Bill Baldwin's The Helmsman

By: Bill Baldwin

Narrated by: Steve Cumming, full cast

Length: 10 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

One of the few survivors of a League sneak attack on his poor and miserable homeworld of Carescria, Wilf Brim sets out to settle the score. Were it not for the attrition from the war that followed, Wilf would never have escaped his lower-class status and been accepted into the Academy. Now, freshly graduated, young Sublieutenant Wilf Ansor Brim, Imperial Fleet, begins his first assignment, Helmsman of the I.F.S. Truculent.

Intended for mature audiences.

(P)Timberwolf Press

Pure fun

Ok, I enjoy the deep and moving tales of Card and Silverberg, but there are times when I like to return to the roots of hard, futuristic, battle science-fiction. This series is it. Sure the acting is a little corny, but that's the point! You won't be able to stop listening once you start.

Awesome!

I really enjoyed the story. It was very entertaining, though it was a bit tech heavy for me.

Not painful, but tedious

I found "The Helmsman" very tedious. It seemed to me to be written as a screen play. Way too much time is used in describing everything (and I mean everything). For example, I don't need to know a physical description of every person on the bridge as Wilf walks in. The plot was pretty predictable and the dramatization is ok, but not great. I gave it three stars because I was willing to listen to the whole thing.

The Helmsman

Heard this originally on Sirius/XM and loved it from the start great action, well narrated and a well done sound effects and a great story line.

Memorial moment? It has to be when Brim met the princess for the first time. He was hooked and I don't blame him. The crew of the I.F.S. Truculent blended well together and it IS worth a listen. Too bad Timberwolf Press sold in 2004 this was one of some very good audio dramas.

A great ScFi book to pass the time with!

The hero of the story is portrayed as an average man who was given an opportunity and welcomed its challenge. The characters are fleshed out well and the action is pretty quick. I especially liked the descriptions of the equipment and starships they made me feel as if I were there. It may not be Star Wars or Star Trek it is a great story and well dramatized. Give it a listen and see if it’s for you.

a comic book

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

shallow thinker who prefers comic book sound effects over character and plot

What do you think your next listen will be?

ark royal

How did the narrator detract from the book?

bad audio quality. could not listen on my stereo speakers since sound range was too flat.

What character would you cut from Bill Baldwin's The Helmsman?

baboose and girl friend.

Any additional comments?

plot line interested me but was overlaid by shallow characters, childish hero behaviour, and dominated by comic book like sound effects.

Couldn't finish it

I satarted out thinking, "OK, its unbelievable but enjoy a chilish adventure. The dialogue was so painfully hokey, I couldn?t finish it. The dramatic reading and sound effects were cool but I just couldn't take the bad dialogue anymore. The romance sounds like it was the fantasy of a prepubescent

No

Sorry did not like it at all, to comic book.

Not worth the time

The Helmsman is at best an amateur effort at best. Kids might enjoy it although it does have a few scenes that parents might not want their kids to hear. The dialogue is laughably bad much of the time and the voice acting in this dramatization is utterly horrible and hamfisted. The narrator for the non-dialogue parts does a fine job however but that does little to save the audiobook. I'd definitely recommend passing this one by.

Can't get through this one.

I'm a die hard Sci-Fi fan and I love it all, but I just can't get through this one. The group that reads it makes it sound so cheap, that I can't pay attention to the story line.

I'm sorry, It may be a good story, but it's tough to listen to. This is the first Audio Book in the three years that I have been a member of Audible, that I just can not get interested enough in the story, to finish it. I have tried at least 10 times. I give up!