The Science Fiction Review Books Cobra Bargain by Timothy Zahn

Cobra Bargain by Timothy Zahn

Book Cover

The main character in the third and final book of the Cobra Trilogy by Timothy Zahn is Jasmine (Jin) Moreau. Her father is Justin Moreau, the twin son of Johnny Moreau that became a Cobra. Jin hopes to continue this legacy, but there is one major roadblock. She’s a woman. Somewhere around this time the government discovers something odd happening back on Qasama, the world that they invaded back in Cobra Strike. Several blind spots in their satellite surveillance have developed. They are worried that the Qasamans might be trying to develop space flight or some type of weapon to use against the Cobra worlds. When a covert operation is planned, her family pushes for her to be trained as a Cobra. All Cobras that the Qasamans have seen have been men, so she should have an advantage.

The Trofts provide a transport that should allow the Cobra force to land on Qasama undetected. The recon mission almost becomes a total failure when for some reason the transport is detected and shot down. Jin is the only survivor with very serious injuries and no way to contact her superiors. She manages to find a survival pack with Qasaman clothing and eventually finds her way to a Qasaman road where she collapses and is picked up by some locals.

She is slowly nursed back to health by the Sammon family, on of the more powerful ones in a rural town named Milika. The rest of the novel is essentially a Sci-Fi mystery. Jin learns of a town inside the satellite blind spot that is hiring seasonal workers for what seems to be some type of secret manufacturing. Jin’s main goal is to investigate this while maintaining her cover. The eldest son of the Sammon family, Daulo, is very suspicious of Jin, but does not have any evidence to back it up. Jin in turn is amazed at the hospitality that the Sammon family gives a complete stranger. Jin decides to do what she can to protect her hosts while still accomplishing her mission. This turns out to be a good idea, because the Sammon family ends up being vital to Jin’s success.

This book turned out to be my favorite in the Cobra Trilogy. The action is spread out rather evenly from the perspective of the main character, Jin. Zahn also lays out the details of an alien society in a way that he does so well. With that said, I was somewhat disappointed with the trilogy as a whole. Zahn’s writing has definitely improved over time. I think my expectations were set too high after reading Manta’s Gift, The Icarus Hunt, and the Conquerors’ Trilogy. I also thoroughly enjoyed his books in the Star Wars universe as well. I would recommend reading some of Zahn’s later works. You will not be disappointed.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Please prove you are a human * Time limit is exhausted. Please reload the CAPTCHA.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Related Post

Donnerjack by Roger Zelazny and Jane LindskoldDonnerjack by Roger Zelazny and Jane Lindskold

Donnerjack Book Cover

One thing I like to do before I review a book is to look up some Wiki pages and other reviews to get a feel for how others reacted to the book. First of all, the Wikipedia entry for this book was no help at all, so much so that I’m considering updating it myself. I’m glad I took some notes while I was reading. I ran across some very harsh reviews on Amazon that had I read beforehand, I might not have picked up this book. Quite a few of the die-hard fans said to read just the first third of the book and stop. After that point, many of the reviewers pointed out that it is fairly obvious that Lindskold deviated from Zelazny’s quick and witty formula.

I, however, loved Donnerjack. It is probably one of my favorite reads in the past few years. About seven years or so ago I enjoyed reading The Great Book of Amber by Zelazny. It was also one of my first exposures to fantasy along with the Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan. Later on I went on to read Lord of Light, also by Zelazny, which I also loved. I’ve also read This Immortal and finally Lord Demon, which is the other book of Zelany’s that Lindskold helped finish. Lord Demon was good, so I didn’t think twice before grabbing Donnerjack. I’ve also not read any Zelazny in the past 3-4 years, so I can’t say I was as aware of the change in writing style as others were. With that said, there was definitely a noticeable difference between Part I and Part II. Thinking back, I would almost say that they could have been split into two different books. (more…)

Flatland by Edwin A. AbbottFlatland by Edwin A. Abbott

Flatland Book Cover

I’ve been meaning to read Flatland by Edwin A. Abbott for some time now. I’ve seen it lying around the house here and there for many years. My wife actually acquired this book as part of her required reading for a “Sensation and Perception” course in college. I ran across it again when packing up my Asimov collection to bring up to my sister in Minneapolis. It was a short read, which was refreshing after some of the longer books I’ve been tackling recently. (more…)

The Naked Sun by Isaac AsimovThe Naked Sun by Isaac Asimov

The Naked Sun Book Cover

This is the second book in the Robot Novel series by Asimov. A year has passed since The Caves of Steel. Lije Baley is summoned once again to solve a murder. The Department of Justice received a request from the Spacers asking specifically for Baley’s help with the case. This time the murder is not on Earth, but on the 50th Spacer world, Solaria. (more…)