Prometheus

Star Voyager #3

by William R. Forstchen

Risking everything to follow his dream of reaching for the stars, Justin Bell struggles to cope with Martian colonists demanding freedom from the paternalistic Earth government, while dealing with hostile aliens out to destroy all human civilization. Original.

Genres: Science Fiction, Collections

288 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published February 1, 1999

About the author

William R. Forstchen (born 1950) is an American author who began publishing in 1983 with the novel Ice Prophet. He is a Professor of History and Faculty Fellow at Montreat College, in Montreat, North Carolina. He received his doctorate from Purdue University with specializations in Military History, the American Civil War and the History of Technology.

Forstchen is the author of more than forty books, including the award winning We Look Like Men of War, a young adult novel about an African-American regiment that fought at the Battle of the Crater, which is based upon his doctoral dissertation, The 28th USCTs: Indiana’s African-Americans go to War, 1863-1865 and the "Lost Regiment" series which has been optioned by both Tom Cruise and M. Night Shyamalan.

Forstchen’s writing efforts have, in recent years, shifted towards historical fiction and non fiction. In 2002 he started the “Gettysburg” trilogy with Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich; the trilogy consists of Gettysburg: A Novel of the Civil War, Grant Comes East, and Never Call Retreat: Lee and Grant - The Final Victory. More recently, they have have published two works on the events leading up to Pearl Harbor and immediately after that attack Pearl Harbor, and Days of Infamy.

In March 2009, Forstchen’s latest work, One Second After, (Forge/St. Martin’s books) was released. Based upon several years of intensive research and interviews, it examines what might happen in a “typical” American town in the wake of an attack on the United States with “electro-magnetic pulse” (EMP) weapons. Similar in plotting to books such as On the Beach and Alas Babylon, One Second After, is set in a small college town in western North Carolina and is a cautionary tale of the collapse of social order in the wake of an EMP strike. The book has been optioned by Warner Bros. and currently is in development as a feature film. The book was cited on the floor of Congress and before the House Armed Services Committee by Congressman Roscoe Bartlett (R.-MD), chair of the House Committee tasked to evaluate EMP weapons, as a realistical portrayal of the potential damage rendered by an EMP attack on the continental United States.

Forstchen resides near Asheville, North Carolina with his daughter Meghan. His other interests include archaeology, and he has participated in several expeditions to Mongolia and Russia. He is a pilot and co owns an original 1943 Aeronca L-3B recon plane used in World War II.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/willia...

Reviews

[Phil · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty typical Baen military space opera from Forstchen. Set around 2100, the solar system was consumed by a civil war of Earth versus the outer colonies until finally a peace was reached, with the outer colonies 'granted' their independence. Four years after the war, an alien flotilla invades the solar system and while destroyed, inflict heavy loses on Earth. Was this just a foray?

The story revolves around Justin Bell, a war hero who fought for Earth in the civil war. There is a lot of backstory (this is the third book of a series) leading up to where this novel takes off, but basically, the Academy was established prior to the war under the guidelines of the USMC to teach the cadets honor above all else. During the war, the cadets, who came from all over the solar system, were forced to pick sides along the lines of the American civil war. Lots of tragedy ensued. One of the defining moments of the war was a nuke strike on a Martian city that killed tens of thousands of civilians; ostensibly it was a legit military target, but for Justin Bell, it was murder and he resigned from the military thereafter. Then came the aliens!

This is a very rah rah novel along right wing lines to be sure. America is often alluded to, not the country (as it is subsumed under the UN) but the ideal of freedom and liberty, coupled with that great frontier spirit. Earth's politicians are lead by basically a socialist along the lines of the cold war and while the Academy is formerly under their control, the USMC does not like it one bit. It seems all of Earth's politicians just want to dominate the former colonies and even the alien threat does nothing to 'unify the race' against them. Thankfully, the colonies managed to salvage one of the alien ships and reverse engineer it to a degree; they do not know how it works, but they can fly it, and it goes FTL! It seems Earth is simply a very small player in a much larger galactic war! Can our hero Justin save the day?

This reminded me of golden age space adventure mixed in with a homage to the US military. Nothing really surprising here and it made for a decent read if you are into that kind of thing. I like military space opera, but this one did not really do much for me. Trite themes (the honorable military being used by rapacious politicians; the 'pioneer spirit' of America; aliens basically just like us and engaged in their own political machinations, etc.) feature heavily in this and Forstchen does not really go beyond a stereotype of the genre. 2 lackluster stars.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the third book in the Star Voyager trilogy by William R. Forstchen. The events in this book take place 20 years after the events in the first two books. The first two books were Young Adult Science Fiction but this book has evolved into Adult Military Science Fiction. In the 20 years between books, there has been a war between the Earth and Mars and the outer colonies. It has been settled but a great many people on both sides still do no trust each other. They will have to put their differences aside however because the long-dreaded attack by the alien Tracs is about to finally happen. Justin Bell will reunite with some of his former Academy classmates to complete the assembly of the alien spacecraft destroyed 20 years previously. With it, they will try to find allies in mankind's fight not only for freedom but for survival.

[Tristan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a big fan of William R. Forstchen Sci-Fi. I don't know if the book is a 4, 4.5 or 5 star book. I am giving it a little extra because the alien races are written very well and interesting, they sound alien and the alien world-building seems real. Book two in the trilogy was kind of a downer. You can go straight from book one to book 3 or start with book 3. I read chap 5 at least once a year.

[Freyja · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fitting end to the trilogy. There is a lot of saber-rattling, politics, and other action. It doesn't drag. It ties up a bunch of loose ends.

[Matt Sears · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable little book with space missiles and alien politics. I see some of the similarities to Starship Troopers that the cover was shouting about, but also a dash of Enders game and good old fashioned pulpy sci fi. My main gripes with this book are it's repetitive nature, aliens that acted very human and the war is depicted as more glory than ghastly. Great action and characters though, a good read to kill some time.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

More political than action, this book delves into the aftermath of the civil war between Earth and the Mars Colonies. It then introduces the issue of an alien race going through political tormoil and how we become embroiled in it. Forstchen left it wide open for more books, but I doubt they will be forthcoming. A savvy reader might take note that the leaders of Earth's Coupist government are middle eastern and speak with anti american-sentiments. I found that to be noteworthy.

[Wenzel Roessler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall I enjoyed the book and it picked up steam as the pages turned. Unfortunately I felt that too much of the story was based on the characters rehashing and crying over the past. And when the new alien races were introduced I felt it was too much in too little time, there was not enough dedicated to them so they did not stand out. If you have read the first two books you should read this one.