![]() ![]() What I’m most impressed by though is the series villain, the Terran Commonwealth. Neither of them are clear derivatives or copies of existing countries or cultures, and they provide interesting background details for the action. The Federation’s most important ally is the Coraline Imperium, a vaguely Germanic culture-inspired constitutional monarchy in which the Imperator is elected by the noble class. In one of my favorite minor details, we learn that while the largest religious group in the Federation is the Stellar Spiritualists, a vaguely quasi-agnostic group that encourages veneration of the universe, second-place is being constantly fought over by Christianity and “Reformation Wicca”, the sect that the main character belongs to. The Castle Federation is a “cultural mosaic” composed of elements from all over Earth, with a government vaguely based on the Roman Republic and a cultural fixation on the Arthurian Mythos. It’s rarely particularly detailed–I would almost call it minimalist–but the books convey enough information about the world and the major star nations that you get a good feel for them all. In general, the worldbuilding in this series tends to be quite excellent.They create interesting, unique battles with a really firm sense of scale and stakes that are pretty distinct from almost anything else I’ve read in this genre. I really like the way these dynamics play out in the series. It’s an entire world of “eggshells with sledgehammers” every ship has enough firepower to sterilize a planet but is incredibly vulnerable to being destroyed itself. Ships in the series are equipped with zero-point reactors and antimatter warheads and positronic lances that can basically destroy anything with a few hits. The other thing to keep in mind is that when you’re unleashing enough energy to outrun light, you’re playing with essentially unfathomable amounts of power. If you’re going to invest in an FTL drive, you install it in a battleship or carrier or other capitol ship. Because of this, there’s no real interstellar equivalent of “escort ships”, no frigates or destroyers. A fleet of three to five ships is considered a major force, fifteen or twenty a massive armada. Most star nations just can’t afford to build that many of them. Without going into the details of the pseudo-scientific explanations, FLT-capable starships are multi-trillion dollar investments that take years to build. Unlike, say, Star Wars, space travel in the universe of Castle Federation is an inherently difficult and expensive endeavor. Or to put it simply: space travel is hard and the amount of energy is takes is breathtaking. Castle Federation, a little unusually for soft SciFi Space Opera, really emphasizes and makes use of the inherent magnitude of its setting. I’ve actually talked about this before but I really like the dynamics of combat and space travel that the series sets up and plays with.But when a new Commonwealth attack throws everything into jeopardy, Roberts and his crewmates must rally their ancient ship for one more battle with destiny. ![]() She’s been sent on one last tour of the outer defenses before her inevitable scrapping, a prestigious yet restful post for Wing Commander Kyle Roberts. ![]() Thirty years ago, when the Terran Commonwealth launched its surprise attack against the Castle Federation, it was the spacers and pilots of the prototype carrier Avalon that led the heroic defense of their homeworld and delivered a shocking defeat to the Commonwealth’s dream of unifying humanity. There’s nothing great about them but I find them endlessly enjoyable and almost infinitely re-readable. ![]() The Castle Federation books are a kind of perfect exemplar of this genre. His books also lack the overbearing right-wing politics that mark so much military science fiction, to an extent that I didn’t fully recognize until I realized how delighted I was to be able to read about some space battles without having to skim over rants about the welfare state. His series tend to be really solid Space Opera and MilSciFi, not necessarily doing anything groundbreaking or innovative, but deploying the cliches and tropes of the genre in a really enjoyable way. He’s a Canadian Science Fiction writer who I discovered through the magic of Kindle Book Recommendations, and as it turns out he writes books that are incredibly well-optimized for my specific tastes. Over the last year or so I’ve developed a real appreciation for the works of Glynn Stewart. TITLES: Space Carrier Avalon, Stellar Fox, Battle Group Avalon, Q-Ship Chameleon, Rimward Stars, Operation Medusa ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |