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The Wayfarer Redemption #3
Starman
Axis is the StarMan of prophecy and legend, destined to lead the three races of his world to unite as one people. The people of his world all know the Prophecy of the Destroyer, despite the failed attempts of the Seneschal to suppress it in the name of the god Artor the Ploughman, and it predicts and dictates Axis's path through war and destruction to the creation of Tencendor.
The Prophecy foretold that Axis would defeat his half-brother and lay claim to the land that Tencendor will be created upon. The Prophecy told of the traitor in Axis's camp-Faraday's champion, Timozel.
And the Prophecy foretold many a choice that Axis must make in order to fulfill his destiny . . . but neglected to mention the choice between the beautiful and courageous Faraday, his late half-brother's wife, and the feisty and hauntingly enchanting Azhure.
To Faraday, he had pledged his love and a place by his side as ruler of Tencendor; to Azhure, he had given his children, his time, and his devotion.
His love for both women is what the last twist of the Prophecy relies on. While Azhure explores her newfound powers as an Icarii Enchantress, and Faraday replants the ancient forests of the Mother, the evil Gorgrael is plotting Axis's downfall, invading the sky with ice and terror and the flesh-hungry Gryphons. His most daring move is to follow prophecy, to taunt Axis with the pain of his beloved.
But which beloved woman will Gorgrael choose . . . and will she be the one whose death will distract Axis from saving the world?
The Prophecy foretold that Axis would defeat his half-brother and lay claim to the land that Tencendor will be created upon. The Prophecy told of the traitor in Axis's camp-Faraday's champion, Timozel.
And the Prophecy foretold many a choice that Axis must make in order to fulfill his destiny . . . but neglected to mention the choice between the beautiful and courageous Faraday, his late half-brother's wife, and the feisty and hauntingly enchanting Azhure.
To Faraday, he had pledged his love and a place by his side as ruler of Tencendor; to Azhure, he had given his children, his time, and his devotion.
His love for both women is what the last twist of the Prophecy relies on. While Azhure explores her newfound powers as an Icarii Enchantress, and Faraday replants the ancient forests of the Mother, the evil Gorgrael is plotting Axis's downfall, invading the sky with ice and terror and the flesh-hungry Gryphons. His most daring move is to follow prophecy, to taunt Axis with the pain of his beloved.
But which beloved woman will Gorgrael choose . . . and will she be the one whose death will distract Axis from saving the world?
688 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
89 people are currently reading
2027 people want to read
About the author
Sara Douglass
65 books1,030 followersDouglass was born in Penola, South Australia. She attended Annesley College, in Wayville, a suburb of Adelaide. She studied for her BA while working as a Registered Nurse, and later completed her PhD in early modern English History. She became a lecturer in medieval history at La Trobe University, Bendigo. While there she completed her first novel, BattleAxe, which launched her as a popular fantasy author in Australia, and later as an international success.
Until the mid-2000s, Douglass hosted a bulletin board on her website, with the aim of encouraging creative thinking and constructive criticism of others' work. She maintained an online blog about the restoration project of her house and garden entitled Notes from Nonsuch in Tasmania.
In 2008, Douglass was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She underwent treatment, but in late 2010 the cancer returned. She died on 27 September 2011, aged 54.
She also wrote under her real name Sara Warneke.
Until the mid-2000s, Douglass hosted a bulletin board on her website, with the aim of encouraging creative thinking and constructive criticism of others' work. She maintained an online blog about the restoration project of her house and garden entitled Notes from Nonsuch in Tasmania.
In 2008, Douglass was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She underwent treatment, but in late 2010 the cancer returned. She died on 27 September 2011, aged 54.
She also wrote under her real name Sara Warneke.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 170 reviews
April 21, 2018
I don't even know what to say. So I'm just going to sit on 3 stars for now damn it. That ending though!
Mel 🖤🐾🐺
Mel 🖤🐾🐺
December 8, 2019
I finished this series yesterday. It took some dedication for me to cover 400+ pages in a day, but I was determined. As I mentioned in my review of the last books in the series, I began reading this trilogy in the 90s and never did get to this third installment.
Fantasy has made many changes since this series was written, largely due to the influence of people like Martin and Jordan, not to mention Brandon Sanderson. There is a certain edginess and violence with a tendency to drop F bombs in much of the new literature from the genre that is not present in this, a product of the earlier era of fantasy that was barely moving beyond the borders of Tolkien and Brooks.
I plan on continuing to read this series, but I am definitely going to read other writers before I begin the next, and final, three books in this series. The characters are well developed, which is a part of what brought me back to this writer in the 90s and will bring me back again. The center of this book contains a huge buildup for the final fight that is loaded with setting descriptions that become increasingly elaborate and are clearly meant to wow the reader with magical enhancements and descriptions of races and magical lo. For me, it got a bit tedious. I felt like I needed to push through some of this to get to the actual story or character development that fully engaged me. There are only so many mind blowing magical settings I can handle before I feel like I want to get on with the story a bit. I suppose editing has also evolved along with writing style since these earlier days of the epic fantasy genre.
I once read a talented improvisational musician that said it is all about beginning well and ending well, and the middle section is for freewheeling and noodling. That seems to be the approach this author takes to writing. The ending of this trilogy was satisfying and all of the loose ends are wrapped up- not necessarily in the manner I thought, but definitely conclusively and rewardingly.
There are times that the good guys feel overwhelmingly powerful, and I think this detracts from opportunities to create suspense. I have found that stories that present frighteningly powerful villains who are loaded with personality, a much higher tension build-up as the story nears its climax. While this isn’t a generalization that applies to everything I read, it definitely would’ve helped this book. I found myself almost sympathizing for the villains as the heroes continue to power up to godlike levels. I didn’t feel like the end was ever really in question.
Overall, I enjoyed the book. I will rate it four stars, but it is closer to 3.5 due to the heavy geographical imagery in the center.
Fantasy has made many changes since this series was written, largely due to the influence of people like Martin and Jordan, not to mention Brandon Sanderson. There is a certain edginess and violence with a tendency to drop F bombs in much of the new literature from the genre that is not present in this, a product of the earlier era of fantasy that was barely moving beyond the borders of Tolkien and Brooks.
I plan on continuing to read this series, but I am definitely going to read other writers before I begin the next, and final, three books in this series. The characters are well developed, which is a part of what brought me back to this writer in the 90s and will bring me back again. The center of this book contains a huge buildup for the final fight that is loaded with setting descriptions that become increasingly elaborate and are clearly meant to wow the reader with magical enhancements and descriptions of races and magical lo. For me, it got a bit tedious. I felt like I needed to push through some of this to get to the actual story or character development that fully engaged me. There are only so many mind blowing magical settings I can handle before I feel like I want to get on with the story a bit. I suppose editing has also evolved along with writing style since these earlier days of the epic fantasy genre.
I once read a talented improvisational musician that said it is all about beginning well and ending well, and the middle section is for freewheeling and noodling. That seems to be the approach this author takes to writing. The ending of this trilogy was satisfying and all of the loose ends are wrapped up- not necessarily in the manner I thought, but definitely conclusively and rewardingly.
There are times that the good guys feel overwhelmingly powerful, and I think this detracts from opportunities to create suspense. I have found that stories that present frighteningly powerful villains who are loaded with personality, a much higher tension build-up as the story nears its climax. While this isn’t a generalization that applies to everything I read, it definitely would’ve helped this book. I found myself almost sympathizing for the villains as the heroes continue to power up to godlike levels. I didn’t feel like the end was ever really in question.
Overall, I enjoyed the book. I will rate it four stars, but it is closer to 3.5 due to the heavy geographical imagery in the center.
October 21, 2025
Drivel. 🦨 A soporific slog consisting entirely of inane mystical babble mixed with endless to’ing + fro’ing, plus a healthy dollop of deus-ex-machina. I liked the first book, & the second was blandly entertaining despite its flaws, but this final installment…nope. *unfurls airplane barf bag*
After 5 experiences (this trilogy & the first two Troy Game novels), I’ve noticed a sad pattern to Douglass’ storytelling. She starts with decent hooks & engaging conflicts (Wayfarer Redemption, Hades’ Daughter), then buries those hooks beneath a flood of magical discourse, unlikable MCs with piled-on superpowers & cheesy, OTT villains—in other words, her multi-book sagas begin strong before sliding rapidly downhill. The climax of STARMAN in particular—i.e. Timozel & Gorgrael’s defeat—is over in two paltry fight scenes & comes off as absurdly anticlimactic, given all the mystical chest-pounding & thread-picking that accumulated over hundreds of pages.
It’s safe to say I won’t be picking up the second Tencendor trilogy, or any other books by Douglass. The only positives I managed to glean from this mess were Rivkah + Magariz having a HEA, & that final glimpse of poor Faraday having been released from her obsession with unworthy douche Axis. 😑
After 5 experiences (this trilogy & the first two Troy Game novels), I’ve noticed a sad pattern to Douglass’ storytelling. She starts with decent hooks & engaging conflicts (Wayfarer Redemption, Hades’ Daughter), then buries those hooks beneath a flood of magical discourse, unlikable MCs with piled-on superpowers & cheesy, OTT villains—in other words, her multi-book sagas begin strong before sliding rapidly downhill. The climax of STARMAN in particular—i.e. Timozel & Gorgrael’s defeat—is over in two paltry fight scenes & comes off as absurdly anticlimactic, given all the mystical chest-pounding & thread-picking that accumulated over hundreds of pages.
It’s safe to say I won’t be picking up the second Tencendor trilogy, or any other books by Douglass. The only positives I managed to glean from this mess were Rivkah + Magariz having a HEA, & that final glimpse of poor Faraday having been released from her obsession with unworthy douche Axis. 😑
December 4, 2008
I would love to give this book more than three stars - but I can't. I really can't. The story itself is very intriguing and the plot twists quite unexpected, but! And there is a huge but. The characters. The characters are so badly drawn that it ruins the whole book. Faraday is there only to suffer and suffer and suffer some more, the born martyr and sacrifice rolled in one. Azhure is the perfect Mary-Sue that keeps getting more and more and more awesome as the series continues. And Axis? He's the biggest jerk that ever had the misfortune to draw breath. Throughout the book he just stands aside and watches Azhure do everything and moans "Azhure, why aren't you here?" whenever they are not together. So yes, it's hard to rate a book better when you dislike the main characters.
May 31, 2009
I'm really disappointed in this series so far. I picked them up because I wanted a good fantasy with a female protagonist- it started off great but 1/2 way through Douglass seemed to decide she wanted to switch the focus. Problem is the only likeable character has a horrible fate, while the rest of her main characters (many of them are selfish jerks and difficult to cheer for) develop out of nowhere all these insane powers- making them undefeatable. What?!
The story is incredibly lopsided, and I'm not sure I have the interest to finish the series.
The story is incredibly lopsided, and I'm not sure I have the interest to finish the series.
January 14, 2019
In this one moment, while reading Starman, ended my life-long love affair with Sara Douglass. The first two books in the Axis Trilogy still lived up to the enjoyment I felt when I first started the series as a teenager, but Starman, unfortunately, did not.
Whether Douglass ran out of ideas or just didn’t know how to tie her story together, I don’t know, but everything that made the first two books great was gone in Starman. Douglass relies heavily on cliché and melodrama, introduces satellite characters that do nothing to enhance the plot, and undoes so much of the excellent work she did in the first two novels of building the strong characters that she did.
Faraday spends most the book pregnant, and instead of fighting for her independence and freedom, leading the Avar into the new Tencendor, she has no purpose but to be pretty, insipid, and the perpetual victim. It’s her son who will eventually do the job that should have been hers. She stops developing entirely, plants a few trees, and then walks straight into her fate without even bothering to fight for her survival. Even the one battle that could have been hers to showcase one more moment of strength and defiance had to be fought by Azhure on her behalf. She was nothing but a damsel in distress this whole novel, which seemed such a disservice to the tragic strength of her character from the previous instalments.
Azhure, the strong, badass warrior from the first two books was gone. She spent the entirety of Starman nursing babies, being a generally shitty parent, and using her boobs to win battles. In Enchanter Azhure started growing into her character. She was a strong huntress who excelled in battle and was a capable commander in Axis’ army. In Starman, however, she’s pregnant, again, (in fact, almost every single female protagonist spends part of this novel pregnant) for a good chunk of the novel, and instead of doing any actual fighting, she makes people and creatures lust after her instead. I wish I were kidding. It was such a disservice to her character. I wanted her to be fierce. I wanted her to be strong. But instead, she becomes nothing but an object of lust, falling into the pitfalls of the fantasy genre. Men are good at things. Women either need saving or have boobs.
As for Axis himself, he has always been a bit of a dick, but he didn’t get any development in Starman, so he was frankly unlikeable. He’s a terrible father, a terrible friend, barely does anything to earn him the glory and power that he has. He just turns up at appropriate times while others do the work for him. Everyone else sacrifices while he revels in the glory, and I found it quite hard to stomach.
The end of Enchanter had introduced the Acharite god, Artor, as a character, and I remembered that plotline as being quite dramatic. Re-reading Starman as an adult, however, I realised that it was a worthless plot addition that went nowhere. His entire role is merely to act as another reason for Faraday to be a victim, and to prove a foil for the Star Gods to whom we are introduced in this book. Even they served no purpose other than to arrive at convenient times, confuse mere mortals with cryptic language, and make unwanted sexual advances to just about everyone. They accept worship but do absolutely nothing of discernible use at any point.
One of my most significant issues, however, is that all the hanging plot threads are told in exposition, not discovered organically. For the first two books, Douglass’ character development and world building were wonderful. The plot and characters did fall into cliché’d archetypes, but everything was still unique and developed enough that it was easy to forgive it. In Starman however, anything the characters needed to know was conveniently explained to them at times they needed it. Azhure didn’t find out about her mother organically, she was told about her. We didn’t find out about the Star Gods piecemeal, it was explained. WolfStar was potentially one of the most exciting characters in the series, and even he, at the very end, almost as an afterthought, appears and explains how he came to be who he was – and quite frankly anyone who was paying attention would have worked that out already. No characters take responsibility for their actions. A lot of them rely on simply falling on “the prophecy made me do it.”
Azhure spends a bulk of the novel with the twins, either pregnant or being an awful mother. There was an interesting plot point that could have been developed as she and Axis tried to deal with the mental trauma that the two babies had experienced in the womb in the previous novel. This could have been so deep and affecting. It would have humanised Axis and Azhure who spend the whole of Starman being larger than life, but instead, it just turns out that the babies were evil. Babies aren’t just evil! They become that way through shitty parenting. This results in far too many suggestions of infanticide from multiple characters to be comfortable.
All the women in Starman end up being interesting only for their sexuality, with too much focus put on the fact that their children carry traits passed down through ‘blood’. This is troubling on so many levels. It was certainly a part of the previous novels, but on this read-through, it jarred. Gorgrael only hates because he’s Avar. It’s essentially the message with which the novel leaves us. That is pretty damn horrific, and also entirely not how human emotion works.
I have always loved this trilogy. They’re the books that got me into the fantasy genre so long ago. I still absolutely loved reading both Battleaxe and Enchanter, but Starman just left me feeling cold. It was a poor end to an otherwise thoroughly enjoyable trilogy. The world and characters that Douglass built deserved more.
Whether Douglass ran out of ideas or just didn’t know how to tie her story together, I don’t know, but everything that made the first two books great was gone in Starman. Douglass relies heavily on cliché and melodrama, introduces satellite characters that do nothing to enhance the plot, and undoes so much of the excellent work she did in the first two novels of building the strong characters that she did.
It was a sadly anticlimactic end to what had been a sometimes grand but often tragic campaign.
Faraday spends most the book pregnant, and instead of fighting for her independence and freedom, leading the Avar into the new Tencendor, she has no purpose but to be pretty, insipid, and the perpetual victim. It’s her son who will eventually do the job that should have been hers. She stops developing entirely, plants a few trees, and then walks straight into her fate without even bothering to fight for her survival. Even the one battle that could have been hers to showcase one more moment of strength and defiance had to be fought by Azhure on her behalf. She was nothing but a damsel in distress this whole novel, which seemed such a disservice to the tragic strength of her character from the previous instalments.
Azhure, the strong, badass warrior from the first two books was gone. She spent the entirety of Starman nursing babies, being a generally shitty parent, and using her boobs to win battles. In Enchanter Azhure started growing into her character. She was a strong huntress who excelled in battle and was a capable commander in Axis’ army. In Starman, however, she’s pregnant, again, (in fact, almost every single female protagonist spends part of this novel pregnant) for a good chunk of the novel, and instead of doing any actual fighting, she makes people and creatures lust after her instead. I wish I were kidding. It was such a disservice to her character. I wanted her to be fierce. I wanted her to be strong. But instead, she becomes nothing but an object of lust, falling into the pitfalls of the fantasy genre. Men are good at things. Women either need saving or have boobs.
As for Axis himself, he has always been a bit of a dick, but he didn’t get any development in Starman, so he was frankly unlikeable. He’s a terrible father, a terrible friend, barely does anything to earn him the glory and power that he has. He just turns up at appropriate times while others do the work for him. Everyone else sacrifices while he revels in the glory, and I found it quite hard to stomach.
The end of Enchanter had introduced the Acharite god, Artor, as a character, and I remembered that plotline as being quite dramatic. Re-reading Starman as an adult, however, I realised that it was a worthless plot addition that went nowhere. His entire role is merely to act as another reason for Faraday to be a victim, and to prove a foil for the Star Gods to whom we are introduced in this book. Even they served no purpose other than to arrive at convenient times, confuse mere mortals with cryptic language, and make unwanted sexual advances to just about everyone. They accept worship but do absolutely nothing of discernible use at any point.
One of my most significant issues, however, is that all the hanging plot threads are told in exposition, not discovered organically. For the first two books, Douglass’ character development and world building were wonderful. The plot and characters did fall into cliché’d archetypes, but everything was still unique and developed enough that it was easy to forgive it. In Starman however, anything the characters needed to know was conveniently explained to them at times they needed it. Azhure didn’t find out about her mother organically, she was told about her. We didn’t find out about the Star Gods piecemeal, it was explained. WolfStar was potentially one of the most exciting characters in the series, and even he, at the very end, almost as an afterthought, appears and explains how he came to be who he was – and quite frankly anyone who was paying attention would have worked that out already. No characters take responsibility for their actions. A lot of them rely on simply falling on “the prophecy made me do it.”
Azhure spends a bulk of the novel with the twins, either pregnant or being an awful mother. There was an interesting plot point that could have been developed as she and Axis tried to deal with the mental trauma that the two babies had experienced in the womb in the previous novel. This could have been so deep and affecting. It would have humanised Axis and Azhure who spend the whole of Starman being larger than life, but instead, it just turns out that the babies were evil. Babies aren’t just evil! They become that way through shitty parenting. This results in far too many suggestions of infanticide from multiple characters to be comfortable.
All the women in Starman end up being interesting only for their sexuality, with too much focus put on the fact that their children carry traits passed down through ‘blood’. This is troubling on so many levels. It was certainly a part of the previous novels, but on this read-through, it jarred. Gorgrael only hates because he’s Avar. It’s essentially the message with which the novel leaves us. That is pretty damn horrific, and also entirely not how human emotion works.
I have always loved this trilogy. They’re the books that got me into the fantasy genre so long ago. I still absolutely loved reading both Battleaxe and Enchanter, but Starman just left me feeling cold. It was a poor end to an otherwise thoroughly enjoyable trilogy. The world and characters that Douglass built deserved more.
June 1, 2009
After reading the reviews posted here, i just decided to read the ending... (If there's anyone kind out there, please post a short summary on what happened to Faraday, Axis, Azhure and their families please, i would like to know even if i couldn't be bothered to read it myself. Please and thank you.)
To put it nicely, my conclusion is i've no fond feelings whatsoever for this series. I read the first book till the end to see what would happen to Faraday and Axis, how they would triumph over evil and such....
I read the second book for that same reason...
But in the end, i felt the Axis was the greatest evil to have existed in that book... How can you write a book where the main goal in life of one of the characters, a likable one at that (namely Faraday) suffered, suffered and suffered throughout 3 books... She is like the queen of sacrifice and was born to live and die for him... It's just makes you frustrated...
A wise author should have crafted a better plot...
To put it nicely, my conclusion is i've no fond feelings whatsoever for this series. I read the first book till the end to see what would happen to Faraday and Axis, how they would triumph over evil and such....
I read the second book for that same reason...
But in the end, i felt the Axis was the greatest evil to have existed in that book... How can you write a book where the main goal in life of one of the characters, a likable one at that (namely Faraday) suffered, suffered and suffered throughout 3 books... She is like the queen of sacrifice and was born to live and die for him... It's just makes you frustrated...
A wise author should have crafted a better plot...
November 7, 2019
It’s time to finish off my re-read of the first trilogy of The Wayfarer Redemption with Starman, the conclusion of Axis’ battle against Gorgrael to fulfil a Prophecy and recreate the land of Tencendor. I seem to have stumbled into a more-than-the-sum-of-its-parts situation here: I want to give this book two stars, but the series as a whole has actually been much more enjoyable than the individual books ever were.
Spoilers for this book and the previous two books, because I want to dig into this whole trilogy.
So Axis and Azhure get to be gods … yay? Although gods in this universe are not quite omnipotent beings, but rather just extremely magical, and “Lesser” creatures like WolfStar can hold their own against individual gods at times … yeah, the rules of this universe are frustrating sometimes. This series is a good example of falling in love with one’s own worldbuilding. Whereas the previous two books privileged plot, Starman stops pretending with that bullshit and just surrenders to the temptation to drown us with exposition. Almost every scene offers up an excuse to have a metaphysical conversation about the nature of the universe, the various gods, etc.
Now, the geeky part of me loves the ideas that Sara Douglass provides us. The idea that the Star Gods, Artor, etc., all showed up through the Star Gate or otherwise, and that they are perhaps just Sufficiently Advanced Aliens (this can be inferred but isn’t outright stated) is so cool to me. The problem is that if all you have are cool ideas, without much in the way of interesting plot, then this might as well be a RPG universe instead of, you know, a story.
Moreover, some of the exposition goes a little too far. In previous books, WolfStar/the Dark Man were intriguing antagonists because his motivations were so murky. Was he on the side of Axis or Gorgrael? Or Prophecy? (His identity as the Prophet is pretty easy to deduce if you pay attention, although given the monotonous length of these books, I don’t fault anyone whose attention lapses.) Starman clears that up fairly easily. WolfStar declares his intentions repeatedly and clearly for anyone who wants to know … and that caused my interest in him as a character to drop to zero. I don’t really care to sympathize with him on the basis of being a slave to the Prophecy he himself developed.
Similarly, Douglass seems to be in a rush to cast each main character into a crucible so that they can achieve their Final Form as soon as possible. Axis, Azhure, Faraday, etc., all experience major changes and powerups in terms of their abilities and understanding of their place in the world. Yet none of them, with the exception perhaps of the woobie Faraday, really earn this. It’s just dropped on them because it’s part of the story. Whereas Axis spends most of the first two books earning the loyalty of his men through his courage and honour, in this book he’s fairly useless and even petulant.
It’s all the fault of the damnable Prophecy, honestly! Take the whole Rainbow Scepter thing. Multiple people tell Axis he has to show up on Fire-Night to get the scepter from the Avar. Everyone seems to know about this scepter and the role it plays in Axis defeating Gorgrael. What was once a cryptic Prophecy now seems crystalline, and in this way the story transforms from one of epic fantasy into a middle-of-the-road fantasy RPG full of NPCs who direct you in your quest. “Get Rainbow Scepter.” “Go to the Ice Fortress.” “Kill Gorgrael.” This applies to characters other than Axis. It started with Timozel in book one; he switches sides mostly because of WolfStar’s mental assault than because of any true decision to betray Axis and Faraday. But we’ve got situations like Azhure showing up in Smyrton to help Faraday not through any decision of her own but because another, otherwise pointless character tells her that’s her role in the matter. It’s not that it’s predictable, because Douglass doesn’t even try to maintain anything approaching suspense. It’s linear, straightforward, and entirely telegraphed ahead of time.
I’m not sure if this is because Starman is worried that the readers just aren’t smart enough to get it, or if it’s just the way in which Douglass is captivated by the Prophecy she has woven throughout this trilogy. In any event, the result is a serious lack of suspense for almost the entire book. Nothing seems to be in jeopardy, even when traumatic events (like the abduction of Caelum) happen with maximum melodrama. Speaking of which—the whole thing where Azhure unilaterally mind-wipes her own kid because he plotted to sell-out his older brother to Gorgrael? That’s fucked up. I mean, DragonStar’s behaviour is fucked up, but he’s still ultimately a vulnerable child, whereas Azhure is a fully-grown woman and Icarii Enchantress. One of the main themes of this series seems to be that powerful people make for terrible parents.
Despite all these criticisms, I still enjoyed reading these books, even if perhaps my opinion of the series isn’t very high. Douglass has a stunning fantastical imagination, and she is great at creating unique and complex characters. Her stewardship of those characters through three books, however, leaves much to be desired. If Starman succeeds, it is in spite of its use of what are now considered cliché fantasy tropes, not because of those tropes. I’m not even sure I would go so far as to say it succeeds. The series is a feverish dream of so many cool elements tied together by a plot that doesn’t quite work and characters who are either too powerful, too prideful, or too underutilized (sometimes a combination of all three) to really be interesting or sympathetic.
But wait … my journey will continue with the sequel trilogy! Because I am a glutton for punishment and also I bought those three books cheaply when I bought these three, so … onwards!
My reviews of The Wayfarer Redemption:
← Enchanter
Spoilers for this book and the previous two books, because I want to dig into this whole trilogy.
So Axis and Azhure get to be gods … yay? Although gods in this universe are not quite omnipotent beings, but rather just extremely magical, and “Lesser” creatures like WolfStar can hold their own against individual gods at times … yeah, the rules of this universe are frustrating sometimes. This series is a good example of falling in love with one’s own worldbuilding. Whereas the previous two books privileged plot, Starman stops pretending with that bullshit and just surrenders to the temptation to drown us with exposition. Almost every scene offers up an excuse to have a metaphysical conversation about the nature of the universe, the various gods, etc.
Now, the geeky part of me loves the ideas that Sara Douglass provides us. The idea that the Star Gods, Artor, etc., all showed up through the Star Gate or otherwise, and that they are perhaps just Sufficiently Advanced Aliens (this can be inferred but isn’t outright stated) is so cool to me. The problem is that if all you have are cool ideas, without much in the way of interesting plot, then this might as well be a RPG universe instead of, you know, a story.
Moreover, some of the exposition goes a little too far. In previous books, WolfStar/the Dark Man were intriguing antagonists because his motivations were so murky. Was he on the side of Axis or Gorgrael? Or Prophecy? (His identity as the Prophet is pretty easy to deduce if you pay attention, although given the monotonous length of these books, I don’t fault anyone whose attention lapses.) Starman clears that up fairly easily. WolfStar declares his intentions repeatedly and clearly for anyone who wants to know … and that caused my interest in him as a character to drop to zero. I don’t really care to sympathize with him on the basis of being a slave to the Prophecy he himself developed.
Similarly, Douglass seems to be in a rush to cast each main character into a crucible so that they can achieve their Final Form as soon as possible. Axis, Azhure, Faraday, etc., all experience major changes and powerups in terms of their abilities and understanding of their place in the world. Yet none of them, with the exception perhaps of the woobie Faraday, really earn this. It’s just dropped on them because it’s part of the story. Whereas Axis spends most of the first two books earning the loyalty of his men through his courage and honour, in this book he’s fairly useless and even petulant.
It’s all the fault of the damnable Prophecy, honestly! Take the whole Rainbow Scepter thing. Multiple people tell Axis he has to show up on Fire-Night to get the scepter from the Avar. Everyone seems to know about this scepter and the role it plays in Axis defeating Gorgrael. What was once a cryptic Prophecy now seems crystalline, and in this way the story transforms from one of epic fantasy into a middle-of-the-road fantasy RPG full of NPCs who direct you in your quest. “Get Rainbow Scepter.” “Go to the Ice Fortress.” “Kill Gorgrael.” This applies to characters other than Axis. It started with Timozel in book one; he switches sides mostly because of WolfStar’s mental assault than because of any true decision to betray Axis and Faraday. But we’ve got situations like Azhure showing up in Smyrton to help Faraday not through any decision of her own but because another, otherwise pointless character tells her that’s her role in the matter. It’s not that it’s predictable, because Douglass doesn’t even try to maintain anything approaching suspense. It’s linear, straightforward, and entirely telegraphed ahead of time.
I’m not sure if this is because Starman is worried that the readers just aren’t smart enough to get it, or if it’s just the way in which Douglass is captivated by the Prophecy she has woven throughout this trilogy. In any event, the result is a serious lack of suspense for almost the entire book. Nothing seems to be in jeopardy, even when traumatic events (like the abduction of Caelum) happen with maximum melodrama. Speaking of which—the whole thing where Azhure unilaterally mind-wipes her own kid because he plotted to sell-out his older brother to Gorgrael? That’s fucked up. I mean, DragonStar’s behaviour is fucked up, but he’s still ultimately a vulnerable child, whereas Azhure is a fully-grown woman and Icarii Enchantress. One of the main themes of this series seems to be that powerful people make for terrible parents.
Despite all these criticisms, I still enjoyed reading these books, even if perhaps my opinion of the series isn’t very high. Douglass has a stunning fantastical imagination, and she is great at creating unique and complex characters. Her stewardship of those characters through three books, however, leaves much to be desired. If Starman succeeds, it is in spite of its use of what are now considered cliché fantasy tropes, not because of those tropes. I’m not even sure I would go so far as to say it succeeds. The series is a feverish dream of so many cool elements tied together by a plot that doesn’t quite work and characters who are either too powerful, too prideful, or too underutilized (sometimes a combination of all three) to really be interesting or sympathetic.
But wait … my journey will continue with the sequel trilogy! Because I am a glutton for punishment and also I bought those three books cheaply when I bought these three, so … onwards!
My reviews of The Wayfarer Redemption:
← Enchanter
October 21, 2014
I'm so on the fence about my feelings for this series. While I really enjoyed the first book, I was not thrilled by the second, and this one didn't bring much else to the table except for bittersweet closure.
Axis is terrible and only grew more so in my eyes as the story went on. Faraday is once again getting treated like crap and as a side character, when I'd rather read more about her, then is killed off at the very end. Azhure, while I want to hate her for taking Axis from Faraday (while simultaneously being glad she rid her of that asshole), is probably the most exciting character in this whole book. I found myself wishing we could just read about the two women and kill Axis off; everyone would be better off!
Uhg. You get 3 stars, because I love the writing and some of the story, but I'm keeping two stars because I hate Axis and all of the stupid names for everything (seriously, StarFinger?!?!?!?! UHGGG!). Oh well.
Axis is terrible and only grew more so in my eyes as the story went on. Faraday is once again getting treated like crap and as a side character, when I'd rather read more about her, then is killed off at the very end. Azhure, while I want to hate her for taking Axis from Faraday (while simultaneously being glad she rid her of that asshole), is probably the most exciting character in this whole book. I found myself wishing we could just read about the two women and kill Axis off; everyone would be better off!
Uhg. You get 3 stars, because I love the writing and some of the story, but I'm keeping two stars because I hate Axis and all of the stupid names for everything (seriously, StarFinger?!?!?!?! UHGGG!). Oh well.
November 18, 2008
She got way too lazy by book 3. Book 1 started off at a good pace -- some real charachter development opportunities. In book 3 she solved 3 or 4 MAJOR plot problems in several hundred pages. She had one charachter who planted tens of thousands of trees in a matter of 4 or 5 months with no tools at all! We did the math, it should have taken years and years.
She just got lazy. Really hard problems just got solved by new mysterious powers that were unexplained. Of a truth, the "prophecy" was never really in danger of being unfulfilled -- especially not with Douglas in control. One of the enjoyable parts of reading the book was keeping a running total of the punctuation errors. I lost track around 20. Oh well. It was mildly entertaining. I guess if that's what you're after, this is a book for you. If you want to think about what you're reading, try something else.
She just got lazy. Really hard problems just got solved by new mysterious powers that were unexplained. Of a truth, the "prophecy" was never really in danger of being unfulfilled -- especially not with Douglas in control. One of the enjoyable parts of reading the book was keeping a running total of the punctuation errors. I lost track around 20. Oh well. It was mildly entertaining. I guess if that's what you're after, this is a book for you. If you want to think about what you're reading, try something else.
December 13, 2018
All the stars. Such an explosive ending, and I dreaded and worried what would happen would indeed come to pass and it did. So sad. I love that Sara Douglass wasn't afraid to pull punches and do some really awful things to her main characters, especially Axis who came out of this very, very changed.
June 30, 2009
STOP. Stop right here. I know you're reading this because you just finished book 3 and are most likely looking forward to book 4. I'm here to tell you - Books 4-6 are _not_ good. I'm sorry Sara, I really am. Books 1-3 were so much fun for me to read, I couldn't put them down. I could ignore the inconsistencies others have proclaimed for what was a truly enjoyable story, but this book 4-6 business... what happened?!
Everything you enjoyed and 'loved' from the first trilogy is smashed against the wall and grinded into it's pourous contours leaving only the discusting smear you have to look at to see if you're healthy but hate to look at, because it's... that.
To be serious, the second trilogy jumps about 40 years ahead and introduces new characters. There isn't anything wrong with them - it's just a little offsetting at first. What she writes about though is very disturbing and ultimately leaves you wondering if someone else wrote it or if Sara was working through some issues.
Example (minor spoiler); read how a girl aborts her own baby by sheer will and then throws the unborn fetus across the room at the would-be father. Then read about how the father tracks said fetus across a few books in hopes of resurrecting it. It gets worse.
Please stop here. Leave these wonderful memories you have where they are.
Everything you enjoyed and 'loved' from the first trilogy is smashed against the wall and grinded into it's pourous contours leaving only the discusting smear you have to look at to see if you're healthy but hate to look at, because it's... that.
To be serious, the second trilogy jumps about 40 years ahead and introduces new characters. There isn't anything wrong with them - it's just a little offsetting at first. What she writes about though is very disturbing and ultimately leaves you wondering if someone else wrote it or if Sara was working through some issues.
Example (minor spoiler); read how a girl aborts her own baby by sheer will and then throws the unborn fetus across the room at the would-be father. Then read about how the father tracks said fetus across a few books in hopes of resurrecting it. It gets worse.
Please stop here. Leave these wonderful memories you have where they are.
March 17, 2022
A trilogy that starts with such well thought out mysticism, world building and character development became so repetitively one-dimensional and dull halfway through the second book, that completing the 3rd one felt like pulling teeth. Unfortunately, I had to put this book down. A sad end to such a promising start!
November 9, 2017
I️ mean what the fuck. Just get rid of all the male characters and it would be amazing.
March 2, 2020
Great re-read. It kills me everytime I read about Faraday and how she's been treated. She was by far my favorite character.
July 31, 2024
?!?!?!!?
September 19, 2024
big shirt that says "#1 RiverStar Fan"
July 14, 2010
This is the third in the Axis Trilogy by Sara Douglass. In this book the final battle between Axis and his half brother Gorgrael will take place; the identity of the Lover is revealed; and finally WolfStar shows his true colours. This book is absolutely packed with events, as the first two were, and positively glitters with the force of Douglass' very vivid imagination.
I don't dispute that Douglass has managed to churn out a fairly effective fantasy trilogy. The world building is top notch, and the character development has been vigorous - especially when thinking back to the first book. These characters have definitely come a long way! I was unable to resist finding out what happened to Axis, Azhure and Faraday, which I guess is most of what can be asked from a novel.
That is not the whole story, though. Although I felt compelled to finish the trilogy, I am not desperate the read the next trilogy (also set in the world of Tencendor). In fact, I would manage if I never picked up another of this fairly prolific author's work.
The writing is clumsy, some of the characters are walking cliches, and I found some key scenes rather funny - even though I knew I shouldn't be laughing. The dialogue follows a tiresome 'he said, she said' formula - and most of it was extremely melodramatic (along the lines of 'I couldn't live without you etc).
At times I wanted to slap certain characters - Azhure chief amongst them. Yep, I still can't get past the whole 'village girl makes good' element of the story. At other times I rolled my eyes at plot devices - here the gems with souls (chitter, chatter!) were a lowlight.
And yet Douglass presents us with the Icarii - a proud race of winged people, angelically beautiful, who use the power of the Star Dance to perform their enchantments; a race whose children are awakened in the womb and then sung through birth to ease their panic. These ideas leap off the page - and led to the one really interesting subplot with DragonStar and RiverStar, the twins of Azhure and Axis. I love how these children are made out to be indifferent - even hateful - to their parents because of events they felt while still in the womb. It was incredibly unusual to see children written about in a negative fashion, and all the more intriguing for it.
From there she reaches the low of using cloying and sickly names such as Dear Man, Friend and sweet boy. Ack! Also, how on earth can Faraday and Axis become Best Friends Forever after what has transpired in previous books? I'm just baffled by the extreme consistency of Douglass' writing.
I leave you with a quote from the book which can very effectively sum up both this and the preceding two volumes: "It was a sadly anticlimactic end to what had been a sometimes grand but often tragic campaign."
I don't dispute that Douglass has managed to churn out a fairly effective fantasy trilogy. The world building is top notch, and the character development has been vigorous - especially when thinking back to the first book. These characters have definitely come a long way! I was unable to resist finding out what happened to Axis, Azhure and Faraday, which I guess is most of what can be asked from a novel.
That is not the whole story, though. Although I felt compelled to finish the trilogy, I am not desperate the read the next trilogy (also set in the world of Tencendor). In fact, I would manage if I never picked up another of this fairly prolific author's work.
The writing is clumsy, some of the characters are walking cliches, and I found some key scenes rather funny - even though I knew I shouldn't be laughing. The dialogue follows a tiresome 'he said, she said' formula - and most of it was extremely melodramatic (along the lines of 'I couldn't live without you etc).
At times I wanted to slap certain characters - Azhure chief amongst them. Yep, I still can't get past the whole 'village girl makes good' element of the story. At other times I rolled my eyes at plot devices - here the gems with souls (chitter, chatter!) were a lowlight.
And yet Douglass presents us with the Icarii - a proud race of winged people, angelically beautiful, who use the power of the Star Dance to perform their enchantments; a race whose children are awakened in the womb and then sung through birth to ease their panic. These ideas leap off the page - and led to the one really interesting subplot with DragonStar and RiverStar, the twins of Azhure and Axis. I love how these children are made out to be indifferent - even hateful - to their parents because of events they felt while still in the womb. It was incredibly unusual to see children written about in a negative fashion, and all the more intriguing for it.
From there she reaches the low of using cloying and sickly names such as Dear Man, Friend and sweet boy. Ack! Also, how on earth can Faraday and Axis become Best Friends Forever after what has transpired in previous books? I'm just baffled by the extreme consistency of Douglass' writing.
I leave you with a quote from the book which can very effectively sum up both this and the preceding two volumes: "It was a sadly anticlimactic end to what had been a sometimes grand but often tragic campaign."
October 7, 2025
The ending came with such force that it felt like a typhoon of words and wars.
July 7, 2023
The trilogy as a whole is okay. I realize there is a second trilogy but I'm really not interested in continuing at this time.
This novel was full of deus ex machina; all conflict is rapidly and summarily resolved by some hand-waved explanation of magic the (invincible) main characters suddenly discover with no tangible training, no testing, no failed attempts, nothing - they are just suddenly able to perfectly execute what must be near-impossible feat after near-impossible feat.
At least Axis finally came to understand that he's a d-bag. I'm not sure why his people (or any readers, for that matter) love him.
This novel was full of deus ex machina; all conflict is rapidly and summarily resolved by some hand-waved explanation of magic the (invincible) main characters suddenly discover with no tangible training, no testing, no failed attempts, nothing - they are just suddenly able to perfectly execute what must be near-impossible feat after near-impossible feat.
At least Axis finally came to understand that he's a d-bag. I'm not sure why his people (or any readers, for that matter) love him.
November 9, 2024
* for nostalgia
* for some good ideas
* for thank god this is over (Yes, I know there are more books in the series but this is the final in the Axis Trilogy and for that I am eternally grateful.)
The frustrating thing is that there is a very good book hidden in here somewhere but the complete lack of character development did my head in. Characters had so much plot armour that it bordered on ridiculous and because of this there was absolutely no tension.
And Faraday? Poor bloody (literally) Faraday was shat all over by the prophecy, by Axis and despite what the author might want us to believe her so-called friend Azhure also shat over her.
I really despise books that make characters do things because the plot says so. In this case there was a LOT of that but in this book it was because the Prophecy says so.
And don't get me started on the plot holes ........
* for some good ideas
* for thank god this is over (Yes, I know there are more books in the series but this is the final in the Axis Trilogy and for that I am eternally grateful.)
The frustrating thing is that there is a very good book hidden in here somewhere but the complete lack of character development did my head in. Characters had so much plot armour that it bordered on ridiculous and because of this there was absolutely no tension.
And Faraday? Poor bloody (literally) Faraday was shat all over by the prophecy, by Axis and despite what the author might want us to believe her so-called friend Azhure also shat over her.
I really despise books that make characters do things because the plot says so. In this case there was a LOT of that but in this book it was because the Prophecy says so.
And don't get me started on the plot holes ........
July 6, 2013
This was an epic drivel fest in which all of the horribly painful characters ended up being the main protagonists, and any of the remotely bearable characters became ancillary/died. Still, I thought some good would come of it, but that was just sad optimism. This is Sword of Mana in book form. Really, I wanted to stab someone over the end of this. I couldn't even keep this book for an hour after I finished it. I seriously left it out in public for someone else to grab, even though, looking back, that was kind of mean. This book is so freaking horrible that no one should read it, and no one should start the series because it's just a train wreck.
May 9, 2016
Faraday is my favorite character in this series, and especially during the 2nd and 3rd books, I really resented how she was treated by Axis. I like Azhure, and actually believe she's the better fit for Axis, but that doesn't help. It bothered me enough to ruin my enjoyment of the rest of the story. Did Faraday really have to get stomped on so completely to become the true heroine? Her story made this much more of a tragedy than anything else - very disappointing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 9, 2009
this book is simply phenomenal i have never come cross quite like this on. but truthfully the whole series is amazing, i am a huge fan of Sara Douglass. i most definitely encourage science fiction lovers to read her works of art.what i learned is to take my own work revise to structure of how i write better.
March 31, 2016
I loved this final book in the Axis Trilogy! It was exciting, full of danger, pathos and adventure. And it finished really well. I read it until 2am having started it about 12 hours before, and didn't want to put it down. Very recommended.
December 14, 2010
I think I actually teared up at the last line. "She ran away, unfettered..." Damn.
January 24, 2016
Mystical
The Axis trilogy is one of the best fantasy fiction sags that I have read. Well worth a reread or two. Enjoyable to the last page
The Axis trilogy is one of the best fantasy fiction sags that I have read. Well worth a reread or two. Enjoyable to the last page
November 19, 2017
engrossing story
October 15, 2022
12/10 I would highly recommend this series to everyone.
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