The Privateer: The Flight Engineer, Volume 2

Sentenced to desk duty after an unorthodox but successful maneuver, flight engineer Peter Raeder takes a risky assignment on the fringes of Federation Space rather than languish away in an office

In a sequel to their coauthored The Rising, Doohan ("Scotty" on the original TV series Star Trek) and SF veteran Stirling (the Drake series, etc.) again deliver the exhilarating action that their fans want. Commander Peter Raeder of Space Command is facing reassignment to an earthbound desk post for a reckless act of bravery that saved every hand aboard the Dauntless, but contradicted the orders of his superiors. So when the inscrutable General Scaragoglu offers Raeder a dangerous and deadly assignment, he accepts eagerly. Doohan fans will be delighted as the high-spirited crew of the Dauntless set out on their new ship, the Invincible, and Raeder's highly talented fighter-jock buddiesAincluding the lovely Lt. Comdr. Sarah JamesAtrain for their top-secret mission. Piloting "Speeds"Afighters reconfigured to resemble the ships of space piratesARaeder's band conducts attack raids on their enemy, the "Mollies," within a dangerous asteroid belt. But when the Invincible is nearly crippled in battle, with just enough fuel to limp home to Ontario Base, Raeder and his band are left, with supplies dwindling, to face the enemy on their own and to rescue Sarah, who has been taken prisoner. Though they're writing here far from the borders of serious SF, Doohan and Stirling bind sharply drawn characters and rousing adventure with an energetic story line, offering first-rate escapist entertainment. (Oct.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The second of starfighter flight engineer^-pilot Peter Raeder's adventures begins with him facing a court of inquiry for his conduct in adventure number one, The Rising (1996). To avoid flying a desk, the officially grounded Raeder volunteers to lead a covert mission into enemy space to establish a secret base on an old mining asteroid, from which piratical attacks on the Mollies--the yarn's bad guys--are to be simulated. The goal is to break up the pirate-Mollie alliance. The mission succeeds, but not without considerable cost in sweat, blood, and ingenuity, and plenty of the unorthodox tactics and procedures that got Raeder in hot water before. The collaboration of Star Trek's Scottie and top action-sf writer Stirling is a good one. The two have compatible senses of humor and the ability to exploit to the full the absurdities of the military and war. At the same time, they don't let the tone turn silly. Solid astronautical fare. Roland Green