Allreaders.com
Author David Gerrold booklist (click here)

Book Review By Thomas Head
The Middle of Nowhere by David Gerrold

This is the third book in David Gerrold's Star Wolf series. The story begins soon after the events of 'Voyage of the Star Wolf', with the ship known as 'Star Wolf' by it's crew, and LS-1187 by everyone else in the Defense Authority fleet, (a ship has to have been blooded before it can assume a name, and the LS-1187's kills keep getting taken away by the politics of the Admiralty Review Boards) stationed at a decontamination berth, near Stardock.

In VotSW the ship had been 'host' to a Morthan (genetically altered humans -- more than human -- who have declared war on the Allied Worlds of Humanity) Assassin for over 72 hours, and hence needs to be scrubbed clean of all traps, sabotage, and threats to the safety of Stardock before being allowed to come to port there. The problem being: as more things are corrected, more keeps going wrong. But that's not the only trouble, the Admiralty wants the LS-1187 decommissioned and scrapped for parts, the Morthan battle fleet is believed to be headed for the Taalamar system, and every able-bodied ship needs/wants to be there, the crew of the Star Wolf is no exception. And Commander Jon Korie is once again denied his Captain stars.

The whole of the book takes place in and around the Star Wolf, with a few scenes on Stardock. Their are three main story lines: we follow a new crewmember, Gatineau, in his first tour aboard a starship, Korie and the crew as they try to get their ship back in fighting condition before it is stripped by the rest of the fleet, and Chief Security Officer Brik's (a Morthan who has turned his back on the Morthan Solidarity decided to join with the Alliance) quest to understand human sexuality (a trait 'engineered out' of Morthans because of its inefficiency, and distractive nature.) The book gives an in-depth look at the lives of a number of the crewmembers, an insight into the strategic and psychological mindsets necessary for interplanetary warfare.


Plot & Themes
Tone of book - very upbeat
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - science fiction story
War or Invasion Yes
Major kinds of combat: - spaceship battles
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Descript. of chases or violence - 10 %
planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 20 %
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 40 %
Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 30 %

Main Character
Identity: - Male
Profession/status:
Age: - 20's-30's

Main Adversary
Identity: - An "It".
Profession/status:
Eccentric: Yes
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a little/some
How sensitive is this character?
Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters

Setting
Terrain
Spaceship setting: - futuristic human warship - a space station
Takes place in spaceship? Yes

Writing Style
Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths
scientific jargon? (SF only) - a significant amount of technical jargon
Sex in book? Yes
What kind of sex: - vague references only - descript of kissing - weird alien sex - descript. of private male anat.
How much dialogue? - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
Back To Main Menu