The Sky-Blue Wolves

Emberverse #15

by S.M. Stirling

Many years ago, when advanced technology failed and humanity found itself in a turbulent, postapocalyptic world, extraordinary men and women birthed a new society from the ashes. In this new world of emperors and kings, new leaders emerged, making the world their own.

Two generations after the Change, Crown Princess Órlaith struggles to preserve the hard-won peace her father brought to Montival--the former western United States. But the Change opened many doors, and through them powers strong and strange and terrible walk once more among humankind.

With her fire-forged friend and ally, Japanese Empress Reiko, Órlaith must take up her sword to stop the spread of the mad malignancy behind the Yellow Raja, who has imprisoned her brother Prince John. And from the emerging superpower of Mongolia, the Sky-Blue Wolves of the High Steppe ride once more beneath the banner of Genghis Khan--the thunder of their hooves resounding across a world in turmoil.

Genres: Fantasy, Alternate History, Fiction, Post Apocalyptic, Science Fiction, Dystopia, Science Fiction Fantasy

348 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 13, 2018

About the author

Stephen Michael Stirling is a French-born Canadian-American science fiction and fantasy author. Stirling is probably best known for his Draka series of alternate history novels and the more recent time travel/alternate history Nantucket series and Emberverse series.

MINI AUTO-BIOGRAPHY:
(personal website: source)

I’m a writer by trade, born in France but Canadian by origin and American by naturalization, living in New Mexico at present. My hobbies are mostly related to the craft. I love history, anthropology and archaeology, and am interested in the sciences. The martial arts are my main physical hobby.

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's clear Stirling grew tired of writing the series.

Orlaith's heir is created in barely a footnote with their parents getting no development together. The heir has more description during Orrey's crowning at Lost Lake than anywhere else; Orrey had more description as a baby than the heir did.

Stirling attempted an "and the adventure continues" near the end, but the adventure chosen was Orlaith finally getting to see Dai-Nippon, a place who's idea was built up with no payoff. How the Japanese survived got no setting to go with the loving description he had teased in the previous books.

Stirling became distracted with his "King in Yellow" subplot so much that the final confrontation with the Korean magus was barely an afterthought.

This was not the quality I expected from this author.

[Vincent Archer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would be ok if in the middle of the series; disappointing as an ending for it.

M. Stirling decided that 20 years was enough, and the Change series he started decades ago should be ending. Which is fine. The method of ending it, however, leaves to be desired. The timing and plot progression remain slow, and nothing much happens in this volume, until the end.

Then most of the main plot points are recycled versions. The Queenmaking happened the same way several books ago, the dreamtime expedition happened last book, and so on. The only element that would be genuinely fresh, the Mongols, remain underused as they appear only sporadically, and leave you with a taste for more... except that's not in the plans.

Stirling remains an extremely talented writer, so the book itself isn't too bad. It's just that it is deeply unsatisfying for a series conclusion.

[Jack Horner · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved the first series. It kept me up until 3am on work nights. I loved it so much that I kept coming back long after I knew I should quit. Even so I didn't bother reading 'The Sea Peoples', because I was pretty sure I would get everything I needed to know in recaps in this book. I was right. If I recall, Tears of the Sun was the same way. Oh the Eldritch horror.

I don't mind the extended food descriptions. What I mind is the formulaic recapitulation of EVERYTHING that happened in the last X number books whenever a character comes onto the scene or is mentioned.

And then Ory thought about her Father, Rudi MacKenzie, stud muffin of the pseudo-Celts. "Oh Da," she thought, " your strong arms always made me feel safe. Even though I know you were conceived in a burned out porn shop when Grandma Juniper boinked Mike Havel while pinned down by association forces in the first year after the change when on routine reconnaissance patrol. And then a raven showed up at the temple you were christened at, and then you met mom, when you were captured by Lady D'Ath, or as the peasants called her behind her back, "Lady Death" (she's a lesbian you know), in year 12... five pages later... and then you were sick at Chenrezi monastery ... 3 pages later ... And then killed by these Koreans. Oh Da, you really liked roast venison. Yeah, good times. And then Pip said, "we never had venison in Capricornia, but it reminds me of the time I was dressed up in Clockwork Orange fetish gear and I said to my Mom, who wasn't a very good mother..."

Maybe I'm being unfair. Maybe the series just needs a Princess Bride style 'Good Parts Edition'. I think the whole thing could be done in 6 books.

[Monical · Rating 1 out of 5]

Whimper, not a bang-- the series (please God!) ends? I can't tell if Stirling finally figured out he didn't have anything else to "add" to this series after a long string of totally terrible books, or if the publisher finally told him that there was no market for such drivel. Why did I read this, you ask? I really loved the first three books (to the point that I actually own them and re-read them) but the series moved downhill from there. The next few books were strung out (several containing little plot) until the battle at Horse Heaven Hills (which should have ended the series). Instead, Stirling kept milking us suckers with stories of Rudy's children, which not only got extremely weird but also lacked any of the charm of the first three books. And now, this book announces the "end of the series," but this tepid book fails to provide any conclusion-- leads me to believe this series may not be as dead as announced. I wish Stirling had accepted the challenge to end at Horse Heaven Hills. What if the power came back on????? (which would have been much more interesting and plausible than finding a second "magic sword!!").

[Gwyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

3 books ago, I swore I wouldn’t read any more of this series because the writing has deteriorated to badly in comparison to the first and second series. And then I binge-read the last two because they were both available. Between the two of them, there was enough story “meat”. Now, having read Sky Blue Wolves as a stand-alone book, I’m just pissed that I spent the time on it!!

Sterling is totally phoning it in on this one. 99% rehashing old character relationships and descriptions of food/clothes/weapons and 1-freaking-% actual action!! It wouldn’t surprise me to find out this book wasn’t partly written by an algorithm, like Stirling supplied a couple plot points and then let his computer auto fill the other 300 pages.

In the end I’m glad that this is billed as the final Change book so I can just end this relationship once and for all.

[DeAnna · Rating 3 out of 5]

A somewhat rushed but overall satisfying end to the Change series. I just never really warmed up to the characters in the third set of novels. I still heartily recommend the first two sets, though.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Since I have enjoyed this series, and this is the last book in it, I am sad.

I was disappointed in the huge build up to what turned out to be not much of a battle; once the main characters realized that they could not take the North Korean fortress by military power, they came to a very anti-climatic solution that didn't seem worthy of the book-long buildup to the final battle.

Orlaith's one paragraph seduction of Dzhambul seemed off, as well. Was that included so that the series could end with the readers knowing that she'd given Montival an heir?

He left Gansukh hanging, unless I missed a reference in the last part of the book. That was bothering me.

But I really enjoy the author's world-building, so five stars.

[Larry Wegman · Rating 1 out of 5]

The last novel of the Emberverse series. He still leaves plot lines open, but I suspect that he was getting tired of it. I know I was. The stories have gotten repetitive, and mystical in a way that began to seem silly. With his "doors opening wide that had been closing for centuries" approach to magic and things related, he's completely left out (for several novels now) the alien space bats who caused the Change and what reason there may have been for it all. And it would have been a much more interesting ending to it all if the Change had reversed as suddenly as it happened. As he left it, it just sort of fizzled out.

[Brandon Kurtz · Rating 3 out of 5]

A shockingly rushed ending to the series, especially considering the slow pacing of the previous two books. There were parts that reminded me of the best of this series, but otherwise it was disappointing.

[Kevin K · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing finish. I actually feel like I should have deep sixed the series after the stuff with the Protectors War, the introduction of heavy mysticism just kinda made it suck.

SPOILER - They kill the "big bad" in a fricken dream sequence in the last 20 pages.

[Forrest · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's always a shame when a beloved series comes to an end, characters you grew to know so well say their final goodbyes, and the story comes to a final, decisive close. Of course, it's always a hope that when those things have happened, the author has brought them about in a cohesive, entertaining, respectful (to the story and characters) way.

Sadly, none of that was the case here. I have to give this final book on a series that I have loved for SIXTEEN YEARS (!!!) such a low rating, because sadly, I feel that this series should have ended about five books ago.

Let's get into this review, and fair warning, it's long because I'm entirely too verbose. Skip down a bit for the TL:DR part.

You know, I have to say that it's been awhile since I've read a book that so clearly telegraphed its author's intentions. As near as I can tell, Stirling's thought process when writing this book was: "Gah, I am absolutely over this world and these characters, but I've already spent the check, so I need to bang out an ending, and squeeze (peruses list)....wow, there are a lot of plotlines here, I need to try to squeeze a conclusion for all of these things in and whelp, they're all going in this book. Oh, and I'll even introduce some NEW characters, one which somehow suddenly comes to be centrally important for some completely out of nowhere reason and eff it, let's just get this done so I can move on with my life, Criminy."

This entire book was sad, because there were always glimmering elements of the things you loved in past, earlier books but of course interspersed with the pablum this series has been full of for the past few books. Wow, should we get some more exposition and character building for Romantic Male Lead Mongol Character who JUST got introduced or should we once again go through a full description of the Sword of the Lady (and of course, now the obligatory mention and description of) the Grasscutter? Yep, you guessed it: "The sword itself was nothing out of the ordinary, it was only when you look closely at the moonstone pommel..." UUUUUUUGGGHHHHHHHH....Why are we being given descriptions of things that have been in every single book since they were introduced? Does anyone really think that someone would pick this book up, see it's the 15th in a series and think to themselves "Yeah, this seems a good place to start" and thus need all of this monotonous reuse of exposition to get them up to speed?

It's ridiculous, and worse, it's just a blatant sign of what readers of this series had known for awhile, that SM Stirling was getting short of ideas for this series and just overall over it. Don't have much of a plot for the dialogue of a scene? No problem, pad out the chapter by describing food, clothing, surroundings, the background/motivation/personality/etc. of various characters, weapons, and location. Extra points for the use of "Cap-a-pie". Secondly, I have to say, if you binge this entire series (like I did), then a huge glaring issue that's been slapping you in the face for the last seven or eight books, really comes to the fore here for the final time: all of the characters are flawless archetypes. Each of the royals/nobles/sidekick characters are good looking, the best at whatever's needed in that scene (swordfighting/tactics/sailing/knowledge of magic/etc.), and this is ground into us at every opportunity. Everyone has a quick sardonic wit, constantly mentions their religion's God character, and are entirely one note. Each of the characters by book 15 are built up to these heights, that they have become entirely unrelatable to the readers, and thus when things happen to them, it doesn't even register emotionally because I can't really care about any of them.

On top of that, in this book Stirling does something pretty unforgivable for ANY author to do, especially for a series like The Emberverse: fill up a book that's supposed to be the last in the series with a bunch of teasers for new, interesting characters/places/events/etc. Oh man, who's that? No idea, and doesn't matter, because we'll never be here again. What future events is that scene at Lost Lake with Orlaith's daughter alluding to? Doesn't matter, because we'll never read about it. Oh man, she's got a child who's all grown up? I wonder if we'll get to enjoy the development of that relationship (spoiler alert: we don't, because Orlaith decides to have sex with this guy she just met because she had a vision of her daughter) Heh, no we won't get to really know anything about this guy that Orlaith bangs within five hours of meeting because plot reasons. Personally, I thought that was one of the most disgusting parts of the whole wind-down of the series.

[IF THIS IS TL;DR FOR YOU, SKIP TO HERE]

I could continue on for about seventeen more pages, but it boils down to this. This is the finality of it: in this final book we get no closure for any of the characters, a story full of teasers for new characters, new conflicts, a completely out-of-character act for the sole sake of fitting into the plot of one of the teased characters, and many, many, MANY WASTED PAGES of descriptions of things, people, places, and suits of armor that we've read countless times before. If this were any other book series, I'd have taken all of these issues in stride, laughed it off, and just moved on with my day. We've all been THERE before. But this? This isn't one of those cheesy throwaway Young Adult series littering the shelves at Barnes & Noble, this was the final novel to the friggin' Emberverse series! Fifteen books! Sixteen years! All of that to come to this conclusion? I wouldn't have bothered writing any of this and I definitely wouldn't feel the genuine disappointment, and I'll say it, low level sadness that it's all over if it were any other series.

I feel like The Sea Peoples is where this series went off the rails, and I think that Stirling realized the enormity of the task that would be involved in trying to get things back on course, so instead of doing any of that, he just said "Eff it, let's just have our entire team of main characters all hitch a spirit realm ride again (since it worked so well last time) and sneak into the bad guy's fortress, have a fight scene that's like four pages, where the Adversary is defeated, I'll kill off a couple sidekicks for no clearly explained reason, and then I'll have a final one page Epilogue where Reiko and Orry have a Scooby-Gang level laugh and walk off into the sunset."

It's sad, but it's sad in the way that the death of a beloved, ailing grandparent is sad, because you'll miss them but at least the suffering is over.

I just really can't believe the guy decided to end a series like the Emberverse on this note. I just can't.

[Fred · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, not great, addition to the Emberverse series, certainly better than its predecessor, "The Sea Peoples," which was among the weakest of the group. Interesting that it's promoted as the "finale" of the 15-book series, as Stirling left himself enough room to strike off in several new directions. But, on the other hand, after 15 books and a wholesale change of cast, the Emberverse is pretty much flickering at this point, and maybe it's time for Stirling to give it a rest. At this point, a good 20% of each book is taken up with explanations of who the characters are, what their relationship to each other is, as well as a recap of why they're doing what they're doing. And as other reviews note, Stirling, when he doesn't have anything to move the plot forward, relies on endless descriptions of clothing and food, a trait he shares with George R.R. Martin.

If we're lucky perhaps his interest will renew, and we'll get something equal to the three-book quest for the Sword of the Lady series within the series, the best three books of the Emberverse, imo. Or perhaps his new "Black Chamber" series will improve... I've found the first book unfinishable to date. Or, here's a thought, let George R.R. Martin admit that the "Song of Ice and Fire" has gotten out of his control, which it obviously has, and have him commission Stirling to finish it. A win-win situation for us all.

[Annette · Rating 3 out of 5]

As do, I suspect, most fans of the Emberverse, it is with mixed feelings that I bid goodbye to the world of The Change. In truth none of the series post-Rudy has been all that awesome. On one level we still have Stirling's excellent characters, place descriptions, military action, droll observations of human nature, and the sheer imagination of a what shape a low-tech world being built on the bones of this one might take.
On the other, we have "same song, second verse." All of the new ground was trod out before poor Rudy met his assassin.
The book just prior to this one - I honestly don't recall the title - was a bit better than this one, as John and his loyal band and their unwilling journey through the "nightmare of a mad god" was actually pretty new to the 'verse. Shockingly, they return - sort of - in "Sky-Blue Wolves," but here it's practically phoned in. Just a few chapters at the end to do an end-run around the impossible fortress by using the spiritual back door. Of course, the whole book is a wrap-up, and while I felt like accomplished his goal in giving his clearly lucrative but also now over-long series an actual ending, it was with more of a whimper than a bang.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

A must for the compleatist, in terms of understanding how things conclude. That said, it’s an underwhelming conclusion to the overall Change series. Stirling has shown far greater skill in the 3rd volume of the other trilogies within the larger series, so I can only imagine he was rushed and subject to other publisher constraints. (His care and commitment to storytelling in all his other work make me believe that he was not simply tired of the story, as others suggest.)

[Dan Pepper · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ah, the Change series has come to an end, apparently. Makes me wish we'd gotten to the Mongols a little earlier because they were pretty cool.

The ending was a good effort toward giving us a satisfactory endpoint to things but it's not really possible the way Stirling has jumped head first in time is a serpent biting its tail business.

He did a good job portraying the the horror of Powers-controlled Korea, better than he did with Montana in the previous go around.

[Nicole Luiken · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perplexing. The last five books have been leading up to this climax/confrontation--and it's over in a chapter? What scenes were there were good, but it just felt like a big chunk was missing.

[Redsteve · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointed. At this point I feel like Stirling has been phoning it in for the last few books - dreamquests, sorta-kinda time travel, etc. This may be the last book of the series, but if it isn't, it is for me. In all honestly, I liked the earlier books of the Emberverse before things got all magically. In the first stories, there was NO explanation for the Change (other than the tongue-in-cheek "maybe it's Alien Space Bats"); not everything needs to be explained. After Stirling went with the "old gods (good and bad) are back" storyline, I mostly glossed over those bits and just enjoyed the post-apocalypse stuff. I'm fine if characters religious beliefs go in that direction, but less so when obvious magic starts manifesting itself. And in this story, I feel like Stirling used magic to resolve an issue that probably would have taken 3-5 full books earlier in the series. I enjoyed the introduction of the post-Change Mongols, but in the end they were not as crucial to the story as you would have thought. Lastly, at this point in the series, the author is doing increasing amounts of copying and pasting in his writing and larger proportions of the story seem to be explanations for someone who evidently hasn't read any of the earlier books and apparently decided to jump into the Emberverse at book # 15. 2.5 stars.

[NormaCenva · Rating 4 out of 5]

So sad this story is over!

[Charles Temm · Rating 3 out of 5]

As usual, Stirling paints a detailed picture of whatever world he chooses to portray. The one finally finished in this last work is a grand example. The world redrawn and the dreams of many tribal peoples reborn in a world that does not acknowledge the liberal one it was birthed from (except in gender equality). Steel & religion rule this new world. Technology is a curious blend of the 17th and 18th while much of the knowledge of the later centuries is limited to what is able to function in a world where even steam power simply cannot operate.

We see an introduction to yet another reborn dream of empire, a set of characters that could form a story by themselves. And we see another dead land held by the evil that has grown strong in this post apocalyptic world as the forces led by Montival & Japan strike invade Korea.

The book does have a major flaw as it flows along. The last few chapters seem rushed and the climatic part is more so. It actually seemed towards the end the author simply wanted to get the book over.

The conclusion isn't horrible by any means but anyone who has followed Stirling in this or any of his other works will see the difference. Maybe this will be fleshed out in short stories/novellas in the future as the topic is definitely not mined out.

[John Purvis · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Blue Sky Wolves" eBook was published in 2018 (November) and was written by S. M. Stirling (https://smstirling.com). Mr. Stirling has published more than 55 novels. This is the fifth novel in his "Emberverse V Rudi's Children" series of alternative history novels. 

I received an ARC of this novel through https://www.netgalley.com in return for a fair and honest review. I categorize this novel as ‘R’ because it contains scenes of Violence and Mature Language. The story is set nearly 50 years after 'The Change' with the second generation living on the altered Earth. 

Crown Princess Órlaith and Japanese Empress Reiko first lead their forces in the freeing of the Hawaiian islands. Then they lead the armies of Montival and Japan respectively to Korea in a final confrontation with the occult power that was behind the Yellow Raja. Once they have landed in Korea, they meet unexpected allies there, the descendants of Genghis Khan now rising as a force to be reckoned with in Mongolia. 

I thoroughly enjoyed the 11 hours I spent reading this 352-page alternative history fantasy. I have read most of the novels in the Emberverse series and have found them all enjoyable. I like the characters of Órlaith, Reiko, and their comrades. I think that Stirling has done a great job both with the plot for this series as well as with creating interesting leaders in a broken world. While this novel was filled with battles between the forces of Montival and her allies, the end seemed too easy and simple for the conclusion of this part of the series.  I do like the cover art selected for this novel. I give this novel a 4 out of 5.

Further book reviews I have written can be accessed at https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/. 

[Maria · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book and was very excited when I saw it at our library. Sadly, the reality failed to live up to my expectation. The ending did not round off the series as the book was mosly about Orlaith and Reiko, with bits and pieces about Pip and Prince John, and they were mostly overseas fighting. Disappointing!

[Kathleen Schrieber · Rating 1 out of 5]

Crappy ending to the series. The last three books were obviously books he didn't want to write so he did a really bad job. Should have ended the series at the end of The Prophets War rather than turning out these half ass books. Will certainly not read anything else by him.

[PATRICIA BURNS · Rating 1 out of 5]

Series has gotten stale.

[Charlie · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was somewhat rushed as others have said here with some kind of random undeveloped plot directions but I enjoyed it.
Anyhow so much time has passed that the most interesting part of these books - the new society rising out of the ashes of the old - had progressed enough that it wasn’t really that different from other fantasy books any more anyway.

[Candlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sorry to reach the end of this amazing cycle of books. Not every volume is great, and yet they are all enjoyable. The characters are interesting and admirable, the events compelling, and the ideas worthy of contemplation. It’s a place you want to enter and spend time in. It’s inspiring. Start at the beginning with Dies the Fire, and go on as long as you like.

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

So finally Stirling tells you how to pronounce Orlaith (Ooorla), the name of the Golden Princess of Montival. And it's the last book in the Change or Emberverse series. Orlaith goes through her own King Making at the Lost Lake (more adventures there), travels in between worlds. What fun. I've enjoyed this series and am really glad we aren't having to live this alternate reality.

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stirling is a peerless author and it is always joyful to read his stories. I suppose his shopping list might even be entertaining. I have followed this saga through the 3 Island in The Sea of Time novels and then the entire Emberverse series. I must saw I am a little disappointed in this final tome. The first half of the book read like the rest of the series - action and banter among characters and Stirling's trademark ability to describe a scene in a most detailed and sumptuous manner. But the end of the book read as if he were just in a hurry to finish his work (it has been an epic task so I couldn't blame him). Worst is that there was no real wrap up to the series, it just seemed to drop. No answers to any questions about the cause of the Change, not even a hint of powers beyond, or space aliens, or whatever. I have been waiting to see what his idea was to the cause - ability to change localize universal constants or something. No conclusion at all. I have been waiting for it and then nothing - like waking up on Christmas morning in Whoville.

[Michael Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

After so many looooong books we have a very short finish here. It is almost as if Stirling is just tired. But he spends a lot of time with scenes of domestic and politics while very little of the normal military scenes so common in this series. And the final confrontation is very short.
Overall this series has been exclusively presented by one author. That has challenged the reader with long and detailed descriptions of everything from how to dress and how to skin something. The series has stretched over 40 plus years but we have lost track of many characters who just dropped out of the story at some point.
The new alternate WW! series has some potential but does not really interest me. Some of the other alternate reality concepts Stirling is doing also lack interest. I think he is stuck in this genre.

[Penny · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly relieved to read a spoiler that this is the end of the series. I agree with other reviewers that this series has completely devolved into utter silliness from its beginnings as a fascinating take on survival in the Change. I have a certain silliness/implausibility factor that that I expect out of this author, but that's no excuse for terrible writing, poor plotting and as someone else said, "phoning in" on the last half dozen or so books.

[Iver · Rating 2 out of 5]

15 books, 3 generations of characters, an awesome premise and it all comes down to this steaming pile of nonsense? This book is the product of an author who no longer cares about the universe he created or the characters in it. I had so hoped we would find out who caused The Change and why but nope, instead we just got a lame ending that resolves nothing.