LOAF Reviews Pilgrim Stars

Everyone's favorite LOAF is slowly getting better and took the time to write up a Pilgrim Stars review.

Hey everybody, long time no see! Haha. I'm doing good so far and am now able to do a few things with my computer. If my retina stays on, I'll be back to flying status in about five weeks. After my last surgery, my doctor showed me how I could read by looking straight down through the gas bubble in my eye -- and the arrival of the latest Wing Commander novel, Pilgrim Stars, from Amazon.com really lifted my spirits. Thusly, in an attempt to have something to do here is my review of the book. Also of note, I can now read my e-mail again, so if anyone needs to talk to me, they now can.

Pros:
When I reviewed Peter Telep's adaptation of the Wing Commander Movie, I noted that we would soon see if he was capable of telling his own Wing Commander story. With the release of Pilgrim Stars he has proved himself more than worthy of the universe in which he is writing.

Pilgrim Stars has a flavor all its own. Its style is distinctively different from any of Baen's novels, and it seems to blend some more emotional aspects with the especially technical style common from Peter Telep. All of the characters remain very faithful to their original forms, especially Maniac, for whom Telep writes for superbly.

The influence of the Confederation Handbook is visible throughout, and Peter Telep does a particularly good job of increasing the meaning and danger of the Pilgrims. With the addition of a Paul Atreides-esque universal consciousness and another scary power which I won't spoil, the Pilgrims can now threaten something besides "watch out, or I'll navigate you!".

Cons:
It may sound trite, but my biggest problem with Pilgrim Stars was that it ended -- but let me to further explain. Stars ends in the largest cliffhanger of any Wing Commander story... and it leaves you wanting to read Pilgrim Truth as soon as possible.

In addition, there is the ever present issue of game versus movie. I preface this final paragraph with a disclamer: it is utterly unfair to the book to compare its facts to those of the games -- it is a movie book. That said, there are very few differences between this movie book and any game fact. In my first reading, the only things that jumped out at me were the designation's of the Rapier's and Tolwyn's age. Both of which are minor, and not fair game in commenting on the quality of the book.