The Reformer [Paperback]

S. M. Stirling (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Baen (1999)
• ASIN: B000VAP6R6
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Reformer, January 12, 2000

By 

Edward H. Merry (Virginia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Reformer (The Raj Whitehall Series, Book 7) (Hardcover)

Agree that this book is not in the class or breadth as The Chosen.

But it was never intended to be. Rather, The Reformer is more along the lines of the first books of the General's series. -- The Forge.

Also the authors followed their trend of translating ancient engagements into this new science fiction military context. The Forge and what followed tracked with a Byzantine general's , Belasarius, actual exploits.

In The Reformer, Stirling and Drake examined Alexander the Great's actual siege of Tyre and created a plausible alternate ending.

Still a good read. I'm looking forward to the next one.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars does not belong on the same shelf with their other works, April 26, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Reformer (The Raj Whitehall Series, Book 7) (Hardcover)

Hey, guys, what happened? The two of you are my favorite authors. But this book bears little resemblance to the preceding series, either in style or in entertainment value. It would be fun to watch Raj and Center and two cronies rip through the Roman Empire . . . but I have absolutely no sympathy for either of the main characters, and Raj/Center play only a tiny role in the story.

You also didn't give us a book! This thing is hardly four chapters of material, and ends in roughly the first third of what I would otherwise consider a novel.

I read it at my local bookstore. It was short enough to read in the store. I'm very disappointed and did not buy it.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars OK,but I expected better, April 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Reformer (The Raj Whitehall Series, Book 7) (Hardcover)

I have to place this one purely in the middle of the pack. I was expecting something like the others in the series (The General, The Steel, The Chosen, etc.) and instead I get something more like a novella than a novel. Yes, it does clear 200+ pages, but the book feels like it was part of a larger one and set out before it was fully finished and polished. After all the first 10 of 14 chapters are available for reading on Baen's website. What I liked - seeing Drake and Stirling work with a pseudo-Roman empire. The peek into the world of the mind. What I didn't - Not enough development of characters. Felt too rushed in reading. And it was too short for a hardcover.

All in all I'd have been happier buying this in paperback, and I suspect you will too.