I remember trying to read "Not In Our Stars" when it came out. I recognized the characters and setting from an article he had written for "The Dragon" magazine. I know I finished it, but I couldn't tell you much about the plot. I skipped ahead, a lot. I seem to recall the main character was some arrogant golden boy miltary type, one of those characters we are told (but shown no evidence as to why) is great, brilliant, gifted, and adored by all. He's dispatched with a fleet to... do something. He seems to think he is being set up by his superiors and goes completely off script, leading his superiors to think he's trying to go rogue and set up his own pocket empire. They hunt him down, confirming his suspicions. He winds up getting arrested, court martialed, and executed, IIRC. The whole thing turns out to be a misunderstanding. His superior, Admiral DeLaNoue (I only read that article in "The Dragon" a thousand times!), explains just before executing our 'hero' for being an idiot, that he had simply misinterpreted his orders.
I got the feeling the author had novelized a Trillion Credit Squadron campaign, with his most contrary player as the protagonist. I suppose he was trying to illustrate the problems with communications lag, or perhaps he was basing it on some historical incident. Unfortunately for me, a 'hero' who's supposed to be brilliant, but turns out to be nothing but a paranoid screw up, was a complete turn off. If there had been a sense of humor, if he had been a thorough cad like Flashman or Cugel the Clever, if the author had shown some of the prior greatness that came before the great fall...if, if if. Ah, well.
Try Jack Vance's novels "Ports of Call" and "Lurulu", set aboard a tramp space freighter. Very Traveller!
