The Privateer: Flight Engineer Ii (v. 2)
Gene Roddenberry created Lieutenant Commander Montgomery Scott--theEnterprise's beloved chief engineer Scotty--in the image of his friend James Doohan, a former real-life engineer and officer in the Canadian Army. Now Doohan, in hisFlight Engineerseries, coauthored with military-SF powerhouse S.M. Stirling, has created an equally likable character in Scotty's image: Commander Peter Ernst Raeder, a sly and salty flight engineer for the Commonwealth Navy.Be warned: Baen Books has given the series an astronomically inappropriate tagline--"Beam us upagain, Scotty!" And they've likewise made the unseemly decision to set Doohan's disembodied head afloat on the cover of both this andthe last book, spinning surreally above generic space battles like some mustachioed, Scottish Death Star. But despite the crass cashing in on Scotty and his mug, Doohan and the already accomplished Stirling come through with fun and competent, if straightforward, work, a jocular mix of naval intrigue, pitched ship-to-ship combat, and (surprise!)  last-minute, skin-of-your-teeth problem-solving. And at the heart of the story sits the worldly-wise, sardonic wit of Commander Raeder.If you're new to the series, you'll probably want to check outThe Risingfirst. But if you're anxious to see whether Raeder's daring aboard theDauntlessearned him reprimand or reward, pick upPrivateer. One of his commanders puts it best: "You know the reward for good work, don't you, son?" "More work, sir?" "You're learning, son." We can trust the same applies to Doohan and Stirling.--Paul Hughes