ahead of itself in places and at times the reader is left to wonder why certain events were glossed over. Also, the editor of this book should have given it another pass before letting it go. Lastly, there's nothing really weighty to make this book stick in the mind. Once the characters have had their say and the plot has run its course, there's precious little to contemplate afterwards.
    Lastly, the ending is a textbook case of anticlimax.

Moments to Watch For

Recommended: For a light read.

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