The Sorceress of Karres [Hardcover]

Eric Flint (Author), Dave Freer (Author)

Book Description

Series: Karres | Publication Date: January 5, 2010

As Captain Pausert had often had occasion to observe, life just wasn’t fair! Hadn’t he (with the help of the notorious witches of Karres, of course) outmaneuvered the deadliest of space pirates and eliminated the threat of the Worm World (as told in The Witches of Karres), after which, at the least, he deserved some time off. No such luck, though, as the Empress herself sent him on a secret mission to stop the nanite plague, but an enemy had somehow convinced the Imperial Fleet that he was actually a wanted criminal, so after a battle leaving his ship in urgent need of repairs all three of them joined an interstellar traveling circus (don’t ask!) in order to save the galaxy once again (as told in The Wizard of Karres).

      Time for a vacation? Don’t be ridiculous—there’s a new urgent mission that has Captain Pausert’s name on it! This new novel finds the long-suffering Captain and the two young Karres witches—Goth, who vows she will marry him when she grows up, and her younger sister The Leewit—being sent off to investigate mysterious and ominous events in the notorious Chaladoor region of space. Goth soon becomes aware that unknown but surely inimical forces are tracking them, and in order to foil them she takes a desperate route to travel back in time and meet Pausert as a young boy. Meanwhile, the Captain and the Leewit find themselves in the middle of their own desperate situation in the Chaladoor.

      Whoever it was who said that a change was as good as a vacation never met any of the Witches of Karres—nor experienced their amazing talent for getting Captain Pausert into trouble.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

 

Eric Flint is the author/creator of the New York Times best-selling Ring of Fire series. With David Drake he has written six popular novels in the Belisarius series, including the new novel The Dance of Time, and with David Weber collaborated on 1633, and 1634: The Baltic War, two novels in the Ring of Fire series, and on Crown of Slaves, a best of the year pick by Publishers Weekly. Flint received his masters degree in history from UCLA and was for many years a labor union activist. He lives in East Chicago, IL, with his wife and is working on more books in the best-selling Ring of Fire series. 

Dave Freer is an ichthyologist turned author living in a remote part of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, with his wife and chief proof-reader, Barbara, four dogs and four cats, and two sons Paddy and James. His first book—The Forlorn (Baen)—came out in 1999. Since then he has co-authored with Eric Flint (Rats, Bats and Vats, The Rats, the Bats and the Ugly, Pyramid Scheme, and Pyramid Power) and, with Mercedes Lackey and Eric Flint (The Shadow of the Lion, This Rough Magic, The Wizard of Karres) as well as writing another solo novel, A Mankind Witch, and various shorter works. Besides working as a fisheries scientist for the Western Cape shark fishery he has worked as a commercial diver, and as a relief chef at several luxury game lodges. His other interests are rock climbing (he's still good at it), diving, flyfishing (he's still bad at it), fly-tying, wine-tasting and the preparation of food, especially by traditional means—smoking and salting, all the good unhealthy things.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Baen (January 5, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1439133077
• ISBN-13: 978-1439133071
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #504,445 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great but Different, January 11, 2010

By 

Librovore (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Sorceress of Karres (Hardcover)

'Sorceress' is the second sequel of Schmitz' classic 'The Witches of Karres', picking up a bit after 'The Wizard of Karres'. This book digs deeper into a number of the background events in 'Witches' but in a novel way, with linked story lines the current time and fourteen years in the past, the latter bringing an almost-marriageable Goth together with a younger Pausert to not only foil some bad guys trying to steal an alien map and resolve an inheritance problem left dangling by Pausert's great-uncle Threbus but set up Goth as Pausert's first love. Yes, we know where this is going but it's still fun to watch things unfold. With the knowledge she picked up in the past, Goth and the current, adult Pausert are able to shut down a galactic menace or two. There are also a few, to me underdeveloped, hints of new Klatha powers for Goth, so expect more stories in this universe. Goody, goody!!

Whereas 'Wizard' for the most part kept to the external, no frills narrative style of 'Witches', 'Sorceress' has a somewhat different texture, with more exposition and a deeper view into characters' motivations. This caught me at first, since I've re-read the first two books many times and so expected more of the same. Once I got farther into the story, I came to appreciate the clearer view (fewer "OK, what did he mean by that?" moments) and the necessity of doing so with a plot that takes place simultaneiously in different timelines. Flint & Freer deserve a lot of credit for putting together another great installment in the series.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pausert and his crew get back on course, February 8, 2010

By 

William Cawthon (Houston, TX USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Sorceress of Karres (Hardcover)

The third episode in the posthumous series based on James H. Schmitz's "The Witches of Karres" is far better than the second, leading me to believe that Mercedes Lackey was the superfluous chef who spoiled the soup in "the Wizard of Karres.". Gone are the sidetrips into elf-fantasy and a contrived circus adventure: in their place is a welcome return to a universe that has more of the flavor of Schmitz's 1966 original, which earned a Hugo nomination.

Set in the same regions of space as the original novel, "The Sorceress of Karres" also provides a look back into Captain Pausert's youth on Nikkeldepain where Goth has time-traveled to save him from an untimely death. We switch back and forth from that past to a present where Pausert and The Leewit are on a mission to learn why ships are still being lost in the Chaladoor.

With the exceptions of Moander and Hantis, the Nartheby Sprite, almost the entire casts of the first two novels return in "The Sorceress of Karres." Captain Pausert, Goth and The Leewit are back and we get a cameo appearance by Maleen, now married and a mother-to-be. This seems to be catching as former Imperial agent Hulik do Eldel is carrying the next generation of the hexaperson and heir apparent to the Daal of Uldune, who has become Hulik's husband (husbands?). Vezzarn is more like his old, larcenous self. Toll and Threbus play larger roles than they did in either of the previous books but they are consistent with the characterizations Schmitz created 44 years ago. Himbo Petey makes his return, along with the entire cast of the Petey, Byrum & Keep as authors Eric Flint and Dave Freer smoothly blend them into the storyline.

One of the things I like most about this book is the way Flint and Freer were able to advance the continuing story of the Captain and his crew while providing insights into Pausert's background and even some glimpses of Threbus' past life. We learn more about the dreaded Megair Cannibals as Pausert, Goth and The Leewit battle against a mind-controlling plant that threatens the Empire.

While the second novel left me thinking Schmitz's original should have been left to stand on its own, this third book makes me hope Flint and Freer can come up with another tale from the wonderful worlds created by James Schmitz.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Goth's story, January 23, 2010

By 

Mark Chrisco (Essex County, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Sorceress of Karres (Hardcover)

While Captain Pausert has a lot to do in this story, it's really the now teenaged Goth who leads the way.Karres precogs have forseen a danger coming from a mysterious region in space. Pausert is dispatched to investigate while Goth is sent via the Egger Route to 14 years in the past where she finds herself entagled with the much younger Pausert, whose life is in danger. Fans can observe how Goth gets to learn more about the man she has decided to eventually mary on more or less equal terms.This is a fun story with lots of action and romance where with the help of a vatch or two, good triumphs.Hopefully, there's more to come.