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5.0étoiles sur 5
Reprint these books!, Aoû 24 2000
Wonderful and wonderous... My comments apply to books 1-3(I look forward, with delectable anticipation to reading books 4-5!). I cannot praise this series enough. Why read these books? The pacing is excellent. Nether too fast nor too slow. Science Fiction thriller fans will want to stay with it (and turn pages). Fans of writings on complex, intrigue-bound societies will delight in the almost delicious, subtle and intelligent interactions of the characters. Faultless. They are extremely well-written; their style has a hint of romanticism; a dash of the lyrical and plenty of originality. The characters are numerous but the authors manage to make them "rich" enough to be memorable(even the minor players) to the reader. This is handy, since this volume is space-operatic in overtone; the canvas quite large(but absorbing). One minor criticism I have is the way our chief protagonist(Brandon vlith-Arkad) manages to ride with a zen-like mastership over events both good and evil. Possibly, more cynicism, on the character's part would have been in order. No real criticism, however since he appears like a (mildly inscrutable) but central entity who brings the other rather more 'emotionally-rich' characters into sharp relief(no doubt this style is part of his training) and disperse the attention away, somewhat from him as "hero" (no bad thing!). It is not easy to juggle and balance atavistic action with political "manoeuverings" and relationship game-play. To my mind, the authors have achieved this. Reading (the amazon.com) interview with Sherwood Smith I can see why authors like Austen, Wodehouse and Tolkien(who influences everybody in the world!) are mentioned. Whilst indirect, readers familar with their writings may see the influence. The publishers really need to re-print this volume(and re-market!) if only so that, at some future point in time,I can buy another set and discard my rather well-thumbed versions! Fabulous.
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