sling's review
4.0
Really, it's 3 and a half stars rounded to 4 for nostalgia.
I do love the complete mix of pretentious and unpretentious. Long story short, it doesn't pretend to be anything it's not.
I do love the complete mix of pretentious and unpretentious. Long story short, it doesn't pretend to be anything it's not.
mica_amy's review
3.0
The original premise of this book was awesome (the opening chapters hooked me big time). And the world was amazingly well-thought out and elaborate. But the female characters were 2 dimensional, boring, and incompletely filled out. The author routinely reverted to cliche and chauvinism as plot points (a race of albino sex addicts? Really?), ruining what would otherwise have been a pretty cool ride. I'm tempted to read the rest of Perry's books, which promise to fill out some of the lame-duck female characters in this one, but I'm not convinced they will be better executed.
thinde's review
5.0
If you like action and larger than life heroes, then you will love Steve Perry's Matadora Series. It's fast-paced and contains plenty of original ideas which he explores ruthlessly.
Don't believe the book covers, the series actually starts with, "The 97th step," and so should you. Then comes "The Man Who Never Missed," my personal favorite.
The storyline mostly centers around one man and his efforts to overthrow a repressive galactic government. The protagonist is Emile Khadaji. He starts his adult life as one of the government's soldiers but, during a battle to put down a rebellion, he experiences a transcendent moment... an epiphany. From that moment on he is no longer a soldier.
Luckily a mystic figure named Pen takes him under his wing, trains him in the martial arts of the ninety-nine steps, and then releases Emile to fulfill his destiny. Along the way, he single-handedly starts, maintains and ends a guerrilla war against the government. After which he assembles and trains a team of body-guards that forces the whole system to its knees.
Perry is definitely a commercial author but I doubt he would apologize for that. The Matadora series is a good example of this. It panders to my every boyish reading desire. Thanks, Mr. Perry.
Don't believe the book covers, the series actually starts with, "The 97th step," and so should you. Then comes "The Man Who Never Missed," my personal favorite.
The storyline mostly centers around one man and his efforts to overthrow a repressive galactic government. The protagonist is Emile Khadaji. He starts his adult life as one of the government's soldiers but, during a battle to put down a rebellion, he experiences a transcendent moment... an epiphany. From that moment on he is no longer a soldier.
Luckily a mystic figure named Pen takes him under his wing, trains him in the martial arts of the ninety-nine steps, and then releases Emile to fulfill his destiny. Along the way, he single-handedly starts, maintains and ends a guerrilla war against the government. After which he assembles and trains a team of body-guards that forces the whole system to its knees.
Perry is definitely a commercial author but I doubt he would apologize for that. The Matadora series is a good example of this. It panders to my every boyish reading desire. Thanks, Mr. Perry.
randalm's review
4.0
A soldier in the future has a powerful spiritual vision in the midst of battle and goes on to study martial arts (and bartending) in a quest to change the universe. I adore this book and the rest of the Matador series.
mlejoy's review
3.0
This one started out OK but got really bogged down in the flashbacks. Overall it was a bit too cheesy for me.
mentat_stem's review
5.0
This book was one of my favorite used bookstore finds. Perry has gone on to write some pretty good Star Wars media-tie-in novels but this book is where he's in top form. I read it a while ago, so I don't remember the details, but it's one of the few books that I can never really get out of my head.
nday's review
5.0
This is one of my favourite series of books. It’s very much a space soap opera, and it’s really quite different from what I would typically enjoy, but I first found this book in a supermarket for not much many many years ago, and across the course of those years I managed to track down the remaining books in the series.
The first book is my favourite book in the series, there is just something engaging and cool about Emile and his vision for a new Galaxy. I like the way SP unfolds the story and the character’s background, and ties in the past with the present.
I’m not a big science fiction fan, I definitely prefer fantasy, but this is a deftly created world, that paces a great story with great characters and I just sink into this world so easily every time.
The first book is my favourite book in the series, there is just something engaging and cool about Emile and his vision for a new Galaxy. I like the way SP unfolds the story and the character’s background, and ties in the past with the present.
I’m not a big science fiction fan, I definitely prefer fantasy, but this is a deftly created world, that paces a great story with great characters and I just sink into this world so easily every time.
bozimus's review
2.0
This book may be the first "Matador" novel in published order, but it is not the first book of the series in chronological order. That honor belongs to "The 97th Step".
I read "The 97th Step" approximately 10 years ago. The fact that it took me 10 years to get around to the sequel ("The Man Who Never Missed") should speak volumes.
I wanted to like both of these books. The title of "The Man Who Never Missed" seems to offer a promise of lots of action. Titles such as this draw action junkies (such as moi) like a flame draws a moth. Like the aforementioned moth...I feel a little singed having finished this book.
There is very little action in this book. There are more pages devoted to becoming/being a bartender. The entire book feels like a buildup...which might have been appropriate if I hadn't ALREADY read a book in this series ("The 97th Step") that was all buildup!
Will I go on to book number three, "Matadora"? Probably not. If that book turned out to be all buildup and no payout, I might start banging my head on the nearest piece of furniture. My head, being rather hard, might hurt the furniture. This would get me in trouble with the Wife...since she is rather fond of said furniture.
At this point in time, I will not pursue this series further. 10 years down the road, who knows? Kinda depends on what is sitting on my "To Read" shelf.
I read "The 97th Step" approximately 10 years ago. The fact that it took me 10 years to get around to the sequel ("The Man Who Never Missed") should speak volumes.
I wanted to like both of these books. The title of "The Man Who Never Missed" seems to offer a promise of lots of action. Titles such as this draw action junkies (such as moi) like a flame draws a moth. Like the aforementioned moth...I feel a little singed having finished this book.
There is very little action in this book. There are more pages devoted to becoming/being a bartender. The entire book feels like a buildup...which might have been appropriate if I hadn't ALREADY read a book in this series ("The 97th Step") that was all buildup!
Will I go on to book number three, "Matadora"? Probably not. If that book turned out to be all buildup and no payout, I might start banging my head on the nearest piece of furniture. My head, being rather hard, might hurt the furniture. This would get me in trouble with the Wife...since she is rather fond of said furniture.
At this point in time, I will not pursue this series further. 10 years down the road, who knows? Kinda depends on what is sitting on my "To Read" shelf.
dlwchico's review
3.0
A science fiction book about a single guy trying to bring about a revolution against a ‘Galactic Confederation’. I’d never heard of it before, which is kind of odd, but it’s actually pretty good. I picked up the sequel recently and will start on it soon.