Cobra

Cobra Trilogy, Book 1

By: Timothy Zahn

Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki

Length: 10 hrs

Publisher's summary

The colony world Adirondack and Silvern fell to the Troft forces almost without a struggle. Outnumbered and on the defensive, Earth made a desperate decision. It would attack the aliens not from space, but on the ground - with forces the Trofts did not even suspect. Thus were created the cobras, a guerrilla force whose weapons were surgically implanted, invisible to the unsuspecting eye, yet undeniably deadly. But power brings temptation...and not all the Cobras could be trusted to fight for Earth alone. Only Moreau would learn the uses - and abuses - of his special abilities, and what it truly meant to be a Cobra.

©1994 Timothy Zahn (P)2009 Audible, Inc.

The life of a cobra

It is interesting how this story isn't just focused on a single major event, like a war, but instead follows over character through about 30 years of life, including war, family life, exploration. It is well told and kept me interested the whole time.

Better every time.

Genuinely one of my favourite books ever. Every time read (or now listen) to it I like it more! Cannot recommend it enough!

Great story!

I read this 30 years ago & completely enjoyed listening to it all over again.

Hopefully just the back story

Story wasn't bad just kind of thin. Hopefully laying the ground work for more depth in the future.

Just as good as when I read the book years ago

The narrator did a superb job just as he always has. Looking forward to hearing more read by him.

Wandering and anticlimactic

Not bad, but not good either. Felt like 5 self contained ideas strung together without planning.

A Pleasant Surprise

I really didn't expect that the focus of the novel would be a study of human nature. But, that is what it was. The combat segments were fast and furious (that somehow made it more believable), which is much better than those stories that seek to fill 90% of the plot with combat. I'll defintely buy book 2.

Expected better than mediocre from Zahn

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

No, this book tells a story that is neither gripping nor all that interesting. There is plenty of potential in the setting, but a lot of the characters are written awfully stupid for supposedly smart people. I found a lot of the character portrayals hard to believe.

What could Timothy Zahn have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Written characters and people as a whole that were more believable.

What about Stefan Rudnicki’s performance did you like?

I can't pick any one thing out about the audio performance that I liked more than the rest. As a whole it was quite good and I have no complaints.

Do you think Cobra needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

I have no interest in any of the sequels after reading this.

a Zahn masterpiece

Timothy Zahn was already my favorite Star Wars author, then Cobra popped up in my recommended list after a few other books with Stefan Rudniki narrating (the enderverse).
Cobra is my start on this new journey with Zahn and I am already placing it in my top favorite SciFi novella. It has the politics and warfare one comes to expect of genre related titles, as well as the awesome character development and love that Zahn typically delivers!
A must have masterpiece for any SciFi collection!

Not Bad!

This book isn't bad to listen to. It held my atension, but it always seemed to be leading up to something action packed that never happened. It had some action but not what the name Cobra implies. The narration is very good, thats is what kept me listening. I'm just starting to listen to book 2 Cobra Strike. I hope it has more then the first book. Now don't get me wrong about this book. It's not a bad book, not by a long shot. I was just hoping for some nail biting action!