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The Pillars of Reality #5
The Servants of the Storm
A Storm that will wreck a world threatens Dematr. Only Mari, one of the Mechanics who control all technology through their Guild, has a chance to stop it. She and Mage Alain have survived numerous attempts to kill them and have gained many more followers, but the Storm of chaos, born of centuries of enslavement, grows ever closer.
Mari leads an army now. She and Alain must fight together to bind back the Broken Kingdom and build a force strong enough to defeat the might of the Great Guilds. But the Storm has many Servants who seek to preserve or gain personal power or wealth, or fear the New Day that Mari seeks to bring to the world.
And Mari knows that victory will mean nothing if the precious knowledge brought long ago to their world is destroyed. In order to save it, Alain and Mari will have to pierce through the heart of their enemies' power and confront once more a place of ancient nightmare.
Mari leads an army now. She and Alain must fight together to bind back the Broken Kingdom and build a force strong enough to defeat the might of the Great Guilds. But the Storm has many Servants who seek to preserve or gain personal power or wealth, or fear the New Day that Mari seeks to bring to the world.
And Mari knows that victory will mean nothing if the precious knowledge brought long ago to their world is destroyed. In order to save it, Alain and Mari will have to pierce through the heart of their enemies' power and confront once more a place of ancient nightmare.
330 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2016
88 people are currently reading
775 people want to read
About the author
Jack Campbell
113 books3,028 followersJack Campbell is a pseudonym for American science fiction author John G. Hemry.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
John G. Hemry is an American author of military science fiction novels. Drawing on his experience as a retired United States Navy officer, he has written the Stark's War and Paul Sinclair series. Under the name Jack Campbell, he has written four volumes of the Lost Fleet series, and on his website names two more forthcoming volumes. He has also written over a dozen short stories, many published in Analog magazine, and a number of non-fiction works.
John G Hemry is a retired United States Navy officer. His father, Jack M. Hemry, also served in the navy and as John points out was a mustang. John grew up living in several places including Pensacola, San Diego, and Midway Island.
John graduated from Lyons High School in Lyons in 1974 then attended the US Naval Academy (Class of '78) where he was labeled 'the un-midshipman' by his roommates.
He lives in Maryland with his wife and three kids. His two eldest children are diagnosed as autistic and suffer from Neuro immune dysfunction syndrome (NIDS), an auto-immune ailment which causes their illness, but are progressing under treatment.
John is a member of the SFWA Musketeers whose motto reads: 'The Pen is Mightier Than the Sword, but the Wise Person Carries Both'.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
John G. Hemry is an American author of military science fiction novels. Drawing on his experience as a retired United States Navy officer, he has written the Stark's War and Paul Sinclair series. Under the name Jack Campbell, he has written four volumes of the Lost Fleet series, and on his website names two more forthcoming volumes. He has also written over a dozen short stories, many published in Analog magazine, and a number of non-fiction works.
John G Hemry is a retired United States Navy officer. His father, Jack M. Hemry, also served in the navy and as John points out was a mustang. John grew up living in several places including Pensacola, San Diego, and Midway Island.
John graduated from Lyons High School in Lyons in 1974 then attended the US Naval Academy (Class of '78) where he was labeled 'the un-midshipman' by his roommates.
He lives in Maryland with his wife and three kids. His two eldest children are diagnosed as autistic and suffer from Neuro immune dysfunction syndrome (NIDS), an auto-immune ailment which causes their illness, but are progressing under treatment.
John is a member of the SFWA Musketeers whose motto reads: 'The Pen is Mightier Than the Sword, but the Wise Person Carries Both'.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 82 reviews
August 25, 2020
**4.5 stars**
The Servants of the Storm was a sad book for me. Not because anything tragic happened, but because both Mari and Alain lost their innocence. It was one thing knowing they had to save the world but now that they are openly fighting the Great Guilds, their responsibilities are staggering. Mari’s decisions directly impact the lives of millions of people, while Alain is, in turn, the last stand between Mari and all the people who want her dead. There are so many assassins after Mari that poor Alain probably sleeps with one eye open! But what makes this book the saddest is that Mari is waging war in two fronts: fighting her enemies but also people who should have been on her side. Prejudice, fear, greed are all conspiring against the future Mari wants to bring about. It was so disheartening that if the fate of the world wasn’t at stake, I’m sure Mari would have felt like giving up.
At this point, everybody knows that Mari is the daughter of Jules, the one prophesied to overthrow the Great Guilds. She has an army, a general under her command and hundreds of mechanics and mages who have been deserting to fight at her side. The Great Guilds are trying to kill her, sending dozens of assassins after her. If the Guilds succeed, their cause will be lost and the Storm of Chaos will destroy their world.
As usual, there was a lot of action and adventure in this book. Mari and Alain undertake a daring, hazardous mission but this time they are not alone. Using new (experimental) technology, they travel silently through enemy territory, confronting Imperial soldiers, with Alain committing some expert deceptions (or as he would call it “manipulating the world illusion”) to get out of tight spots. This trip was so dangerous, that I had my heart on my throat the whole time. In the previous books, the optimist in me always knew they would come out unscathed but as I see how this war has changed them both, I’m not so sure anymore. I mean, I’ll know they will ultimately win but I wonder what will be the cost to their souls?
The events in this book point to a very exciting series finale. There are still lots of unanswered questions from previous books, specially as it relates to mage powers. We know that Alain has grown more and more powerful and he knows he’s finding a new wisdom (the “power of love” and all that) but he still doesn’t know exactly how it works. I get the idea that we will find out in spectacular fashion in the last book of the series.
The Servants of the Storm was a sad book for me. Not because anything tragic happened, but because both Mari and Alain lost their innocence. It was one thing knowing they had to save the world but now that they are openly fighting the Great Guilds, their responsibilities are staggering. Mari’s decisions directly impact the lives of millions of people, while Alain is, in turn, the last stand between Mari and all the people who want her dead. There are so many assassins after Mari that poor Alain probably sleeps with one eye open! But what makes this book the saddest is that Mari is waging war in two fronts: fighting her enemies but also people who should have been on her side. Prejudice, fear, greed are all conspiring against the future Mari wants to bring about. It was so disheartening that if the fate of the world wasn’t at stake, I’m sure Mari would have felt like giving up.
At this point, everybody knows that Mari is the daughter of Jules, the one prophesied to overthrow the Great Guilds. She has an army, a general under her command and hundreds of mechanics and mages who have been deserting to fight at her side. The Great Guilds are trying to kill her, sending dozens of assassins after her. If the Guilds succeed, their cause will be lost and the Storm of Chaos will destroy their world.
As usual, there was a lot of action and adventure in this book. Mari and Alain undertake a daring, hazardous mission but this time they are not alone. Using new (experimental) technology, they travel silently through enemy territory, confronting Imperial soldiers, with Alain committing some expert deceptions (or as he would call it “manipulating the world illusion”) to get out of tight spots. This trip was so dangerous, that I had my heart on my throat the whole time. In the previous books, the optimist in me always knew they would come out unscathed but as I see how this war has changed them both, I’m not so sure anymore. I mean, I’ll know they will ultimately win but I wonder what will be the cost to their souls?
The events in this book point to a very exciting series finale. There are still lots of unanswered questions from previous books, specially as it relates to mage powers. We know that Alain has grown more and more powerful and he knows he’s finding a new wisdom (the “power of love” and all that) but he still doesn’t know exactly how it works. I get the idea that we will find out in spectacular fashion in the last book of the series.
May 27, 2018
WHAT IT'S ABOUT
A Storm that will wreck a world threatens Dematr. Only Mari, one of the Mechanics who control all technology through their Guild, has a chance to stop it. She and Mage Alain have survived numerous attempts to kill them and have gained many more followers, but the Storm of chaos, born of centuries of enslavement, grows ever closer.
Mari leads an army now. She and Alain must fight together to bind back the Broken Kingdom and build a force strong enough to defeat the might of the Great Guilds. But the Storm has many Servants who seek to preserve or gain personal power or wealth, or fear the New Day that Mari seeks to bring to the world.
And Mari knows that victory will mean nothing if the precious knowledge brought long ago to their world is destroyed. In order to save it, Alain and Mari will have to pierce through the heart of their enemies' power and confront once more a place of ancient nightmare.
MY TAKE
This is another exciting installment in the series. It was fun to see how quickly they've learned from the books Mari and Alain brought out of Marundor. This book involved another trip there which made it feel a little redundant. It fit in the plot though by having her leave Tai and then return.
Listened to the audiobook and McCloud did a wonderful job as usual.
4.5 stars
A Storm that will wreck a world threatens Dematr. Only Mari, one of the Mechanics who control all technology through their Guild, has a chance to stop it. She and Mage Alain have survived numerous attempts to kill them and have gained many more followers, but the Storm of chaos, born of centuries of enslavement, grows ever closer.
Mari leads an army now. She and Alain must fight together to bind back the Broken Kingdom and build a force strong enough to defeat the might of the Great Guilds. But the Storm has many Servants who seek to preserve or gain personal power or wealth, or fear the New Day that Mari seeks to bring to the world.
And Mari knows that victory will mean nothing if the precious knowledge brought long ago to their world is destroyed. In order to save it, Alain and Mari will have to pierce through the heart of their enemies' power and confront once more a place of ancient nightmare.
MY TAKE
This is another exciting installment in the series. It was fun to see how quickly they've learned from the books Mari and Alain brought out of Marundor. This book involved another trip there which made it feel a little redundant. It fit in the plot though by having her leave Tai and then return.
Listened to the audiobook and McCloud did a wonderful job as usual.
4.5 stars
August 24, 2016
Re-read August 2016, although it was really more of a skim just to refresh my memory for the last book. It's a lot of drama and Mari being a little ridiculous as a control freak/martyr. But overall it's a great adventure with fantastic new characters and great scenes.
This had a slower pace than the previous books. That said, it was still a good adventure. I'm glad Mari finally has people around her who tell her the truth about being a control freak. And Alain gets to be a regular guy with regular guy behavior. They are both such likable characters that it's impossible not to root for them.And that duel. Wow. So well written. I could just see it in my head as it happened.
Campbell does not, however, know how to end a story. The cliffhangers! It's so abrupt! It's as if he wrote the story continuously and just had to find a good place to end it. He did find a good place to end this installment, but it did feel like I as a reader went right off a cliff without knowing it. Good thing the last one is not long to be released, because otherwise waiting would be difficult.
And as usual, MacLeod Andrews is phenomenal. I have never felt so present in a story.
This had a slower pace than the previous books. That said, it was still a good adventure. I'm glad Mari finally has people around her who tell her the truth about being a control freak. And Alain gets to be a regular guy with regular guy behavior. They are both such likable characters that it's impossible not to root for them.And that duel. Wow. So well written. I could just see it in my head as it happened.
Campbell does not, however, know how to end a story. The cliffhangers! It's so abrupt! It's as if he wrote the story continuously and just had to find a good place to end it. He did find a good place to end this installment, but it did feel like I as a reader went right off a cliff without knowing it. Good thing the last one is not long to be released, because otherwise waiting would be difficult.
And as usual, MacLeod Andrews is phenomenal. I have never felt so present in a story.
September 18, 2025
The storm of war that has been foreshadowed since the start of the series is beginning. The guilds have increased their attempts to murder our protagonists, the secrets of the Mechanics must be retrieved, and attempts by the venal to subvert the revolution are everywhere.
Here we start to see the results of all the effort put in by the protagonists previously in the series.
Knowledge must be saved, alliances must be rescued, and the final preparations for the climactic conflict with the Guilds must be made. And Campbell does all of those brilliantly.
He balances the personal and political plotlines immaculately and sets up a crashing climax to come in the last book in the series.
Both the book and the series are among the best I've read recently, and they are highly recommended.
Here we start to see the results of all the effort put in by the protagonists previously in the series.
Knowledge must be saved, alliances must be rescued, and the final preparations for the climactic conflict with the Guilds must be made. And Campbell does all of those brilliantly.
He balances the personal and political plotlines immaculately and sets up a crashing climax to come in the last book in the series.
Both the book and the series are among the best I've read recently, and they are highly recommended.
May 25, 2017
4+ stars
I liked this one the best so far.
I liked this one the best so far.
September 30, 2018
4.5 stars. Good continuation
November 22, 2016
"Doubt about your wisdom can be the clearest sign of wisdom".
One of the many reasons why I am a fan of John Hemry/Jack Campbell is that when I read his science fiction, I don't feel like I'm reading a political thesis nor do I think I'm reading violence porn. He's not alone in that - neither David Drake nor David Weber can really be accused of either as well.
However, Mr. Hemry/Campbell (for ease of writing, I'll call him Mr. Campbell) has never been afraid to throw in some political commentary in his writing - but it is in subtle jabs, often about political interference in military matters (given that his primary works have been in military sci fi). This series has expanded that - a previous book, whether by coincidence or not, made a powerful comment on the Syrian refugee crisis. The above quote, from this book, really, it seems to me, to be the definition of his philosophy throughout all of his works - and given that it is also my philosophy, I can't help but appreciate it. In every book he has written, his protagonists are willing to make the hard choices, but (a) listen to others and are willing to be challenged in their positions; (b) are not dogmatically tied to their opinions come hell or high water; and (c) are frequently plagued by doubts that they did the right thing or by the costs of that right thing. It's a factor that makes Mr. Campbell's protagonists so sympathetic... their humanity.
Now on to this book - you'll note that it has gotten a slightly lower score than most in this series. That's because this is very much a set-up book. The first books were very much defining the two main characters - in terms of a volleyball game, they were the rally between teams - fun to watch, some times exciting, but no real efforts to score. This book was the set-up, the home team is passing between the players getting ready for the last book, the spike to win the game. Only time will tell if the last book is the winning point or not (I suspect it will be) but this book definitely set it up.
Despite this, the book is just as exciting as any of the previous books and the protagonists are still just as sympathetic. If I have a complaint, it is the inclusion of the "evil prince" character. He added nothing to the story, other than another possible comment on morality in politics, and wasn't even a big enough element - his only purpose seems to be the stereotypical machiavellian prince.... I half-expected him to have a snidely whiplash mustache and touch it with his hands when plotting (followed by a suitably evil cackle).
One of the many reasons why I am a fan of John Hemry/Jack Campbell is that when I read his science fiction, I don't feel like I'm reading a political thesis nor do I think I'm reading violence porn. He's not alone in that - neither David Drake nor David Weber can really be accused of either as well.
However, Mr. Hemry/Campbell (for ease of writing, I'll call him Mr. Campbell) has never been afraid to throw in some political commentary in his writing - but it is in subtle jabs, often about political interference in military matters (given that his primary works have been in military sci fi). This series has expanded that - a previous book, whether by coincidence or not, made a powerful comment on the Syrian refugee crisis. The above quote, from this book, really, it seems to me, to be the definition of his philosophy throughout all of his works - and given that it is also my philosophy, I can't help but appreciate it. In every book he has written, his protagonists are willing to make the hard choices, but (a) listen to others and are willing to be challenged in their positions; (b) are not dogmatically tied to their opinions come hell or high water; and (c) are frequently plagued by doubts that they did the right thing or by the costs of that right thing. It's a factor that makes Mr. Campbell's protagonists so sympathetic... their humanity.
Now on to this book - you'll note that it has gotten a slightly lower score than most in this series. That's because this is very much a set-up book. The first books were very much defining the two main characters - in terms of a volleyball game, they were the rally between teams - fun to watch, some times exciting, but no real efforts to score. This book was the set-up, the home team is passing between the players getting ready for the last book, the spike to win the game. Only time will tell if the last book is the winning point or not (I suspect it will be) but this book definitely set it up.
Despite this, the book is just as exciting as any of the previous books and the protagonists are still just as sympathetic. If I have a complaint, it is the inclusion of the "evil prince" character. He added nothing to the story, other than another possible comment on morality in politics, and wasn't even a big enough element - his only purpose seems to be the stereotypical machiavellian prince.... I half-expected him to have a snidely whiplash mustache and touch it with his hands when plotting (followed by a suitably evil cackle).
July 6, 2016
This book continues in the same manner as the previous 4 books. I highly recommend this book to anyone that enjoys YA novels with a touch of romance. The romance in this is very light hearted and isn't excessive. The relationship between Alain and Mari does stagnate a little from book 3 onwards, but there's still a very pleasant spark between them. The entire series is very well written and easily accessible, and I do feel I care about the characters in the story, which is extremely important as both protagonists are constantly in danger. The main plot, which runs through all 6 books is interesting throughout and at no point did I get bored or dozed off during the read.
This book however does very much feel like a setup book, lining everything up for the finale.
I am sad that this series will end shortly but also overjoyed I do not have to wait a year between books, as the finale is to be released next month!
This book however does very much feel like a setup book, lining everything up for the finale.
I am sad that this series will end shortly but also overjoyed I do not have to wait a year between books, as the finale is to be released next month!
June 13, 2024
This story only gets better. Mari continues to face challenges in her quest to save the world. Alain helps her when he can, doing everything in his power to keep her safe. Continuing to rebuild the broken kingdom, revisiting the dead city, using the forbidden tech manuals to aid in their cause, these two never have down time! The end of this is brutal, both to our favorite characters and characters we have just met. Sorry, I have to read the last book now!
October 7, 2018
This story is the fifth book in a fantastic epic fantasy series called The Pillars of Reality. I absolutely loved it!
Mari is a fantastic character. I liked her immediately when I met her in the first book. I love her determination to do the right thing, even at the cost of her own life. A Master Mechanic, Mari has faced many threats to her life from the Guild Masters on the world of Dematr and survived. Foreseen by Mages to be 'The Daughter of Jules' and fated to free the world of Dematr from the tyranny of both the Guilds - Mechanics and Mages - and to unite the Mechanics, Mages and Commons against said Guilds, Mari finds herself fighting for their freedom.
Mage Alain is also a fantastic character. I liked him a lot from the start. He was one of the youngest Acolytes to achieve Mage status at the age of seventeen. He has been taught from a young age not to show or feel any emotions and that the world he lives in is an illusion, where nothing is real. I love how this character has grown as the series has progressed. He tries to show more emotion, even though his Guild had virtually beaten it out of him. He hides a dry wit under that emotionless mask.
I listened to this story in audio format, rather than read it. MacLeod Andrews once again narrates the story. He does a fantastic job of bringing the story to life. Even Alain, who's voice is meant to be flat and emotionless comes across with subtle hints. You would think that Alain's voice would be monotonous, but it's not so. I love the way he brings all the characters to life with different accents, inflexions and tones. He even makes the women's voices sound perfect for each character. As for his narration, he read the story clearly and concisely, and his pacing was perfect. I would listen to more books read by this narrator.
The story continues six months from the end of The Pirates of Pacta Servanda and sees Mari and Alain heading a mixed army of Mages, Mechanics and Commons as the action heats up. Mechanic Caylou (not sure of spelling as I listened to the story so have no reference and have spelt it phonetically - it could be Kayloo or another variation) makes another appearance. He is one of Mari's friends from the Mechanics Guild, along with his girlfriend, Ally, who also makes an appearance. I love her constant use of 'Your Daughterness' when speaking to Mari just because it annoys her. Mage Asha also makes another appearance, as does Mage Dov, who is Asha's uncle, and Mechanic Dov (no relation) whose relative had once lived in Marandur. Cien, a princess of Tae, plays a significant role in this story, too. There are a few more characters added, but it would take me too long to mention them all.
I love the world building in this series. It is familiar though strange at the same time. It has a mix of steampunk and modern day technology, but this is due to the way the Guilds restricted people from creating new things. The story is full of action, adventure, and danger and I found myself an emotional wreck at times. In this story, the characters are gathering together for a showdown with the Great Guilds. They also make a dangerous journey back into the Imperial territory of Marandur to retrieve the mechanical texts left at the University. The action is ramping up further as the storyline reaches towards the climax, and I found myself holding my breath more than once as they faced several tricky challenges. Have you ever read or listened to a story and felt utterly emersed in it? It happened to me as I listened to this book. These characters have come to life for me and have become my friends. This book ends with a slight cliffhanger, which had me eager to listen to the next story in the series, The Wrath of the Great Guilds, as soon as possible.
Jack Campbell has written a fantastic science fiction series. I have added him to my favourite author's list, as he's found a fan in me. I love his writing style, which is fast-paced and descriptive, and the flow of the story is good too.
Although there is now some mention of scenes of a sexual nature, it’s not shown. I do not, however, recommend this book to younger readers under the age of 15 due to some violence. I do, however, highly recommend this book if you love dark or epic fantasy, steampunk or action/adventure and supernatural/paranormal romance genres. - Lynn Worton
Mari is a fantastic character. I liked her immediately when I met her in the first book. I love her determination to do the right thing, even at the cost of her own life. A Master Mechanic, Mari has faced many threats to her life from the Guild Masters on the world of Dematr and survived. Foreseen by Mages to be 'The Daughter of Jules' and fated to free the world of Dematr from the tyranny of both the Guilds - Mechanics and Mages - and to unite the Mechanics, Mages and Commons against said Guilds, Mari finds herself fighting for their freedom.
Mage Alain is also a fantastic character. I liked him a lot from the start. He was one of the youngest Acolytes to achieve Mage status at the age of seventeen. He has been taught from a young age not to show or feel any emotions and that the world he lives in is an illusion, where nothing is real. I love how this character has grown as the series has progressed. He tries to show more emotion, even though his Guild had virtually beaten it out of him. He hides a dry wit under that emotionless mask.
I listened to this story in audio format, rather than read it. MacLeod Andrews once again narrates the story. He does a fantastic job of bringing the story to life. Even Alain, who's voice is meant to be flat and emotionless comes across with subtle hints. You would think that Alain's voice would be monotonous, but it's not so. I love the way he brings all the characters to life with different accents, inflexions and tones. He even makes the women's voices sound perfect for each character. As for his narration, he read the story clearly and concisely, and his pacing was perfect. I would listen to more books read by this narrator.
The story continues six months from the end of The Pirates of Pacta Servanda and sees Mari and Alain heading a mixed army of Mages, Mechanics and Commons as the action heats up. Mechanic Caylou (not sure of spelling as I listened to the story so have no reference and have spelt it phonetically - it could be Kayloo or another variation) makes another appearance. He is one of Mari's friends from the Mechanics Guild, along with his girlfriend, Ally, who also makes an appearance. I love her constant use of 'Your Daughterness' when speaking to Mari just because it annoys her. Mage Asha also makes another appearance, as does Mage Dov, who is Asha's uncle, and Mechanic Dov (no relation) whose relative had once lived in Marandur. Cien, a princess of Tae, plays a significant role in this story, too. There are a few more characters added, but it would take me too long to mention them all.
I love the world building in this series. It is familiar though strange at the same time. It has a mix of steampunk and modern day technology, but this is due to the way the Guilds restricted people from creating new things. The story is full of action, adventure, and danger and I found myself an emotional wreck at times. In this story, the characters are gathering together for a showdown with the Great Guilds. They also make a dangerous journey back into the Imperial territory of Marandur to retrieve the mechanical texts left at the University. The action is ramping up further as the storyline reaches towards the climax, and I found myself holding my breath more than once as they faced several tricky challenges. Have you ever read or listened to a story and felt utterly emersed in it? It happened to me as I listened to this book. These characters have come to life for me and have become my friends. This book ends with a slight cliffhanger, which had me eager to listen to the next story in the series, The Wrath of the Great Guilds, as soon as possible.
Jack Campbell has written a fantastic science fiction series. I have added him to my favourite author's list, as he's found a fan in me. I love his writing style, which is fast-paced and descriptive, and the flow of the story is good too.
Although there is now some mention of scenes of a sexual nature, it’s not shown. I do not, however, recommend this book to younger readers under the age of 15 due to some violence. I do, however, highly recommend this book if you love dark or epic fantasy, steampunk or action/adventure and supernatural/paranormal romance genres. - Lynn Worton
September 8, 2016
Review crossposted from Reanne Reads.
The Servants of the Storm is the fifth book in the Pillars of Reality series, which is quickly becoming my favorite book series ever. If you’ve read the series up to this point, you should definitely read this one too. If you haven’t read them yet, you should definitely read them but start at the beginning with The Dragons of Dorcastle.
Spoiler warning: this review will contain some spoilers for previous books and some not-very-specific spoilers for this book.
The series is six books long, and the structure so far is that the first three books were mostly about Mari and Alain, with the focus mostly on their growing relationship and the larger ‘save the world’ story being a more secondary (but gradually more important) plot. In the third book, Mari and Alain married, they gathered some friends into their group, and the focus started shifting more to the ‘save the world’ plot. Book 4 saw their group go from a small band of friends and unnamed sailors to a group of hundreds made up of sailors, pirates, Mechanics, a handful of Mages, and some miscellaneous commons.
Since book 4 spent so much time on Mechanics, I’d kind of expected this book to focus on Mages—especially getting a large number of them to join like what happened with the shipful of Mechanics in book 3. That doesn’t really happen. Mari’s army grows, but that mostly happens between books and off-page. General Flynn finally joins her, which I was glad to see, since I really liked Flynn in book 2 and it was too bad it took until now for him to get back into the story. But mostly this book isn’t about gathering forces at all. Most of the book is taken up with Mari, Alain, and a small band of others off on a secret mission to a place they’ve already visited. Which means that this is the first book in the series where we didn’t really get introduced to a whole new location. That fact may have made this book feel a little less exciting or epic. Other reviewers have mentioned that this book feels more like a setup to the last book, and I think that’s probably true. It had a different feel than the previous books. A smaller story, somehow, with some conflicts introduced but not resolved. The whole mission they go on is part of the preparation for the coming conflict with the Great Guilds.
Because of that, this wasn’t my favorite book of the series, but it’s still better than most books in existence.
We didn’t get quite as much of some of the side characters as I would have liked, but at this point there are so many side characters that it’s hard to give many of them much real development. Asha gets some nice time, and Mechanic Dav has some good moments. Princess Cien pretty much owns the climax at the end of the book and proves to be a rich and excellent character despite limited page time. Mari’s family comes back, but it’s a brief visit. We meet her dad for the first time and see that he’s really not as supportive as he should be. This is one of those conflicts that’s set up but then kind of set aside for the rest of the book, so I expect it will be explored more in the final book.
There wasn’t as much humor in this one, but there’s still some. It’s fun to see Mages and Mechanics and commons interacting and trying to understand each other when their whole points of reference and understandings of how the world works are so fundamentally different. And it’s encouraging when, despite all of that, they still get along and care for each other.
There’s a ‘trial by combat’ scene in this book, and generally speaking, I hate those scenes. Mostly because I think trial by combat is idiotic and any good guy who lets him/herself get suckered into participating in such a fight because ‘it’s the only way!’ (when it really isn’t) is a moron. They make me angry, frankly. BUT—not under certain circumstances. Those circumstances usually being either 1) the good guy, even though he’s forced into this situation, uses his wits to win despite the game being obviously rigged, or 2) the good guy wanted to do it and let the bad guy think it was rigged against the good guy when really the good guy was luring the bad guy into a trap of his own hubris. My all-time-favorite ‘trial by combat’ scene was in Larry Correia’s recent book Into the Wild. I don’t want to spoil that, because you really should read it, but it’s one of the first circumstances I mentioned. The scene in The Servants of the Storm is the second type of circumstance, and it worked out to be very satisfying and, afterwards, very moving.
One of the other things I liked about this book were scenes where good guys pretended to be things they weren’t, including a scene with good Mages pretending to be regular Mages and terrifying everyone. Also, this book had possibly the funniest distraction-kiss scene I’ve ever seen.
The audiobook narration by MacLeod Andrews was excellent as usual. I didn’t notice any errors or editing mistakes. I particularly like how he’s able to voice the Mages with just the right combination of flatness but with some of the emotion that they’re learning from Mari creeping in.
When this comes out in paperback, I intend to buy it to add to my collection, because a series this good is one I want to have in multiple formats. I do have one suggestion/request for the paperback version, though. While it’s very nice that they have maps in the paperbacks, I think for this book, with so many characters, a character index would also be very helpful, hopefully containing brief reminders of who each named character is and where Mari/Alain first met them. Also, I’d love a schematic of the Terror, since I had a really hard time picturing it the whole time it was in the story.
Quotes
Mechanic sailor Captain Banda entered, the guards outside closing the door behind him. “I’m last? Apologies, all. We ran into some contrary winds entering port.”
“This Mage must work on his wind spells,” Mage Dav said impassively. The statement drew blank looks from almost everyone present, who knew that Mage Dav had not been on Banda’s ship and that Mages had said they could not control winds.
“That Mage makes a joke,” Alain explained to the Mechanics and commons. “He pretends to berate himself for not having skills no Mage can employ.”
“Good one!” Mechanic Calu said with a little too much enthusiasm, but Alain could see that Mage Dav was pleased by the words.
.
Alain moved as far to one side as he could, facing forward, as Asha wormed her way up beside him. The space available, slightly cramped for one person, was so tight that Asha had to press herself hard against him in order to fit and be able to look forward as well. Despite their desperate situation, despite the robes shrouding both of them, Alain found himself becoming distracted. Asha must have noticed. Her face was right next to his, but she could turn enough to eye him. Alain was familiar with the eyerolls that Mari sometimes directed at him to accompany the one-word comment, “Men.” But now Asha accomplished the remarkable feat of giving him a feminine eyeroll without moving her eyes or changing her expression. He was trying to figure out how she had done that when Asha said three words in the tone of a Mage addressing an acolyte: “Mage Alain. Focus.”
The Servants of the Storm is the fifth book in the Pillars of Reality series, which is quickly becoming my favorite book series ever. If you’ve read the series up to this point, you should definitely read this one too. If you haven’t read them yet, you should definitely read them but start at the beginning with The Dragons of Dorcastle.
Spoiler warning: this review will contain some spoilers for previous books and some not-very-specific spoilers for this book.
The series is six books long, and the structure so far is that the first three books were mostly about Mari and Alain, with the focus mostly on their growing relationship and the larger ‘save the world’ story being a more secondary (but gradually more important) plot. In the third book, Mari and Alain married, they gathered some friends into their group, and the focus started shifting more to the ‘save the world’ plot. Book 4 saw their group go from a small band of friends and unnamed sailors to a group of hundreds made up of sailors, pirates, Mechanics, a handful of Mages, and some miscellaneous commons.
Since book 4 spent so much time on Mechanics, I’d kind of expected this book to focus on Mages—especially getting a large number of them to join like what happened with the shipful of Mechanics in book 3. That doesn’t really happen. Mari’s army grows, but that mostly happens between books and off-page. General Flynn finally joins her, which I was glad to see, since I really liked Flynn in book 2 and it was too bad it took until now for him to get back into the story. But mostly this book isn’t about gathering forces at all. Most of the book is taken up with Mari, Alain, and a small band of others off on a secret mission to a place they’ve already visited. Which means that this is the first book in the series where we didn’t really get introduced to a whole new location. That fact may have made this book feel a little less exciting or epic. Other reviewers have mentioned that this book feels more like a setup to the last book, and I think that’s probably true. It had a different feel than the previous books. A smaller story, somehow, with some conflicts introduced but not resolved. The whole mission they go on is part of the preparation for the coming conflict with the Great Guilds.
Because of that, this wasn’t my favorite book of the series, but it’s still better than most books in existence.
We didn’t get quite as much of some of the side characters as I would have liked, but at this point there are so many side characters that it’s hard to give many of them much real development. Asha gets some nice time, and Mechanic Dav has some good moments. Princess Cien pretty much owns the climax at the end of the book and proves to be a rich and excellent character despite limited page time. Mari’s family comes back, but it’s a brief visit. We meet her dad for the first time and see that he’s really not as supportive as he should be. This is one of those conflicts that’s set up but then kind of set aside for the rest of the book, so I expect it will be explored more in the final book.
There wasn’t as much humor in this one, but there’s still some. It’s fun to see Mages and Mechanics and commons interacting and trying to understand each other when their whole points of reference and understandings of how the world works are so fundamentally different. And it’s encouraging when, despite all of that, they still get along and care for each other.
There’s a ‘trial by combat’ scene in this book, and generally speaking, I hate those scenes. Mostly because I think trial by combat is idiotic and any good guy who lets him/herself get suckered into participating in such a fight because ‘it’s the only way!’ (when it really isn’t) is a moron. They make me angry, frankly. BUT—not under certain circumstances. Those circumstances usually being either 1) the good guy, even though he’s forced into this situation, uses his wits to win despite the game being obviously rigged, or 2) the good guy wanted to do it and let the bad guy think it was rigged against the good guy when really the good guy was luring the bad guy into a trap of his own hubris. My all-time-favorite ‘trial by combat’ scene was in Larry Correia’s recent book Into the Wild. I don’t want to spoil that, because you really should read it, but it’s one of the first circumstances I mentioned. The scene in The Servants of the Storm is the second type of circumstance, and it worked out to be very satisfying and, afterwards, very moving.
One of the other things I liked about this book were scenes where good guys pretended to be things they weren’t, including a scene with good Mages pretending to be regular Mages and terrifying everyone. Also, this book had possibly the funniest distraction-kiss scene I’ve ever seen.
The audiobook narration by MacLeod Andrews was excellent as usual. I didn’t notice any errors or editing mistakes. I particularly like how he’s able to voice the Mages with just the right combination of flatness but with some of the emotion that they’re learning from Mari creeping in.
When this comes out in paperback, I intend to buy it to add to my collection, because a series this good is one I want to have in multiple formats. I do have one suggestion/request for the paperback version, though. While it’s very nice that they have maps in the paperbacks, I think for this book, with so many characters, a character index would also be very helpful, hopefully containing brief reminders of who each named character is and where Mari/Alain first met them. Also, I’d love a schematic of the Terror, since I had a really hard time picturing it the whole time it was in the story.
Quotes
Mechanic sailor Captain Banda entered, the guards outside closing the door behind him. “I’m last? Apologies, all. We ran into some contrary winds entering port.”
“This Mage must work on his wind spells,” Mage Dav said impassively. The statement drew blank looks from almost everyone present, who knew that Mage Dav had not been on Banda’s ship and that Mages had said they could not control winds.
“That Mage makes a joke,” Alain explained to the Mechanics and commons. “He pretends to berate himself for not having skills no Mage can employ.”
“Good one!” Mechanic Calu said with a little too much enthusiasm, but Alain could see that Mage Dav was pleased by the words.
.
Alain moved as far to one side as he could, facing forward, as Asha wormed her way up beside him. The space available, slightly cramped for one person, was so tight that Asha had to press herself hard against him in order to fit and be able to look forward as well. Despite their desperate situation, despite the robes shrouding both of them, Alain found himself becoming distracted. Asha must have noticed. Her face was right next to his, but she could turn enough to eye him. Alain was familiar with the eyerolls that Mari sometimes directed at him to accompany the one-word comment, “Men.” But now Asha accomplished the remarkable feat of giving him a feminine eyeroll without moving her eyes or changing her expression. He was trying to figure out how she had done that when Asha said three words in the tone of a Mage addressing an acolyte: “Mage Alain. Focus.”
August 3, 2016
Also posted on my blog Got My Book.
Real Rating = 4.5*
I can't believe this excellent YA SF (and a bit of everything else) series is almost over.
Source: I received this book free in return for an honest review, courtesy of Audible Studios.
BOOK DETAILS:
The Servants of the Storm by Jack Campbell, read by MacLeod Andrews, published by Audible Studios (2016) / Length: 11 hrs 56 min
SERIES INFO:
This is #5 of 6 in "The Pillars of Reality" series. Both #5 & #6 will continue to be available on audio only until towards the end of 2016 when the Kindle & Paperback versions will be released.
**This review contains spoilers for the previous book(s).**
SUMMARY:
I was so excited to get this book. There was a lot of internal flailing going on as I listened straight through on my day off. I did do a bit of pouting afterwards though since, sadly, what I loved best about the last book - all the time we got to spend with my favorite side characters - was curtailed in this one.
I was disappointed that we had just gathered this great group of characters together and started to see everything they could do, and then a big section of this book was spent with a small group (that didn't have my favorites) off on a mission.
That said, I am sooo glad that the final book will be out just a month after this one!
Note: some things may be spelling incorrectly in this review, since the text version isn't out yet and I had only the audio to go by.
CHARACTERS:
Mari: She has fully embraced her role and is now working to allow others some measure of control and autonomy rather than try to keep a finger in every pie.
Alain: He is under so much pressure to remain constantly vigilant. I am glad that they are giving her other guards as well, despite her dislike of the resulting lack of privacy. He is working to find a balance between acting human again, and still using what he has learned. There is a moment when he becomes distracted by anger and uses mage techniques to calm himself. I like that he isn't feeling/being pressured to give up everything he is, only the bad parts.
Alain & Mari: Jealousy is gone, all that is left is full trust and commitment. I really really hope we get an epilogue, or some sort of follow up at the end, that shows what they could be together if their lives weren't constant in danger.
Alli & Calu: were reunited & married in the last book. They are some of my favorites and some of those who were given way too little time.
Asha: was the character whose arc got the most attention in this book.
Bev: She got some good growth, but it took place between books. I do really like the direction she is going in beginning to work with the children. I feel that she has the experience & compassion plus the toughness necessary when dealing with war orphans and other children in Tiae. She also didn't get enough time.
Mechanic Dav: Was in a big chunk of the book; but, other than being in love with Asha, I don't feel like he has gotten the development he needs to be interesting.
WORLDBUILDING:
After 4 previous books, there wasn't a lot of new world building in this one. No completely new locations this time, just additional cities in Tiae and more time in the Empire. Also, no dragons or any new spell creatures this time around, but we did get a really nice moment with Mari & a Roc.
The rebels of her "daughterness" (as Alli calls Mari, to annoy her) have begun to build the items from the forbidden texts; so there were better far talkers, some artillery that Alli is very attached to, and a surprise invention that plays a bit part.
PLOT:
This is my favorite beginning since the first one. We got to see Mari with her Mages & Mechanics, the revived army of Tiae, and a growing army of Commons under General Flyn all working together to retake the city of Minute. There were lots of opportunities to spotlight different characters.
After all the adventures with trains in the past books, I was disappointed not to have one this time. Since he had mixed it up in #4 and had them be the one attacking the train, I was looking forward to seeing what happened this time.
I understand the necessity of the mission they undertake in the middle of the book, but I think that it took up too much of the story. I also did not find the small number of people that participated to be a very dynamic group.
Warning: the ending IS a cliffhanger, as the forces of the enemies begin to descend on multiple locations and the final confrontation is about to begin. (It doesn't end in the middle of anything though.)
HIGHLIGHTS / CAUTIONS:
--The observations about the differences between epic tales and real life adventures, which include days of boring travel and horses that act up at important moments.
--I like the fact that foresight continues to be both a help (when Alain is able to foresee danger) and a big problem (when other mages foresee where they might be going).
--I loved how the Mage guild's attempts to discredit Alain are proving detrimental to his enemies by causing them to jump to incorrect conclusions
OTHER CAUTIONS
: Asha & Dev are given some "alone time."
NARRATION:
So, being the 5th book, I don't feel the need to repeat all the accolades. I will just say that the small production issues found in the previous book were not present here, and Mr. Andrews did his usual excellent job.
Real Rating = 4.5*
I can't believe this excellent YA SF (and a bit of everything else) series is almost over.
Source: I received this book free in return for an honest review, courtesy of Audible Studios.
BOOK DETAILS:
The Servants of the Storm by Jack Campbell, read by MacLeod Andrews, published by Audible Studios (2016) / Length: 11 hrs 56 min
SERIES INFO:
This is #5 of 6 in "The Pillars of Reality" series. Both #5 & #6 will continue to be available on audio only until towards the end of 2016 when the Kindle & Paperback versions will be released.
**This review contains spoilers for the previous book(s).**
SUMMARY:
I was so excited to get this book. There was a lot of internal flailing going on as I listened straight through on my day off. I did do a bit of pouting afterwards though since, sadly, what I loved best about the last book - all the time we got to spend with my favorite side characters - was curtailed in this one.
I was disappointed that we had just gathered this great group of characters together and started to see everything they could do, and then a big section of this book was spent with a small group (that didn't have my favorites) off on a mission.
That said, I am sooo glad that the final book will be out just a month after this one!
Note: some things may be spelling incorrectly in this review, since the text version isn't out yet and I had only the audio to go by.
CHARACTERS:
Mari: She has fully embraced her role and is now working to allow others some measure of control and autonomy rather than try to keep a finger in every pie.
Alain: He is under so much pressure to remain constantly vigilant. I am glad that they are giving her other guards as well, despite her dislike of the resulting lack of privacy. He is working to find a balance between acting human again, and still using what he has learned. There is a moment when he becomes distracted by anger and uses mage techniques to calm himself. I like that he isn't feeling/being pressured to give up everything he is, only the bad parts.
Alain & Mari: Jealousy is gone, all that is left is full trust and commitment. I really really hope we get an epilogue, or some sort of follow up at the end, that shows what they could be together if their lives weren't constant in danger.
Alli & Calu: were reunited & married in the last book. They are some of my favorites and some of those who were given way too little time.
Asha: was the character whose arc got the most attention in this book.
Bev: She got some good growth, but it took place between books. I do really like the direction she is going in beginning to work with the children. I feel that she has the experience & compassion plus the toughness necessary when dealing with war orphans and other children in Tiae. She also didn't get enough time.
Mechanic Dav: Was in a big chunk of the book; but, other than being in love with Asha, I don't feel like he has gotten the development he needs to be interesting.
WORLDBUILDING:
After 4 previous books, there wasn't a lot of new world building in this one. No completely new locations this time, just additional cities in Tiae and more time in the Empire. Also, no dragons or any new spell creatures this time around, but we did get a really nice moment with Mari & a Roc.
The rebels of her "daughterness" (as Alli calls Mari, to annoy her) have begun to build the items from the forbidden texts; so there were better far talkers, some artillery that Alli is very attached to, and a surprise invention that plays a bit part.
PLOT:
This is my favorite beginning since the first one. We got to see Mari with her Mages & Mechanics, the revived army of Tiae, and a growing army of Commons under General Flyn all working together to retake the city of Minute. There were lots of opportunities to spotlight different characters.
After all the adventures with trains in the past books, I was disappointed not to have one this time. Since he had mixed it up in #4 and had them be the one attacking the train, I was looking forward to seeing what happened this time.
I understand the necessity of the mission they undertake in the middle of the book, but I think that it took up too much of the story. I also did not find the small number of people that participated to be a very dynamic group.
Warning: the ending IS a cliffhanger, as the forces of the enemies begin to descend on multiple locations and the final confrontation is about to begin. (It doesn't end in the middle of anything though.)
HIGHLIGHTS / CAUTIONS:
--The observations about the differences between epic tales and real life adventures, which include days of boring travel and horses that act up at important moments.
--I like the fact that foresight continues to be both a help (when Alain is able to foresee danger) and a big problem (when other mages foresee where they might be going).
--I loved how the Mage guild's attempts to discredit Alain are proving detrimental to his enemies by causing them to jump to incorrect conclusions
OTHER CAUTIONS
: Asha & Dev are given some "alone time."NARRATION:
So, being the 5th book, I don't feel the need to repeat all the accolades. I will just say that the small production issues found in the previous book were not present here, and Mr. Andrews did his usual excellent job.
April 28, 2021
Oh bugger me, I thought I'd already done this one?!
Okay, lets keep this a little brief shall we? I like the book, I like the story but I feel like this and and the last book could've been put in one story rather than splitting it into number 4 and 5 of the series.
We learn a lot about how there's people trying to keep the status quo, but we've known that, the fun ride into Marandur was cool but I personally found the submarine descriptions a little hard to work out, if the book itself contained a design schematic for the sub I'd probably get it better but as I just explained in book 6 (lol) on Audible so no designs at all.
It was fun and the build up of Alain's fears over Mari got tense. I was actually worried during his kidnapping that we'd get a part where he would be the original self and slowly regain his sense of himself through the book culminating in seeing Mari badly injured and all rushing back to him.
But
Luckily we didn't get that, we got a decent story of sneaking into a doomed city to grab the left behind texts and my possibly favourite couple gaining more headway.
Yes I totally was a fan of those two getting together and loved the idea behind it.
Okay, lets keep this a little brief shall we? I like the book, I like the story but I feel like this and and the last book could've been put in one story rather than splitting it into number 4 and 5 of the series.
We learn a lot about how there's people trying to keep the status quo, but we've known that, the fun ride into Marandur was cool but I personally found the submarine descriptions a little hard to work out, if the book itself contained a design schematic for the sub I'd probably get it better but as I just explained in book 6 (lol) on Audible so no designs at all.
It was fun and the build up of Alain's fears over Mari got tense. I was actually worried during his kidnapping that we'd get a part where he would be the original self and slowly regain his sense of himself through the book culminating in seeing Mari badly injured and all rushing back to him.
But
Luckily we didn't get that, we got a decent story of sneaking into a doomed city to grab the left behind texts and my possibly favourite couple gaining more headway.
Yes I totally was a fan of those two getting together and loved the idea behind it.
May 4, 2021
Starting to feel drawn-out, but still worth reading.
It’s been a while since I returned to this series, and maybe that’s why, but the storyline is starting to feel drawn-out and overstretched. While I still enjoy the characters, I found my mind drifting and wandering more often than not. And the logic behind the whole “sub” mission felt farfetched and difficult to believe. I realize this is fantasy, so suspension of belief is expected to a degree, but there’s still probability and physicality that should be maintained. I didn’t dislike the story, but I did get bored with it and had to walk away to read other books before returning. Which I did; came back and finished it. While my expectations for book 5 were not met, I did quite enjoy the ending. (Once the story went past the whole “sub” known as “terror” part–no joke, that’s what it was named.) I plan to read the 6th and final book of this series since I’ve stuck with it so far. I want to know the conclusion. Just hoping the pacing improves and the story advances more quickly in the finale.
It’s been a while since I returned to this series, and maybe that’s why, but the storyline is starting to feel drawn-out and overstretched. While I still enjoy the characters, I found my mind drifting and wandering more often than not. And the logic behind the whole “sub” mission felt farfetched and difficult to believe. I realize this is fantasy, so suspension of belief is expected to a degree, but there’s still probability and physicality that should be maintained. I didn’t dislike the story, but I did get bored with it and had to walk away to read other books before returning. Which I did; came back and finished it. While my expectations for book 5 were not met, I did quite enjoy the ending. (Once the story went past the whole “sub” known as “terror” part–no joke, that’s what it was named.) I plan to read the 6th and final book of this series since I’ve stuck with it so far. I want to know the conclusion. Just hoping the pacing improves and the story advances more quickly in the finale.
December 29, 2017
It took me a long time to start this series, the blurb on the back of the first book just wasn't that interesting...
But it kept showing up, and I eventually started to read...
The whole series as FAST as I could!
To date I think this has been one of the most masterful uses of dialogue to move a truly spectacular story forward at break neck speed, while also allowing deep insight into the characters themselves!
There were times in the series when I was excited to find out just how the character's discussion and interactions would move the story forward, because I couldn't see a how it could be done in a way that was reasonable, and consistent, with both the characters and the story.
Yet, Jack Campbell pulled it off... In style!
This doesn't even mention any of the high adventure, skulduggery, or explosions!
I thoroughly enjoyed my time with both Mari and Alain.
But it kept showing up, and I eventually started to read...
The whole series as FAST as I could!
To date I think this has been one of the most masterful uses of dialogue to move a truly spectacular story forward at break neck speed, while also allowing deep insight into the characters themselves!
There were times in the series when I was excited to find out just how the character's discussion and interactions would move the story forward, because I couldn't see a how it could be done in a way that was reasonable, and consistent, with both the characters and the story.
Yet, Jack Campbell pulled it off... In style!
This doesn't even mention any of the high adventure, skulduggery, or explosions!
I thoroughly enjoyed my time with both Mari and Alain.
September 6, 2018
I had mixed feelings about the first half of the book as the frustrations I had in earlier parts of the series continued (and I'm just tired of people arguing over who gets to die first; I know they're teenagers and all, but seriously, couldn't we just focus on the parts where they're not being so annoying!?!?). It was still fun enough but was headed for a lower rating.
Then, unexpectedly, the later parts of the book turned into a new, different, and rather unexpected kind of adventure that was more reminiscent of earlier books and was just really fun! It felt to me like a particularly clever way for the author to ignore the new constraints of the world having developed further in favor of returning to a dynamic that the earlier story had which was highly entertaining, and the end result was just a lot of fun.
Then, unexpectedly, the later parts of the book turned into a new, different, and rather unexpected kind of adventure that was more reminiscent of earlier books and was just really fun! It felt to me like a particularly clever way for the author to ignore the new constraints of the world having developed further in favor of returning to a dynamic that the earlier story had which was highly entertaining, and the end result was just a lot of fun.
July 29, 2017
As the stakes are raised and Mari continues to learn to walk into her (apparently fated) destiny, Campbell steps up his writing and story-telling. It was fun to have the story live up to the potential I've seen in it from the beginning.
Again, I wouldn't recommend starting into this book blind... One almost needs all the books before it so that one might fully appreciate some of the culminations and resolutions and tensions this book deals with. That said, I don't regret starting the series and I look forward to finishing it!
Again, I wouldn't recommend starting into this book blind... One almost needs all the books before it so that one might fully appreciate some of the culminations and resolutions and tensions this book deals with. That said, I don't regret starting the series and I look forward to finishing it!
February 4, 2022
Jack Campbell spins out another fantastic book in The Pillars of Reality saga.
You'd think that a book where Master Machanic Mari and Mage Alain decide to sneak back to Marandur would be boring! Prolly thinking, been there, done that! But you'd be wrong, an author as good as Jack Campbell would not let his readers down! I found myself mesmerized and on the edge-of-my-seat more often than not in this compelling tale.
So yeah you're gonna need to grab this book to find out what happens. Get the audio version because Jack Campbell and MacLeod Andrews can't be beat!
You'd think that a book where Master Machanic Mari and Mage Alain decide to sneak back to Marandur would be boring! Prolly thinking, been there, done that! But you'd be wrong, an author as good as Jack Campbell would not let his readers down! I found myself mesmerized and on the edge-of-my-seat more often than not in this compelling tale.
So yeah you're gonna need to grab this book to find out what happens. Get the audio version because Jack Campbell and MacLeod Andrews can't be beat!
June 7, 2017
Book 5 of The Pillars of Reality. Spoilers ahead for the earlier ones. Like a lot of series, it is picking up steam and turning into a flowing story.
For instance, this opens with Mari and Alain working about with Princess Sien how to take a city. (Trick the warlords into thinking they had an escape and ambushing them.) Her work as the daughter of Jules goes on. Her parents and sister arrive -- her father finds it hard to take -- the Mechanics are teaching and spreading, the Mages are considering whether children can be taught to be Mages without the vicious methods used on them, and Mari hears news about certain questions that are being asked about her.
That leads into the main problem of this book, where they have to retrieve certain things. It involves the legend of Mara the Undying, a vampire; scholars afraid of change; a disguise as driftwood; how to sneak into a place by acting boldly; an ancestor and a proposal of marriage; Alain's guilt-tripping Mari into doing something by pointing out he's done the equivalent three times for her, and more.
For instance, this opens with Mari and Alain working about with Princess Sien how to take a city. (Trick the warlords into thinking they had an escape and ambushing them.) Her work as the daughter of Jules goes on. Her parents and sister arrive -- her father finds it hard to take -- the Mechanics are teaching and spreading, the Mages are considering whether children can be taught to be Mages without the vicious methods used on them, and Mari hears news about certain questions that are being asked about her.
That leads into the main problem of this book, where they have to retrieve certain things. It involves the legend of Mara the Undying, a vampire; scholars afraid of change; a disguise as driftwood; how to sneak into a place by acting boldly; an ancestor and a proposal of marriage; Alain's guilt-tripping Mari into doing something by pointing out he's done the equivalent three times for her, and more.
September 1, 2017
There is a great sense of "ok, time to wrap everything up" in this book, from the time jumps at the beginning and at the end, to the return of a bunch of previously met characters and a tying up of loose plot threads.
Still, this was amazing, and timely in a way I did not expect (but maybe should have, seeing as this was published only last year).
Still, this was amazing, and timely in a way I did not expect (but maybe should have, seeing as this was published only last year).
January 4, 2018
The stakes are high, the story is fast, the acting is amazing. Keep on going to the final climax where the worlds collide. I really hope we get more information about the world. What an incredible buildup! If you've read this far, you have to finish. I'm not looking forward to the finale. I really love the world he built.
May 26, 2018
This is the Fifth book in the Pillars of Reality series. This book was my least favorite of the series. The pace was slow and the story-line predictable. Other than a quick plot twist and some action at the end of the book, I feel like this whole book could have been summarized at the end of the previous book. Am hoping that the next, and final, book will be better.
July 14, 2019
This book proves that the Pillars of Reality series is at least two books too long. Book #4 (The Pirates of Pacta Servanda) was a good deal less compelling than the first three books. This one is not particularly interesting, and is totally unnecessary for the story. This book does nothing to advance the plot in a meaningful way. It's basically one big side quest.
June 15, 2024
This one only got 3 stars because, even for me, the main characters get out of too many impossible situations. Just when I think Jack has painted himself into a corner, the deus ex machina gets them out. Characters are still good and i will probably finish off the series, but Black Jack this is not!
November 24, 2024
3.5* I'm glad I had patience with this series. Each novel gets a little bit better. The world building is solid. The main characters, although still a little bit cookie cutter, have slowly gained greater depth and become more interesting. The action has also improved, with better struggles to overcome and (finally) occasional consequences.
August 7, 2019
After book one I listen to this series one after another and so this will be a "series review" to be copied and pasted for each of the following books. I am glad I did it this way because this author has chosen to embrace the cliff hanger approach in this series. Personally I detest cliff hangers in novels- books are supposed to provide a story, including a resolution. In these books the over all story vastly overshadows the stories told in the individual books, so much so that I think it would be fair to say that this entire series should have been condensed into one actually good book. The only counterbalance to that argument is that the author creates some truly moving moments in these books and those moments spring organically from the great deal of character development and world building in this series. That is a great compliment to any author since so few are actually capable of it. Still the author's overall story construction is greatly lacking.
I am also not a fan of naive good guy approach where the MC lets bad guys go and hopes for the best. In one case this proves a big win for the MC since one of the bad guys turns out to be the uncle of her newest friend and eventually an important supporter. Still, it was incredibly stupid at the time since the uncle was actively trying to assassinate the MC and every other time the MC does this they just end up fighting the same people again. Plus this also leads to things like the good guy not attacking first even though they are in a fight to the death for the survival of the planet and it makes perfectly good sense to do so.
The author convincingly sets up a convenient conclusion throughout the books, showing repeatedly how the rulers of the great guilds view themselves as absolutely powerful and treat their rank and file as servants and, in some cases, worse. The leaders of the guilds, so entrenched in their own power, have forgotten that their power is based on what their rank and file can do. Still the conclusion was bizarrely convenient [spoiler follows, but only a small one since the resolution was telegraphed, but not in a bad way]. The MC fights one major battle with the powers that be and ends up getting everything she was fighting for while laying in bed unconscious afterwords.
This paragraph will contain a spoiler but since it is about the worst aspect of the book it is something I would have been fine having spoiled for me so I encourage you to read on. Still you should skip to the next paragraph if you truly hate spoilers: So the mages in this world are told that affection for others will eliminate their ability to do magic. Secondary MC, Alain, discovers this to be false very early on. From that point on it is continually hinted, reasoned and in one case outright predicted, that this will lead to some big magical breakthrough. The break through, however, doesn't come until the MC (Mari) has already won everything and so is arguably meaningless. [SOME REAL SPOILERS HERE] In the context of the book it isn't meaningless because it saves Mari's life and Mari's job, it turns out, wasn't just to overthrow the guilds but ensure the overthrow doesn't result in chaos. Still, the big breakthrough is completely underwhelming and doesn't even make sense in the context of the magic of the book. Mages can only effect the "world illusion" directly, so not themselves or others. Alain's big break though is to essentially become Mari allowing him to heal her, but since Alain can't heal himself, THIS MAKES NO SENSE.
For some unknown reason the author has chosen to make a stupid miscommunication story line central to this series. Mages receive visions of the future but every time Alain tries to tell Mari about THE KEY VISION OF HER FUTURE she mistakes it for him wanting to talk about their relationship so, of course, Mari tells Alain she knows all about what he wants to talk about and that they shouldn't discuss it. This happens repeatedly. In several books. I didn't make a note of when this stupidity is finally resolved but my guess is late in book 3. That would mean that essentially half this series includes a seriously stupid story line. Removing this story line alone would have made this series significantly better.
I truly hate stories where everything depends on one character and yet they stupidly continue to risk their lives by doing things like fighting on the front lines unnecessarily. This series has this problem but it handles it as well as it can be handled. The MC's decisions to take risks are continually challenged and the MC viably defends her choices.
Finally, the whole series felt unnecessarily drawn out although this is a debatable point. The thorough character development and world building lead to some very poignant scenes but I honestly believe this series would have been significantly better at half the length.
Bottom line: The series was worth the read, but with significant flaws (I'm looking at you cliff hangers). Individually these books are probably not worth the read.
I am also not a fan of naive good guy approach where the MC lets bad guys go and hopes for the best. In one case this proves a big win for the MC since one of the bad guys turns out to be the uncle of her newest friend and eventually an important supporter. Still, it was incredibly stupid at the time since the uncle was actively trying to assassinate the MC and every other time the MC does this they just end up fighting the same people again. Plus this also leads to things like the good guy not attacking first even though they are in a fight to the death for the survival of the planet and it makes perfectly good sense to do so.
The author convincingly sets up a convenient conclusion throughout the books, showing repeatedly how the rulers of the great guilds view themselves as absolutely powerful and treat their rank and file as servants and, in some cases, worse. The leaders of the guilds, so entrenched in their own power, have forgotten that their power is based on what their rank and file can do. Still the conclusion was bizarrely convenient [spoiler follows, but only a small one since the resolution was telegraphed, but not in a bad way]. The MC fights one major battle with the powers that be and ends up getting everything she was fighting for while laying in bed unconscious afterwords.
This paragraph will contain a spoiler but since it is about the worst aspect of the book it is something I would have been fine having spoiled for me so I encourage you to read on. Still you should skip to the next paragraph if you truly hate spoilers: So the mages in this world are told that affection for others will eliminate their ability to do magic. Secondary MC, Alain, discovers this to be false very early on. From that point on it is continually hinted, reasoned and in one case outright predicted, that this will lead to some big magical breakthrough. The break through, however, doesn't come until the MC (Mari) has already won everything and so is arguably meaningless. [SOME REAL SPOILERS HERE] In the context of the book it isn't meaningless because it saves Mari's life and Mari's job, it turns out, wasn't just to overthrow the guilds but ensure the overthrow doesn't result in chaos. Still, the big breakthrough is completely underwhelming and doesn't even make sense in the context of the magic of the book. Mages can only effect the "world illusion" directly, so not themselves or others. Alain's big break though is to essentially become Mari allowing him to heal her, but since Alain can't heal himself, THIS MAKES NO SENSE.
For some unknown reason the author has chosen to make a stupid miscommunication story line central to this series. Mages receive visions of the future but every time Alain tries to tell Mari about THE KEY VISION OF HER FUTURE she mistakes it for him wanting to talk about their relationship so, of course, Mari tells Alain she knows all about what he wants to talk about and that they shouldn't discuss it. This happens repeatedly. In several books. I didn't make a note of when this stupidity is finally resolved but my guess is late in book 3. That would mean that essentially half this series includes a seriously stupid story line. Removing this story line alone would have made this series significantly better.
I truly hate stories where everything depends on one character and yet they stupidly continue to risk their lives by doing things like fighting on the front lines unnecessarily. This series has this problem but it handles it as well as it can be handled. The MC's decisions to take risks are continually challenged and the MC viably defends her choices.
Finally, the whole series felt unnecessarily drawn out although this is a debatable point. The thorough character development and world building lead to some very poignant scenes but I honestly believe this series would have been significantly better at half the length.
Bottom line: The series was worth the read, but with significant flaws (I'm looking at you cliff hangers). Individually these books are probably not worth the read.
July 15, 2019
These books are terribly written but wierdly compelling. Servants of the Storm was a bit rambly in terms of the overarching plot, and I’m skeptical everything can be wrapped up satisfactorily in the next book—but I’ll definitely listen to find out.
August 29, 2019
There wasn't as big of an emotional impact in this one as in the first two, but I enjoyed it very much. There are some good ethical arguments here, and I think this is the sort of book I could learn from when rereading.
December 25, 2022
Le livre passe 80% du temps sur une quête secondaire puis fait avancer l'histoire à grands pas dans les 20% restants. J'ai quand même aimé ce livre dans sa globalité, j'aurais juste voulu que l'histoire avance plus et que le monde évolue plus également.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 10, 2016
Anxious to see how this all comes out in the final book - where does Jack get so much energy to write these books. Great story teller.
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