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xphile's review
4.0
I do believe that the first part is much better than the second half, but I could not put this book down till the end.
The characters were fun and the setting was interesting. While it drew parallels to colonial history, it was written well enough to make it seem like its own world. The author also side stepped many of the pitfalls a book will have when starting a series, with you learning far too much about the world at once (making it dry and usually distracting from the plot).
I am very much looking forward to the next book and adding it to my "recommendation" list.
The characters were fun and the setting was interesting. While it drew parallels to colonial history, it was written well enough to make it seem like its own world. The author also side stepped many of the pitfalls a book will have when starting a series, with you learning far too much about the world at once (making it dry and usually distracting from the plot).
I am very much looking forward to the next book and adding it to my "recommendation" list.
peregrineace's review
3.0
I really, really wanted to love this book. Stackpole has written some amazing books in the past and, after a disappointing end to the Cartographer's trilogy, I was hoping he'd come back strong.
I didn't entirely know what I was getting myself into. As a focused alternate-history/historical fantasy novel, this would be have great. It's set in the early 1760's during the French & Indian/Seven Years War and lays the groundwork for continuation into the American Revolution/War of Insurrection. Unfortunately, for large sections, it's mostly a zombie novel. Not being a fan of horror, this really didn't appeal to me.
The highlights:
-Contrary to the blurb, the story is about three characters: Captain Owen Strake, a half-Mystrian officer in the Norisilian army; Prince Vlad, reluctantly third in line to the Norislian throne and keeper of a wurm (dragon) who is acting strangely; and Nathaniel Woods, realist and reluctant hero. Woods is much more interesting than Strake. If you've read Stackpole's other works, you've "heard" Strake before.
-Stackpole's few female characters are, sadly, two-dimensional and either wholly good or evil (Bethany Frost and Catherine Strake, respectively. The "twist" with Capt Strake's wife is obvious.) . Working on memory, I am fairly sure this book does not pass the Bechdel test.
-Stackpole's juxtaposition of good and bad uses of science, ala Prince Vlad and du Malphais, is well placed and obvious without beating readers upside the head. There's not a lot of depth but the existence of this conflict is promising and future installments could easily explore how a scientist loses his or her moral code.
-The introduction of magic was subtle at first and later more explicit. I like that Stackpole wrote it as a matter-of-fact part of the culture while still leaving room (and plenty of hints) about future developments.
-Not a problem for me but potential readers should know that this is a gruesome book, much more than any of Stackpole's previous work. The novel vividly describes the horror of 18th century combat and medical practices as well as a couple of torture scenes in detail. In contrast, the one sex scene gets a couple paragraphs of foreplay and a curtain call.
-The Mystrian=good, Norislian=bad short cut really got to me. I'm personally very invested in the American way of life but surely even in the 1760's there were British citizens who were good people and Americans who were bad. No subtlety here, the authorial voice comes down firmly on the side of the Americans... I mean, Mystrians, in the conflict between government and people.
That may sound more negative than positive and it really shouldn't; it was a good read and I'll eventually read the sequel(s). I suppose in the final evaluation that I am personally looking for more depth and complexity in my stories these days. It's why I stopped reading the Star Wars novels that originally introduced me to Stackpole as a writer and why it may be awhile before I pick up the rest of this series.
I didn't entirely know what I was getting myself into. As a focused alternate-history/historical fantasy novel, this would be have great. It's set in the early 1760's during the French & Indian/Seven Years War and lays the groundwork for continuation into the American Revolution/War of Insurrection. Unfortunately, for large sections, it's mostly a zombie novel. Not being a fan of horror, this really didn't appeal to me.
The highlights:
-Contrary to the blurb, the story is about three characters: Captain Owen Strake, a half-Mystrian officer in the Norisilian army; Prince Vlad, reluctantly third in line to the Norislian throne and keeper of a wurm (dragon) who is acting strangely; and Nathaniel Woods, realist and reluctant hero. Woods is much more interesting than Strake. If you've read Stackpole's other works, you've "heard" Strake before.
-Stackpole's few female characters are, sadly, two-dimensional and either wholly good or evil
-Stackpole's juxtaposition of good and bad uses of science, ala Prince Vlad and du Malphais, is well placed and obvious without beating readers upside the head. There's not a lot of depth but the existence of this conflict is promising and future installments could easily explore how a scientist loses his or her moral code.
-The introduction of magic was subtle at first and later more explicit. I like that Stackpole wrote it as a matter-of-fact part of the culture while still leaving room (and plenty of hints) about future developments.
-Not a problem for me but potential readers should know that this is a gruesome book, much more than any of Stackpole's previous work. The novel vividly describes the horror of 18th century combat and medical practices as well as a couple of torture scenes in detail. In contrast, the one sex scene gets a couple paragraphs of foreplay and a curtain call.
-The Mystrian=good, Norislian=bad short cut really got to me. I'm personally very invested in the American way of life but surely even in the 1760's there were British citizens who were good people and Americans who were bad. No subtlety here, the authorial voice comes down firmly on the side of the Americans... I mean, Mystrians, in the conflict between government and people.
That may sound more negative than positive and it really shouldn't; it was a good read and I'll eventually read the sequel(s). I suppose in the final evaluation that I am personally looking for more depth and complexity in my stories these days. It's why I stopped reading the Star Wars novels that originally introduced me to Stackpole as a writer and why it may be awhile before I pick up the rest of this series.
zetasyanthis's review
1.0
Honestly, this was a disappointing read. I loved a lot of Stackpole's Star Wars series of books and ended up picking this up on a whim after meeting him at Phoenix Comicon. He was interesting, but the book... was not. Anyone remotely familiar with the French and Indian war will notice extremely quickly that this book doesn't just borrow from it; it basically changes a few names. Yes, there's a supernatural element chucked in for some reason, and even some hints at mythical creatures, but save your time and don't really bother with this one.
hlreasby's review
5.0
I've been a fan of Michael Stackpole for some time now and for several reasons, but first and foremost among them is the fact that I know whenever I pick up one of his novels, I'm going to get a great story with interesting characters set in a fascinating and well-thought-out world.
At the Queen's Command certainly lived up to all of my expectations! Within ten minutes of starting to read the book, I was hooked. I wanted to know more about the world that I was being shown and was eager to get to know more about the main character, Owen Strake. Every character has a clear voice and a personality all his or her own.
I'm eagerly looking forward to the next book in the series and my only regret is that I have to wait for Michael to write them!
At the Queen's Command certainly lived up to all of my expectations! Within ten minutes of starting to read the book, I was hooked. I wanted to know more about the world that I was being shown and was eager to get to know more about the main character, Owen Strake. Every character has a clear voice and a personality all his or her own.
I'm eagerly looking forward to the next book in the series and my only regret is that I have to wait for Michael to write them!
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