Starship’s Mage Omnibus

I finished the Duchess series (3 + 2 so far) and figured I’d try this. It’s a LOT better than first book of that series (which sucked, imho) and is good enough for me to recommend. Solid, will appeal most to young adults who are ok with a mix of magic and military sci-fi. I’m not a young adult, so I found it a bit too simplistic for me. Consistent with Stewarts other series almost everyone except a few key characters has an IQ of about 80. In this book there’s a lot (way, way too much in a magical universe !!) of “that’s impossible!” when someone is shown clear evidence (or testimony) of something outside their experience. So, in a way, it’ s anti-Science, while at the same time the author mixes magic into high technology. I’m not sure whether I’ll stick with this series, but I’ll try the next since it seems likely there will be little repetition of the plot line here. (which is: band of misunderstood good guys is chased around the galaxy, most of the book is action, almost too much for me. (for instance a just-out-of-moth-balls battleship being run by pirates needs only a couple of days to prepare to the crew to *invade* (and occupy!) a large space colony. riiiiiight. As I said, young adult.)) Good enough to read? yes, for me. Good enough to (someday) reread? No. I doubt I’ll even remember it in a few months. 3.3 stars. (yes, I round up).

I enjoyed this book enough that I plan try the second one, but felt that there’s room for the writing to improve. I liked the concept of a world blending magic with space faring.

The main character was likable, but his personality didn’t come through very strongly. The starship captain was a more fleshed out personality in some ways. On the upside, it does leave our mage plenty of room to grow as he matures.

The pacing felt a bit forced to me, with the ship tumbling from one emergency directly into another. It fit with the premise of the story, but was a little overdone.

Lastly, it needed a good edit. There were numerous typos, usually in the form of missing spaces between words. The author also seems to feel the need to restate facts we already know about the characters. To me it smacked of content released incrementally and not smoothed out when stitched together.

For example, the frequent need to talk about one of the characters as “the dark skinned man”. We already know he’s dark skinned after the first introduction, and it’s not a significant fact. Why lean into it each time the character comes into a scene? Ditto with things like what it means to be a Hand of the Mage-King. We heard you the first time.

The first book promises an awesome tale of “Magic” achieved by use of telekinetic manipulation of the physical properties of the universe. The addition of “Runes” or mathematically correct conducting grids to focus the “magic” makes the plot even more interesting. Sadly, the first book writes a check that the rest of the series can’t cash. The rest of the series is more about the inept blunderings fo the “Space Mage” and his foes than and does a complete disservice to the possibilities of the Science Fiction “Magic” continued as the premise

I stopped reading after the third book They are poorly written and fleshed out. I should have guessed after I noticed the many misspellings that slipped past the editor. I want my time back.

This book had been on my radar for a long time, but I didn’t actually pick it up until a friend recommended it. She told me that the hero is this quiet, unassuming underdog type, and that is my book hero jam right now. So I grabbed it and instantly fell for Damian. I didn’t expect to enjoy the captain, David Rice, or the rest of the cast quite as much as I did. The novella format is a little odd, but at the same time, each episode ramps up the tension from the previous one more and more. I smoked through that final episode because I had to see how it would all turn out. The heroes get into one scrape after another–and only because they were trying to do the right thing every time. I happen to love it when good deeds are punished like that. By the end of the book, every faction is chasing down the heroes, and you just know that crap is going to hit the fan. And boy, did it. I am grabbing the next book as soon as I can.

STARSHIPS MAGE wasnt the best science fantasy Ive ever read, but it turned out to be way more fun than I was expecting. Its a collection of five novellas that form a continuous story, so it reads more or less like a novel in five parts.

Episode One didnt get off to a great start for me; I wasnt taken with the writing, which wouldnt have been a problem except that I also wasnt taken with the characters, and the plot seemed predictable. I almost put it down but decided to hold out through the end of Episode Two, and Im glad I did. The plot twisted, the worldbuilding became richer, the stakes got higher, and the story moved at a quick enough pace I never again considered setting it down.

The characters never got particularly deep, but they were fun to hang out with, and I hope the sequels dig deeper into their motivations and give them more personal challenges to overcome. More pathos would be welcome, but then, Im an angst-lover, so maybe this would be just right for a person looking for a story with action and adventure but a lighthearted tone.

Overall, I enjoyed STARSHIPS MAGE enough that Im pushing back my TBR list to jump right into the next one.

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