The Sinful Stars: Tales of the Fading Suns

by Bill Bridges (editor)

The world of the Fading Suns is revealed in the tales of its priests, nobles, guildsmembers, aliens and peasants. Within this short story The quest of an Ukar for an ancient relic of his race's mythology - a crown that can bend time itself; a priest finds absolution from his tortured sins in the storms of Pentateuch, the Planet of Mysteries; a scientist studying nanotech ressurects an evil from the time of the Second Republic. These stories and more show the tumultuous fate of humankind four millenia from now.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Role Playing Games, Space Opera

400 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Bill Bridges is a writer and game designer, most known for developing White Wolf’s World of Darkness setting and the Fading Suns science-fiction universe.

Reviews

[Derek · Rating 3 out of 5]

My initial reaction, especially after reading the introduction, was that the setting felt somewhat synthetic, even for something based upon a game product. When broken down, the factions felt designed for game balance, to maximize interesting points of contention. Fortunately the stories themselves were more nuanced.

Reading revealed a melange (so to speak) of influences: the Dune series (I dare you to read of the Hawkwoods and Decados without thinking of two prominent noble families from there), a hint of Warhammer 40k (in the notion of constant conflict and outre outerplanar threats), and a heaping spoonful of European medieval society (the Big Three: nobility / merchant league / Church). I was not expecting such a strong medieval-slash-Dark Age component to the culture, and thought that it would be more baroque.

The setting itself is extremely broad in scope, and this made it difficult to pinpoint a common mood or tone for the stories. In particular, the level of technology available and the general attitude toward it fluctuated from story to story. This feature is explained within the setting itself--different areas culturally have different attitudes--but a consistent stamp would have cemented it overall.

The proofreading errors tended to stick out--three, perhaps four, on the back cover alone--and once noticed they became an OCD distraction hampering immersion in the actual stories.

[Philip · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely AWESOME set of short stories set in the Fading Suns RPG universe. A Rare find, but worth the search and the read!

[Jerry Booth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good collection of short stories set in a fantastic setting where the stars are fading and humanity is recovering from a new Dark Ages.

[Zéro Janvier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un recueil de nouvelles se déroulant dans l'univers du jeu de rôles Fading Suns. J'ai mis beaucoup de temps à le lire, enchainant parfois deux ou trois nouvelles avant de mettre de côté le livre pendant plusieurs semaines. C'est peut-être un signe que certains textes sont meilleurs que d'autres, et encouragent plus ou moins à poursuivre la lecture. L'ensemble est tout de même plaisant à lire et inspirant quand on aime, comme moi, l'univers si particulier de Fading Suns, avec son mélange de science-fiction et d'ambiance médiévale.

[Winter Snowfall · Rating 4 out of 5]

As with all short story collections, it tends to have some duds here and there, but the overall quality is good and will definitely provide an enjoyable read for fans of the Fading Suns setting.

[Peter De Kinder · Rating 3 out of 5]

As with any collection of stories from different authors, the quality varies. However, there are some truly excellent stories in here, and most of the others are at the least agreeable to read. It gives a nice overview of several archetypes in the Fading Suns universe, and is an excellent starting point to get to know the ins and outs of this roleplay setting.

[Ron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this setting!