/lit/ - Literature

yes.

armor by john steakley.

pirates are sort of secondary, but they are there and pretty important plotwise.

if you pick it up you must be warned though, that there is a charachter shift at the beginning of the book that is quite infuriating.

also i think the mule in the foundation series is some presented at the beginning as some sort of space pirate, but he's not exactly a pirate.

I don't think I've ever read anything that was focused around space pirates, except in an abstract passing way.

I was also going to comment on Asimov's Foundation series. The independent traders are hinted as doing this as a pastime. Especially so as related by mayor RICHARD NIX – er – I mean mayor Indbur. I also remember reading something from L. Ron Hubbard that involved a civilian transport being constantly raided in the first part of the book. Consider Phlebas spends a fair part with a group that may as well be pirates. None were really about piracy though.

I'm sure there are works out there that range in style from thinly disguised Caribbean freebooters rehashed, to bored alien AIs engaging in live action performance art.

On the harder end of the realism scale piracy in the traditional romantic sense is thought implausible. You are more apt to find corporate funded mayhem, or mercenaries acting as plausible deniability for some irate government. It's not impossible though if you look at real world examples. While the Somalis have been shut down for the time being, there's still a bit of it going on elsewhere. So, something written around a science-hard and realistic approach could make for a good read.

As a consolation prize I'll drop this on you, a recounting of an old school pen and paper RPG session. A group of upstanding innocent Travellers deal with nasty natives disrupt their attempts to recycle an abandoned starport. A howto guide of sorts … or not.

http://www.freelancetraveller.com/features/othroads/shavfoib/lowcrusade.html

>>6777

>disrupt

disrupting

Ack! Pirates stole me gerund!

>>6777

Yeah, I thought it may have been a bit to specific a subject to have to many books on.

And that sounds pretty cool.

>>6770

are there space pirates in war hammer 40000?

>>6790

Mostly just space crusaders. And heretics. And some ayy lmaos in desperate need of purging.

>>6802

what are the best warhammer books? Tried asking /tg/ but I don't think they read the books all that much.

DI'd imagine this is sort of on the topic of the OP post.

>>6849

Huh.

Halfchan /tg/ was always willing to discuss them, within reason. Our /tg/ strives to be different, quest running is verboten for example, but I'm surprised our guys aren't a go to spot for this.

Whatever. We're cool with it.

I'm not a Warhammer fantasy wonk myself. I'm more spaceships and rayguns than dragons and barbarians. You probably meant the 40k stuff instead of the fantasy branch since we're talking space pirates. On that, I really enjoy parts of the 40k franchise. Now, I won't ever make an attempt at the Horus Heresy series, nor ever will I try to read the entirety of the rest of the canon. Even if you are as choosy as I am you're apt to find something really cool to read among all this.

Here are my recommendations:

1. The Inquisition War trilogy by Ian Watson. This is the exemplar of the 'verse, the very first. Purists bitch about this not being in line with current lore. I don't think that matters given how much conflicting lore there is and that it's still an excellent introduction to the whole franchise. Strongly recommended to every fan of 40k.

2. The Eisenhorn series by Dan Abnett. The tone is dark gray in the way most people envision the franchise to be, without being a complete downer. Also presents this neat ongoing theme of subtle corruption that confuses the contrast between our hero with villains past.

3. The Ravenor series by Dan Abnett. A touch less dark and more adventurous, yet similar in style to the above series. I found it to be a different enough take on a similar profession to keep my interest up.

4. About two thirds of the Gaunt's Ghosts series by Dan Abnett. This is straightforward military fiction and brutally (some might say more properly) superdark. While I count myself a fan of Abnett, this series wore on me, becoming repetitive. If I had not accidentally skipped the first three novels I could not have held out to the end. The problem here is my limited attention span to military fics in general, not Abnett's writing. If milfic's your thing I think you'll enjoy the whole.

5. The Ciaphas Cain series by Sandy Mitchell. Repetitive and formulaic in an obvious way that made no, nada, absolutely zero negative impression on my enjoyment. Deliciously comedic while still keeping enough of that spirit of grimdark adventure which makes 40k what it is. Would pay real money for more.

>>6850

thanks a lot, and I appreciate the little rundown on each, went ahead and started downloading the Eisenhorn and Inquisition War series.

Hate to be a bother, but have you read the Deathwatch novel by Steve Parker by any chance, and if so how was that one?

>>6851

Haven't read any of the Space Marine stuff. Kinda odd for a 40k fan, I know. Someone else may have and could chime in.

Cloakmaster cycle. ;)

Bio of a Space Tyrant lel

>>6850

> The Ciaphas Cain series by Sandy Mitchell.

just read "fight or flight" and "for the emperor".

i really enjoyed them. thanks for the suggestion.