The Voyage of the Star Wolf

While admitting its shortcomings, I was a fan of the Chtorr series. I decided to see what else Mr. Gerrold has to offer.

The sci-fi elements of the book are excellent. The faster than light travel is explained in an especially imaginative way and the ships are described in detail.

Unfortunately, I must agree with some of the other readers in that the characters are not multifaceted in any way. Some characters include the engineer (who really wants to be Scotty from Star Trek), Brik (Worf from ST:TNG), and "the Bad Guys" (any of the evil Klingons).

While I really wanted to like this story, I found myself distracted by the cliches. Characters were introduced and killed (much like the random guy on the away teams) and the other characters would say "Oh, well" *shrug*. The story was just too close to a really bad Star Trek episode for me to be entertained.

I was inspired by Gerrold's work in the SF TV industry to check out this book with my book club here in the Pacific Northwest, but though we all enjoy the guilty pleasure of Star Trek, this book wasn't worth the read. We found it lacked strength in characterization, believability in character motivations, and especially did not suspend our disbelief with the plot line. The main villain is a superhuman cannibal (tired) named Cinnabun, or something, that melodramatically sneers every line. The plot just doesn't cut it with everyone unfairly blaming the crew of the last surviving starship in a space massacre for something ridiculous. The book is a fast read, thankfully, but unsatisfying. Maybe we'll try his much ballyhoo'd Chtorr series.

While an interesting premise for a space opera, it is let down by two factors. First, Gerrold has a penchant for masochism in his storytelling, and it bleeds over into a distinctly unpleasant sensation for the reader. I read fantasy and sci-fi for escapism. Seeing characters get repeatedly hammered by bureaucracy and the shifting mass of public stupidity is not entertaining in the least. We all have to put up with it in the real world; keep it out of our entertainment, please.

Second, and of more importance, is the fact that Gerrold's writing style has all the flair and verve of a boiled cucumber. He may be a really good script writer, but as a novelist he's bland beyond description. The characters are two-dimensional props on a nearly bare stage. While David Weber has been accused of excessive exposition, Gerrold is the polar opposite: the world has nothing of interest in it. That would be fine if the characterization and dialogue were great. Unfortunately, that's not the case here.

If you like detailed, escapist space opera, I recommend you look elsewhere. Many people have done it far better.

A friend suggested this book, and it turned out to be entertaining. It feels like pulp military sci-fi, and since Gerrold's background is Star Trek TOS (The Trouble With Tribbles) & TNG - you can immediately see references and character traits similar to Star Trek. The storyline was quick paced, and kept me engaged. There are no strong, developed female characters though - so it is definitely geared for guys.

After reading this 1st novel of the Star Wolf trilogy, I'm eager to continue reading the series.

I liked this book very much and plan on reading more of his work. Thanks for the great read. Rick

I love this type of space saga and David Gerrod's writing is superb.

To quote a previous commenter, "It's still a great story (four stars), but the Kindle Edition sucks (one star). Many, many, many sentences are incomplete or missing words."

I'm enjoying the story. But as the previous commenter noted.. many, MANY sentences are truncated, leaving the reader to infer what the author wrote. An example, "We did an exemplary job, we brought back intelligence that no one else has ever accomplished. It's wrong to punish You not only deny us, but you deny the fleet the benefit of a crew has proven itself under fire."

Some chapters are in pristine condition, but many of them are full of incomplete text. It's a shame.

This is the story of the disastrous first mission of the star ship LS-1187 and its long limp home to an ungrateful reception and refit. The second mission is equally fraught with disaster.

The book is of historical interest to Star Trek fans because of its author's major influence on the Star Trek: The Next Generation television series. Its cleverly named "Morethan" bad guys closely resemble Star Trek Klingons. There is even an offsides Morethan security officer serving aboard the LS-1187, stoically enduring the prejudices of his crewmates. He comes off a little tougher than TNG's Lieutenant Whorf, although the overall resemblance is very close.

The characters were disappointingly shallow, especially for a book praised for its psychological complexity. The most painful example came when one character flew into a multi-chapter rage and depression over the deaths of his family. The readers had been through half the book with him by this point and this was the first indication he even had a family. One officer recommends that he handle his personal issues in the privacy of his cabin. We might have greater empathy for this character if we had occasionally seen him in his cabin, writing to his family or looking at their pictures. Or doing anything.

I wanted to like this book more than I did, especially after reading [[ASIN:1932100067 The Man Who Folded Himself]]. It was enjoyable, but mostly for the historical connection to Star Trek. I do plan to read the sequels, [[ASIN:1932100105 The Middle of Nowhere]] and [[ASIN:1932100113 Blood and Fire]], for similar reasons. But they aren't as high on my list as they were, sad to say.