A review by bibliophilelinda
The Scourge of God by S.M. Stirling

3.0

Please understand that I am a huge Emberverse fan and love, love, love this series (particularly the MacKenzies), however I wasn't as enthralled with this story as all the previous. Possibly because this is the middle of Rudi MacKenzie's journey to Nantucket or because the story didn't really have a central focus this time, but I felt like the whole novel was nothing but one prolonged battle scene where the only differences lay in terrain and allies. My goodness, Stirling certainly puts Rudi and his gang in jeopardy every single moment, a bit of an unrealistic story point in my opinion. In this chapter of the tale, Rudi, his half-sisters, Ingolf, Matilda and a few others continue their quest for Nantucket but are tailed by scouts and soliders from the Prophet's army. Along the way, Rudi and gang meet new allies, particularly the Sioux Indians and an important ranchers daughter named Virginia Kane. Both Rudi and Mary are nearly killed, but recover and must rehabilitate to their former battle prowess. In the end, they end up in the clutches of Ingolf's former nemesis, called the Bossman, and now Rudi must complete Ingolfs original task for the Bossman alone in order to free his friends. Meanwhile, the MacKenzie's and allies are still organizing resistance to the Prophets spreading reign of terror, and are able to capture the Bossman, though not without serious casualities. All-in-all a so-so read. Hopefully the concluding chapter to this series is much better.