Reviews

Backyard Starship by Terry Maggert, J.N. Chaney

lakeside_knitter's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

3.5

sarahmadams's review against another edition

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2.0

I am learning about what kind of sci-fi I enjoy reading and while this was an entertaining read, it's not what I'm looking for in the genre. There were a few moments that perched on depth, but didn't go there.

avid_reader_sf_and_f's review against another edition

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3.0

The premise was great, I just wasn't sucked in the way I'd hoped to be.

thecaptainand's review

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adventurous

3.25

pjonsson's review

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3.0

I have to say that I rather enjoyed this book. It is not great, it is not bad but it is fairly okay and the story is kind of cool. At least it is a type of story that I tend to like.

Van Tudor is a quite likable fellow. He is competent, a bit of a kick-ass person and adapts rather quickly to his new role as a Peacemaker. Yes that’s right. The “fellowship” into which he more or less gets drafted call themselves Peacemakers and not Peacekeepers.

I very much like his combat AS, Perry, as well. He is quite funny, has plenty of smartass comments and a good addition to Van Tudor’s entourage. Later in the book he picks up a female companion and although, at first, she starts of as being just another mission it quickly evolves into a more permanent “assignment”. Luckily the author doesn’t go overboard with romantic nonsense so they complement each other nicely when it comes to getting the job done and she is very kick-ass as well.

I was a bit miffed at the start that they kind of crippled this starship that he was given early in the book but I later found out that this is perfectly in line some of the elements of the story and how things develop so it was not as bad as I thought at first.

The story, although bringing some things to the table that makes it stand out as a bit original, is fairly simplistic. It develops quite quickly and Van Tudor goes from being a backwater planet primitive to being a Peacemaker galloping around the galaxy solving problems and making a name for himself in record time. The main characters are not really young teenagers but the story is still borderline young adult.

It is science fiction for the most part but it is rather light on science and some things, like this Peacemaker sword for example, are almost entering into the fantasy realm even though the author tries to keep it in the science fiction department.

Overall I found this book quite enjoyable. I liked the characters, there are some colorful characters, some good action and entertaining dialogue. It’s the lightness of the story and how Van Tudor just jumps from situation to situation with ludicrous ease that prevents me from giving the book a four star rating.

dajobe's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot

3.75

ma_vollmer's review

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adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

emspider's review

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fast-paced

4.0

kireteiru's review

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Decent prose, but I just wasn't interested in the story.

huckster's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0