Starshield: Sentinels [Mass Market Paperback]

Margaret Weis (Author)

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback
• Publisher: Random House Value Publishing (November 17, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0517288389
• ISBN-13: 978-0517288382
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,030,045 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Breath of Fresh Air!, November 1, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Sentinels (Starshield, Book 1) (Hardcover)

Maybe most people wouldn't exactly call this book a classic: it takes pride in being frivolous and fun and steering clear of too many deep messages with its tongue-in-cheek action. Nor can it seriously be called a science fiction book - this is straight fantasy, but at its absolute pinnacle. When people read this they don't seem to notice all the good things it's doing, not only is it the most enjoyable adult fantasy book I have ever read, but it presents a fantastic female character in Merinda Neskat, which should be particularly appreciated in this genre when we run the risk of being swamped by females like Eddings' Ce'Nedra, Feist's Carline, or any of Gemmel's gorgeous young heriones inexplicably attracted by the 40+ year-old hardened hero.
Starshield is a breath of fresh air in the fantasy genre! For once it's trying something new and, even more amazing - it succeeds completely! I have become so sick of the fantasy genre where everything is so formulaic: medieval setting with magic; a huge war between good and evil involving at least one royal person... etc, etc. Starshield is wonderfully different. The science fiction/fantasy blend is superb. Weis and Hickman's universe creation is entertainingly ridiculous, yet not so much as to be entirely unbelieveable so the reader doesn't feel alienated. Jeremy Griffiths is the quintessential anti-hero, while Merinda is perfect as the tough herione. Sure, the TFP processors are a ridiculous idea, but you can forgive anything in this book. Nightsword is a great follow-up to it.
The only thing I can say against Starshield is that, because of its lack of popularity, it seems that the final book of the trilogy will never be published. This is a real tragedy, particularly considering the popularity of Weis and Hickman's other, far more mediocre books. However, Starshield and Nightsword also work as stand-alone books, so this doesn't damage a reading of them.
This book fully deserves a rating of 5/5: it's a near-perfect book and a true masterpiece of modern fantasy.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Starshield Novel, July 31, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Sentinels (Starshield, Book 1) (Hardcover)

This was an excelent book, Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman lived up to their reputation. It starts off a little slow, like many new series but quickly picks up and is a page turner.

5.0 out of 5 stars sf fantasty, September 30, 2011

By 

Stephen Dunklee "bookgeek" (arkansas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sentinels (Starshield, Book 1) (Hardcover)

sf fantasty about as good as it gets. this book creates a new alternate reality universe which combines both fantasty and scifi. Dont try to anaylize it, just read it and have fun. In this universe anything is possible.