Challenger's Hope

On Friday, April 17, 1998 4:53 PM, Thomas Barclay
> [SMTP:Thomas.Barclay@sofkin.ca] wrote:

Wasn't Midshipmans Hope in the series, I thought it really stank (too many
cliches, too much personal angst, too much disguised S&M, not enough
space battles and really awful prose) and only bought/read the one copy.

Tim spake thusly upon matters weighty:

> On Friday, April 17, 1998 4:53 PM, Thomas Barclay

That might have been the first one. The series is admittedly ridden with
angst, but I think that captured the type of work that Nelson's biographers
and fictional biographers did. I don't know where your S&M comment comes
from???? Not enough space battles... I don't know. It depends what you are
into I guess. As for the prose, it is thick, but I didn't think it awful. I
guess you wouldn't like any of the Fantasy written by Daniel McTiernan either
then.

I mean, by the same argument, people have criticised the Harrington series for
its lack of depth. I'm not one to take that up, as I have yet to read them,
but I guess taste is a very personal matter. I found Midshipman's hope (the
first one) and Challenger's Hope to be good studies in the RN in space (the
traditions, the protocols, the way things were handled).

If you want something more like the harrington books, There was a series
written as a collaboration (I believe) between David Drake and Thomas T.
Thomas (three books if I recall) that had to do with a star spanning empire.
And the 'Sten' series written by Chris Bunch and Alan Cole presented a rich
universe and presented quite a few gripping starship battles.

It would make (I believe) a good FT background.

Tom

/************************************************

> On Fri, 17 Apr 1998, Thomas Barclay wrote:

> If you want something more like the harrington books, There was a

Crisis of Empire series. Very uneven, and only one book was with Thomas T.
Thomas (I forget which). Not very big on fleet actions, either, except maybe
the second book towards the end.

I liked the second book best, not because of the fleet battle, but because of
the moral discussion. It also realizes the surrounding empire

best, instead of just concentrating on a single hotspot. The third book,

while entertaining, is almost vanilla...