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"Outrageously brilliant and absolutely not to be missed." - Kirkus, starred review."
Product Description
Chaison Fanning, the admiral of a fleet of warships introduced in the first book, has been captured and imprisoned by his enemies, but is now rescued and set free. He must flee to his home city to confront the ruler who betrayed him. Perhaps while there he will also regain his lovely, powerful, and subversive wife, Venera. He has not seen her since she fled, careening off into the air of Virga, with the key to the artificial sun, Candesce, at the centre of Virga. In "Pirate Sun", Schroeder sets a whole new standard for hard SF space opera.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Hardcover
This is the third book in a series about Virga, an enormous balloon in space, containing a low-tech human civilisation based around small artificial suns. Chaison Fanning, the Admiral of Slipstream, is in prison after destroying the fleet of the feared Falcon Formation. He is broken out by a member of the Home Guard, who protect Virga against unspecified dangers from the outside. However, she has other motives and an escalating tale of chaos and rebellion sparked by a small group, lead by Channing, eventually reveals more about things outside of Virga. It seems the series might move into a different gear from its steampunk crossed with space opera roots : inventive, exciting and well-written, it has the potential to become a classic.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
6 reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Schroeder continues to get better
19 Aug 2008
Format:Hardcover
Over the years, many writers have featured sword fights in space. Some have even featured pirates ships, pre-industrial cities, and so on. But typically, this involves either ignoring the illogic of the situation or hand-waving about levels of shield, etc. Karl Schroeder took a third path, one with an explanation that makes sense. Virga is a planet-size ballon in space. It's filled with air, and various nations and cities float within. The only gravity is produced by rotation. Travel between worlds can be by wooden ship or bicycles of sorts (or motor bike). And technology is kept at a pre-electronics level by a field generated by the central sun, Candesce. Virga took this step at its creation to keep our "artificial nature," the AI and nanotechnology swarm that is transforming the rest of inhabited space into an ever-changing virtual reality.
In the first book of the series, Sun of Suns, Admiral Chaison Fanning and his wife Venera (brilliant and often ruthless). They captured the key to Candesce, which enabled them to temporarily shut down the suppression field and thus use radar in a military action. The second book followed Venera as she fled the aftermath. The latest book, Pirate Sun, follows Chaison.
As the novel begins, Chaison if a prisoner of the rival nation of Falcon Formation, whose fleet he had severely damaged in his radar-enabled attack. Someone breaks Chaison out of the prison, and, with two companions who are also freed, and with a young woman, Antae Argyre, who seems to be helping him to escape, Chaison tries to make his way home.
The book is filled with wonders: a flood in low/zero gravity, two cities literaly going to war, a space battle involving wooden ships and a free-fall city. It reminds me in parts of Jack Vance, with its brilliant inventiveness and rich societies.
But Schroeder also has a talent for characterization, and Chaison and Venera Fanning are a brilliantly drawn, interesting, and likeable pair of characters. Part of what makes them this is that they grow as the series goes on. In the first book, Venera is ruthless and not very likeable. The second books is not only the story of how she escapes and re-establishes herself but one of her own growth as a person. Likewise, Chaison grows over the course of the novels.
Schroeder has become one of our best current SF writers. Pirate Sun should be on the Hugo ballot next year.
In the first book of the series, Sun of Suns, Admiral Chaison Fanning and his wife Venera (brilliant and often ruthless). They captured the key to Candesce, which enabled them to temporarily shut down the suppression field and thus use radar in a military action. The second book followed Venera as she fled the aftermath. The latest book, Pirate Sun, follows Chaison.
As the novel begins, Chaison if a prisoner of the rival nation of Falcon Formation, whose fleet he had severely damaged in his radar-enabled attack. Someone breaks Chaison out of the prison, and, with two companions who are also freed, and with a young woman, Antae Argyre, who seems to be helping him to escape, Chaison tries to make his way home.
The book is filled with wonders: a flood in low/zero gravity, two cities literaly going to war, a space battle involving wooden ships and a free-fall city. It reminds me in parts of Jack Vance, with its brilliant inventiveness and rich societies.
But Schroeder also has a talent for characterization, and Chaison and Venera Fanning are a brilliantly drawn, interesting, and likeable pair of characters. Part of what makes them this is that they grow as the series goes on. In the first book, Venera is ruthless and not very likeable. The second books is not only the story of how she escapes and re-establishes herself but one of her own growth as a person. Likewise, Chaison grows over the course of the novels.
Schroeder has become one of our best current SF writers. Pirate Sun should be on the Hugo ballot next year.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Marvelously rendered steampunk in space
17 Aug 2008
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
It has been a great pleasure to witness Karl Schroeder's storytelling skill and descriptive gifts mature and flourish through the Virga series. Sun of Suns and Queen of Candesce were both really good, but in Pirate Sun Schroeder really hits his stride. The book neatly ties together the story arcs from the first two books with a rousing tale full of zero-g cutlass-clashing combat, complex characters with multiple levels of motivation, and beautifully rendered descriptions of his innovative world. His vision of how the people of Virga live, move about, make a living, play, and fight in a world without natural gravity is very well thought out and technically sound. I for one would love to see Miyazaki make a movie version of this series!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Excellent conclusion
23 Aug 2008
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
The third book of Virga does not focus on one character as much as the second book (Queen of Candesce) does. In that sense it feels more like the first book. Again Schoeder explores more of the consequences of the unique world he has constructed, and hints at more of its relationship with the outside world. I was a little disappointed that we didn't get to meet up again with Hayden Griffin. Although the three books work well as a trilogy, I'm hoping Schroeder returns again to Virga. His combination of steam punk, space opera, and post-singularity SF is a hard one to beat.
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