Torchship

Publisher's Summary

A captain who'll take any job if there's enough money in it. A pilot with an agenda of her own. And a mechanic with an eye on the pilot. The crew of the Fives Full are just trying to make enough money to keep themselves in the black while avoiding the attention of a government so paranoid it's repealed Moore's Law. They're not looking for adventure in the stars...but they're not going to back down just because something got in their way.

©2015 Karl Kevin Gallagher (P)2016 Karl Kevin Gallagher

I like this author

The narrator was expressive, but the writer's story was a gem. I am heavily invested in Michigan's marriage, and want to know what happens next! The plot was borderline formula, but I get the sense the writer was getting better as the story progressed.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Excellent first novel!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Absolutely. It's a fun story, very much in the same family as Firefly, and the characters are interesting. It also seems like the story will be going somewhere interesting in future books, which I'm excited for.

What did you like best about this story?

I thought the job of bringing the multiple threads of the story together was well done. It's tricky to do right, and this was done better than most attempts I've heard.

Which character – as performed by Laura A. Gallagher – was your favorite?

I actually liked the Captain's character the most, I think, although this is a tough decision. The pilot is also a lot of fun, but something about the personality of the captain really seemed to come through well.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes. I kept finding excuses to do things that would let me listen to an audio book.

Any additional comments?

This is the first published book for the author, and the first audio book for the reader. They are acquaintances of mine, and I received this book to review, but I purchased it for full price after it released, because it's just that good. I look forward to what they do next!

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Well written and fun to listen to

The only question I have after listening to the book is when can I expect another from this author.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

An excellent first book.

Couldnt stop listening. Looked forward to every opportunity to continue the story. I look forward to other books from this author.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

The opposite of hard sci fi bad amateurish reading

none computerized space flight through gates no respect for communication time lag or the vastness of space in regaurds to teliscopes to find ships at distance.

A good read

I really enjoyed the book. I appreciate an author that doesn't coddle the reader by explain every little thing, but allows the reader to interpret. I would have liked a little more development of Michie's romantic feelings, but it comes clear buy the end. A solid story that was well paced.

Good spaceship story

Really enjoyed this story. Characters and elements of narrative interesting. Quirks of spaceship crews and the interaction interesting.

Low budget TV pilot that was not picked up

Torchship by Harl K Gallagher is a sci-fi hodge-podge with an ensemble crew of oddballs. There isn't much of a plot except for this merry band to find themselves in various bizarre situations that they always manage to extricate themselves from. The universe is poorly described, but suffers from some post AI disaster that has left rogue AI planets hunting down humans, while dysfunctional governments seem only intent on ferreting out any new attempts at AI. There also exists the "disconnect" which is separate and operates like the wild west. The flavor of the story feels more like a selection from the majority of the pre-1950's generation of stories geared for pre-teens at a dime per pop.

The sci-fi elements are crude and presented without explanation (faster than light drives, powerful planet dominating AIs, etc.). Little background is presented on either the state of the universe or individual characters. What is shown is mostly formulaic and unimaginative. At the same time, space pilots use paper and slide rules to navigate between stars. Almost everyone has a cavalier attitude about life and death situations that is simply annoying. The few character backstories discussed are either boring or numbingly obvious.

The narration is exceptional disappointing with extremely poor rendition of voices. Most of the females come off as little girls. The ship's captain should either be diagnosed with catatonia or have his medication dialed back. Most of the characters are rendered with an annoyingly plucky, cheerful banter that craves for a slap on the back of the head.

1 of 3 people found this review helpful

Where do I start

Any additional comments?

Where do I start. There is a side story in this book that has nothing to do with the main story what so ever. Not to mention, the side story seems to have not point at all. Why is it there? The universe is tedious and stupid. It is one that Bernie Sanders would die in ecstasy in. Apparently no one but the military and spacers do any work, and all others exist on citizen stipends, (magic money from heaven) their purpose, to be killed off by various geeky or anti-geeky factions. The main character is a mattress back for her real job. No spoilers, you will have to buy it to find out what that is.

The narrator is annoying. She makes the captain of the free trader ship sound like a lumber oaf, and the female characters all sound like little girls. This is a book you would read once, and take to the used book store to sell back to them because you would have no desire to read it again. All in all, I want my credit back.

1 of 4 people found this review helpful