Customer Reviews

The Price of the Stars: Book One of Mageworlds

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Kicking off my second-favourite on-going space-opera series (aside from my brother's books, which i am *required* to like), this was a refreshing find back when i first pulled it down off the shelf and read the first couple pages... and discovered that i had to finish it that same day.While, as someone has pointed out, this *could* be read as a stand-alone book, unlike the first books in some series, a reader who stops here will be missing a lot of fun in the sequels and prequels that follow.The Rosselin-Matadi clan and their friends and enemies are all marvellous characters, but Beka's mentor and co-pilot, known only as "the Professor" is the most amusing and frustrating of the lot, as it becomes more and more obvious that he, somehow, is manipulating history itself.What sets this series aside from more ordinary space opera, i think, is the concept of the Adepts and the Mages -- both posessors of great power, who both sense and utilise what, for want of a better word, we might call "the Force", but in completely different and mutually-conflicting manners. The three Rossellin-Metadi siblings, Beka, Owen and Ari, so different superficially but so similar in their drive and inability to admit defeat are worth getting to know, and the associates and enemies that they pick up along the way are a marvellously-assorted crew (not all of whom are even *nearly* what they appear to be). But i must admit that the villains -- as opposed to adversaries, an important distinction in these books -- are just a bit *too* slimy and odious. {If i ever run into the authors, though, i intend to ask them if they were thinking of "Rio Lobo" or of "Assault on Precinct 13" when they wrote one important sequence...}Recommended -- both this book and the entire series.

Price of the Stars is a solid start to the Mageworld series; I like the characters and the basic idea. This is space opera, and though it isn't quite up to the Liaden Universe series by Steve Miller and Sharon Lee I think it is a lot more fun than the grim and hyper gory Harrington books by David Webber (which is just Hornblower in disguise!).

If there's a quibble I have with The Price of the Stars it is the idea that the protagonist could sneak around playing a member of the opposite sex for so long.I also thought the unprounceable name of the disguised character was rather silly, even if it is an anagram for "keen trap".

This book and the mageworld series are for fun reading and aren't hard science fiction; if you like the Liaden books you'll probably like these. I have the whole series of these but the Harrington books I gave away.

L70

In the first installment of the Mageworlds, Beka Rosselin-Metadi agrees to captain her father's prized starship Warhammer, and sets off on a mission to find her mother's assassins. What follows is a grand adventure with non-stop action and intrigue.

I really enjoyed this book. The characters were well developed and very interesting. I especially liked Beka, with her multiple personas and how we begin to understand her feelings about her estranged family. I also liked the mysterious "Professor" who's identity was an enigma until the very end, and Beka's brother Ari, with his unusual background. In fact, all of the characters were likeable, with their own distinct personalities and quirks. I loved how they were thrown together by unusual twists of fate, yet managed to become an effective team.

The action was great. The plot was interesting and original. There was a surprising amount of humor and witty dialogue. And technology didn't overwhelm the storyline (definitely a plus for me). There were a few spots where it slowed down a bit, but then it picked right back up again, and I couldn't stop turning the pages. I will certainly be looking for the next book in the series, Starpilot's Grave, to see what happens next for this unusual group of friends.

Thanks again to Amazon.com and its reviewers I found another series that is to my liking. I have seen this series before in the past years but for whatever reason, never tried one - until now! WOW, what a fun and exciting start to a sci-fi series that blends everything I look for in a good book - a blend of fantasy, sci-fi, with lots of action and adventure.
This nice blend has created a fun read with quite a few interesting, and growing characters that I look forward to reading more about in the near future.
I won't bother with telling about the storyline since I seem to be the one behind on reading this series!
If you like your sci-fi mixed with fantasy with lots of action and adventure - this one is for you!

This book was scheduled as one of my SF book club's discussion books. I wasn't completely enthused about it since I had read Weber's Honor Harrington series (which I enjoyed immensely!) and felt sure that it would be a knock-off. Boy was I wrong!

This book has fine characterization, interesting plotlines, and a universe that kept me turning the pages all night.

While I couldn't stop at this first book (Starpilot's Grave and By Honor Betray'd are books 2+3), this book could be read as a stand-alone for those who aren't prepared to dive into a multi-book series.

As mentioned in several of the other reviews, this book is reminiscent of the Star Wars universe with some science fiction elements and a bit of the supernatural.

What appealed most, however, was that the authors built a sense of history into their universe so that there is a feeling that the crises recounted here are the result of real historical events. In addition, the reader does not have an omniscient view of the action, because many of the characters do not have a complete understanding. This made the plot more realistic.

This is definitely a book to put on the "re-read" shelf.

The Price of the Stars (1992) is the first novel written in the original Mageworlds trilogy. At this time, however, it is the fourth of the series in internal chronological sequence, following The Gathering Flame. In the previous book, Perada Rosselin and Jos Metada headed the resistance movement in the First Mage War and the subsequent establishment of the Republic. Although the Republic won the war, the cost was extremely high; in addition to the military losses, Entibor was rendered uninhabitable by tectonic upheavals, Sapne lost most of its population to plague, and Ilarna was decimated and its Adepts wiped out by invading forces. The Mageworlds also lost heavily, with the Republic destroying its naval forces, exterminating its Mages and dismantling its interstellar mercantile capabilities. Moreover, Arekhon Khreseio sus-Khalgath sus-Peledaen, in his role as Ser Hafrey, was discharged as Armsmaster of the Rosselin family, with Tillijen appointed as his replacement.

Three decades later, Perada is a member of the Grand Council of the Republic and her consort, Jos Metada, is Commanding General of the Republic's Space Force. Ari Rosselin-Metada is a Lieutenant in the RSF Medical Corps at Namport on Nammerin, Owen Rosselin-Metada is an apprentice in the Adept Guild, and Beka Rosselin-Metada is copilot on the armed freighter Claw Hard.

With the help of her brother Owen, Beka had ran away from home to become a commercial star pilot. She is determined that she will never be the Domina of Lost Entibor, but an assassination plot against her mother contravenes her ambitions. At Waycross on Innish-Kyl, she accepts ownership of the Warhammer from her father in order to track down the instigator of the plot. At Embrig Spaceport on Mandeyn, she is saved from an assassination attempt by the Professor, the current persona of Arekhon, who is still protecting the Rosselin family despite his formal dismissal as Armsmaster.

Ari and his friend Nyls Jessan, a fellow medic from Khesat, bring in a farmer who has Rogan's disease, normally a dry world ailment and rather unexpected on the very wet Nammerin. As usual, supply is snafued and cannot provide the required medication, tholovine, in a reasonable time, so Ari and Llannat Hyfid, an Adept and medic, set out to get some through the local Quincunx -- i.e., criminal syndicate -- representative. Unfortunately, this simple task eventually results in a fire, an armed chase, and a deadly duel with a Mage.

Owen has been working for Errec Ransome as a special operative, investigating Mage operations within the Republic, for the last 10 years. His tasks lead him to Pleyver Flatlands, where he crosses paths with Beka and the Professor. They part company and then Beka and the Professor meet Nyls Jessan while being followed and shot at by an estimated 200 armed thugs. The shootouts continue from there on.

This novel initiated the Mageworlds series. It started as a short story that insisted on becoming longer. Now it incorporates 7 novels and still has room for more.

Recommended for anyone who enjoys interstellar action and intrigue on a large scale.

-Arthur W. Jordin

There is a scene in this book where the protagonist steps into the middle of a corridor under fire, raises her blaster, and calmly picks off the enemy one shot at a time. It may well be my favorite scene in any space opera, written or filmed. I pick up this book on occasion just to reread that scene.

The thing is, the whole book is like that. "Price of the Stars" is a throat-grabber from word one, a book I could not put down. If you're looking for Grand Canvas adventure in the classic swashbuckling style, you can't do better than this book.

My one complaint, and it's minor, is that the romance gets short-shrift and seems abrupt when it's brought full circle. I felt that way about the romance in all of the Mageworlds books, but since that's not what I'm reading them for, I'm not too bothered. Certainly it hasn't stopped me buying all the Mageworlds books and devouring them!

I loved this book. Actually, I like all of them in the series. But, I agree with one reviewer, I want this book to be filmed! It was fun (I said that already) exciting, humorous. Great characters and gadgets, without being hard SF. This is Galactic Fantasy/Space Opera at its best. If there are to be no more Mageworld books, could be at least have more space opera from the married duo? Please?

I very much liked this book. Once I started reading it I didn't want to put it down. I thought that the action was well done and some parts were very funny. At times I was cracking up. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves Science Fiction.

The first time I read this fabulous book, I read it straight through for the incredibly well realized adventure. Now, after having bought and gobbled up THE LONG HUNT, latest in the series, I had to go back and reread the entire series again. This time it's even better--not only the realistic detail about space ships, the military, and what it feels like to be in a blaster battle, but the humor, and best of all, the subtle hints about twists and turns to come. The publishers are wise to keep this one in print. It's going to be a classic