Starbridge (original: 1989; edição: 1991)

One of the better YA novels I've read. I like that it is optimistic Sci-Fi. I like that it features a heroine without getting preachy about gender roles. I like that there's a talking rug. ( )

Author has written some good ST novels.

This reads like a homeless man's Vernor Vinge or lower rent Timothy Zahn. A human freighter picks up signals and encounters aliens. There are various misunderstandings, leading to finding a whole Federation-type thing of other aliens. None of the characters really seemed real to me. The main character, Mahree, was supposed to be 17 but it was hard for me not to think of her as a whiny 12-year-old. That said it's still some fun light sci-fi reading. If the sequels were cheap enough I might read them. ( )

This book, along with four sequels, was among the Sci-Fi book horde I purchased a month or so ago. It look mildly interesting and I had the set (or so I thought), so I kept it, not really intending to read it anytime soon. I mean, look at the cover! So cheesy!
But then, Jim C. Hines, a favorite author, mentioned he was reading it to his son. Since I admire Hines' work so greatly, I reassessed my initial appraisal of the series. After this first book, I see what Hines is speaking about (not that I doubted him).
I enjoyed this book greatly! The beginning is a bit slow and the story doesn't pick up pace until things go wrong. A story about humanities First Contact, this could easily shift into a parade of cliches. But it doesn't. It felt truthful, as if things might actually happen this way. I felt Mahree was a bit young, but her character grew up in the story and I like how Crispin handled that. In the end, this is a fabulous sci-fi tale, with all the charm of an old classic and all the wit and twists of a good story. I highly recommend if you want a solid sci-fi tale! ( )

Ever so often, I pull a book out of my library to see if my reading tastes have changed. The last time I read "Starbridge" was 1996. I knew nothing about the art of writing in 1996, and now I am studying the craft.

A.C. Crispin wrote the book in 1989 when female heros in sci-fi were largely unknown. Like many of the changes for women in our culture, we often accept the change without thinking about the way it happened. For the first confident steps toward heroic women in sci-fi, we have A.C. Crispin (among others) to thank.

After 19 years, this book continues to satisfy a reader with a plot that surprises with almost every turn of the page, characters who take life, and a satisfactory - though unexpected - ending. This book is still easily found and worth the price. ( )