Center of Gravity: Star Carrier: Book Two

Written by Ian Douglas

Narrated by Nick Sullivan

Center of Gravity is the second book in the explosive Star Carrier series by Ian Douglas—and a breathtaking new high in military sf, the strongest of the science fiction subgenres. Battlestar Galactica fans will adore this saga of ultimate war in deep space, as humankind risks its very future, battling a vast alien evil empire in order to achieve transcendence and become a major power in the universe. Douglas’s Center of Gravity belongs on every action-lover’s sf bookshelf—right between Joe Haldeman’s The Forever War and Heinlein’s Starship Troopers.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Nov 17, 2011
• ISBN: 9780062127204

Ian Douglas

Ian Douglas is one of the many pseudonyms for writer William H. Keith, the New York Times bestselling author of the popular military science fiction series The Heritage Trilogy, The Legacy Trilogy, The Inheritance Trilogy, The Star Corpsman series, The Andromedan Dark series, and The Star Carrier series. A former naval corpsman, he lives in Pennsylvania.

[crazybatcow · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It is pretty much the same as book one. They are just in a different area of space. Same enemies, same space flights, similar characters (well, tbh, I don't even know if they are actually the same characters as in book one, or just so similar I can't tell if they are the same or new for book two.)

Does that matter? Nah, it's just war-in-space with lots of descriptions of space flight and ships and weapon speeds etc, you can work out just fine at the gym and if a clanking weight blocks out a sentence or two, you won't lose track of the story.

I couldn't tell you a single character's name, that's how little characterization there is. But the story isn't a character driven story, it's a space battle story spread out to novel length, so who needs characterization anyway?

I don't think I will be reading any more of Ian Douglas' works though.

[texascheeseman · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Star Carrier 2: Center of Gravity
Author: Ian Douglas
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Publishing Date: 2011
Pgs: 389
Dewey: PBK F DOU
Disposition: Irving Public Library - South Campus - Irving, TX
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REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS

Summary:
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Genre:
Science Fiction
Space Opera
Fleet Action
Militaria


Why this book:
I really liked Book 1. Have to give 2 a try.
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Plot Holes/Out of Character:
I thought he had sought Angela out and been turned away by her at some point in the last book maybe in a flashback. I could be wrong...but it feels like he did.

Think there is a hole in the continuity. Right after the second Battle of Arcturus, there is a mention of the client races of the Sh’daar. They mention the Jivad Rallam who I don't think humans knew about yet. Though in fairness, the Agletsch could have mentioned them.

Favorite Scene:
Admiral Koenig acting to save the H’rulka city in the gas giant atmosphere.

Favorite Concept:
I love well done sci-fi military space opera: fighter planes, battleships, destroyers, submarines.

Hmm Moments:
I get that space is big. But, considering how tightly the Terrans watch space, how did that H’rulka ship manage to sneak into Saturn.

The Pan Europeans sending somebody of higher rank seems hinky. Considering the political climate on Earth when the task force warped out.

Meh / PFFT Moments:
I really hope this prim crap was over after he saved all of them at the end of the last book. I get it’s used to build background drama, but c’mon. Collins should’ve been smacked down at some point. Putting the onus on Gray isn’t kosher after the previous book. If this goes on forever, it will impact my enjoyment of future volumes.
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Pacing:
Very well paced.

Last Page Sound:
Good story. Good space opera.

Things I’d Like to See:
A map of Star Carrier space.

Author Assessment:
I’m definitely in for Part 3.
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[conalo-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This review will be for the complete first three book arc of this series. This novel reminded me a lot of the Jack Campbell Lost Fleet series as there was lots of space battles with ship to ship action. In this series, humans are fighting multiple alien species and not other human groups and for the most part are behind them technologically but the author makes up for this in the tenaciousness of the human fighting spirit. The author also does a pretty good job in fleshing out the multiple main characters and well as building a nice universe to tell the tale in.

I really enjoyed this who series and look forward to reading more in the followup series. 4 stars for a fun read. Recommended for any fan of space navy military sci-fi.

[vasher-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This would be four stars if he would just cut down on the repetition. I don't need to be told how space flight works every 40 pages. Especially when it's the 2nd book in the series and the same thing happened in book one.

[cataloger623 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Hardcore military science fiction. The book continues to explore themes of the merger of man and machine. This story centers on the politics of war.
Are defensive wars ever winnable? When is mutiny the correct course of action? Why are the aliens who are attacking earth afraid of man and machine merging? These are the themes explored in part two of this trilogy.