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Aether Spheres #1
Nine Sailed Star
A captain, exiled for disobeying orders in the heat of a battle against dragons
A shaman, desperate to keep her clan of sailors out of servitude
An archmage who has foreseen the destruction of all worlds
The elvar, with their long lifespans and rigid traditions, condemned Cat Greentrees for fleeing an unwinnable battle to bring news of a new threat. Cat plans to wait out his exile by drinking himself into a stupor, but the words of prophecy dog his heels.
When one of the powerful and revered archmages—a short-lived halvar named Armand Bluestaves—receives a similar prophecy, Cat will need to decide whether to throw away what’s left of his reputation to wage a reckless campaign into the void.
In the void, there are no currents to propel ships. There is only hungry darkness and the ghosts of destroyed worlds. If they want to save all free var of the Spheres, they’ll need to leave everything they know behind.
But first, they need a ship...and a crew.
A shaman, desperate to keep her clan of sailors out of servitude
An archmage who has foreseen the destruction of all worlds
The elvar, with their long lifespans and rigid traditions, condemned Cat Greentrees for fleeing an unwinnable battle to bring news of a new threat. Cat plans to wait out his exile by drinking himself into a stupor, but the words of prophecy dog his heels.
When one of the powerful and revered archmages—a short-lived halvar named Armand Bluestaves—receives a similar prophecy, Cat will need to decide whether to throw away what’s left of his reputation to wage a reckless campaign into the void.
In the void, there are no currents to propel ships. There is only hungry darkness and the ghosts of destroyed worlds. If they want to save all free var of the Spheres, they’ll need to leave everything they know behind.
But first, they need a ship...and a crew.
382 pages, Hardcover
First published March 21, 2023
About the author
Glynn Stewart
116 books1,780 followersGlynn Stewart is the author of over 60 books, including Starship’s Mage, a bestselling science fiction and fantasy series where faster-than-light travel is possible–but only because of magic.
Writing managed to liberate Glynn from a bleak future as an accountant. With his personality and hope for a high-tech future intact, he lives in Southern Ontario with his partner, their cats, and an unstoppable writing habit.
Writing managed to liberate Glynn from a bleak future as an accountant. With his personality and hope for a high-tech future intact, he lives in Southern Ontario with his partner, their cats, and an unstoppable writing habit.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
May 12, 2023
Story is good, trappings are annoying
I am definitely interested in the story and seeing where it goes in future installments.
I ended up skimming quite a bit of the book, though. Lots of descriptions I didn’t care about, but the "vars" and "they"s and "thems"-- and the names!-- made it obvious pretty quickly that this book would be confusing... and in absolutely no danger of becoming a personal favorite.
People are not 'people' in this story. There are not men, goblins, elves, dwarves, etc-- though they can be somewhat inferred from "gobvar," "elvar," etc. The author uses "var" instead of "man" in every conceivable instance (watchman becomes watchvar, etc). Cows are grazers. People of known gender are intermittently referred to as "they," instead of "he" or "she." The result is a written work that must be deciphered-- almost as though we are compelled to learn the author's language in order to read the story.
The characters' names only make things worse. They are all made up of words that would ordinarily not be names, such as Brushfire Hammerhead. This might have been novel, if not for the other issues.
As it was, I just gave up. I memorized the main character names, then skimmed to see what happened to them. As I said, the story itself is quite interesting. The author does very well constructing interesting worlds and characters.
I have no idea why the author thought it would be a good idea to turn a perfectly good story into one that is only skim-worthy due to names, "var"s, etc, being extremely cumbersome, distracting, and annoying.
As much as I'd be interested in seeing where the story goes, I certainly would not recommend it-- nor would I be willing to pay money for it.
Dear author, I like you. I like your writing. Your stories and characters deserve better. Please don't do this again.
I am definitely interested in the story and seeing where it goes in future installments.
I ended up skimming quite a bit of the book, though. Lots of descriptions I didn’t care about, but the "vars" and "they"s and "thems"-- and the names!-- made it obvious pretty quickly that this book would be confusing... and in absolutely no danger of becoming a personal favorite.
People are not 'people' in this story. There are not men, goblins, elves, dwarves, etc-- though they can be somewhat inferred from "gobvar," "elvar," etc. The author uses "var" instead of "man" in every conceivable instance (watchman becomes watchvar, etc). Cows are grazers. People of known gender are intermittently referred to as "they," instead of "he" or "she." The result is a written work that must be deciphered-- almost as though we are compelled to learn the author's language in order to read the story.
The characters' names only make things worse. They are all made up of words that would ordinarily not be names, such as Brushfire Hammerhead. This might have been novel, if not for the other issues.
As it was, I just gave up. I memorized the main character names, then skimmed to see what happened to them. As I said, the story itself is quite interesting. The author does very well constructing interesting worlds and characters.
I have no idea why the author thought it would be a good idea to turn a perfectly good story into one that is only skim-worthy due to names, "var"s, etc, being extremely cumbersome, distracting, and annoying.
As much as I'd be interested in seeing where the story goes, I certainly would not recommend it-- nor would I be willing to pay money for it.
Dear author, I like you. I like your writing. Your stories and characters deserve better. Please don't do this again.
August 30, 2025
Mixed feelings.
I generally love Glynn Stewart's writing. This one, though, I don't know. It started a bit confusing, with 3 different points of view, in a completely alien world (no humans here, only Var of different kinds; halvar, gobvar, elvar, etc). I don't have a problem with that. I love C.J.Cherryh. It was just confusing with 3 different people.
I think the world building was lacking too. I would have liked a bit more there. On the other hand, this part was kind of slow as well, so I don't know.
Once the 3 MCs came together the pace picked up and things got moving. I liked the middle part.
The last part I kind of skimmed. It wasn't all that interesting, honestly. There was so much talk about getting to this point, that when it arrived, it was a bit anti-climactic.
And, you know, I'm not really that interested in continuing. I didn't feel any tension or anticipation, at least not enough for me to care about these characters or what they might face.
I generally love Glynn Stewart's writing. This one, though, I don't know. It started a bit confusing, with 3 different points of view, in a completely alien world (no humans here, only Var of different kinds; halvar, gobvar, elvar, etc). I don't have a problem with that. I love C.J.Cherryh. It was just confusing with 3 different people.
I think the world building was lacking too. I would have liked a bit more there. On the other hand, this part was kind of slow as well, so I don't know.
Once the 3 MCs came together the pace picked up and things got moving. I liked the middle part.
The last part I kind of skimmed. It wasn't all that interesting, honestly. There was so much talk about getting to this point, that when it arrived, it was a bit anti-climactic.
And, you know, I'm not really that interested in continuing. I didn't feel any tension or anticipation, at least not enough for me to care about these characters or what they might face.
March 21, 2023
The book was fun. It's not earth shattering, I'm still waiting for that book to arrive, but in the mean time this Steampunk story was great fun. And I'm glad that I helped sponsor Glynn Stewart's kickstarter. I love Captain Cat Greentree and his first mate Bushfire, one of the most unlikely pairings ever, as they plan to steal a rocket ship and save the future!
Here's a couple of quotes that caught my attention:
"Armand gestured, sending a chair flashing across the room and hammering Mountainbirds into it with a crushing blow of magic."
"But the extra-large lamps and reflective mirrors mounted on Star’s masts cut through the dark like blades of fire..."
“At this point, Captain, I believe I have learned to speak fluent ship. If she was built to sail at the hands of var, I will move her. Maybe not well, maybe not efficiently, but I will move her.”
Here's a couple of quotes that caught my attention:
"Armand gestured, sending a chair flashing across the room and hammering Mountainbirds into it with a crushing blow of magic."
"But the extra-large lamps and reflective mirrors mounted on Star’s masts cut through the dark like blades of fire..."
“At this point, Captain, I believe I have learned to speak fluent ship. If she was built to sail at the hands of var, I will move her. Maybe not well, maybe not efficiently, but I will move her.”
September 2, 2023
It takes a bit to get used to this world a d its conceits like replacing VAR for MAN and I could have used some illustrations because I still don't believe the ships are analogous to ocean vessels. But Stewart is as skilled as ever creating this unique world out "thin air". I'm happy he only mentioned character's sexual orientation in passing and otherwise, so far anyway, it has no real part in the story. I still wish Stewart would use the word "whom" and the subjunctive mood tense but I've given up on him for that. Found a couple of typo errors in this edition but I'm finding that a common occurrence across all genres nowadays. I like the story and will read the rest though I hate waiting for installments and generally wait until everything has been published before I star yet another series. .
March 21, 2023
Glynn Stewart starts a fun tale of an impossible quest set in a universe of bubble worlds floating in the Aether. Cat Greentrees loses his command of an elven Nine Sailed Star (ebook from Faolan's Pen Publishing) ship when he decides to bring word of Dragons aiding the Gobvar instead of having his ship destroyed by said dragons. Archmage Armand Bluestaves has a vision of Dragons conquering the known universe. He hires Cat Greentrees to captain an Aether ship, as well as a Gobvar crew headed by Shamon Brushfire Hammerhead who had lost their last ship because of prejudice against Gobvar who had fled the Gobvar empire. Together they have to float on the Aether to find another ship that can sail in areas lacking both air and Aether. Lots of fun and I am waiting eagerly for part 2.
March 28, 2023
I found this book difficult to get into, the mixture of SciFi and Fantasy didn’t really work for me. The more the author explained the different Spheres and the construction of the Nine Masted Ships the more I had my doubts. It didn’t help that the first chapter included a Seer, I don’t often like stories that include predicting the future.
I tried to follow the opening battle, but I couldn’t make much sense of what was happening and more importantly why, them a dragon appears and this was probably the end for me.
I can understand why someone would find this strange beginning intriguing, but unfortunately the author had already lost me.
I tried to follow the opening battle, but I couldn’t make much sense of what was happening and more importantly why, them a dragon appears and this was probably the end for me.
I can understand why someone would find this strange beginning intriguing, but unfortunately the author had already lost me.
October 20, 2025
Interesting world building and excellent action
This is an interesting mixture of high fantasy with swords and sorcery in a very unusual world/universe.
The ships are nautical and so is some of the terminology. But they sail in space which can have unique occult properties or nothing but baseline empty space.
Anyway. Lots of action and serious moral and ethical dilemmas.
Enjoy.
This is an interesting mixture of high fantasy with swords and sorcery in a very unusual world/universe.
The ships are nautical and so is some of the terminology. But they sail in space which can have unique occult properties or nothing but baseline empty space.
Anyway. Lots of action and serious moral and ethical dilemmas.
Enjoy.
March 27, 2023
A captivating new spin
Glynn has always made books I've enjoyed and this one is no exception. A lovely fantasy spin on space travel I look forward to seeing more of this series. An interesting and complex world with much to take from it. Thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish.
Glynn has always made books I've enjoyed and this one is no exception. A lovely fantasy spin on space travel I look forward to seeing more of this series. An interesting and complex world with much to take from it. Thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish.
April 9, 2023
an adventure of magic and war
There are great characters, action scenes, and much magic of varying kinds. But, can the variety of var kind be honed into a cohesive group to ward the defined catastrophe from happening!!!
There are great characters, action scenes, and much magic of varying kinds. But, can the variety of var kind be honed into a cohesive group to ward the defined catastrophe from happening!!!
April 17, 2023
outstanding
This is a cross between fantasy and space opera. It’s amazing. You need to read it right now. It is the most unique and intriguing world building that I have seen in a very long time. And I am old and I read a lot!
This is a cross between fantasy and space opera. It’s amazing. You need to read it right now. It is the most unique and intriguing world building that I have seen in a very long time. And I am old and I read a lot!
May 7, 2023
A good start to a series
This was a good start to the author’s new series. The characters were well written and have depth. The plot is good and shows a lot of potential for the rest of the series.
This was a good start to the author’s new series. The characters were well written and have depth. The plot is good and shows a lot of potential for the rest of the series.
July 23, 2023
A fine beginning
Different in some ways from other Stewart books and still compelling. I am very interested to see/read how this all turns out. Still I was reading this as a break from re-reading the Starship Mage books and can barely wait for the next one!
Different in some ways from other Stewart books and still compelling. I am very interested to see/read how this all turns out. Still I was reading this as a break from re-reading the Starship Mage books and can barely wait for the next one!
March 5, 2026
Starts slow but picks up by the middle
The story was intially difficult to follow and a bit slow but picked up by the middle and became more interesting as it went on.
Looking forward to see what happens in the next volume.
The story was intially difficult to follow and a bit slow but picked up by the middle and became more interesting as it went on.
Looking forward to see what happens in the next volume.
March 26, 2023
interesting
I loved the character development but it took a while to become engaged with this world. Much prefer the other Mage stories though.
I loved the character development but it took a while to become engaged with this world. Much prefer the other Mage stories though.
March 31, 2023
The start of another amazing series
Love the world built in this book. From the magic, to the ships, to the society all of it is amazing. A must read for sure.
Love the world built in this book. From the magic, to the ships, to the society all of it is amazing. A must read for sure.
May 8, 2023
Phenomenal story
Can't wait for next book Glynn Stewart!
Phenomenal writing and phenomenal new series that I hope is as successful as Starship Mage.
Can't wait for next book Glynn Stewart!
Phenomenal writing and phenomenal new series that I hope is as successful as Starship Mage.
September 19, 2023
Good booking
Really interesting story. Can’t wait for the next book in the series. I hope to see it soon. 👍👍 👍
Really interesting story. Can’t wait for the next book in the series. I hope to see it soon. 👍👍 👍
October 19, 2023
Super excited for the next book in the series, I liked the characters and worldbuilding.
Did Not Finish
October 27, 2025This is probably a good book. I just couldn’t get into it at this point. Too much new terminology to learn and keep straight in the first couple chapters.
January 17, 2026
required headline
Good pace, interesting read, but uses some cumbersome names and terms that are meant really don’t add much to the story.
Good pace, interesting read, but uses some cumbersome names and terms that are meant really don’t add much to the story.
June 5, 2023
This was a nice, light and entertaining read. The story is engaging and the characters are fun to spend time with. I funded this on Kickstarter and enjoyed the result. I plan to support the sequels.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews