The Blackcollar marks the beginning of Timothy Zahn's career that would culminate in the creation of the best Star Wars trilogy on the market. As he is my favorite author, I couldn't miss out on this one.ETA 06/09/14: After reading more books and thinking back on my feelings for this book, I have revised the rating on this book and bumped it down to 3 stars. This was a good book, but not great, like some of Zahn's later books. That said, 3 stars still means I wouldn't hesitate to recommend.Plot:Allen Caine is a part of a rebellious faction that wants to unseat the Ryqril from the Terran Democratic Empire. He is sent to Plinry to uncover the location of 5 starships and recruit a select group of former warriors, the Blackcollars, to help him in his mission.Good:If you want action, this is definitely your book. Not ten pages into the book, Allen Caine must flee Earth because his cell has been compromised. From there, he goes to Plinry and is quickly involved in a Blackcollar plan to escape from the Plinry system. Escapes, attacks, reconnaissance, this book holds your attention (especially during the explosive spy revelation at the end!).Timothy Zahn clearly spent a lot of time thinking about the blackcollars, their fighting style, and their culture. This effort is well-placed as the blackcollars are a convincing military unit.Some of Zahn's characters, most notably Prefect Galway, are well-fleshed out and given unusual and unique perspectives. Also, Caine's reaction to his birth is very interesting.Lastly, I was intrigued by Zahn's brief mention of the loyalty conditioning. I was amazed that the characters that possessed it remembered it and wished Zahn had spent more time on this concept.Bad:While a great action/adventure novel, this lacks Zahn's depth of character seen in later novels. Allen Caine, Damon Lathe, and others are 1- or 2-D. Further, there is some confusion as the novel starts out from Caine's perspective and quickly moves to Lathe's. This is not bad, but I was led to believe that Caine was the protagonist, not Lathe. As I continued to read, Caine moved to unimportance and Lathe returned to the forefront. When the view returns to Caine, the transition seems clunky and irrelevant.Some of the situations that the blackcollars are able to pull themselves out of with minimal or no casualties is beyond belief--even with their chemical-induced youth and strength. Zahn also fails to detail exactly what makes the Ryqril bad. I get the impression that they kill others for not listening, but what exactly did they change about the government (besides that humans no longer govern themselves)? And the conclusion is decidedly lackluster--especially after the breakneck pace of the chapters prior.Finally, and this is more the publishers fault that Zahn's, the back of my book insinuated that the whole book would detail Caine's attempt to find the blackcollars. In the actual book, he does this in about 50 pages. The rest details finding the spaceships.Dialogue/Sexual Situations/Violence:Dialogue includes da**, he**, b****. A woman tries to seduce Lathe. Violence includes the use of martial arts, kicks to the head, the use of nunchaku, paralysis darts, and the like. Some mentioning of beheading, disarming, and the like (not for the squeamish).Overall:A good first start at the one who would launch the Star Wars Expanded Universe. Once you start, you won't be able to put it down. If you want science fiction action/adventure, this is your book. If you are looking for deep characters, go to Zahn's later novels.
I pretty much picked this book at random from the library shelf. In reading the forward, it turns out that this is his first novel. Author's first novels are kind of a mixed bag. Often times their craft isn't very refined and the writing shows it. On the other hand, often times a new author (at least one that is able to sell their books) has some new and interesting ideas.I didn't really notice a lot of originality in the novel, but it was still an enjoyable read. If I had to classify this book I would say it was military sci-fi, as it deals with humans that have spent the last 30 years as a conquered race. The main character Caine is a member of the resistance (or the insurgency, in today's parlance) going to another planet on a special mission to deal a significant blow to the Ryquil, the conquering aliens. To accomplish his mission he has to locate and then enlist the help of the local resistance, without knowing who they are or if he can trust them.Although the overreaching plot of the book is Caine's mission, a lot of the tension from the story comes from not knowing who we can trust. Even after Caine locates and enlists the aid of the local resistance, no one can ever really trust each other because there is always the possibility that they could be a double agent.I think it is this double-guessing and uncertainty in espionage that Zahn does the best in this book. He kept me guessing until the end even then he surprised me. He left clues that a careful reader could catch on, but you probably won't in your first reading.I said I didn't notice a lot of originality, but there are some interesting ideas that Zahn uses in this story. The most important are the Blackcollars, the ultra-elite resistance fighters that the book gets its name from. Perhaps not too original, but he does make them interesting. Another is that the Ryquil employ humans to do most of the day-to-day work, even security. In this way the Ryquil rule over humanity is every similar to the Yuan dynasty in the 11th and 12th century, where an extremely small Mongolian minority ruled over the Chinese Han who outnumbered them more than 100 to 1. In order to have a position in the Ryquil civil or security service, you have to undergo 'conditioning', which makes it psychologically impossible to betray the Ryquil masters.Anyway, it was overall an interesting read. I believe there are two more books in this series, so I'll check them out at some point.
What do You think about The Blackcollar (1983)?
Fantasy Review BarnManly men, doing manly things, sometimes in outer space! Super geniuses, always one step ahead of the game, weaving masterful plans of manliness. Space battles, ground battles, hand to hand battles, throwing stars and nunchuku. The evil aliens have kept the humans underfoot for too long; it is time to strike back! Bring on the Blackcollars, buckle in, and take a wild ride!Obviously, you have to take this book for what it is, a fairly cheesy space adventure on the lighter side of the sci-fi genre. The author is probably better known for his Star Wars novels than he is for his original works, but fans of the tie-ins know that he is one of the better writers to do them, for whatever that is worth. But if you find yourself hankering for a fast paced sci-fi adventure, you may find this one to be a bit smarter than you were expecting, and fairly enjoyable.Humanity has been conquered by the Ryqril, big leathery, and mean. Resistance member Allen Caine leaves Earth just before his cell is broken to a planet called Pliny, hoping to find the location of a secret that could change the course of the resistance. Once there he finds the Blackcollars, soldiers who were enhanced by a now lost drug known as Backlash, giving them twice the strength and speed of a normal human. From there they must work together to find the hidden secret and strike a major blow against their enemy.Zahn writes the adventure aspects pretty good, and with action being the main focus this is a good thing. A common trend in his novels is a genius “chess master” who is several steps ahead of every other character, and in this book he does it with Lathe. You never quite know where Lathe is taking things; the author isn’t one to drop hints begging you to figure things out on your own, but rather leads the reader by the hand through the entire story. His adversary (who is not a villain, just a man on the other side of things), is cut from the same mold. If you buy the premise, the story shouldn’t disappoint a reader, the plot is fairly simple but strong, with a good conclusion that still leaves enough for the next book.Oh sure there are problems. Obviously the very nature of the book will keep it from appealing to a large crowd. It is a little older and not always politically correct, though not egregiously so. So there are references to “oriental slant” of the eyes, and only two female characters in the entire book (one who was a seductress type). But I was pleasantly surprised to see people from all over the old earth included, rather than the usually ‘American’s in Space’ common to the genre.This was not my first time reading this book, I have read most of Zahn’s older library. While no one will confuse him with the heavy hitters of sci-fi, his books are fun and intriguing, and always have an interesting hook. I enjoyed this quick little reread and still love this book. Pick it up for something quick and fun sometime.3 ½ stars
—Nathan
Ninjas in space! There is no reason to read the rest of the review. Plot? Main characters? Opposing forces? Setting? Who cares, it's NINJAS! IN! SPACE!You know Timothy Zahn from his Star Wars novels, but he writes plenty of science fiction besides. I didn't know this was from an earlier series, it was a bonus in one of the recent Humble e-book Bundles, so I though it was new! It wasn't until I read "*gasp* One of the assembled resistance leaders was a woman! And a pretty one too!" that I thought "waaaaaait just a second". Google confirmed this book was written in 1983. That explains why the technology is so low tech, why no one is fiddling w/ their phone, why no one laughs themselves silly at the idea of people "hiding" from the government, and why there isn't a single non-male character of note. "War is a man's game" is how they thought in the 80s, and how they envisioned it would be even in the 25th century. Mara Jade is proof that Zahn has come a long way since, but I can see how this would put someone off from reading this.Please don't let the 80s blinders get you down, Ninjas in Space is the book that brought me the most joy in 2014. I hope I don't know anyone who wouldn't like it; I'd hate to hang out w/ someone so lame.
—Jean-Luc
300 years in the future, humanity's secret weapon against aggressive aliens.....old white men pretending to be ninjas. And sexism. Apparently it will be super hard to picture a woman as a resistance fighter in the future.The tale is gripping, chop full of intrigue and back stabbing that keeps you flipping pages to find out what happens. But when I found the answer, it was terribly disappointing. The ending is abrupt, anticlimactic, and confusing. Of course, if you continue on in the series I am sure that will be cleared up.I will not be continuing though. Shurikens! Nunchaku! These are not what I want in my sci-fi. I found it beyond my capacity to suspend my disbelief that NO ONE FLYING AROUND IN A SPACE SHIP can make armor to stop a dagger.At least Zahn gets better. Go read his Star Wars Thrawn trilogy and leave this one be.
—Jason
