First Strike

Nutall is an outrageously productive writer, and many of his finer offerings are Unlimited and free. This is a solid entry into the ever expanding universe of science fiction, and it transcends many of the \”pew-pew\” stories which proliferate like rabbits in the genre. Here, he creates a complete \”story-arc\” which I found fully satisfying. Nuttall has been doing this so long he makes it look easy, but it\’s not. Few writers possess his skills at: * Complex characters we come to know and like (or loath!); balanced with the uncommon ability to people his pages with myriad fascinating \”one-page\” people who die rather quickly, but not before we have a real sense of knowing them. * Strategy, which to me (unversed in any actual combat) seems both real and rather exciting. Nuttall \”plays fair\” by balancing luck, both good and bad, for all sides. Yes, \”man-unkind\” wins, but not without great cost and not without setting in motion social upheavals which threaten Earth\’s future well-being. * Weapons and ships which seem \”plausible\” and usually rather exciting. * Creatures and societies which are delightfully different and intriguing. Is this \”grand\” science fiction in the mold of Asimov or Heinlein? No, and it does not purport to be. For what it is and what it costs it\’s a five star book. It is a chair gripping, nail biting story of space adventure which grabbed me and did not let go until the end. And Nuttall does this again, and again, and again. How does he manage?

Let\’s start with the facts: I enjoyed this read, I have ten or so of Mr. Nuttall\’s titles, and I intend to keep coming back. But…I have some overarching critique. First, the positive. While \”First Strike\” is not my favorite of his work (that I\’ve read), I do think it is his most evenhanded, balanced work. Pacing was spot on, the tech and war tactics/strategy was dealt with practically, the plot works. But. I don\’t think Mr. Nuttall has found all of his \’voice\’ yet. My belief is that he has a much bigger mind and imagination then he is able to communicate, yet. In his mind, i suspect the characters are much richer, the plots deeper, the sociology wider. I am waiting for him to get it all to paper, and I wait patiently – because I think he\’s gonna get there and effing blow me away. 🙂 Also, and to be fair, I\’m comparing him to my readership of sci-fi, which is 49 years deep and averages 2-3 boks/week over that period. I\’m comparing him to Niven and Pournelle, Cherryh, Clarke, Brin, Card, Panshin, Harrison, Martin, Zelazny, Herbert, Robinson, Steele, Aspirin, Moon, Lynn, Dickson and Bester, just to name a very few. That\’s a hell of a grading curve. \”First Strike\” isn\’t up to those standards, but still a fun read. Mr. Nuttall isn\’t at the top of his game, yet. But I wait patiently, with a smile. Because I think he\’s got the goods, and in the long run, he\’s gonna stand with all those authors I\’m stacking him up against. Mr. Nuttall, please keep writing. 🙂

The old Nuttall is back! This was an enjoyable book. This reminded me of his older books. I have enjoyed his newer fantasy series but they have become boring and in my mind melding together. Ark Royal is one of my favorites and this book makes me want to reread it again.

Been reading quite a few of Mr. Nuttalls SciFi, and this was a pleasant discovery. The plot and universer made sense, there universe was interesting and the characters made sense. Mr. Nuttall does a good job of writing his combat scenes, though he does repeatedly in his writing fall afoul of the one small hill I will die on – namely starfighters/space combat physics 🙂 It makes the plots interesting, but the physics of it does not work and will never work. This goes for a lot of his combat descriptions where starfighters wheel around like they are in atmosphere, changing direction and wheeling around their targets. The energy budgets involved in such maneuvering would be staggering, as would the compensators needed to prevent the human(oid) pilots from becoming red pools of goo on the floor of their spaceships. The same goes for major combatants changing directions and charging in to the attack. (And yes, I know its SciFi, but still!) That said, very enjoyable, very worth the time to read! I sincerely hope Mr. Nuttall bring out more of this kind of SciFi!

This is a brilliant one off book fall sci fi lovers. I have been reading sf since 1960 I discovered Christopher Nuttall when my late wife bought me my first kindle. I have never enjoyed so many different genres from the same author. His space operas are truly stunning. His sorcery is gritty and very believable. He puts himself in a girl\’s perspective and runs with it like wildfire. I was sad to hear he had health problems but I\’m happy he is recovering. My saddest thought is that , unlike all of my other sf heroes Clarke, Asimov EE Smith,David Eddings, William H Hodgeson he will outlive me and I won\’t know the end of the story. Good luck Christopher god bless and good health.

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