- Paperback: 816 pages
- Publisher: Baen Books (1 Jan 2005)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0671876457
- ISBN-13: 978-0671876456
- Product Dimensions: 21.1 x 13.7 x 3.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,305,968 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Product Description
The Empire of Sabis is falling, besieged by the army of a more powerful empire. A small group of philosopher-scientists could reverse the tide if they could convince the rulers of Sabis to build the deadly new weapon that they have invented.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Cherryh has written some stunning work herself (see Morgaine Saga) and jointly with her friends and colleagues (the Merovingen books are fantastic). Sadly, this series is a level below her usual standards. (I wonder how much she contibuted to the works.....?) The premise of technology becoming magic to the masses is good, and worked in with a bit of 'real' magic (ability to wish good and bad luck on people) makes a really good background to the work. As usual, characterisation is great, and people become really believable, BUT (and its a big BIG BUT) when the tale is bland and uninteresting, the magic of the writing, no mater how technically good, is lost. Book one was good enough to make me buy book two, but pretty soon, I felt like I was watching a movie specially made to have a happy ending, and at no time did I ever worry that the characters were in danger. Everything panned out just fine. There were no interesting plot twists and I got what I expected. It took effort to complete the third book.
Sorry to have to say, this series is a bland and (for me) boring waste of brilliant tallent, especially when you read something as good as the Merovingen nights series (sadly OOP) or the Morgaine Saga (happily now back in print)
Hey, remember these comments are personal thoughts, You MIGHT disagree with me!
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
In the rush to save their city, their way of life and their very lives, "Natural Philosophers" attempt to invent, build and test a means to defend themselves using what we would recognize as a crude grenade launcher powered by gunpowder.
But the story does not focus on who has the biggest and best magic - it focuses instead on the various ways and ethics involved in surviving in a world where might makes right - and are "we" right enough to use our "might"?
And the consequences afterward.
But the story does not focus on who has the biggest and best magic - it focuses instead on the various ways and ethics involved in surviving in a world where might makes right - and are "we" right enough to use our "might"?
And the consequences afterward.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
9 reviews
25 of 26 people found the following review helpful
Two excellent, one middling novels in a believeable universe
4 Feb 2004
Format:Paperback
I own the three novels that are apprarently combined into this single compendium; I bought them in the 80s, I guess, when they came out. Their spines are more than a bit worn, because I've read them each several times. They're long out of print, though, so I'll review the series here.
These three novels all take place in the same world, in events that occur 500 years apart from one another. The stories are separate, though there are well-presented references to the earlier time. (One character in the first book, who's about 10 years old at the time, is remembered 500 years later as being a Great One.)
But what held me, and what keeps me re-reading these stories, was the worldbuilding, which I suspect was the largest contribution by C.J. Cherryh. There is magic -- but magic consists only of ill-wishing or well-wishing, nothing more. How much can people do with that? And how much will that affect the (inevitable?) evoluation of mechanics and science? These three authors do a good job at exploring those questions.
The first two books are especially satisfying, with strong characters that I quickly grew to care about. The third, by Mercedes Lackey, was... somehow unsatisfying. Acceptable tale-telling, but no more than 3 stars for that one. (To be fair, I've never been a big fan of Lackey's works, so take that with a grain of salt. If you like her stuff, you'll probably like this, too.)
I've often wished for a fourth and fifth book in this series. As is the case for the best SF/F books, the world came alive for me.
23 of 26 people found the following review helpful
"Magic" is "Science" disguised in this book - refreshing!
28 Feb 1997
Format:Paperback
In the rush to save their city, their way of life and their very lives, "Natural Philosophers" attempt to invent, build and test a means to defend themselves using what we would recognize as a crude grenade launcher powered by gunpowder.
But the story does not focus on who has the biggest and best magic - it focuses instead on the various ways and ethics involved in surviving in a world where might makes right - and are "we" right enough to use our "might"?
And the consequences afterward.
But the story does not focus on who has the biggest and best magic - it focuses instead on the various ways and ethics involved in surviving in a world where might makes right - and are "we" right enough to use our "might"?
And the consequences afterward.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
A rich tapestry of a civilization's rise, fall and resurrection
8 Jun 2009
Format:Paperback
This is an omnibus including "A Dirge for Sabis", "Wizard Spawn" and "Reap the Whirlwind. Dirge is the chronicling of the demise of the Sabis empire. Overrun by barbarians a group of engineers and wizards flee to the wilderness.
Wizard Spawn is decades later and details the decadence and decay that has found the Ancar barbarian invaders who are now the representative civilization. It also is a treatise on intolerance and racism. Duran, a pure blood Ancar, discovers the depth and depravity of intolerance when he helps an injured Sabirn.
Reap is again decades later and set in a stronghold of tolerance. An island of learning and tolerance in a sea of arrogantly intolerant kingdoms, the Order is dedicated to accepting all who wish to learn. Their desire to remain sequestered is shattered by the arrival of a tribe of nomads. The nomads successfully demonstrate the need of the Order to change and more directly apply their principles.
I liked all three books. The authors were very successful in pulling the diverse threads into a well knit tapestry. The characters were very likeable and well defined. They truly came to life to express their concerns and opinions. The drive for knowledge and the desire for freedom from oppression was clearly expressed. Their was a deep depth of feelings between the characters that drew you into their world and forced you to share their anguish and delight. My only dismay was there lack of further books. The trilogy demands a sequel. There is much to be told about the future of the Order and the nomads.
Read these books, you will enjoy them.
Wizard Spawn is decades later and details the decadence and decay that has found the Ancar barbarian invaders who are now the representative civilization. It also is a treatise on intolerance and racism. Duran, a pure blood Ancar, discovers the depth and depravity of intolerance when he helps an injured Sabirn.
Reap is again decades later and set in a stronghold of tolerance. An island of learning and tolerance in a sea of arrogantly intolerant kingdoms, the Order is dedicated to accepting all who wish to learn. Their desire to remain sequestered is shattered by the arrival of a tribe of nomads. The nomads successfully demonstrate the need of the Order to change and more directly apply their principles.
I liked all three books. The authors were very successful in pulling the diverse threads into a well knit tapestry. The characters were very likeable and well defined. They truly came to life to express their concerns and opinions. The drive for knowledge and the desire for freedom from oppression was clearly expressed. Their was a deep depth of feelings between the characters that drew you into their world and forced you to share their anguish and delight. My only dismay was there lack of further books. The trilogy demands a sequel. There is much to be told about the future of the Order and the nomads.
Read these books, you will enjoy them.
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