Reviews for Second Chances

The average rating for Second Chances based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2014-01-16 00:00:00 Jalal H Qazzaz This is a well well written science fiction tale. I enjoyed it very much. The Secession Wars have finally ended. A young Alliance soldier named Jim in a moment of panic--or cowardice or both?--jumps ship abandoning vulnerable passengers in frozen sleep and his tech crew. When the ship is rescued--by their former enemies--The Alliance puts Jim on trial. The Captain of Jim's ship and the senior officers---just as guilty as Jim--escape custody. Jim faces trial alone for desertion and cowardice and offers no defense. His death sentence is commuted but he is drummed out of the service. The book is called Second Chances because it follows Jim's travels from world to world in the outer systems and Jim attempts to make a living. But when Jim knows--or even suspects--that his true identity may be known,he quits his job and moves on. Because not only was the trial a public blockbuster--Jim also cannot forgive HIMSELF. He lost it for the space of the time it took to jump from the main ships' hull to the smaller escape craft--and he can't believe he could do such a thing. The writer uses two narrative styles, with great effectiveness. One is from Jim's point of view, of course; the other narrator is Captain Marlow, a former commander of Jim's , whose path crosses his several times. Top notch story-telling; good characterization and world building. Good dialogue---a winner all the way. It is aimed at fans of military SF but imho any SF fan looking for a good story would enjoy this. Highly recommended. Suitable for age 14 on up.

Review # 2 was written on 2020-04-17 00:00:00 Davin Crooks In SECOND CHANCES, Shwartz pays homage to the novels of Joseph Conrad, especially LORD JIM. Her hero, a battle weary young war veteran, is piloting a civilian bioship through pirate-infested space. Caught in an ion storm, in an instant of panic Jim flees the damaged ship to save himself, and disgraces not only himself, but the remnants of the Alliance Space Service. Like Lord Jim, he spends the rest of his life in a vain effort to redeem his life in his own eyes. After a space station court-martial, Jim flees from one planet to another, trying to make a life, then abandoning his construction for fear of discovery. The novel's narrator Marlow (homage to HEART OF DARKNESS), a detached observer through being frozen for 20 years, knew Jim as a bright, idealistic young officer before his disgrace. Now a captain in the Relief Service, she encounters him again as he jumps ship after a heroic mission when exposed by a newsman. Marlow transports Jim, who is recruited by the Relief Service, to Exquemalin, a colony planet in danger from pirates and wreckers. There Jim must face the demands of redemption. SECOND CHANCES is both a suspenseful novel of an ex-serviceman searching for his place in a postwar galaxy, and a philosophical novel ruminating on the concepts of honor and ethics. Readers familiar with Conrad's writings will delight in the allusions; readers unfamiliar with his work will read for the story. A Science Fiction Book Club selection.