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Original Essays | February 8, 2012

Kent Hartman: IMG A Raider by Any Other Name

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Perhaps you are aware of the fact that there is an oddly popular trivia game floating around that a group of clever (and likely bored) college... Continue »
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The Outback Stars

by Sandra Mcdonald

The Outback Stars Cover

ISBN13: 9780765316431
ISBN10: 0765316439
Condition: Standard
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Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

Lieutenant Jodenny Scott is a hero.  She has the medals and the scars to prove it.

 

She's cooling her heels on Kookaburra, recovering from injuries sustained during the fiery loss of her last ship, the Yangtze, and she's bored — so bored, in fact, that she takes a berth on the next ship out.  That's a mistake.  The Aral Sea isn't anyone's idea of a get-well tour.

 

Jodenny 's handed a division full of misfits, incompetents, and criminals.  She's a squared-away officer.  She thinks she can handle it all.  She's wrong.   Aral Sea isn't a happy ship.  And it's about to get a lot unhappier.

 

As Aral Sea enters the Alcheringa — the alien-constructed space warp that allows giant settler-ships to travel between worlds, away from all help or hope — Jodenny comes face to face with something powerful enough to dwarf even the unknown force that destroyed her last ship and left her with missing memories and bloody nightmares.  Lieutenant Jodenny Scott is about to be introduced to love.

 

Author Sandra McDonald brings her personal knowledge of the military, and of the subtle interplay between men and women on deployment, to a stirring tale that mixes ancient Australian folklore with the colonization of the stars.

Review:

"Former naval officer McDonald makes an auspicious debut with a military SF novel that through her heroine proves the maxim 'amateurs study tactics; professionals study logistics.' Lt. Jodenny Scott, who's suffering from survivor's guilt after the destruction of her spaceship in an unexplained accident, pulls some strings to get a berth on a new ship, the Aral Sea, which turns out to have a dysfunctional chain of command. Inventory discrepancies, missing robots and officers who either disappear or experience unusual accidents suggest that all is not well. Meanwhile, a troubled petty officer begins to experience visions of the aliens who created the system humans are using for interstellar exploration and commerce. The author captures the flavor of day-to-day life in a military organization and neatly ties the alien mystery with other plot threads at the end, though some of the romantic elements are a bit out of place and the mystery angle may remind cartoon fans of a Scooby-Doo episode." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Synopsis:

A fresh and engaging military-SF debut novel by a US Navy veteran

Synopsis:

Likable characters, excellent development, and a series of interlocking puzzles worked out against Australian culture that most Americans will find exotic. A smart, fun read.--David Drake.
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About the Author

Sandra McDonald has been a Hollywood assistant, a software instructor, a bureaucrat, and an officer in the United States Navy.  Her short fiction has appeared in Realms of Fantasy, Strange Horizons, and elsewhere.  She lives in Jacksonville, Florida.
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What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 1 comment:
Pandababy, May 17, 2009 (view all comments by Pandababy)
The Outback Stars is a keeper - a book that will stay on my library shelves because it is original and enjoyable. McDonald creates a unique and believable premise - that an Australian astronaut discovers an alien method of star travel connected to aboriginal artifacts - which she skillfully weaves throughout her plot.

Hundreds of years later, the protagonist and other characters are from planets the Aussie discovered, around a chain of stars which the rest of civilization refers to as the Outback. I was fascinated by the setting, an enormous military ship bringing settlers and supplies and keeping peace among far-flung planets.

The Outback Stars is McDonald's debut novel. With that as her opening standard, I've pre-ordered her next work, The Stars Down Under.
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Product Details

ISBN:
9780765316431
Author:
Mcdonald, Sandra
Publisher:
Tor Science Fiction
Author:
McDonald, Sandra
Subject:
Science Fiction - General
Subject:
Science Fiction - Military
Subject:
Science / General
Publication Date:
20080205
Binding:
Paperback
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Pages:
400
Dimensions:
9.44x6.34x1.30 in. 1.57 lbs.
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The Outback Stars Used Hardcover
0 stars - 0 reviews
$9.95 In Stock
Product details 400 pages Tor Books - English 9780765316431 Reviews:
"Publishers Weekly Review" by , "Former naval officer McDonald makes an auspicious debut with a military SF novel that through her heroine proves the maxim 'amateurs study tactics; professionals study logistics.' Lt. Jodenny Scott, who's suffering from survivor's guilt after the destruction of her spaceship in an unexplained accident, pulls some strings to get a berth on a new ship, the Aral Sea, which turns out to have a dysfunctional chain of command. Inventory discrepancies, missing robots and officers who either disappear or experience unusual accidents suggest that all is not well. Meanwhile, a troubled petty officer begins to experience visions of the aliens who created the system humans are using for interstellar exploration and commerce. The author captures the flavor of day-to-day life in a military organization and neatly ties the alien mystery with other plot threads at the end, though some of the romantic elements are a bit out of place and the mystery angle may remind cartoon fans of a Scooby-Doo episode." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)
"Synopsis" by ,
A fresh and engaging military-SF debut novel by a US Navy veteran
"Synopsis" by , Likable characters, excellent development, and a series of interlocking puzzles worked out against Australian culture that most Americans will find exotic. A smart, fun read.--David Drake.
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