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Rings of the Master #4
Masks of the Martyrs
The renegade pirates of the giant spaceship THUNDER have collected all five of the rings necessary to eliminate the threat of Master System forever. But no one -- not even Hawks -- knows how the rings are used. And with Master Systems space fleet dogging their every step, they better find out fast!
340 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 12, 1988
2 people are currently reading
303 people want to read
About the author
Jack L. Chalker
132 books354 followersBesides being a science fiction author, Jack Laurence Chalker was a Baltimore City Schools history teacher in Maryland for a time, a member of the Washington Science Fiction Association, and was involved in the founding of the Baltimore Science Fiction Society. Some of his books said that he was born in Norfolk, Virginia although he later claimed that was a mistake.
He attended all but one of the World Science Fiction Conventions from 1965 until 2004. He published an amateur SF journal, Mirage, from 1960 to 1971 (a Hugo nominee in 1963 for Best Fanzine).
Chalker was married in 1978 and had two sons.
His stated hobbies included esoteric audio, travel, and working on science-fiction convention committees. He had a great interest in ferryboats, and, at his wife's suggestion, their marriage was performed on the Roaring Bull Ferry.
Chalker's awards included the Daedalus Award (1983), The Gold Medal of the West Coast Review of Books (1984), Skylark Award (1985), Hamilton-Brackett Memorial Award (1979), as well as others of varying prestige. He was a nominee for the John W. Campbell Award twice and for the Hugo Award twice. He was posthumously awarded the Phoenix Award by the Southern Fandom Confederation on April 9, 2005.
On September 18, 2003, during Hurricane Isabel, Chalker passed out and was rushed to the hospital with a diagnosis of a heart attack. He was later released, but was severely weakened. On December 6, 2004, he was again rushed to hospital with breathing problems and disorientation, and was diagnosed with congestive heart failure and a collapsed lung. Chalker was hospitalized in critical condition, then upgraded to stable on December 9, though he didn't regain consciousness until December 15. After several more weeks in deteriorating condition and in a persistent vegetative state, with several transfers to different hospitals, he died on February 11, 2005 of kidney failure and sepsis in Bon Secours of Baltimore, Maryland.
Chalker is perhaps best known for his Well World series of novels, the first of which is Midnight at the Well of Souls (Well World, #1).
He attended all but one of the World Science Fiction Conventions from 1965 until 2004. He published an amateur SF journal, Mirage, from 1960 to 1971 (a Hugo nominee in 1963 for Best Fanzine).
Chalker was married in 1978 and had two sons.
His stated hobbies included esoteric audio, travel, and working on science-fiction convention committees. He had a great interest in ferryboats, and, at his wife's suggestion, their marriage was performed on the Roaring Bull Ferry.
Chalker's awards included the Daedalus Award (1983), The Gold Medal of the West Coast Review of Books (1984), Skylark Award (1985), Hamilton-Brackett Memorial Award (1979), as well as others of varying prestige. He was a nominee for the John W. Campbell Award twice and for the Hugo Award twice. He was posthumously awarded the Phoenix Award by the Southern Fandom Confederation on April 9, 2005.
On September 18, 2003, during Hurricane Isabel, Chalker passed out and was rushed to the hospital with a diagnosis of a heart attack. He was later released, but was severely weakened. On December 6, 2004, he was again rushed to hospital with breathing problems and disorientation, and was diagnosed with congestive heart failure and a collapsed lung. Chalker was hospitalized in critical condition, then upgraded to stable on December 9, though he didn't regain consciousness until December 15. After several more weeks in deteriorating condition and in a persistent vegetative state, with several transfers to different hospitals, he died on February 11, 2005 of kidney failure and sepsis in Bon Secours of Baltimore, Maryland.
Chalker is perhaps best known for his Well World series of novels, the first of which is Midnight at the Well of Souls (Well World, #1).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
May 27, 2015
This was a disappointing end to The Lords of the Middle Dark series. I think I'd just grown tired of the time it took for all the rings to be gathered.
On the plus side this book did feature characters like Hawks, Raven, and China in a more prominent role which was an improvement on the last installment. The story revolved around the gathering of the final few rings of power and the showdown with Master System.
Sadly, the ending, the big showdown with Master System, was a bit anticlimactic.
All in all this was not a great read. The final two books in this series are just not up to the same standard as the first two. They are not totally devoid of interesting moments or happenings, but they are to few and far between.
Rating: 2.5 stars.
Audio Note: Jamie Du Pont MacKenzie has done an OK job narrating the whole series.
On the plus side this book did feature characters like Hawks, Raven, and China in a more prominent role which was an improvement on the last installment. The story revolved around the gathering of the final few rings of power and the showdown with Master System.
Sadly, the ending, the big showdown with Master System, was a bit anticlimactic.
All in all this was not a great read. The final two books in this series are just not up to the same standard as the first two. They are not totally devoid of interesting moments or happenings, but they are to few and far between.
Rating: 2.5 stars.
Audio Note: Jamie Du Pont MacKenzie has done an OK job narrating the whole series.
July 30, 2022
Great wrap up by Chalker! Our intrepid rag tag group of pirates must secure the last rings and then return to Earth for the fifth, currently in the hands of a real jerk. The problem is the remaining rings are in 'water worlds' and hence transmuting into the local form will be traumatic to say the least; plus, the pirates are running out of untransmuted people and you can only be transmuted once. Like the last volume, the 'capers' to secure the rings are really fun, as are the bizarre worlds and societies populating the water worlds.
The question then arises: what will happen if they fulfill their quest? Who will be the new masters of the universe? What I really liked about this one was the blossoming of the main characters; each one gets the spotlight for some time and you can really see how far they have come along the series. Epic ending to one of Chalkers best series, and if you like Chalker, you will not be disappointed. 4.5 stars!!
The question then arises: what will happen if they fulfill their quest? Who will be the new masters of the universe? What I really liked about this one was the blossoming of the main characters; each one gets the spotlight for some time and you can really see how far they have come along the series. Epic ending to one of Chalkers best series, and if you like Chalker, you will not be disappointed. 4.5 stars!!
November 19, 2025
First I’m going to review this individual book then I’ll review the whole series.
This book overall was okay, and wrapped up some things nicely. The pacing was weird and clunky with the start of the book being in the middle of a very important heist that I would have appreciated having been able to read the entirety of personally. The pacing had to keep up with a huge amount of action that had to occur in this book to finish things up and I found myself getting stressed knowing all that had to be done in this short span of 340pages. Though this book gets points for tying things up and revealing things that were huge twists I feel fairly strongly that there should have been a fifth book to do that so we could enjoy this book in the same style and speed that we got to experience the third in. Overall good but weirdly done.
The series overall.
I greatly enjoyed this series and it’s worth the read if you’re considering it. This was my first real foray into pulp and though I’ve read one or two others in that style this was the first time I liked it at all. Generally the revolving door of characters, the large gaps in appearances of character I loved and the huge emphasis on action was jarring but I got comfortable with it. Great balance of concepts and world building and when I found a hole in the logic of a world Chalker was right there to say NUH UH and tie it up. He knew his worlds and he was their master system. Generally I just wish we got more of his worlds, more metryah style books where the fight is deep and ongoing. I will read so many more of his works. What a gift this man gave us
This book overall was okay, and wrapped up some things nicely. The pacing was weird and clunky with the start of the book being in the middle of a very important heist that I would have appreciated having been able to read the entirety of personally. The pacing had to keep up with a huge amount of action that had to occur in this book to finish things up and I found myself getting stressed knowing all that had to be done in this short span of 340pages. Though this book gets points for tying things up and revealing things that were huge twists I feel fairly strongly that there should have been a fifth book to do that so we could enjoy this book in the same style and speed that we got to experience the third in. Overall good but weirdly done.
The series overall.
I greatly enjoyed this series and it’s worth the read if you’re considering it. This was my first real foray into pulp and though I’ve read one or two others in that style this was the first time I liked it at all. Generally the revolving door of characters, the large gaps in appearances of character I loved and the huge emphasis on action was jarring but I got comfortable with it. Great balance of concepts and world building and when I found a hole in the logic of a world Chalker was right there to say NUH UH and tie it up. He knew his worlds and he was their master system. Generally I just wish we got more of his worlds, more metryah style books where the fight is deep and ongoing. I will read so many more of his works. What a gift this man gave us
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 15, 2018
I have relived this author and now I can be done. This series was an important one in my formation as a sci-fi reader, because it was the first giant-universe, far-future story I found. It opened up the galaxy for me. But dang this guy is a sex-obsessed pig. As characters are changed into other alien races, half of them change gender and struggle with that. All of them have different bodies and body types (obviously), but few attributes are described in as much detail as the secondary sexual characteristics. I must have skipped most of that junk as a young(er) reader, because I didn't remember how pervasive it is.
The writing is clunky, switching randomly from folksy, trying-to-sound-like-"real"-people to falling back on something that sounds sometimes like formal language and sometimes like high(ish) fantasy stereotypes. Although there are dozens of characters, none, even the most crucial, have unique voices. And while I recognize that the computer in the big space ship is a sentient AI and practically a person, I refuse to believe an AI would use exclamation points, and certainly not multiples. Space ship cores can't save your life and fly through the battle if they're freaking out all over the place.
Glad I reread them, and even more glad that I'm done.
The writing is clunky, switching randomly from folksy, trying-to-sound-like-"real"-people to falling back on something that sounds sometimes like formal language and sometimes like high(ish) fantasy stereotypes. Although there are dozens of characters, none, even the most crucial, have unique voices. And while I recognize that the computer in the big space ship is a sentient AI and practically a person, I refuse to believe an AI would use exclamation points, and certainly not multiples. Space ship cores can't save your life and fly through the battle if they're freaking out all over the place.
Glad I reread them, and even more glad that I'm done.
May 21, 2022
Rings of the Master is one book, released in 4 parts of equal size (~340 pages each). Which is convenient because it deserves 3.5*s, but not quite 4. Hence, 2 4* and 2 3* ratings. It starts well, with 2 parallel tracks. 1 following an American Indian and the other a Chinese woman. However, once they meet, they are no longer the main focus of the story. It reads as though the author had a change of direction while writing this novel. Parts 2 and 3 are mostly about visiting alien worlds and the intelligent inhabitants, with the main character a shape-changing laboratory made intelligent being. Finally, we return to Earth to conclude the story and fulfil the objective of the party's adventures.
As others have pointed out - for all the trouble that the author went through to get us back to the starting point, the end is a little disappointing. I found it comical, as it reminded me of the suicide squad's attempted rescue of Brian on the cross, in Life Of Brian. Like, we did not see that coming, but to do it twice was once too many times.
On one hand, I had trouble putting this book down, and at other times I wanted to skip to the next chapter. Overall enjoyable.
As others have pointed out - for all the trouble that the author went through to get us back to the starting point, the end is a little disappointing. I found it comical, as it reminded me of the suicide squad's attempted rescue of Brian on the cross, in Life Of Brian. Like, we did not see that coming, but to do it twice was once too many times.
On one hand, I had trouble putting this book down, and at other times I wanted to skip to the next chapter. Overall enjoyable.
October 22, 2017
It's two turtle doves, not two calling birds! (p. 320). Though this error gets corrected shortly after. Sheesh!
On the first day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
A Partridge in a Pear Tree
On the second day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree
On the third day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Three French Hens
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree
On the fourth day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Four Calling Birds
Three French Hens
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree
On the fifth day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Five Golden Rings
Four Calling Birds
Three French Hens
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree.
On the first day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
A Partridge in a Pear Tree
On the second day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree
On the third day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Three French Hens
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree
On the fourth day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Four Calling Birds
Three French Hens
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree
On the fifth day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Five Golden Rings
Four Calling Birds
Three French Hens
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree.
March 9, 2025
Masks of the Martyrs by Jack L. Chalker.
The pirates of the Thunder have two out of five rings. The Rings that would put an end to the tyranny of the Master System computer and its iron grip on Earth and its colonies.
Obtaining three rings in just one book made this feel really rushed and prevented me from fully enjoying the plans, difficulties and alien environs the pirates found themselves in. The climax especially was over in a blink of an eye and left me mildly disappointed. I'm glad to have read it but would say quality if the series went down and didn't live up to the mystery and danger the first book would books set up.
The pirates of the Thunder have two out of five rings. The Rings that would put an end to the tyranny of the Master System computer and its iron grip on Earth and its colonies.
Obtaining three rings in just one book made this feel really rushed and prevented me from fully enjoying the plans, difficulties and alien environs the pirates found themselves in. The climax especially was over in a blink of an eye and left me mildly disappointed. I'm glad to have read it but would say quality if the series went down and didn't live up to the mystery and danger the first book would books set up.
July 3, 2021
The first two books were good and I liked the universe and story overall. It was interesting to see how it would all end and as I got closer and closer to the end I was really worried as the end wasn't happening and the page count was getting lower. Overall I wasn't that impressed but was glad I finishes it. The most interesting parts of the book/series as a whole were the different species of alien and the far future transmuting technologies. The heist(s) on the different planets were also imaginative.
August 22, 2018
Compared to the previous books, this one packed quite a lot in, though it didn't feel rushed. However, the ending disappointed somewhat and seemed rather lame, and, considering this was supposed to be a sentient computer, it didn't communicate with them even once. There was a bit too much philosophising at the end and no feeling of triumph from the characters, making it feel a bit flat.
May 15, 2017
The finale to the Rings of the Master Series. It all comes together (at the last minute, of course.) And we see that sometimes we are the ones who create the monster that almost destroys mankind. Of course that plot has been done before, but this is a totally different way of telling it.
November 16, 2020
I was pretty certain how it would end, and I don't know that it could have ended differently or better. And yet, I still found myself slightly let down at the conclusion. It's a pretty good series overall.
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October 23, 2025The renegade pirates of the giant spaceship THUNDER have collected all five of the rings necessary to eliminate the threat of Master System forever. But no one -- not even Hawks -- knows how the rings are used. And with Master Systems space fleet dogging their every step, they better find out fast!
September 21, 2018
The best of the series, because it moves faster than the others with less emphasis on the planning of the heist, but still too "talky" overall and seems to just fizzle out at the end.
February 2, 2013
Just saw this series and it has been years but I was in the mood... so a marathon re-read of the series ensued... and it was fabulous!
We start out many years in the future... Earth is under control of Master System, a computer. The population has been culled, changed, the universe seeded with our oddly changed descendants, and what is left on Earth has been reduced to limited populations of racially distinct groups isolated in area as well as era.
Each generation any who have the potential to challenge are eliminated or are allowed into the inner sanctum. They live most of the year with science and technology, and the other times within their "primitive" cultures.genius,
What if there was a way to challenge the status quo? Enter an AmerIndian Historian, a Chinese teenage genius, and more...
Book 2 carries the story further. We are now in space with a band of pirates determined to break the system that has enslaved humanity. We go with them on a quest to collect 5 golden rings... on different planets where humanity was settled by Master System. Or at least versions of humanity...
Book 3 see our renegade heroes with some rings and some challenges... how many will have to make the ultimate sacrifice of being mutated into the creatures humanity has transformed into to survive on these alien planets?
The Conclusion...
WOW. It all comes together... some surprises, other things revealed you probably guessed. A terrific series. I very much enjoyed re-reading these.
We start out many years in the future... Earth is under control of Master System, a computer. The population has been culled, changed, the universe seeded with our oddly changed descendants, and what is left on Earth has been reduced to limited populations of racially distinct groups isolated in area as well as era.
Each generation any who have the potential to challenge are eliminated or are allowed into the inner sanctum. They live most of the year with science and technology, and the other times within their "primitive" cultures.genius,
What if there was a way to challenge the status quo? Enter an AmerIndian Historian, a Chinese teenage genius, and more...
Book 2 carries the story further. We are now in space with a band of pirates determined to break the system that has enslaved humanity. We go with them on a quest to collect 5 golden rings... on different planets where humanity was settled by Master System. Or at least versions of humanity...
Book 3 see our renegade heroes with some rings and some challenges... how many will have to make the ultimate sacrifice of being mutated into the creatures humanity has transformed into to survive on these alien planets?
The Conclusion...
WOW. It all comes together... some surprises, other things revealed you probably guessed. A terrific series. I very much enjoyed re-reading these.
October 10, 2016
Read the entire series. The first book was pretty good with some real imagination -- a powerful computer has killed its creators, shipped off most of earth's population to other planets and has created a zoo like society on earth by sending most cultures back to pre industrial periods, i.e. pre columbian North america, feudal china etc. A group of elites with full technology supervises the cultures, but all under the auspices of the master system. Now, a historian native north american begins a quest to find "rings" that will turn off the power of master system. Pretty neat premise and good character development. As the story progresses through 3 more volumes it becomes increasingly nutty and mostly just ridiculous with implausible inventions that allow humans to be converted to otter-people, buddhist walrus- people, man eating shape shifters, and a whole host of other wacky forms, all while a motley crew of adventurers figure out ways to beat the system and get those rings. None of it really makes much sense in the end, many of the characters are just ignored for huge portions of the book or replace with new conveniently found characters and the final "battle" is pretty anti-climactic with a "code" that is so moronic that it kind of made me regret all the time spent reading.
September 19, 2016
This book finishes off The Rings of the Master quadrilogy, it's very much a volume of a series than a book that stands up for itself. On the whole I really enjoyed this series, it is very rare to find a set of characters this diverse, both in race, gender, species, sexuality, but it all felt very realistic, even at its most fantastical location. This book had great characters, ideas and a reasonable plot. The writing style is fairly pedestrian, but still very readable and doesn't distract from the whole.
I would have preferred that this volume had been fleshed out into two books, containing the quest for the final two rings and the return to earth, the ending feels a little rushed.
On the whole however a really good read and end to the series and I will keep a look out for other books by this author
I would have preferred that this volume had been fleshed out into two books, containing the quest for the final two rings and the return to earth, the ending feels a little rushed.
On the whole however a really good read and end to the series and I will keep a look out for other books by this author
June 29, 2013
In Masks of the Martyrs Jack Chalker brings his strangely fun space swashbuckler to a close. Hawks and his crew of pirates/revolutionaries must take the last two rings and shut down Master System all while dodging the tyranical computer's minions as well as those who would use the rings to rule humanity themselves. We find out more details about the pirates of the Thunder, Chalker again puts them in a really bizarre situation in order to get ring four, and there is lots of fun to be had in the heroics and space battles.
April 22, 2016
This is the final book in the Rings of the Master series. This was an ok series. It was good enough not to have any problems finishing the series. The whole series has a Star War feel or influence. Considering it was written in that time frame of the eighties. I would recommend it to Science Fiction fans especially those that like new worlds to explore. Not much suspense in the final outcome of the series. I like the native connection of the main character, Hawks.
September 25, 2014
Finally finished my second read of the The Rings of the Master books with this, book four. It was OK on the second read and I had forgotten enough that it felt almost like a first read. Since I knew the final result, I found myself paying more attention to the characters and I think Chalker does a good job at developing them and making the interesting. And there was enough action to keep me satisfied.
January 18, 2022
A good end to the Rings of the Master series.
All of the characters get their moment to shine, rather than just concentrating on a few.
Hawks and his band finally get what they have been searching for so long, and head back to Earth to try and shut down Master System.
Overall this has been an enjoyable series. Book 2 could possibly be skipped without missing much.
It was a good journey with all the characters, what they gave up and what they gained.
All of the characters get their moment to shine, rather than just concentrating on a few.
Hawks and his band finally get what they have been searching for so long, and head back to Earth to try and shut down Master System.
Overall this has been an enjoyable series. Book 2 could possibly be skipped without missing much.
It was a good journey with all the characters, what they gave up and what they gained.
April 23, 2021
I highly recommend this entire series of books. I have read, and re-read the series, worn out a half-dozen paperback copies, and have my current paperback copies inside of shrink-wrapped bags. Now I enjoy the series on Kindle and Audible.
This series, along with many others, is part of the literature that shapes my own writing, world building, and character generation. Mr. Chalker, thank you for creating such a wonderful series of books.
This series, along with many others, is part of the literature that shapes my own writing, world building, and character generation. Mr. Chalker, thank you for creating such a wonderful series of books.
December 27, 2017
This series was not well written to begin with, and it hasn't aged terribly well. The technology it describes has limitations that are simply illogical, if convenient to the plot.
I simply don't see how a modern reader could find entry into the series- I only enjoy it from a sense of nostalgia.
The plot is fast and fun, if silly, but in this conclusion to the series it is very rushed.
I simply don't see how a modern reader could find entry into the series- I only enjoy it from a sense of nostalgia.
The plot is fast and fun, if silly, but in this conclusion to the series it is very rushed.
October 6, 2011
This was okay and had great characters but this final book in the series felt a bit flat and maybe rushed. There was little suspense And the great world building and sense of a larger universe in the first few books was missing. I enjoyed the series but didn't love it.
May 11, 2011
Strange that this was never reprinted. The story is kind of dated but still very interesting keeping in mind that this was written in the 1980's. Was hard to find a full set but in the end it was worth it.
February 11, 2013
An anticlimactic ending to the series. After all that soul-searching if human control would be superior to computer control over human affairs, we are never really given the answer, only a hint that the original goal was a symbiosis rather than a takeover.
November 19, 2014
The conclusion of the series. I still find the ending satisfying even after several rereads.
::edit:: reread in October 2014
::edit:: reread in October 2014
June 29, 2008
This is an awesome series. Only 4 books long and a GREAT storyline. I think it's out of print, but if you come across it, definitely pick it up!
April 16, 2009
Surprisingly good.
May 18, 2009
i could seriously not stop reading this entire series. wonderful.
January 11, 2012
Grade A-. Book Rm4.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews