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.

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If you like space technology to be the star of your mil-sf, with blow-by-blow descriptions of every element of every space battle, well laden with space military jargon that is then carefully explained, and don't mind characterization that tells instead of shows, then this is the book for you.

Sadly, it is not the book for me. There seems to be a hint of an interesting story and potentially interesting aliens buried underneath all the weaponry and space battles, and since I bought the whole trilogy on a 3-for-2 sale, I'll probably read the rest of it.. but I doubt I'll pick up anything else by this author. ( )

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 :/

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Star Carrier: Earth Strike
Author: Ian Douglas
Publisher: EOS/Harper Collins
Publishing Date: 2010
Pgs: 357
Dewey: PBK F DOU
Disposition: Irving Public Library - South Campus - Irving, TX
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REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS

Summary:
Man has reached beyond his cradle. As humankind approaches a technological singularity, a transcendence, an alien species that they’ve traded with is revealed to be part of a larger empire. An empire which does not want any species reaches transcendence for beyond that lies death. The Sh’daar and their underlings the Turusch are beating the Humans back across the stars. But at Eta Bootis IV, a human Marine base has captured two Turusch, the first to fall into their hands. The Star Carrier America and her Task Force are to relieve the Marines and pull them out with their prize. Their secondary mission is to pull as many of the colonists off the planet as possible. Tertiary, tear the enemy fleet apart. When elements of the Turusch fleet escape, the fear is that they will reprovision and come after them again. Earth is on their shopping list. The enemy fleet is inbound. All hell is about to break loose.

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Genre:
Hard Science Fiction
Space Operas
Science Fiction
Military
Aliens

Why this book:
Space warfare, fleet action...I’m there.
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Favorite Character:
Equal parts Admiral Koenig and Lt Gray.

Least Favorite Character:
Spaas, Collins, and Quintanilla...they’re all plot roadblocks.

Favorite Scene / Quote/Concept:
The shadow swarmer, carnivorous leaves are awesome creatures.

Meh / PFFT Moments:
Gray’s PTED diagnosis is circuitous. If he had such a thinking they would’ve found it a long time before Mufrid based on his backstory.

The arrogant squadmates are an overdone cliche. Those characters are cardboard. Better if they had been jettisoned and allowed to be casualties or had the full ramifications of their actions come home to roost in a court martial.

Quintanilla, the fleet political officer, is the same kind of character as Spaas and Collins.

The Sigh:
Why doesn’t anyone ever write a Political Officer who has an ounce of common sense and sees himself as part of the crew before seeing themselves as an overseer, equal or superior to the command structure on the boat.

Wisdom:
I like the “you can’t go home again” aspect of Gray’s story. He’s grown and changed. And in the same way that he said Angela wasn’t the same person after she had grown and experienced all that stuff that they implanted in her brain, he too grew.

Juxtaposition:
The misdirection that Admiral Koenig sees in the Turusch attack on the Solar System should have been seen by everyone.
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Pacing:
The flow and action are great.

Last Page Sound:
If, like me, you are a space warfare, fleet action junkie, you’ll enjoy this. Felt like both Dunkirk and Midway. Well done.

Author Assessment:
I’m reading more.

Editorial Assessment:
Well edited.
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I accidentaly read this book twice. It wasn't in my library listing, so when I read the description on Amazon, I secured another copy. About a third into the book, I recognized enough passaged to know for sure that I had read it before. Despite that, I persevered because I was fully enjoying the second read.

The main character is a spacecraft fighter pilot from the slums who doesn't feel that he belongs in the space navy. He longs for the life he had in the slums, one where he was a respected member of a gang and had a wife that he loved. After numerous space battles with an alien invading force, he goes back the slum and realizes that it's no longer for him.

He then devises a tactic that totally defeats the alien fleet and is then fully accepted as a leader and respected member of the space navy fighting force.

To summarize, Earth Strike: Star Carrier is a coming of age type of book in a fast action space opera environment. ( )