Most helpful customer reviews
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best Space Opera EVER, Jul 3 2002
If anyone thinks this series is not well written or thought out, they apparently did not read the books but only skimmed them. I have read all 5 books 4 or 5 times already, and will again I am sure. This is a must have series for any serious science fiction reader. I think most hard core sci fi devotees would love the writing. Some neo-sci fi readers may not enjoy it as much because it is very technical in places, very detailed in others.
I will not delve into the storyline except to say there is intrigue, betrayal and surprise around every corner and with each turn of the page. Yes characters get killed. This is not a happy "up" series. It is very real and hits you hard with the emotions it evokes. I found myself caring greatly for all of the characters in the book, except for Eusabian of course. He is one evil person.
I do agree it is very difficult to find all of the books in one place. I even wrote to Sherwood Smith at one point to find out if the final book was written a number of years back. (He answered my e-mail within a day or two by the way). A re-issue would be great. If more people could find it, more people would fall in love with the series.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Dunnett-style space opera, Aug 22 2001
By A Customer
.... Well this is not young adult fiction but it's the best space opera I have ever read : funny, exciting, intelligent. The characterization is very good, and if characters are not exactly what they appear at first sight, there are quite enough clues for the carefull reader, and it's part of what makes the books so vivid and intelligent.The only problem with this series is how ridiculously difficult it is to get all 5 of these books. A reissue would be nice, a book 6 even nicer - book 5 wrapps up almost everything, but there is definite room for another sequel.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Original Space Opera with High Style, April 15 1998
Jerrode Eusabian of Dol'jhar has waited twenty years to complete his vengeance against Gelasaar hai-Arkad, the Panarch of the Thousand Suns. Eusabian's takeover goes according to plan until Gelasaar's wastrel third son, Brandon, commits the unthinkable, unforgivable sin of refusing to show up for his own coming-of-age ceremony, where Eusabian planned to have him killed. With both his brothers dead and Gelasaar captured, Brandon -- a drunken womanizer and naval academy washout -- becomes the Panarchy's last hope. Thus begins a vast and wonderful original space opera. Smith and Trowbridge have gone beyond the usual, thinly created, loosely imagined trappings of an interstellar society to create a fully realized political, social, economic and military system. It takes a little time to get into this series because of the complexity of the setting, but readers will be richly rewarded for their effort. The characters are deliciously complex, headed up by the implacable villain Eusabian, the unpredictable Prince Brandon, and the cold, inscrutable Rifter captain Vi'ya. The space battles are the best I have ever read, making great use of relativistic possibilities. The alien species of the Kelly, the Eya'a, and the Ur are more than humans-in-costume or afterthought set decoration, which was a pleasant surprise. The action is gripping, hair-raising, edge-of-your-seat as Brandon is harried across space, an unlikely hero in improbable company. More, it's laugh aloud *funny* in places -- something else that was a nice surprise. Kudos to Smith and Trowbridge. This is how space opera should be done.
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by Smith/Trowbridge SMITH
by Sherwood Smith
