Plot or Premise

Alex Rogan, earthling, has been recruited by the Star League to defend the frontier against Xur and the Kodan Armada.

What I Liked

It’s hard to separate out the novelization from the movie it is based on. The story works great — Alex’s initial life being “less than” what he wants, his accidental recruitment, his balking at fighting in the war (“Save the Whales, but not the universe?”) and his battle testing turning him into a starfighter.

What I Didn’t Like

The book does a rather poor job of Maggie, Centauri, the beta unit, and even Grig. They are all pale imitations of the characters that are in the movie, even with more room to flesh them out. A few key dialogue sequences were obviously edited in the final script as they snap on screen, and the alternate versions feel a bit flat.

The Bottom Line

A slight step down from the movie it’s based on