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shai3d's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed this last book in the trilogy however there were some issues that annoyed me. First of all, just how many times do I have to hear the same blessing. My other issue was with the narrator. There were a couple times when someone without a celtic accent would suddenly acquire one for a couple sentences for no reason.
I will however be continuing in this world once the next trilogy is complete.
I will however be continuing in this world once the next trilogy is complete.
bibliophilelinda's review against another edition
5.0
This is the sixth installment of the Emberverse series and a continuation of Rudi and his gang's trek across the country to find "The Sword of the Lady". It opens with Rudi and Edain finishing a task to help free their captive friends, continues through to Ingolf's homecoming, and ends with Rudi reaching the The Sword. The action is non-stop, the journey each character endures is poignant and touching, the fight against the Church Universal and Triumphant is thrilling and the climax when Rudi touches the sword will have you breathless for more. I thoroughly enjoy each Emberverse tale, but I must say that I hope "The High King of Montival" is the conclusion to this series. The characters have already endured so much, it would be tragic to needlessly continue such a great series with too much more drama and war. Fans of smart science ficition will love this series.
duffypratt's review against another edition
3.0
The third in a six book series about the quest of Rudi McKenzie and company to retrieve the Sword of the Lady from Nantucket Island, and then somehow use it to defeat the Cutters (Church Universal and Triumphant). I liked it better than the first two installments, but not anywhere near as much as i liked the original Change trilogy, or the Nantucket series.
Things are moving along fairly nicely. We get some very cool glimpses of struggling new societies in a wrecked United States. But I find myself not caring that much about Rudi or any of his compatriots. As a hero, for me, he is simply too heroic and wonderful to be very likable. I found myself actually more interested in the military leader of the Cutters, and we only get a few glimpses of him. But he felt more real to me than anyone in the hero's party.
From here on out, there are going to be spoilers. So beware.
I had some problems with the way Stirling dealt with his narrative here. He tended to have major events come offscreen. Two main characters die in battle, but the fight that kills them is off-screen. I was very disappointed that Jake died. He was a promising new character, with some true flaws, and he had already shown signs of growth and had the potential to develop into an interesting character. I was more disappointed that we simply learn of his death after the action of the battle occurred.
Stirling does a similar thing with Odard, who has been a running character, and is the first hint that the main party actually is in danger. We don't see Odard get wounded. He dashes off in the battle, and then in the aftermath he is mortally wounded, but gets to have a lingering death scene. I could understand these cut-aways if we had to stick to a single point of view. Or if it was for the sake of realism. But it doesn't feel like the elisions serve much purpose at all.
Rudi's retrieval of the sword seemed similar to me. He goes into a room that is the heart of magic on Nantucket and sees the shape of the sword. Then there's a long vision where he gets to talk to God, in the form of his mother and two characters from the Nantucket books, and hears some nonsense about what caused the change and what his purpose is. (More on the nonsense later.) Then his followers see him emerging from the room, bloodied, holding the sheathed sword in his hand. So, the crucial moment that we have built up to for three books actually occurs offscreen. It's not that big a gap, and it might not even be important, but it still bothered me.
Now, for the nonsense. In the Nantucket series, Nantucket Island gets popped into prehistoric times in some alternate world timeline. It's a very cool series, and there's never much of an explanation of what happened to the island or why. But the characters do very cool things by introducing modern technology into a world where, for instance, Odysseus is a real person. In the Change series, electricity and explosions no longer work, basically killing off all technology, and almost all humanity as a result. The rumors are that the change occurred at Nantucket, and it occurred at the same time as the event occurred in the Nantucket series. So it looks like the two series are related.
Here, Rudy gets to Nantucket and has a vision where he sees something that is like the Universal mind. It appears to him as his own mom, and two characters from the Nantucket series. The vision explains to Rudy that it has appeared to him in a form that he can understand. So why the Nantucket characters? Its not like they add anything to Rudy's understanding. That's just a bone for readers and fans of the Nantucket series, but it doesn't seem to have any genuine purpose here.
Moreover, the god/mind/women tell Rudy that the Cutters are basically also a product of the gods, and result from god arguing with itself. That's fine, but then why am I rooting for Rudy? I'm uncomfortable with the idea that people have to put up with all of this shit simply because God is having a bad day and can't make up his mind. It sounds like a bad explanation with me, and it leaves me with many more questions than I had before.
And the God figure also explains that the Change occurred because man was in too much danger of destroying himself with technology, and so the god/mind decided to give man a do-over. I guess 95-99% destruction of humanity is better than total destruction. But there's a suggestion that the second chance is in the hope that man will do it better the second time around. But that makes me wonder how they will do it better, since the means of doing much of anything at all have been taken away. I did not see this, in any way, as a promise that electric and explosive power would be restored. So the suggestion that men would learn better the second time around rings hollow to me.
There were a few moving scenes toward the end. I actually liked Odard's death scene. Even more, I liked the scene in Maine where they had a big oath giving ritual. As much as I'm cold to Rudy, I found the oaths his followers gave to be touching. I also loved the introduction of another new, and promising character, in Asgerd. She's a woman who lost her betrothed and gave solemn oath that she would give ten-fold vengeance for the death. Her character is still just a sketch, but she is wounded, deeply flawed, and likable.
I really liked the first three books in the Emberverse, and to a certain extent, the strength of them keeps me going in this series. I like Stirling's vision of a ruined United States, and I think he's done a very good job showing a multitude of different societies growing out of the ashes. I don't much like the quest/fantasy basis of this second series. It's fun to encounter each new society, but it would be more fun if Rudy were less perfect. I'm sure that I will continue to at least the end of this series, and maybe even into the new trilogy to come. But I'm doing that more because I'm interested in Clan McKenzie, the Bearkillers, and the Portland Protection Association, and less because I have any real attachment to any of the heroes in this series.
Things are moving along fairly nicely. We get some very cool glimpses of struggling new societies in a wrecked United States. But I find myself not caring that much about Rudi or any of his compatriots. As a hero, for me, he is simply too heroic and wonderful to be very likable. I found myself actually more interested in the military leader of the Cutters, and we only get a few glimpses of him. But he felt more real to me than anyone in the hero's party.
From here on out, there are going to be spoilers. So beware.
I had some problems with the way Stirling dealt with his narrative here. He tended to have major events come offscreen. Two main characters die in battle, but the fight that kills them is off-screen. I was very disappointed that Jake died. He was a promising new character, with some true flaws, and he had already shown signs of growth and had the potential to develop into an interesting character. I was more disappointed that we simply learn of his death after the action of the battle occurred.
Stirling does a similar thing with Odard, who has been a running character, and is the first hint that the main party actually is in danger. We don't see Odard get wounded. He dashes off in the battle, and then in the aftermath he is mortally wounded, but gets to have a lingering death scene. I could understand these cut-aways if we had to stick to a single point of view. Or if it was for the sake of realism. But it doesn't feel like the elisions serve much purpose at all.
Rudi's retrieval of the sword seemed similar to me. He goes into a room that is the heart of magic on Nantucket and sees the shape of the sword. Then there's a long vision where he gets to talk to God, in the form of his mother and two characters from the Nantucket books, and hears some nonsense about what caused the change and what his purpose is. (More on the nonsense later.) Then his followers see him emerging from the room, bloodied, holding the sheathed sword in his hand. So, the crucial moment that we have built up to for three books actually occurs offscreen. It's not that big a gap, and it might not even be important, but it still bothered me.
Now, for the nonsense. In the Nantucket series, Nantucket Island gets popped into prehistoric times in some alternate world timeline. It's a very cool series, and there's never much of an explanation of what happened to the island or why. But the characters do very cool things by introducing modern technology into a world where, for instance, Odysseus is a real person. In the Change series, electricity and explosions no longer work, basically killing off all technology, and almost all humanity as a result. The rumors are that the change occurred at Nantucket, and it occurred at the same time as the event occurred in the Nantucket series. So it looks like the two series are related.
Here, Rudy gets to Nantucket and has a vision where he sees something that is like the Universal mind. It appears to him as his own mom, and two characters from the Nantucket series. The vision explains to Rudy that it has appeared to him in a form that he can understand. So why the Nantucket characters? Its not like they add anything to Rudy's understanding. That's just a bone for readers and fans of the Nantucket series, but it doesn't seem to have any genuine purpose here.
Moreover, the god/mind/women tell Rudy that the Cutters are basically also a product of the gods, and result from god arguing with itself. That's fine, but then why am I rooting for Rudy? I'm uncomfortable with the idea that people have to put up with all of this shit simply because God is having a bad day and can't make up his mind. It sounds like a bad explanation with me, and it leaves me with many more questions than I had before.
And the God figure also explains that the Change occurred because man was in too much danger of destroying himself with technology, and so the god/mind decided to give man a do-over. I guess 95-99% destruction of humanity is better than total destruction. But there's a suggestion that the second chance is in the hope that man will do it better the second time around. But that makes me wonder how they will do it better, since the means of doing much of anything at all have been taken away. I did not see this, in any way, as a promise that electric and explosive power would be restored. So the suggestion that men would learn better the second time around rings hollow to me.
There were a few moving scenes toward the end. I actually liked Odard's death scene. Even more, I liked the scene in Maine where they had a big oath giving ritual. As much as I'm cold to Rudy, I found the oaths his followers gave to be touching. I also loved the introduction of another new, and promising character, in Asgerd. She's a woman who lost her betrothed and gave solemn oath that she would give ten-fold vengeance for the death. Her character is still just a sketch, but she is wounded, deeply flawed, and likable.
I really liked the first three books in the Emberverse, and to a certain extent, the strength of them keeps me going in this series. I like Stirling's vision of a ruined United States, and I think he's done a very good job showing a multitude of different societies growing out of the ashes. I don't much like the quest/fantasy basis of this second series. It's fun to encounter each new society, but it would be more fun if Rudy were less perfect. I'm sure that I will continue to at least the end of this series, and maybe even into the new trilogy to come. But I'm doing that more because I'm interested in Clan McKenzie, the Bearkillers, and the Portland Protection Association, and less because I have any real attachment to any of the heroes in this series.
baronessekat's review against another edition
4.0
I liked this book more than the second one. But it ended with me going "and?!?!?! Now what?!?"
csarakas's review against another edition
3.0
The continuing sage of Rudi MacKenzie as he makes his way to the Isle of Nantucket to claim the Sword of the Lady. It's a good story in this series by S.M. Stirling, but he is perilously close to falling into that category of author who can write book after book that just continues the plot, never really getting anywhere with it.
Still, there are enough interesting tidbits to keep me reading. Seeing the northeast United States in the post-Change years is fascinating, especially that Asatru seems to have taken hold as the primary religion in the old states of Maine and such. There is a lot more fantasy here than in previous books, and the Tolkein-parallel is really hammered, sometimes annoyingly so. There's also an unfortunate line near the end that foreshadows what is to come, which I'm not entirely sure I'm happy about. I fear the dreaded 'reset button.'
Rumor has it that there is only one other book in this immediate series. I hope that's the case as it is definitely time to wrap this up.
Still, there are enough interesting tidbits to keep me reading. Seeing the northeast United States in the post-Change years is fascinating, especially that Asatru seems to have taken hold as the primary religion in the old states of Maine and such. There is a lot more fantasy here than in previous books, and the Tolkein-parallel is really hammered, sometimes annoyingly so. There's also an unfortunate line near the end that foreshadows what is to come, which I'm not entirely sure I'm happy about. I fear the dreaded 'reset button.'
Rumor has it that there is only one other book in this immediate series. I hope that's the case as it is definitely time to wrap this up.
hooptron's review against another edition
4.0
I'm still enjoying the series but there are some flaws that are becoming annoying. The most notable one is the fact the the characters are either entirely noble and good or evil. There is no middle ground. The only character that could have been considered to be both has been largely forgotten in the last book and is killed off at the end of this one.
eeehhh, still worth reading and you know I'm totally going to read the rest of them.
eeehhh, still worth reading and you know I'm totally going to read the rest of them.
mfbreyer's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
jaxboiler's review against another edition
4.0
This was another good chapter in the Story of the Change! It has been run reading about their adventures as they crossed the USA from Mississippi to Nantucket!
jenbooks's review against another edition
4.0
I can see why people wouldn't, but I'm enjoying the way this series swerved from science-fiction into epic fantasy.