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jmoses's review against another edition
4.0
Like a less polished Elizabeth Moon tale, this was thoroughly enjoyable, if you're not looking for incredibly deep characters or intricate plots. Just what i was looking for.
qalminator's review against another edition
4.0
Entertaining space opera, with fairly obvious Star Wars influence. If you're looking for something light and entertaining (think '80's action film), you'll probably enjoy it. If you're looking for something deep and thoughtful, go elsewhere.
This is one that I loved as a teenager, and decided to try again. Still good, though my tolerance for ridiculous action sequences is lower than it used to be. Crashing through a wall on a hoverbike? Really? Is the wall made of paper? Jumping over the wall I had less issue with. So, just dial down expectations on physics accuracy to "silly '80's action movie".
One note: the Kindle version was not well-edited. I'm guessing that they just scanned it in, and didn't bother to do much (any?) reformatting afterwards. There's the odd typo as a result, maybe one every 10-20 pages, and the line breaks that should be separating sections with different POVs are missing. Tolerable, but still annoying.
This is one that I loved as a teenager, and decided to try again. Still good, though my tolerance for ridiculous action sequences is lower than it used to be. Crashing through a wall on a hoverbike? Really? Is the wall made of paper? Jumping over the wall I had less issue with. So, just dial down expectations on physics accuracy to "silly '80's action movie".
One note: the Kindle version was not well-edited. I'm guessing that they just scanned it in, and didn't bother to do much (any?) reformatting afterwards. There's the odd typo as a result, maybe one every 10-20 pages, and the line breaks that should be separating sections with different POVs are missing. Tolerable, but still annoying.
hezaa's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
trike's review against another edition
3.0
This was a fun little read to finish off the terrible year that was 2016. As I write this, Carrie Fisher, Princess Leia, died a couple days ago unexpectedly after suffering a heart attack, with her mom Debbie Reynolds dying the very next day of a stroke. Earlier this year Kenny Baker, who played R2D2 in Star Wars, also passed. (Which was just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to unexpected celebrity deaths this year.)
I made this because of that:
I started this book earlier in the month with of course no expectation that THE symbol of space opera feminism would soon be dead, especially considering this story is about a young woman of a royal space family setting out to avenge her mother's death in a thinly-veiled riff on Star Wars. I mean, come on.
Ignoring all the real-world weirdness -- the story itself is a fine adventure, competently told and well-structured. Like Mass Effect, Doyle and Macdonald have taken the basic elements of Star Wars and renamed them. Instead of Jedi and Sith here we have Adepts and Magelords. In Mass Effect instead of the Force they have Biotics. Here it's the universal connection everyone has. Even Babylon 5 played with these elements, with the Technomages. So for that I don't deduct any points.
My only real issue is that there wasn't a solid enough resolution to the story, and there is a scene that is nearly identical to the Obi-Wan/Darth Vader duel in Star Wars that was too on-the-nose derivative. Other than that, they did a decent job of keeping me interested. I never once was bored or thought it had gone on too long.
There is a bit of the cliche and stereotype here, though. The alien lizard guys suffer from the All Members of the Group are Identical problem that plagues much genre fiction. All Klingons are warriors. All dwarves are the same. And so on. But it's a minor thing.
One aspect I found interesting is that the cover accurately portrays the main character in her disguise. Not many artists do that. It's also interesting to note that this book was published the same year David Weber began his Honor Harrington series, and both share much in common. I wonder what was happening around 1990-91 to spark such similar stories? Although to be fair, the Weber stories are clearly more Horatio Hornblower In Space than the Mageworlds series is. Both sport gender-flipped protagonists, though. In this book Beka is clearly Han Solo and Prncess Leia melded into one badass pilot escaping from her privileged past. Even the description of her ship, the Warhammer, is similar to the Millennium Falcon.
Anyway, this was a fun little space adventure, with plenty of swashes getting buckled of do of the derring variety. Not super deep by any means, but sometimes one needs lighter fare.
I made this because of that:
I started this book earlier in the month with of course no expectation that THE symbol of space opera feminism would soon be dead, especially considering this story is about a young woman of a royal space family setting out to avenge her mother's death in a thinly-veiled riff on Star Wars. I mean, come on.
Ignoring all the real-world weirdness -- the story itself is a fine adventure, competently told and well-structured. Like Mass Effect, Doyle and Macdonald have taken the basic elements of Star Wars and renamed them. Instead of Jedi and Sith here we have Adepts and Magelords. In Mass Effect instead of the Force they have Biotics. Here it's the universal connection everyone has. Even Babylon 5 played with these elements, with the Technomages. So for that I don't deduct any points.
My only real issue is that there wasn't a solid enough resolution to the story, and there is a scene that is nearly identical to the Obi-Wan/Darth Vader duel in Star Wars that was too on-the-nose derivative. Other than that, they did a decent job of keeping me interested. I never once was bored or thought it had gone on too long.
There is a bit of the cliche and stereotype here, though. The alien lizard guys suffer from the All Members of the Group are Identical problem that plagues much genre fiction. All Klingons are warriors. All dwarves are the same. And so on. But it's a minor thing.
One aspect I found interesting is that the cover accurately portrays the main character in her disguise. Not many artists do that. It's also interesting to note that this book was published the same year David Weber began his Honor Harrington series, and both share much in common. I wonder what was happening around 1990-91 to spark such similar stories? Although to be fair, the Weber stories are clearly more Horatio Hornblower In Space than the Mageworlds series is. Both sport gender-flipped protagonists, though. In this book Beka is clearly Han Solo and Prncess Leia melded into one badass pilot escaping from her privileged past. Even the description of her ship, the Warhammer, is similar to the Millennium Falcon.
Anyway, this was a fun little space adventure, with plenty of swashes getting buckled of do of the derring variety. Not super deep by any means, but sometimes one needs lighter fare.
heyt's review against another edition
3.0
This was a fun and action packed space adventure where the daughter of the last Domina of Entibor is tasked with finding out who murdered her mother. This world is interesting in that the big baddies of the universe are magelords who weild phenominal powers. The good guys have mages as well but they are not the same. I liked watching the family dynamics of Beka, her brothers, and her General father as they each uncover some part of the intrigues at play.
lindca's review against another edition
4.0
"Hello. My name is Beka 'Inigo Montoya' Rosselin-Metadi. You killed my mother. Prepare to die."
Beka has spent the past several years piloting around the galaxy and escaping her royal family obligations. But when her mother, the Domina, is assassinated, technically leaving her as the new Domina, she accepts a ship and an assignment from her general father to track down those responsible. She takes to the assignment with gusto, gathering help along the way that includes a mage, an adept, her brother(s), and a potential love interest.
There is plenty of swashbuckling action and a variety of worlds visited while Beka and her crew trace what happened to her mother, why, and who was responsible. She does get her culprits, but the ending leaves her with a continuation of her quest. I look forward to seeing what happens next.
Beka has spent the past several years piloting around the galaxy and escaping her royal family obligations. But when her mother, the Domina, is assassinated, technically leaving her as the new Domina, she accepts a ship and an assignment from her general father to track down those responsible. She takes to the assignment with gusto, gathering help along the way that includes a mage, an adept, her brother(s), and a potential love interest.
There is plenty of swashbuckling action and a variety of worlds visited while Beka and her crew trace what happened to her mother, why, and who was responsible. She does get her culprits, but the ending leaves her with a continuation of her quest. I look forward to seeing what happens next.
testpattern's review against another edition
3.0
This is the best sort of space opera pulp. It is written with a brisk uncluttered style. The world-building is minimal, with just enough detail thrown out to give you some texture. I will probably reread this.
eugthinks's review against another edition
3.0
Totally not a Star Wars ripoff. Fun, moderately engaging space adventure. A nice way to kill some time. I might read the sequels.