In a distant galaxy where immense danger threatens, desperate pirates travel to the outer limits of space, doing trade with the star colonies and encountering rivals, aliens, and strange human hybrids. Reprint. K. PW. LJ.
| |||||||||||||||
Book Description
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
A thousand years after the Collapse, a galaxy-wide depression that killed billions, rival factions from Venus and Earth are poised to retake the stars--and the wealth to be gained from trafficking in the resources found there. Stephen Gregg is a triggerman with a conscience, capable of gunning down hundreds during battle and then, moments later, standing aghast at his capacity to kill. His partner, Piet Ricimer, is a young pilot who sees interstellar trade as the fulfillment of God's plan. Together they lead merchants from Venus who compete with traders from Earth for the booty of alien slaves and scarce microchips to be found among the distant planets. Intended to recall Earth's Age of Discovery, the story evokes both the uncertainty of exploration and its questionable morality. Primitive navigation leaves ships adrift among the stars, and commerce becomes little more than an excuse for bloody turf battles. Drake ( Hammer's Slammers ) uses military language fluently to create vivid combat scenes and adds such touches as crews that sing "Onward Christian Soldiers" while descending into battle. The novel is ultimately limited, however, by the main characters' lack of real engagement in the moral questions their actions provoke.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
The principle of free trade powers the exploits of Venus-based spacefarers Stephen Gregg and Piet Ricimer as they attempt to break the Southern Cross and Federation strangleholds on interplanetary trade and exploration. Drake (Hammer's Slammers, Baen Bks., 1989) pays tribute to the career of Sir Francis Drake in his latest hard-hitting sf adventure, which features privateers of the far future. The author's skill at vividly invoking the heat of battle serves him well in a tale that will appeal to fans of military sf.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Reviews
There are no customer reviews yet on Amazon.ca
5 star
4 star
3 star
2 star
1 star
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.6 out of 5 stars
5 reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best book I've read thus far.
Oct 17 1998
By A Customer
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I read this book about eight years ago, but lost my copy. This is the second time I have purchased this novel. As I said, this is the best book, novel or not, that I have read yet. If you like sci-fi, this would be a most worthy investment. Keep it where the dust can't collect, and make sure you read it every couple of years. I'm going for the other two novels in the series, and I think that says a lot.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
For God and Country
Aug 8 2003
By Arthur W. Jordin
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Igniting the Reaches (1994) is the SF first novel in the Privateer series. In the far future, humans have spread throughout a great volume of space. But then came the Collapse and mankind lost contact with the farthest worlds. Now mankind is beginning a new age of expansion into the galaxy, re-discovering lost worlds, races and treasures. The Feds and Southerns are becoming rich from new colonies and trading posts among the stars and other nations have sent out trading ships to gain some of these riches.
In this novel, the Venusian settlers have funded a voyage of trade and exploration. The Sultan is a privately armed ship commanded by Captain Choransky. The flotilla also includes the Preakness and the Dove. Stephen Gregg is aboard the Sultan as supercargo, representing his uncle, Gregg of Weyston. Their first port-of-call is Salute ... at least, they think it is Salute.
Piet Recimer, an officer and former shipowner, takes down a crew in the cutter to investigate and finds two Southern Cross ships on the ground, so the flotilla is brought down near the spaceport. Trucks are offloaded from the ships, filled with armed men, and rushed down to the port. There they find that everybody has run away, except for one man who apparently slept through the evacuation.
Loading 98 Molts, an alien race that moved into human space after the collapse, on their ships, the Venusians take off for Virginia (or somewhere near it) to sell their cargo. There they run into a bit of shooting with the North American Federation colony.
This novel is based on the voyages of Francis Drake (and some of his contemporaries). It has the same emphasis on God and Country, the same makeshift technology of shipbuilding, navigation and weaponry, and the same ignorance and cruelty found in the originals. It also reflects the casual attitudes of the Elizabethan era toward slavery. Some of the parallels are rather strained, but the focus of the story is the men themselves, bringing to life the excitement and confusion that resulted from mankind expanding into a mostly unknown frontier.
Recommended for Drake fans and anyone else who enjoys tales of long voyages to strange lands.
-Arthur W. Jordin
In this novel, the Venusian settlers have funded a voyage of trade and exploration. The Sultan is a privately armed ship commanded by Captain Choransky. The flotilla also includes the Preakness and the Dove. Stephen Gregg is aboard the Sultan as supercargo, representing his uncle, Gregg of Weyston. Their first port-of-call is Salute ... at least, they think it is Salute.
Piet Recimer, an officer and former shipowner, takes down a crew in the cutter to investigate and finds two Southern Cross ships on the ground, so the flotilla is brought down near the spaceport. Trucks are offloaded from the ships, filled with armed men, and rushed down to the port. There they find that everybody has run away, except for one man who apparently slept through the evacuation.
Loading 98 Molts, an alien race that moved into human space after the collapse, on their ships, the Venusians take off for Virginia (or somewhere near it) to sell their cargo. There they run into a bit of shooting with the North American Federation colony.
This novel is based on the voyages of Francis Drake (and some of his contemporaries). It has the same emphasis on God and Country, the same makeshift technology of shipbuilding, navigation and weaponry, and the same ignorance and cruelty found in the originals. It also reflects the casual attitudes of the Elizabethan era toward slavery. Some of the parallels are rather strained, but the focus of the story is the men themselves, bringing to life the excitement and confusion that resulted from mankind expanding into a mostly unknown frontier.
Recommended for Drake fans and anyone else who enjoys tales of long voyages to strange lands.
-Arthur W. Jordin
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful
Dec 26 2012
By Chris
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I read the second and third books in this series first and just got around to this one. It's a great opening to a wonderful trilogy.
›
Go to Amazon.com to see all 5 reviews
4.6 out of 5 stars
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
