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badseedgirl's review against another edition
4.0
Mr. S.M. Stirling, has finally with his third novel in the “Emberverse” series A Meeting At Corvallis, written a novel of the apocalyptic end of the world that no longer holds the faint roasted turkey leg whiff of a Medieval Renaissance festival gone horribly wrong. The setting of this current novel occurs almost 10 years after “The Change”.
Mr. Stirling finally delivered the war promised by his second novel The Protector’s War. He handles this war with a tone much more serious and with a tone much more focused, and it works somehow. The Almost unnatural luck of the characters from this series finally comes to an end with the death of two of the major characters. But beyond that, this novel truly feels like the end of the story for the survivors of “The Change”. I suspect that from this point on the focus of the novels will be on the younger generations, those born after the change or who were too young to remember life from before.
I have to admit that I did not take the first couple of novels in this highly entertaining, but to be frank “light weight” series too seriously. The premise, that some unknown entity, be it aliens or God, both of which have been mentioned in the series as possible causes, in a flash of painful light caused all internal combustion to cease working. Now I am not a Physicist and I don’t need all the amateur and professional Physicists out there trying to explain to me why this premise is not possible. It is called “Suspension of Belief”. Get on board people! But even I found all the “Middle Earth”, Renaissance nonsense was just too much. How could anyone take seriously an evil villain who takes “The Littlest Eye” from The Lord Of The Rings as his symbol of power?
All that changed with this third book. The tone gets more serious, and with the onset of real war among the survivors the action feels more “real” and life-threatening. Not to say that these novels will ever win awards or be anything more than an entertaining distraction, but when I read A Meeting at Corvallis, I did not feel like I should be putting on my “One Ring to Rule Them” tee-shirt and my hobbit feet from four Halloweens ago!
A solid 3.5 stars of 5
Mr. Stirling finally delivered the war promised by his second novel The Protector’s War. He handles this war with a tone much more serious and with a tone much more focused, and it works somehow. The Almost unnatural luck of the characters from this series finally comes to an end with the death of two of the major characters. But beyond that, this novel truly feels like the end of the story for the survivors of “The Change”. I suspect that from this point on the focus of the novels will be on the younger generations, those born after the change or who were too young to remember life from before.
I have to admit that I did not take the first couple of novels in this highly entertaining, but to be frank “light weight” series too seriously. The premise, that some unknown entity, be it aliens or God, both of which have been mentioned in the series as possible causes, in a flash of painful light caused all internal combustion to cease working. Now I am not a Physicist and I don’t need all the amateur and professional Physicists out there trying to explain to me why this premise is not possible. It is called “Suspension of Belief”. Get on board people! But even I found all the “Middle Earth”, Renaissance nonsense was just too much. How could anyone take seriously an evil villain who takes “The Littlest Eye” from The Lord Of The Rings as his symbol of power?
All that changed with this third book. The tone gets more serious, and with the onset of real war among the survivors the action feels more “real” and life-threatening. Not to say that these novels will ever win awards or be anything more than an entertaining distraction, but when I read A Meeting at Corvallis, I did not feel like I should be putting on my “One Ring to Rule Them” tee-shirt and my hobbit feet from four Halloweens ago!
A solid 3.5 stars of 5
ogreart's review against another edition
5.0
I love the characters. Followed them from pre-Change tot "present day." I find them engaging and interesting. There is a bit of slippage into fantasy here and there, and I believe that is intentional. This was the climactic book of the original trilogy. What an ending!
orcaseatingstrawberries's review against another edition
2.0
I realized that, at least within the good guys, Mike and Juney are rather Gary Stu and Mary Sue. Rudi is being written the same way . . . Matti sort of as well, there's is token or slapped on veneer occasionally of flaw, but not really.
jmercury's review against another edition
5.0
Deliciously satisfying ending. Wonderful character development, smooth plot, tearjerker moments, and shock and awe.
raevynskyye's review against another edition
3.0
This book takes place almost immediately after The Protectors War, and deals with the consequences of decisions made by the characters in the previous book.
eishe's review against another edition
4.0
A fitting end to the first trilogy, S.M. Stirling has pulled out all the stops. It suffers from some initial pacing issues, just like The Protector's War did, but the second half of the book more than makes up for it.
netgyrl's review against another edition
4.0
Oct2021 - 2nd listen
Even though I know how it ends, it still made me tear up. Such a good book. Moving right on to the next one.
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Oct2013 - 1st Listen
Wow. What an ending to this first trilogy! I admit I cried. I think the next 3 start 10 years after the end of book 3. I'm taking a breather for a bit to clear my palate but will definitely be reading/listening to the next 3.
Even though I know how it ends, it still made me tear up. Such a good book. Moving right on to the next one.
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Oct2013 - 1st Listen
Wow. What an ending to this first trilogy! I admit I cried. I think the next 3 start 10 years after the end of book 3. I'm taking a breather for a bit to clear my palate but will definitely be reading/listening to the next 3.
shai3d's review against another edition
3.0
War has finally come between the Protectorate and the rest of the free people in the Willamette Valley. For my personal taste there was a bit too much about the battle plans. There was still quite a lot about the people involved however which redeemed this book in my eyes.
While this wasn't my favorite book in the trilogy, I am still looking forward to listening to the next trilogy.
While this wasn't my favorite book in the trilogy, I am still looking forward to listening to the next trilogy.
kairosdreaming's review against another edition
4.0
I'd have to give this installment of the series 3 1/2 stars. It was certainly better than The Protector's War, but not as good as the first book, Dies the Fire. These books should really be read in order, but the main thing about them is they center around an event called the Change. This change made things completely different for human beings. No longer do guns, other weapons, electricity, or other modern objects work. Those who have eeked out a living in this world are strong indeed and include Juniper McKenzie's wiccan archer clan, Mike Havel's Bearkiller warriors, and their enemy The Protector and his vast holdings and enslaved minions.
In this book, a war that has been brewing finally starts. It is the McKenzie's and the Bearkillers, along with their allies who must defeat the mighty horde of the Protector. At first, battle seems to go easy with luck happening for the good guys. But then, in the lull of quiet, Rudi, the son of Mike Havel and Juniper McKenzie is kidnapped along with the daughter of the Protector and the tide changes. They must defeat a large group of the Protector's army and stage a rescue for Rudi with limited resources. This is not all that goes on however. The Rangers are also featured in this book, a group made by Astrid (Mike's sister in law) and Eilir (Juniper's daughter) that helps protect the innocent and scout the forest. They are a valuable team and do a lot of good with winning allies for the group.
The characters are not as fully developed in this book. Rudi is a joy to read about as he is a very interesting character, but he does not feature in this book. The rest just didn't have as much description as they did before and seemed shadows of themselves. The writing in this book on the other hand is very descriptive for everything else. This causes it to be slow moving at parts and Stirling spent a lot of time on unnecessary scenes and people. Also, some readers may be taken aback at the genre of this book. I would classify it as Wiccan fiction, and those going into the book without knowing this, might not be ready for it as they were for a fantasy novel. It doesn't make it a bad book, it just might not be to some people's tastes.
I did like this ending of the trilogy and look forward to reading more of his books about this alternate history. Its an interesting concept and definitely one that should be explored.
A Meeting at Corvallis
Copyright 2006
622 pages
Review by M. Reynard 2011
In this book, a war that has been brewing finally starts. It is the McKenzie's and the Bearkillers, along with their allies who must defeat the mighty horde of the Protector. At first, battle seems to go easy with luck happening for the good guys. But then, in the lull of quiet, Rudi, the son of Mike Havel and Juniper McKenzie is kidnapped along with the daughter of the Protector and the tide changes. They must defeat a large group of the Protector's army and stage a rescue for Rudi with limited resources. This is not all that goes on however. The Rangers are also featured in this book, a group made by Astrid (Mike's sister in law) and Eilir (Juniper's daughter) that helps protect the innocent and scout the forest. They are a valuable team and do a lot of good with winning allies for the group.
The characters are not as fully developed in this book. Rudi is a joy to read about as he is a very interesting character, but he does not feature in this book. The rest just didn't have as much description as they did before and seemed shadows of themselves. The writing in this book on the other hand is very descriptive for everything else. This causes it to be slow moving at parts and Stirling spent a lot of time on unnecessary scenes and people. Also, some readers may be taken aback at the genre of this book. I would classify it as Wiccan fiction, and those going into the book without knowing this, might not be ready for it as they were for a fantasy novel. It doesn't make it a bad book, it just might not be to some people's tastes.
I did like this ending of the trilogy and look forward to reading more of his books about this alternate history. Its an interesting concept and definitely one that should be explored.
A Meeting at Corvallis
Copyright 2006
622 pages
Review by M. Reynard 2011