Warriors Super Edition: Firestar's Quest (Warriors)

Book Description

There is peace at last between the warrior Clans, and Firestar is proud of the strength and unity of the cats he leads in ThunderClan. All four forest Clans are thriving, training new warriors and keeping their boundaries without conflict.

But Firestar's dreams are haunted by wailing cats fleeing a terrible disaster. With unexpected help from an old kittypet friend, he discovers a shocking secret: StarClan, the warrior ancestors who guide his paw steps, have lied to him.

Firestar is faced with the hardest decision of his life. Can he really turn his back on the forest that has become his home and embark on a perilous quest to discover a dark truth—one that has been buried beyond the memory of living cats? Whatever he finds at the end of his journey, he knows that nothing can ever be the same again.

Customer Reviews:

Reveiw of Firestar's Quest.......2007-10-09

Let me start off by saying how shocked I was when the book came. The fisrt thing I noticed about it was its size!! Unlike the other warrior books, It was about to 500 pages! But anyway, This book is pretty good. It goes through Firestars feelings and stresses, reveals a few secrets none of us knew of him, and even touches a bit of the other cats' feelings and doubts. It explains a bit of what happened between the last book of the first series and the first book of the second series. It also elightens us a bit about the prolouge to the first boopk to latest warriors series by Erin Hunter. But, even though I love her books, she has a knack for draggin things out and then ending them in one chapter. Okay, maybe thats an exhageration but she CERTAINLY dragged things out in this book! If your an impatient person when it comes to books (LIke I am sometimes) I wouldn't recommend it. But if you can stand a few unneeded pages, you'll absolutely love it!!

Awesome Book!!!! (This review is not a spoiler!!!).......2007-10-06

Warriors is one of my favorite series, and this book is one of the best yet! This book shows how a clan is formed and trained- it's a suspensful book that I couldn't put down! You don't have to read any Warriors books before you read this one, but I recommend that you read the whole series. If I could, I'd give this book 100 out of 5 stars!!!!!!

Filling in the blanks.......2007-09-27

I am sure that when Midnight was released, every reader of the Warriors Series had questions as to what happened in between the saga. Firestars Quest answers these questions and a lot more(there is a spolier at the bottom of this review. Erin Hunter wrote a book that explained a lot. Hunter even details the heroic effort Willowpelt made to save her kit. However tragically, the effort led to her untimely demise. I agree that Sagekit somehow had a sex change. The editor needs to read the script from cover to cover. I mean, I have noticed that there has been a pattern of mistakes. There were a few in the Clan Guide, and if you look closely at the sneak peak of Dark River, Mousefur and Mousepaw are mixed up.

As for the spolier: it seems that Tigerstar and Spottedleaf are first cousins. That is why Spottedleaf was determined to help Firestar bring the ancestors of SkyClan together.

Great!.......2007-09-24

This series has kept my daughter happy from the beginning. She can't wait until the next book to come out. When the book arrives, she will read it from cover to cover in one to two days.Warriors Super Edition: Firestar's Quest (Warriors)

A good book.......2007-09-19

This is an interesting take on the Warriors series. Told from the third person vantage point of Firestar, the ThunderClan leader undertakes a quest to find and rebuild a clan lost to the forest several generations ago. The beginning of the story does bear similarities to Warriors: Midnight, but the rest of it is unique to Warriors. This story is designed to stand alone, and bears no direct relevence to the rest of the warriors books until the start of series 3 (Warriors: The Sight). A good book overall.

Average customer rating:

A Somewhat Weaker Link In A Great Series
Mindless drivel
Left turn into Cyberspace
Get on with it!!!!!!!!
weak link in a great chain! (but still pretty good)

Lodestar (Firestar Saga)
Michael Flynn
Manufacturer: Tor Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0312861370

Book Description

In the early years of the twenty-first century, humanity has progressed into space, having established a permanent presence with LEO (Low Earth Orbit) Station. Science and commerce in space are booming and humanity's future looks bright. But one man's desire for vindication and revenge could end it all.

Lodestar chronicles the complex conflicts-political, personal, and scientific-on Earth and in orbit, that must be resolved if humanity is to claim its destiny among the stars.

Customer Reviews:

A Somewhat Weaker Link In A Great Series.......2007-01-03

Wealthy heiress Mariesa van Huyten's fears have finally come to fruition. When a remote satellite is sent out to observe an approaching asteroid, it is destroyed just as the asteroid slightly changes its trajectory. Even though she has been displaced at CEO at her consortium, she gains back some credibility when the news gets out that the asteroid will impact in six years. Thanks to her obsession, Earth has a chance to send out a crew to alter the course of the asteroid, but only if a myriad of things go right.

The plot of this novel is somewhat slower than her last one, owing to the deeper development of some of her main characters, especially computer nerd Jimmy Poole. Much of the "action" in the plot occurs online in a virtual world which may turn off some pure sci-fi fans. This book is OK, and serves as a decent bridge between "Rogue Star" and "Falling Stars".

Mindless drivel.......2004-08-10

I bought this book because one of the lines on the front cover compared this guy to Heinlein, someone I admire as an SF writer. It also said something about Flynn being a great literary writer. Well, the literary must have won out, becuase I could not find the science (oh, there is a lot of hacker drivel in the book that some people might confuse for science), and the main part of the book was disjointed psychological pain that often got resolved in unimportant sex. Most of the book could have been axed to no loss.
The comparison to Heinlein must be what reviewers do when they don't know how to say bad things about a book, so here I set the record straight:
1) Most of Heinleins books were under 250 pages. Certainly all of the good ones were in this range.
2) All of them were self contained (no endless series, even in the later books that follow the Long family which weren't that good anyway and were mostly about free love and sex).
3) All of them used the science to get somewhere new.
4) All of them covered an important topic in government and society.
5) All of them worked as books.
This book fails on all counts. It looks like he got paid by the word. This book reads like bad afternoon soap opera. I couldn't read most of it. No plot but psychological pain and pages and pages that have no relation to any story. Don't read it. Don't buy it.

Left turn into Cyberspace.......2002-02-27

After enjoying the first two books in this series, I eagerly awaited Lodestar. Now that I've finished it, I still eagerly await anything that resembles the first two books.

If you take the Jimmy Poole at the virtual OK Corral story arc out of this book, the remainder of plot progress takes up no more than a hundred pages. Jimmy on a virtual gambling boat, Jimmy fighting virtual attacks, Jimmy fighting not to be a jerk and read his wifes book. Geez! Nuke Jimmy and get back to the plot.

Get on with it!!!!!!!!.......2001-09-22

Others before me have written more articulately, praising this volume, (and rightly so), than I ever could. And I agree with them. However, I just have this to say:.....
Ok Flynn, you have me hooked. You've milked this 'Star series long enough. If you don't come up with a closer soon, you'll start losing readers. As for me,... I'll buy one more,....maybe two,....OK,OK,...three more 'Star books. But that's all!!! But by then you had better have resolved these issues:--Save Earth from the asteroids; Find out who the "Aliens" are, and why they did it..

weak link in a great chain! (but still pretty good).......2001-07-07

I am a great admirer and have much enjoyed Michael Flynn's series. Lodestar is still pretty good, even though maybe not up to the first two. I admire Flynn's characters as he develops them.. and sort of miss some of the earlier ones (e.g. Barry Fast). I found myself skipping over some of the "hacker" text. I could sort of follow most of it, and it may have been dynamite to someone more computer-wise than I.... but it did drag on. I kept expecting more space travel to occur, and was disappointed when it was such a small part of the story. I do admire how with each successive book the cultural landscape becomes more removed and different from that of the present. He has some creative slang terms, most of which I can decipher. He does keep coming up with great characters, and making some of the established ones more interesting. I like his inclusion of and interplay among the topics of science, technology, politics, high-finance, even a bit of art, and makes it all into a complex and compellng story.

More SF should be written this well!

Average customer rating:

Needed Editing -- Alternative History, Not Sci-Fi

The Start Of Something Very Good

Realistic Sci-Fi

A Latter Day ATLAS SHRUGGED

don't waste your money

Firestar
Michael Flynn
Manufacturer: Tor Science Fiction
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Lodestar (Firestar Saga)

Rogue Star (Firestar)

Falling Stars (Firestar)

The Wreck of the River of Stars

In the Country of the Blind

ASIN: 0812530063

Book Description

It is the beginning of the twenty-first century and one woman is determined to bring America and the world back on track in the technological future. She has the strength, the intelligence, the money. It will be done. This is the story of the rebirth of innovative technological expansion on Earth and in space.

Customer Reviews:

Needed Editing -- Alternative History, Not Sci-Fi.......2007-06-20

My copy of this novel is 573 pages, hardcover. I got it used for a buck, and I don't intend to keep it. A good cerebral 250 page novel exists in that behemoth, if you care to find it.

Parts of this novel were daring, heroic, and inspiring. After certain pages, I thought 'wow, this is excellent.' Compared to the general feeling of slogging onwards, those pages were rare. Flynn belabors his political slant though essay-like conversation, not actions. (Van-Huten Industries can do no wrong [corporate capitalism = good], but the government is corrupt. The tragedy of the commons not even mentioned.) His politics I generally agree on, and they *still* bored me.

The novel has a slow start, but about 90 pages in, the major characters are introduced. Mariesa, the rich lady, wishes for a space program because it is the right thing to do, and she is scared of meteor impacts. Mariesa is distant, idealistic, and never changes. Barry is a teacher who falls under the aegis of her Mentor program, a long term venture into the astronauts of tomorrow that gives the author a chance to vent about education reform. I don't like Barry; he goes with the flow and seldom bothers to think unless it advances the plot. Ned Du Bois is a hotshot pilot who cheats on his wife and generates no reader sympathy. Ned and Barry, upon meeting, instantly decided each other are jerks, and as I reader, I agree! Styx is a rising (goth) poet in the mentor program who Flynn inexplicably turns into a bitter adult. Oddly, what I found most worthwhile about the novel was the poetry, and thinking back on it, half is quoted from another source. The characters never crossed the 'I like you and care' threshold.

Is it really sci-fi when the novel covers past modern history? Firestar takes places from 1999-2007. Despite this time period, the author doesn't understand that cell phones exist, and given it was written in 1996, this is inexcusable. My college friends had cell phones in 1996. Major early plot points hinge on corporate executives not having having cell phones in 1999, and instead making use of airport phone banks.

So my rating is 2 stars. -Flat Characters, -Needed Editing (politics overboard), -Needed Editing (cell phone tech gaffe), -Not Sci-Fi, ++Poetic (really liked certain passages)

The Start Of Something Very Good.......2007-01-03

Michael Flynn embraces the genre of near-future science fiction with the same enthusiasm as forerunners Heinlein, Charles Sheffield, Larry Niven, and Jerry Pournelle. "Firestar" kicks off a four-book series spanning roughly twenty years, featuring a diverse cast of characters.

As a young woman, wealthy industrialist heiress Mariesa van Huyten sees a meteor plummet through Earth's atmosphere in a large fireball. The sight signals the beginning of an obsession for young Mariesa - the desire to somehow protect Earth from a cataclysmic strike by an extraterrestrial body. She begins identifying and cultivating talented young people (often without their knowledge or permission), sponsoring them in various academies, or even placing them in academies that she controls directly. Her hope, obviously, that her efforts will kick-start America's stagnant educational system while hoping at the very least that a team of people with the "right stuff" will be trained. Simultaneously she begins funding of a private, customer-driven LEO space program (seeing as how the government space program has ground to a halt). It goes without saying that Mariesa is beset on all sides by critics, environmentalists, and other industrialists who want to see her fail. Some of her enemies she can identify and some she can't, and among her detractors are members of her own family. She needs to stay the course or see her vision of a "safe" Earth crumble.

So many different storylines are begun in this novel that a new reader may find the plot to be somewhat slowly moving. Also, there is considerable "techno-babble". Be patient though - as the storyline develops through the second and third installments in this series you'll be well off by staying the course and reading the entire series.

Realistic Sci-Fi.......2006-06-20

Science Fiction has a tendency to come down on the more liberal side of most issues. Fire Star breaks from this tradition and delivers a story with a conservative heroine/agenda. With most science fiction you get a society radically different from our own, but Flynn is able to show you today's world and make space travel believable.

In this story, private enterprise has invested deeply into a secret project to replace the shuttle. Mariesa Van Huyten and her Van Huyten Industries (VHI) are the driving force behind this project. The corporate world is in it for the profits that are promised from a single stage to orbit vehicle, but Mariesa is driven by her fears.

The cast is supplemented by the test pilots that will take the new ship up as well as students in a school system bought out by VHI for the purposes of improving education. Mariesa has her own purposes of putting hope and the dream of space into the leaders of tomorrow. The sub plots intertwine seamlessly with the main plot. The book ultimately succeeds in showing the reader how space travel could change and getting the reader excited about it at the same time.

This is a very good book. There is mild sexuality and violence, but high school level readers should be fine. Warning: This book is part of a series and may lead you to buy the other books, but it works as a stand alone. This book is a Heinlein Award winner and follows in the tradition of Heinlein works.

A Latter Day ATLAS SHRUGGED.......2006-06-17

FIRESTAR(1996) was a novel of very near future SciFi, when published in 1996. By 2006, it becomes more of story of alternate reality than science fiction, and it reads very similarly to Ayn Rand's ATLAS SHRUGGED(1957), both in theme and presentation - only this time it is spaceflight, not railroads, which is the "supertech" at the center of the story.

Like ATLAS SHRUGGED, FIRESTAR has a very optimistic technological/capitalistic theme, and has a strong-willed corporate executive woman at the center of the story - with Mariesa Van Huyten replacing Rand's Dagny Talbert. But, this time around, the cadre of govt. foot-draggers and "looters" is expanded to include the under-performing school system, various federal govt. agencies doing the will of the "current liberal administration" (until they get voted out halfway thru the book), and then left-wing activists funded mainly by anti-change businessmen who are also willing to resort to violence to stop THE GOAL. Also like ATLAS SHRUGGED, FIRESTAR is a HUGE book - coming in at 896 paperback pages. Unfortunately, FIRESTAR is less well-edited than ATLAS SHRUGGED; and, annoyingly, every few pages you will encounter a typo.

Reality in the year 2006 is depressing, when compared to the achievements made in Firestar by the year 2000... we are nowhere near Single Stage To Orbit (SSTO) and orbital-launch railgun technologies acheived in the book - indeed, at present, it is a 50/50 tossup whether the remaining Space Shuttles will (or even should) ever fly again - and, it looks like SSTO is something that we won't see until 2030 (if ever). Yet, maybe if something like the revamping of the US educational system described in FIRESTAR could be acheived, then maybe we could start dreaming of an exciting space exploration program again. Heck, I actually REMEMBER 1969, as a 10-year-old boy, looking up at the moon with my dad, after Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin went back into the LEM to "sleep"... but to too many of our young students in this country, that achievement is viewed as fiction or a "hoax"... sad.

But, space exploration isn't the whole reason for the space technology push in FIRESTAR - there is also the very real threat of Asteroids or Comets striking Earth and destroying civilization... and that mankind needs to be able to get to a point of space technology where we can defend ourselves, or eventually be destroyed like the dinosaurs.

don't waste your money.......2005-07-26

The manner in which engineering and finance are treated in this book suggest that Mr. Flynn has only a rudimentary grasp of these fields. 2-dimensional characters who circulate throughout the whole novel like a bad case of the flu cause an evolutionary change in the socio-politics in the of the world thanks to the super double secret R and D project of some "super empowered" individual ( think bill gates or UBL ). His recycled ideas for spaceflight are not imposible just highly improbable. Launching Lox and LH2 capsule through the bore of a under 30km space cannon at 8km/s would compress the lh2 sortly followed by the lox and split the sides of the capsule. Can you say Kaboom, yes you can :) . His book obviously is the the gee whiz sort of science-fiction, with most of the "hard science" coming from old copies of popular mechanics. I don't mind this sort of science-fiction; everyone is entitled to read whatever lifts their spirit, but for the love of Locke, please don't masquerade this **** as hard science fiction. ( 1 star was biblicaly generous )

Average customer rating:

Satisfying End To A Very Good Series
The Woman Who Sold the Moon
the asteroids are coming!
'Stars' Faw Down. Go 'Boom!'
Great finale to this epic series

Falling Stars (Firestar)
Michael Flynn
Manufacturer: Tor Science Fiction
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0812561848

Book Description

In the early years of the 21st century humanity has advanced step by slow step into space, but has discovered through constant monitoring of the heavens that certain asteroids have changed their orbits and are headed for horrifying impact with Earth. Urgent action is required, but politics and a worldwide financial crash get in the way. The members of the van Huyten family, led by matriarch Mariesa who heads the vast space industry complex she has spent her life developing, the Pooles with their computer and security expertise, many political movers and shakers and dedicated pilots and space travelers of all stripes must pull together to save humanity from disaster. From the government offices and factories of Earth, to the Low Earth Orbit station, to manufacturing facilities on the moon, all of space-going humanity is united in an epic effort to save the planet from certain destruction and a new Dark Age, or perhaps even the extinction of all life on Earth.

Download Description

This story is a direct sequel to and conclusion of the series that includes Firestar, Rogue Star, and Lodestar, with a continuing cast of characters. More than anything, these novels map out the steps humanity must take to restore our space programs, wrapped up in a gripping, multi-faceted storyline.

Customer Reviews:

Satisfying End To A Very Good Series.......2007-01-03

Michael Flynn concludes the near-future "Firestar" series in style. In the year 2017 the varied cast comes together to try to save Earth from impending disaster - an asteroid has somehow changed course and is now on a collision course with earth. The machinations of the previous novels all finally make sense, as there is now a team of dedicated, well-trained professionals perfectly equipped to attempt an intercept and diversion of the asteroid. This novel ties up all the political and industrial loose ends, and gives closure to the character development (although it must be noted that not all endings are happy ones). Flynn embraces the near-future genre with all the deftness and imagination of Heinlein while adding a very definite hard technical slant. This series may not be great fare for those readers who despise techno-babble, but for the rest of us it's a satisfying feast.

The Woman Who Sold the Moon.......2002-11-13

Firestar (1996) is the first novel in the Firestar Saga series. Mariesa Gorley van Huyten is the teenage heiress of an old and very rich family. She is eager to take over the management of the family business from her grandfather and has decided to obtain a degree at Chicago to learn the basics of administration and management. During the summer before leaving for college, however, she has a vivid vision of a large meteor strike and resulting destruction which haunts her for the rest of her life.

In the following years, Mariesa concludes that the only protection against human extinction from meteor strikes is an active and prosperous space industry throughout the solar system, providing both defense capabilities and dispersal of the population in self-sufficient habitats. Since very few others are concerned with the meteor risk, she determines to promote such industry by means of Van Huyten Industries.

Christian van Huyten III had begun naming his companies after mythological characters in 1873, so the space initiative adopted by Mariesa shortly after she takes over is named the Prometheus Project. She recruits several of the VHI executives into the Prometheus Steering Committee. Development of a single-stage to orbit prototype for the project is performed by Daedalus Corporation, a Brazilian subsidiary, with materiel and expertise provided by other VHI companies. Daedalus hires Ned DuBois and Forrest Calhoun as test pilots for the new "Plank" SSTOs.

Mariesa also sees better education as a necessity to support Prometheus, so she acquires Mentor Academies, a private education concern, and expands it to manage public schools, under contract with the states and local school districts. One of the first managed public school districts is North Orange, New Jersey, near her home. Barry Fast, a teacher within the North Orange district, becomes a Mentor Institute Fellow and confidante of Mariesa.

As Mariesa begins to build an autonomous space industry within VHI, she finds both supporters and opponents within VHI, in the other aerospace companies and in government. She also finds herself developing a special relationship with a group of students within the North Orange district.

This novel spends a great deal of time attacking the current education establishment. It doesn't take any position on the dogmatic issues, but rather supports an eclectic approach that enables teachers to control their own presentations and relegates much of the administration to the managerial staff. Success is measured by the degree to which the student body achieves stated objectives. As someone who has been exposed to the education curriculum, I tend to agree the author in that the style of teaching must vary according to the student, but current public education thinking seems to consider such an approach to be too expensive. However, my reading in psychology suggests that the evidence tends to support the author's position: lockstep teaching is too expensive as well as also ineffectual.

This novel lays the foundation for a provocative series. It has been much compared to Heinlein's works -- i.e., The Man Who Sold the Moon -- but it is much longer and thus more detailed. Moreover, it has more room for character development and uses it aggressively.

Highly recommended for Flynn and Heinlein fans and for anyone else who enjoys hard science fiction with believable characters and excellent plot development.

-Arthur W. Jordin

the asteroids are coming!.......2002-01-04

I would have to say that since my years of reading Robert Heinlein I have yet to find an author that has drawn my attention more than Michael Flynn. He takes a very messy world view, scrambles it up with a host of characters & their very messy lives & brings a clarity to the struggle. I really like that!

Falling Stars is the final book in his Stars Series which brings together a dream for the human race & its stepping out of the cradle with the hard realities & political necessities such dreams must really face. Anyone with children knows those first steps bring bloody noses & so it is brought to life in vivid color in Flynn's writings.

Great Space Opera!

'Stars' Faw Down. Go 'Boom!'.......2001-02-18

The fourth book of the trilogy...

Maybe if the third book in this series had not marked time so badly, Flynn wouldn't have had to cram as much material into the fourth. And maybe he wouldn't have had to leave so many major plot elements (Most notably: Who Threw the Rocks and Why?) dangling. Just from the viewpoint of plot mechanics, "Falling Stars" is unsatisfying -- and that makes the whole series frustrating.

From a viewpoint of characterization, all the major characters dig down to the clockwork in their souls -- and somehow it's just not very interesting. Possibly that's because it's the male characters getting in touch with their inmost selves in "Falling Stars," where the women went through this process in the earlier books. Flynn has written some of the most unpleasant, manipulative, driven female characters I've read in years -- but they're capable of better than their clockworks would indicate and they're always interesting. The males, on the other hand, don't seem to get beyond overripe adolescence.

I'm glad I read the "Stars" series -- Flynn is hugely inventive and his style is pleasant -- but I doubt I'll ever feel drawn to re-read it.

Great finale to this epic series.......2001-02-07

Through insider trading a scandal destroyed a highly regarded company and led to a depressed economy. The dip forced the Treasury to move massive finances to keep social security afloat. Layoffs and bankruptcies became the norm and leaders turned narrow-minded and short sighted.

In 12017 scientists predict that an asteroid will ravage the earth in 2023 unless money is appropriated to create the technology to stop the destructive projectile. Visionaries from around the globe form an alliance to test various means to deflect the asteroid before it hits in six years. Soon the astronomers detect other asteroids heading towards the planet. The world needs heroes rather quickly or else face doomsday and both men and women quickly rise to meet the challenge.

FALLING STARS, the fourth book in this exciting series, brings all the characters back from the previous tales for a glorious finale. The story line is packed with non-stop action expected from a hard core science fiction novel, but surprisingly is character-driven as Michael Flynn emphasizes the staff as much as the quest. Though the conclusion of a strong quartet, this novel easily stand alone as a great genre entry.

Book Description

It is the early twenty-first century. There's a space station being built, and the first manned flight to the asteroids is in progress. The grand plan of Mariesa Van Huyten to give humanity a big push back into space, and in the process save the human race from terrible disaster, continues. And there are enemies who will kill to stop it.

Customer Reviews:

A Pleasing Sequel To 'Firestar'.......2007-01-03

Michael Flynn continues developing his multiple storylines and characters while substantially advancing the plot.

Billionaire industrialist Mariesa van Huyten continues to develop her plan to return talented people to space while simultaneously trying to stimulate public awareness. Her consortium is in the middle of construction of a permanent private space station while rubuffing the American president's intentions to make the station an illegal weapons platform. She continues to battle and manipulate other opportunistic business people, short-sighted liberals, environmentalists, and in the process unintentionally makes an enemy of one of her former "proteges". Privately-trained astronaut Forrest Calhoun and his team take man's first steps toward the asteroid belt to intercept a near-Earth object that shows signs that it's had other visitors. Meanwhile Mariesa, an amateur astronomer, has discovered that several near-Earth asteroids have subtly changed course and may present a dire threat to the planet, reinforcing her obsession to develop her plan to protect Earth.

Like most sequels, this book is largely dependant upon the plot lines and characters that began development in "Firestar", the previous novel. This one moves at a somewhat more hurried pace though, and consequently is more engrossing than its predecessor.

Interesting but has all the defects of a sequel.......2004-11-03

So now that Firestar has turned in to "The Firestar Saga," where are we this? It is not clear to us that Rogue Star was a necessary follow-up to Firestar which could and does stand on its own. Rogue Star on the other hand does not have the kind of strength to stand on its own merits and really only inherits what it had from Firestar. There are some items of great interest here, particularly in the political arena and the Fartrip exploration but now that the notion of a question involving space exploration has been answered there is no longer any suspense or specific interest in the sole nation of space flight. Rogue Star does not offer anything new other than an extension of the relationships involved. And as we have often said, books who create characters independently of the circumstances surrounding the store are not books that will have a great deal of influence on the genre. It will be interesting to see what happens to "The Firestar Saga" as it continues.

WHO SHOULD READ

As with many sequels, its principle interest will like in those people who read and enjoyed the first book. That is certainly the case here where readers who read and enjoyed Firestar (a remarkably good book) will move on to Rogue Star and find in it a great deal to enjoy. It's still a swift book and those readers will probably find a great deal of satisfaction within it. Additionally, there is quite a bit more detail regarding political events and interplay between opposing political positions--both on the national stage and within the office. There might be a segment of readers who are not terribly interested in the technology and test-flights leading up to space exploration but are more concerned about the politics involved after the technology is proven. For this segment, Rogue Star might even be a more satisfying read than Firestar.

WHO SHOULD AVOID

One of the most splendid thing about Firestar was the idea of a dream reified. The notions of privatized space exploration planned so far ahead that education curricula must be altered and redrawn in order to accommodate the dreams is of breathtaking scope and intense interest. All of that has faded with Rogue Star and nothing has really filled its place. For those readers who enjoyed the dream more than anything else they will find Rogue Star faintly but subtly unsatisfying. Mentor, Belinda, and Barry Fast have faded from the narrative almost entirely. There was a great deal of momentum built up in the first book and the series is now running on inertia. While some Really Big Events are revealed near the end of Rogue Star it seems almost more of a gimmick and slightly out of place. Its unclear whether "The Firestar Saga" will become a viable series or not.

READ THE ENTIRE REVIEW AT INCHOATUS.COM

From the Winner of the FIRST Heinlein Award!.......2003-12-19

As many writers that have been compared to Robert Heinlein only to fall short of The Master's works, Michael Flynn is the ONLY one to actually have the credentials to claim this exalted place in Sci-Fi, having received the FIRST Heinlein Award for writings in hard Sci-Fi, voted this new honor by a panel of judges including some of the greatest authorial names in modern Sci-Fi Literature!(See at www.heinleinsociety.org)
I recall having seen Rogue Star(along with the other tomes in the quadrilogy) on the bookstore shelves for years, and am at a loss that I waited until learning of Flynn' Award to finally try his work. As Heinlein did, and all too few have done since, Michael Flynn has written about the near future as if he had his own Time Machine and is returning with reports of what he has seen himself!
To quote Poul Anderson, legendary giant of Sci-Fi and Fantasy genre, "Firestar was a mighty hard act to follow, but Michael Flynn has done so, and brilliantly! Rogue Star continues the story, with the same imaginative realism, suspenseful narration, and vivid humanness, plus all sorts of new ideas and insights."

If you are contemplating reading this excellent quadrilogy, buy them ALL, so you don't have to wait for delivery between volumes, and be prepared to set aside any other tomes until you finish the series!

A Long Week.......2001-10-31

I picked up Rogue Star at the bookstore one weekend, not knowing what it entailed. Although part of a series, Flynn does well to keep new readers in the loop about what is going on. Readers who are new to the series can dive in with this book without feeling lost. Unfortunately, I found the book lacked a great deal of intensity. There are multiple character story lines, but it is a terribly long read with not much in the way of plot development along the way. Although charcters develop over the course of the book, we're still left wondering why it takes 500 pages to get to the bulk of the plot. If you're looking for an epic and enjoy a fairly "true to life" outer space experience, this is for you. Otherwise I recommend to steer clear!

Michael Flynn needs to meet a black person.......2001-08-24

Memo to Michael Flynn: When Tim Meadows would say "Word" in skits on Saturday Night Live, he was actually making fun of people who think that's actually part of black peoples' slang. It's not, it never has been and will not be in the year 2009.

Book Description

Before the Avengers, before the New Warriors, mutandom's fiery favorite almost had a vocation in villainy thanks to the teacher from Hellfire, the White Queen! Can she find her way to heroism before things get too hot? Guest-starring the New Mutants! Collects Firestar #1-4.

Customer Reviews:

firestar.......2007-09-07

firestar was a character from television that was given a comic origin in 1986. she was about the age of the New Mutants, but she wound up joining the Hellions.

Firestar (Angelica Jones) is a very likeable character, able to do with microwave radiation what the Human Torch does with flame. she comes upon some very hard times and is trained by the evil White Queen to act like an assassine for political reasons.

this character later went on to join New Warriors, where her familiar yellow outfit on the cover boosted sales. many people remembered her from the show. this comic book origin is a must for Firestar fans.

Marvel's Mistress of Microwaves is back!.......2006-12-12

Firestar has always been a favorite character of mine. I will not pretend I have not loved her character since I was very, very young.
That being said, I was pleasantly surprisedto see this repackaging of her orininal mini series. The story stills tands up today, and her character is so lovely. A sweet, sensitive girl faced with challenges all around her, and she learns to overcome.
This could really, really be used for a basic script for "FIRESTAR" movie, if you cut out all of the X Men characters and references.
Great emotional payoff would be easy, and not a lot of special effects would even be needed. A relative newcomer would be needed to play her, and someone with natural beauty, who could play shy and sensitive, yet could also be tough when push comes to shove. Emotional range. If only Patricia Arquette were young enough....
This is a very touching and human story.
Long live Firestar.

Firestar rocks! A great digest of comic book stories!.......2006-06-03

Popular TV superhero FIRESTAR (from the cartoon Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends) made her comic-book debut in 1985 in X-Men issue 193 as one of the Hellions, a group of evil teenagers headed by Emma Frost.

Of course, Firestar was not evil -- just an innocent girl manipulated into fighting the X-Men. In 1986, Firestar was awarded her own four-issue limited series that told her origin; this digest contains all four issues, as well as addendum pages with profiles of Firetsar, the Hellfire Club, and Emma Frost.

This book is fun reading for all age. The art is crisp, interesting and clean. Very appealing.

Firestar would go on to join the Avengers and the New Warriors, but the stories here are a great look at Firestar's early years.

Guest-stars include Professor X, Kitty Pryde and the New Mutants. Highly recommended.

Average customer rating:

I liked it! Ignore the other bad reviews!
NOPE,NOPE NOPE
Not up to her regular standard.
Very dissapointed by this book!
Worth the effort?

Firestar (Love Spell)
Kathleen Morgan
Manufacturer: Love Spell
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Romance | Subjects | Books

General | Historical | Romance | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0505519089

Customer Reviews:

I liked it! Ignore the other bad reviews!.......2007-08-31

I read these reviews before I read the novel but decided to chance it - and I'm glad I did! I have to admit the beginning wasn't that great - the couple falls in "love" really quickly and unrealistically - and I almost put it down. But I stuck it out and I was really glad I did! I don't think Gage is not "self-centered" or "boorish" as "A Reader" says. He has some serious problems in his past to overcome and sacrifices himself over and over again to protect those he loves. He and Meriel both grow over the course of the story. "A Reader" has also stated that Mariel's growth is unbelievable - I completely disagree. I also disagree with the statement that she sits around moaning and waiting to be rescued. She saves Gage's life and then insists twice on going on dangerous missions with him picking up a blaster and knife to do so. The only point I have to concede to "A Reader" are the scenes with Kieran, their son - those are pretty unbelievably written. But over all I think this is a much better book than the other reviewers have given it credit for. It is certainly not the "bodice ripper" that, again "A Reader" [sorry but she's the only one that had actual criticism!!] accuses it of being. No, I'll admit it was not the absolute best deserving of a five star romance novel that I have ever read but then I've only given like 3 or 4 five stars ever so a four is pretty good!

NOPE,NOPE NOPE.......1999-07-02

YOU HAVE TO BEAT YOUR PREVIOUS BOOK ABOUT THE CAT PEOPLE. THAT BOOK IS A 6 STAR. IT'S HARD TO TOP THE TOP. I DID NOT LIKE THIS ONE MS MORGAN. IT WAS A BIT DULL.

Not up to her regular standard........1999-04-16

I have read previous books y Ms. Morgan and was really disappointed with this particular one. It did not hold my attention, the characters were too extreme with emotions I wasn't able to relate to. For sci-fi love stories, give me some more of those cat-men stories.

Very dissapointed by this book!.......1998-07-10

I was very dissapointed, not even iinto the third chapter when I became bore with the book. Is not the first time that I read a book by Ms. Morgan, but it is the first time that she hasn't come trhu for me. I love the subjet matter, but neither the characters not anyone in the story could held my attention nor my interest.

Worth the effort?.......1997-11-02

There are many things I found disappointing about this book. In the beginning, the heroine is portrayed as so innocent, pure and good it sets your teeth on edge. Despite being completely sheltered and totally unprepared to rule, Meriel miraculously develops into a supposedly strong charcter. This is spoiled by her spending most of her time bemoaning her fate and waiting for rescue. The hero Gage, beyond being handsome and sexy comes across as self centered and borish and not in a particularly forgivable or interesting way.

Their interaction with their child was written like a plot convenience. As a mother, I was left wondering if the author has ever been exposed to small children. Mostly, I felt the characters were poorly developed, and the science fiction/fantasy portion of the story was poorly conceived.

I am a long time fan of science fiction and romance, it's been a joy to discover this genre, but I am finding that a great many fall into the terrible 1970's 'bodice ripper' trap. No convincing or engaging charcters no real plot and poorly developed story lines -- just an excuse to right steamy sex scenes. Love scenes are fun to read, but it takes more to make a great story! In a word this one was disappointing, but okay if you are sick of some the poorly written and unbelievable time travel stuff.

Average customer rating:
Firestar
Michael Flynn
Manufacturer: Tor
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000WOSZ74

Average customer rating:
Firestar
Michael Flynn
Manufacturer: Tor Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OTMAT6

Average customer rating:
Firestar, Apr 1986, Issue 2

ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Comic
ASIN: B000BN0QYQ

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