The Privateer (The Flight Engineer, Book 2)

Doohan, James

ISBN 10: 0671319493 / ISBN 13: 9780671319496

Published by Baen, 2000

About this Item

First Edition, First Printing. Published by Baen, 2000. 12mo. Paperback. Book is like new.

Seller Inventory # 503190

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Privateer (The Flight Engineer, Book 2)
• Publisher: Baen
• Publication Date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0671319493
• ISBN 13: 9780671319496
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition: First Edition.
• Condition: Like New

About this title

Synopsis

Flight Engineer Peter Raeder's unorthodox but heroic tactics have landed him a desk job, but a Marine General is willing to help him get back into space, offering a suicide mission on the border with enemy territory. Original.

Review

Gene Roddenberry created Lieutenant Commander Montgomery Scott--the Enterprise's beloved chief engineer Scotty--in the image of his friend James Doohan, a former real-life engineer and officer in the Canadian Army. Now Doohan, in his Flight Engineer series, coauthored with military-SF powerhouse S.M. Stirling, has created an equally likable character in Scotty's image: Commander Peter Ernst Raeder, a sly and salty flight engineer for the Commonwealth Navy.

Be warned: Baen Books has given the series an astronomically inappropriate tagline--"Beam us up again, Scotty!" And they've likewise made the unseemly decision to set Doohan's disembodied head afloat on the cover of both this and the last book, spinning surreally above generic space battles like some mustachioed, Scottish Death Star. But despite the crass cashing in on Scotty and his mug, Doohan and the already accomplished Stirling come through with fun and competent, if straightforward, work, a jocular mix of naval intrigue, pitched ship-to-ship combat, and (surprise!) last-minute, skin-of-your-teeth problem-solving. And at the heart of the story sits the worldly-wise, sardonic wit of Commander Raeder.

If you're new to the series, you'll probably want to check out The Rising first. But if you're anxious to see whether Raeder's daring aboard the Dauntless earned him reprimand or reward, pick up Privateer. One of his commanders puts it best: "You know the reward for good work, don't you, son?" "More work, sir?" "You're learning, son." We can trust the same applies to Doohan and Stirling. --Paul Hughes