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

Good story for its time but the actors: yuck

Given that this title was written a long time ago in a world far far from ours, I'm impressed. The 'corny' dialog wasn't corny then. So if you take that into account, it's a great book.

Now please, let's have a professional acting team. I was so annoyed with the poor performance that I will stay away from that 'acting' team in the future. Hence the 2 stars.

Steph

Bill Baldwin's The Helmsman *Unabridged'

The author's writing is painfully sophomoric. This is a dramatization read by a full cast that includes amateur actors, adding to the pain. Except for an embarrassing romantic subplot that includes bad poetry and a few four-letter words it is my strong impression that this is a children's book unfit for anyone over the age of 14. The plot is vague and meandering and the poorly developed two-dimensional characters are not memorable, making this book difficult to follow. I love audio books. I've read at least 50 and I've really enjoyed at least 40, but not this one. This may be the worst I've read. Buying this one was a mistake.

<b>WOW</b>, that's painful

If you like space opera, this is for you. This generally doesn't go afar of the tone in the Lensman series, so feel free to grab it if you enjoy that.

For me, though, it was downright painful. The plots and characters are almost impossibly cliched, and the language is stilted enough to make you step back in awe. (Case in point: At one point, the bad guys surrender with cries of "We capitulate!". I broke into laughter.)

Start out with your average bright young talent, who works his way into the hearts of everyone around him with courage and a ton of luck. Add in a dash of that all-purpose beautiful woman who just happens to be the daughter of someone important. Sprinkle with some love at first sight, a few characters to whom "supporting" is a kind, kind description. Throw in a war scenario, during which the main character just happens to pull everyone out of the fire, and you've got... no, not Star Wars I, this book.

Really, science fiction is better than this. Much, much better.