Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith by Matthew Stover
reviewed by David Maddox
This story is a difficult one to tell. After all, fans of the series already know how the adventure turns out,
the ending will be dark and the Jedi will fall. So how does a writer keep the element of suspense in a predestined tale?
Matthew Stover succeeds by assuming the reader already knows "what," so he spends his time on the details of "how."
Star Wars: Shatterpoint by Matthew Stover
reviewed by David Maddox
Mace Windu, though unhappy with the turn the Republic has taken, believes the
time-honored code of his Order will help guide him through this turbulent time. But now that the Clone War has begun, do the ideals held by the Jedi
still apply? Is it possible there's no place for them in this new, war-torn cosmos? Windu will have to journey into the darkest reaches of
a primitive jungle to face his own shadows, if he hopes to find an answer.
Blade of Tyshalle by Matthew Woodring Stover
reviewed by William Thompson
Seven years have passed since the climatic battle on the sands of the stadium in Heroes Die. Hari
Michaelson, known to the world as the Actor Caine, has replaced his old nemesis, Arturo Kollberg, as Administrator
of the Studio. But the years that have passed have
not been happy ones for Hari, as he is bound to a wheelchair, paralyzed from the waist down by the wound he took
at the stadium, his career as Caine over, his days spent in brooding and bitter memories as his bodily functions
are controlled by the shunt of a neural bypass.
But a mysterious illness is spreading across Overland, killing all the
inhabitants in its wake, and setting in motion events that may threaten both
worlds, and from which no one will escape unscarred.
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Blade of Tyshalle by Matthew Woodring Stover
reviewed by Regina Lynn Preciado
The author returns to the caste-driven future Earth and Studio-exploited Overworld he
introduced in Heroes Die. It's 7 years or so after Caine's ultimate sacrifice -- you remember, the one that
should have Made Everything All Better -- and the situation is even worse than it was before. Not that it was
in vain, but powerful forces at work in both worlds have conspired to put millions of people in danger. And because heroes
die, it seems we have no one left to save them.
Heroes Die by Matthew Woodring Stover
reviewed by Regina Lynn Preciado
In the future, people no longer go to movies or flip on the TV. Instead,
they experience Adventures -- an experience more real than virtual reality.
They transport into Ankhana and masquerade as Ankhanan citizens. They get
involved with Ankhana's politics, wars, and people. Sometimes they die...
Stover's latest is a complex, gripping epic, putting him well on the path to
becoming one of the Great Names in the genre.
Jericho Moon by Matthew Woodring Stover
reviewed by Regina Lynn Preciado
This is the sequel to Iron Dawn, and while you can enjoy the second novel without
reading the first, Regina highly recommends starting at the beginning. The author is doing
something that few, if any, other fantasy writers are, and he's doing it well.
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