House of Shards

Maijstral #2

by Walter Jon Williams

Drake Maijstral and Geoff Fu George, two renowned Allowed Burglars, vie for the honor of successfully stealing a spectacular necklace known as the Eltdown Shard

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, Fantasy, Humor

320 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published November 15, 1988

About the author

Walter Jon Williams has published twenty novels and short fiction collections. Most are science fiction or fantasy -Hardwired, Voice of the Whirlwind, Aristoi, Metropolitan, City on Fire to name just a few - a few are historical adventures, and the most recent, The Rift, is a disaster novel in which "I just basically pound a part of the planet down to bedrock." And that's just the opening chapters. Walter holds a fourth-degree black belt in Kenpo Karate, and also enjoys sailing and scuba diving. He lives in New Mexico with his wife, Kathy Hedges.

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my favorite of the three Maijstral books. It's a crime caper set on a space station with a definite Douglas Adams/Doctor Who flare. The characters are all larger-than-life personages like a good Agatha Christie puzzler. It never gets overly silly, and it kept me turning pages compulsively all the way through.

[Stacie · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my top ten sci-fi books, it's inventive, funny, charming, and a great hoot to read. Having finally read the whole series, this is still my fav of the bunch but the series as a whole is fun and satisfying. Wish WJW had written more books in this style.

[Nicole Luiken · Rating 4 out of 5]

Far future SF set in a decadent society. Maijstral is an Allowed Burglar. In this, book two, he's pitted against Fu George the top-ranked burglar and Mr. Sun the overzealous head of security on a fabulous asteroid resort. Hijinks ensue. A fun heist.

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a hoot. I really wish Walter Jon Williams had been willing to do more books than just the sequels. It is a very funny book, and quite different from his other work.

[Ray A · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great fun!

Great fun! I've just finished the second of this three book series, and have greatly enjoyed the plot arch so far. Can't wait to see if my assumptions on the final resolution are correct

[Elentarri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amusing book. I really like Roman, wish there was more of him.

[Scott Godin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Picked this up at a used book store because I've enjoyed other things by WJW and this did not disappoint. In fact, this was fantastic. THIS is why I read Sci-fi. Where the Sci-Fi is the _setting_ not the _premise_. Finding gems like this in a used book store is the absolute best. Would dearly love to see this made into an animated thing like Arcane, but as true to the original story as possible. Definitely going to track down the other books; had no idea this was a series when I snagged the book because I didn't read the fine print on the cover "another adventure of Drake Majistral" so I came into it completely blind and no expectations. two thumbs and two big toes up. It's like Space Lupin meets Burning Bright (Melissa Scott), if that makes any sense :-)

[Fred · Rating 1 out of 5]

I like W. J. Williams' work in general, but Drake Majistral does not do it for me. You cannot transplant Bertie Wooster to be a Space-Opera Jewel Thief. Well, maybe you can, but it sets my teeth on edge. I didn't finish it. You might like it. Sorry, Walter!

[Conrad Gempf · Rating 5 out of 5]

I kinda love this series. Williams tends to give you too many characters at once and it's sometimes hard to remember who is who, but if you get that straight, the rest is great fun in the thief-as-hero heist genre.

[Nat · Rating 5 out of 5]

such an absurdly entertaining piece of fiction, I'm unsure if its my lack of exposure to fiction of this variety or if its truly this impactful but I genuinely loved the experience.

[Jay S · Rating 3 out of 5]

Drake Maijstral is in the proximity of the top-rated "Allowed Burglar", and people seem to want a contest. Drake just wants to steal an item to advance his rating and make some money.