Eagle Against the Stars

Today I read Eagle Against the Stars, by Steve White. I picked it up at Uncle Hugo's in MN, because it was next to the Sector General books by James White, and looked interesting. (Whoever wrote the back cover for this one was really good at what he does.) I liked it for what it was- a first contact story, with unexplored- or inexpertly explored- depths. The ending in particular seem well-thought-out and deep. In the main plot points of the book, the intricacies of who was betraying whom- although less confusing than a Stephenson plot and less Byzantine than a Stross plot- felt like a repetitive nightmare. There was some "telling" instead of "showing" in key areas of the book, especially in regards to how the aliens were different from humanity and from each other. The alternate social and economic structures of the aliens were pretty cool, if not as clearly explained as they might have been. I'd have liked a chart, personally. The whole alternate economic structure thing reminds me of Heinlein's work, although White's is a lot more diluted than the hardcore poking that RAH did at the then-current social conventions.

Eagle Against the Stars is standard space opera. Which means that you shouldn't read it to try to find trenchant commentary about important social issues or intellectual musings about the nature of man and society. What you should expect is solid writing, an interesting, fast-paced story line, and a modicum of tension. Oh, yeah, and expect the good guys (us) to beat the bad guys (aliens).Steve White is a fine writer, and his books are generally entertaining, and fun to read. In this book, White has penned an engaging and entertaining bit of sci-fi, that accomplishes exactly what it's designed to do, which is to entertain you with a fast-paced adventure story.IF you like combat sci-fi, you will enjoy Eagle Against the Stars. Steve White has, by the way, coauthored with David Weber, some of the best military Sci-Fi ever written: Insurrection, Crusade, and In Death Ground. This book doesn't quite measure up to those, but it is an engaging read.

This book is proof positive that Steve White is a full-fledged partner of the StarFire series, despite some snide commentary from the politically charged "readers"; and a great author in his own right.Great story, well developed characters, indeed a very plausible scenario for the near-future USA (aliens or no aliens). Too bad White developed the whole story in the frame of a single book; this could've been made into a trilogy much like "The Disinherited".

I enjoyed this book with NO apologies. Comments about it being slowly paced have me wondering whether other reviewers even read the same book. What I read was something like Tom Clancy meets "Earth: Final Conflict," with some great, slam-bang space opera riffs thrown in toward the end.I found some of the tone of "Eagle Against the Stars" reminiscent of 40s & 50s Heinlein, which I consider a strong compliment since most of what Heinlein wrote from "Stranger In A Strange Land" on isn't much worth reading anyway.The political commentary is a bit heavy handed at times, but that doesn't mean it's off target by any means. Political satire always exaggerates the essential truths about a candidate, a movement or an institution, which is probably why those on the Left will find endless reasons for hating this book, couched of course in criticisms about pacing, character, action, etc. Don't believe it. This is an entertaining, fast-paced SF action/intrigue story for those of us who still believe that turning this nation into a politically correct, Green-dominated, social-democratic paradise would pretty much suck what's left of the American spirit out of our society. Thank God the Lokaron arrived when they did.