Hell Ship [Kindle Edition]

I'm a little old fashioned when it comes to my Science Fiction, telling me that the thing works is good for me, I don't need to either know the mechanics of why it works, only that its believable and whilst the trend these days is to get quite in depth with the science part of the genre, Philip is an author who believes more in the aspect of storytelling with the science taking a supporting role.

Whilst to some this may seem a little old fashioned, for me it's the perfect combo, great storytelling with a little science and a arc that is character driven, especially this offering with three lead principles against a war faring alien nation. It's beautifully constructed, the characters, whilst in some cases quite alien, work wonderfully well together with each playing off the others strengths as they seek to complete their common goal.

All in a satisfactory tale and one that really was a joy to great. Great stuff from Philip which proves why he's fast becoming my favourite science fiction author.

This book was fantastic. Some of the ideas and events in this book really made me stop and think. I have never encountered science-fiction on this scale before.

This book is a mix of enjoyable pulp sci-fi and epic space opera.

I sympathized with all the protagonists and even a little with the antagonists by the end.

I have read some great books this year, but this one ranks alongside Ready Player One for the way it engaged me.

Very good.

Philip Palmer is new to me but he comes highly recommended so I had high expectations. Hell ship lived up to my expectations for the most part.

A mysterious vessel travels the universes and destroys all life in them. One survivor from each race is taken to the observation deck to watch their world destroyed before being made a slave forever. The slaves live in an artificial world inside the ship. This is the story of Sharrock who just saw his home world explode. He swears vengeance like all the survivors. Trouble is that Sai-Sai the ruler among the slaves is all for happiness and live the day. So she tries to convert him to acceptance and her way of life. Their struggles are the heart in the story. This is where Palmer does a good job of characterization.

The third point of view character is Jak an Explorer and former trader. He sees the ship from outside as he strives to destroy it. The social life of Jak and his fellow aliens are amusing and might hold a few pointers for real life.

You know characters are important to me so another part that I liked was the flashbacks into the pasts of the main characters which made them make sense. Sai-Sai's makes one of those inner journeys that are at the center of good tales. Jak does too but to a lesser extent. For him it is more about equality.

The hard sciences are not important here. Palmer writes about the characters and the story they create. He does a great job at it. This makes it so sad in the end when he jumps over major resolutions in bylines and implications. The whole book was well written up until the ending and would have been five out of five if it wasn't for a rushed ending.

Bottom line I liked Hell Ship. It was an engaging read about aliens, clashing cultures, secrets revealed and the fight for freedom. But it has, in my opinion, a weak ending, though not a catastrophic one. Hell Ship has a lot of things going for it so I would recommend you to read it but don't expect too much.