Customer Reviews

Deathstalker War

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The seeds of rebellion have been sown, and now - in the third volume chronicling the life and times of Owen Deathstalker - the war finally begins. Deathstalker War is the strongest book in the series thus far, mixing in incredible action and excitement, shocking secrets and betrayals, human drama of the deepest kind, and some completely unexpected subplots. This is just good, old-fashioned space opera. As in the previous two books, Green does let elements of redundancy slip in from time to time, and the big finish is stretched out so much as to be a tad farcical, but this is still a gripping, wonderfully entertaining read.

Before the rebels actually go to war themselves, the war comes to them. On the home world of Golgotha, Empress Lionstone XIV is ravenously eager to put a stop to all the rebel foolishness and make plenty of examples of those who would defy her. Both sides know that four planets will basically determine the victor - Mistworld, refuge of bounty hunters and those who have fallen out of imperial favor , safe haven of espers and clones, and rebel stronghold; Shannon's World, once the ultimate pleasure world but now wrapped in mystery and known as Haceldama, the Field of Blood; Virimonde, an agricultural planet where the Deathstalker (now Owen's nephew) is lord; and of course Golgotha, seat of the imperial government.

The war begins on Mistworld, where Owen Deathstalker, Hazel D'Ark, and a young version of legendary rebel Jack Random, have gone to win the support of the Mistport Council. Aided by a fiendishly dangerous secret weapon called Legion, Empire forces manage to land in force on the planet without detection. The result is war at its ugliest, as Mistworld fights against overwhelming odds for its very survival. They forevermore have a war on this planet, going at it hand-to-hand in the streets, while blood flows in the gutters and men have to climb over dead bodies to advance from one enemy to the next. Then the scene shifts to Shannon's World, where Finlay Campbell, Evangeline Shreck, Giles Deathstalker (the original Deathstalker, who has emerged from 943 years in stasis), and the esper Julian Skye seek to penetrate the mystery that has swallowed up all the imperial soldiers sent to penetrate its silent depths and - most importantly - "rescue" a brilliant imperial tactician who crashed there some time earlier. After the bloody free-for-all of Mistworld's war, the adventure on Shannon's World could not have come as more of a surprise. I won't even dare describe it here - except to say that Green is a remarkably brave author. What initially seems unbelievably silly ends up being the most emotionally compelling section of the book.

Owen's nephew David, accompanied by his friend Kid Death, has set up shop on Virimonde, the planet Owen escaped from when he was outlawed by the Empress. The two young friends ignore their rebel commitments and basically just go about having all the fun they can possibly have on this peaceful, agriculturally rich planet. Then comes news that Lionstone XIV intends to mechanize the entire planet and make an example of the peasants who have been - with the implicit approval of David - flirting with democratic government. It is here on Virimonde that the true madness of the Empress is made clear to all - thanks in no small part to a seemingly omnipresent journalist and cameraman who manage to beam the awful pictures of the bloodbath back to the home world.

All of the principle characters converge on Golgotha in the end, hacking and slashing their way to the Imperial Throne itself. There's a lot of riveting military action, and Green throws in some rather shocking surprises to make things really interesting. The ultimate showdown, unfortunately, is drawn out far too long and becomes something of a farce in terms of its execution, but it was still compelling enough to keep me up into the wee hours of the morning determined to see how everything came out.

Deathstalker War sets the stage for a transition in the series. Everything up to now has led up to the war, and it will be very interesting to see what happens next and how the rebel leaders (whom we readers have already spent over 1500 pages with) will change. I was just a tad down on the Deathstalker series after reading Deathstalker Rebellion, but Deathstalker War has truly recaptured my imagination and fueled my interest anew. This is easily the best of the first three volumes in the Deathstalker series.

Space opera doesn't get any better than this. With his grand, sweeping style, his memorable characters, his complex and involving storyline, his suspenseful and riveting action sequences, and his absolute mastery of the art of drama, Simon R. Green has truly shaped a masterpiece of modern fiction. Deathstalker War is the third in a series of five, and ends the original war, though it leaves quite enough loose ends for future books. A reader could stop with this book, but who would want to?

Perhaps not a genuine conclusion but at least the war is over - or is it? Green has written an enjoyable escapest swashbuckling/fantasy/SciFi series that is just good old fashioned entertainment. Worth the read and the wait because unlike all too many other writers I never got the feel that Green was drawing out the series to enhance his bank account. The plot proceeds at a good pace and the action is almost non-stop.

While keeping some nice plot twists alive Mr. Green has borrowed heavily from others in his end of Empire series. He writes of a memorable pleasure world where the semi aware "toys" come alive after an evil power reprograms them in an attempt to make them kill humans. This world becomes a nightmare of death where some of the "good" toys continue to struggle against the majority of evil ones and try to advance their newfound awareness. While other parts of the book are unsurprising and average there are some nicely crafted plot devices and imagry which make the whole book worth reading. If you liked the Eternal Emperor series and sci fi in general then this book will be a nice read for you

This novel is even better than the last one. If you like the first two novels, then keep on going and get this one too...it's worth it.

Mr. Green's Deathstalker series is addictive gripping and just plain fantastic. From the first page to the last you are hooked and eager to want to know what happens next. I actually heard this book in a five volume audio series available on Amazon complete with music and sound effects. The book along with the first two books Deathstalker and Rebellion are read by a series of actors who do a fine job indeed. They make the pages of the printed book come alive and you never want to turn your player off. The characters in this series are some of the best ever created and hats off to Mr. Green for not relying soly on stereo types too often found in Si Fi and Fantasy books. Yes you have those of course, they are a corner stone of any good Si Fi book but Mr. Green has also created characters here which are wild wacky and just plain delicious. My favorite has got to be Valentine Wolf. He is cunning, ruthless and you just got to love his disposition. His lines are some of the best on the audio version and you can tell the actor had a ball with him. This series has lots of surprises along with tons of action. The final scenes in the throne room with the Empress are the best. You just got to love Lionstone even though she is known as the Iron B*****h. The ending was unexpected where she was concerned. Another reason to read this fine series is that it is abit more gear to adults and thus the themes presented are more mature in tone. It was excellent through and through and I hope the remaining books of this series are done in the audio format. Simply loved it. Bravo! Highly recommended.

I have read the first 2 books in the series, and the third was a better ending then I had hoped. a must read.

Another winner for Mr. Green. If you enjoy reading long, involved stories that literally cover thousands of pages and many hours of reading, then get ready for a pleasurable read. The works of Simon Green are excellent. The reader is caught up and hurled into the future with spell binding, page turning intensity. Get the first one in the series and then read, read, read.

The battle in Mistport was a really good story. The next chapter with the toys was basically unreadable I skipped most of it, and when you think something might happen with Julien turning, all it takes is Finley to yell at him and problem solved. Ending was good, but the toys almost blew it for me!

This was a better book than the one before it. Mr. Green didn't put a lot of redundency in it for those who have read the series. Very good conclusion to the war. I can't wait for the next book.