The Shaman of Karres

The Witches of Karres #4

by Eric Flint, Dave Freer

NEW ENTRY IN THE WITCHES OF KARRES SERIES BY NEW YORK TIMES BEST-SELLING AUTHOR ERIC FLINT & DAVE FREER

Captain Pausert just can’t catch a break!

First, he became the mortal enemy of his fiancée, his home planet, the Empire—and even the Worm World, the darkest threat to mankind in all of space. All because he helped rescue three slave children from their masters. Of course, these three young women were the universally feared Witches of Karres—but how was he to know that?!

And after he defeated the Worm World (with the help of the witches, of course), the Empress herself had sent him on a secret mission to stop a nanite plague that was raging across the galaxy. But an enemy had somehow convinced the Imperial Fleet that he was actually a wanted criminal, so after a battle leaving his ship in urgent need of repairs, Pausert and the witches of Karres joined an interstellar traveling circus in order to save the galaxy.

Now Pausert and the witches of Karres roam the spaceways again, this time dealing with a slaver-culture that somehow makes slaves happy to be in servitude, and a quest for a long-lost alien pet, during which the youngest witch, The Leewit, begins to come to her full powers as a healer—and of course generates chaos in her wake.

For Pausert, it’s all in a day’s work. But would it be too much to ask for a vacation?

Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Romance, Science Fiction Fantasy

314 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 5, 2020

About the author

Eric Flint was a New York Times bestselling American author, editor, and e-publisher. The majority of his main works were alternate history science fiction, but he also wrote humorous fantasy adventures.

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very nice wrap-up of the trilogy that Flint and Freer and Lackey (though she did not contribute to this volume) wrote over a long stretch as a follow-up to Schmitz's classic The Witches of Karres from 1966. The plot-lines are all tied-up, the families are re-united, the bad guys get their just desserts (and it turns out that not all of them were all bad), and, most importantly, the three little girls have all grown up. It's a warm, feel-good story, though I believe most people would be lost in this one if they were unfamiliar with the preceding volumes. (This one even scored a good cover, which the previous two lacked.) It's a good old-fashioned science fiction story with a fine fantasy feel. I think Schmitz would have approved.

[Peter Tillman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid 4-stars from me for this series wrap-up to the Witches of Karres. But don't start here!

The history of this series goes all the way back to 1949, when James H. Schmitz published a novelette of that title, which was well-received. He expanded that story into a short novel in 1966. It was nominated for the Hugo Award then, and has stayed in print more-or-less continuously ever since. I liked it a lot way back when, and still do: my 4-star review is at https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... If you've never read it, or it's been awhile, you should check it out.

Then go on to this pleasant, feel-good sequel, which I thoroughly enjoyed. A good old-fashioned SFF adventure. Very nicely done: recommended reading. This was one of Eric Flint's last books. He passed away in 2022, and he's missed.

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an entirely satisfying read!

The Leewit comes into her own in this book. Book Four of the Witches of Karres series is a terrific way to wrap up the series!

The first book in the series (written by James Schmitz) came out in 1966. The three books after that were written by Eric Flint and Dave Freer (with Mercedes Lackey as well for book two) between 2004 and 2020.

We had to wait ten years for this final book but the wait was definitely worth it!

Highly recommended for a wonderful, last romp with our favorite Witches of Karres characters! (Yes, you could potentially read Shaman of Karres by itself but you will absolutely enjoy it more if you have read the first three books first.)

Well done and thanks for giving us this one last book!

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the final (so far) volume in the Karres sequence. I found the opening section a bit awkward with some loose ends in the Goth Slave ship episode. But the novel soon improves. We get more of the background of the Captain and his family. The Leewit comes into her own and dominates a good bit of the novel. Of course, this is not a stand-alone and to appreciate it to the full one must have read the previous books.

Is there more to come? It would be nice if there were.

[Henry Lazarus · Rating 3 out of 5]

The late James H. Schmitz started The Witches of Karres (paper) with a novelette in 1949. Eric Flint and David Freer tell of the time when the Leewit, a five-year-old in the original, is full into her powers as a teenager and The Shaman of Karres (hard from Baen). She and Captain Pausert take the Venture into a war zone to somehow stop one side from winning a centuries old war, because the prognosticators of Karres predict the result will be horrible. It takes them several adventures to get there. At the same time, Goth who is now old enough to have feelings for Captain Pausert, makes her own way to the embattled planet. The usual light fun ensues with difficulties eased by the psionic powers of the witches.Review printed by Philadelphia Free Press

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my 2nd of the 4 books in the series, I've previously read book 2. So having missed 2/3rds of the previous books in the series I have to say this was still a pleasure to read. The characters are interesting, and they develop (something so many writers don't seem to do well anymore). The strengths and weakness are balanced well enough, and there is a decent amount of uncertainty regarding who is out to best or assist who (and that changes throughout the book as well). All in all well worth the read, but then that is typical of Eric Flint's books - you can trust them to be worth reading.

[Travis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read and loved each and every book in this series, and it's great to see the newest book in the series is as good as the others, even if was written by another author. Love the series, love this book, and it helps that I love the author too.
Scifi at it's best with a bit of fantasy thrown in (if you want to read it that way), but if you don't like fantasy creping into your scifi, then it's easy enough to pawn it all off as sufficiently advanced science.

[Rob Paczkowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

This does not have specific spoilers but general overview ones so read with caution. Read all 4!. See my reviews of previous books. If you like the first, the rest seem like stand alone's and can be but what a fun twist and turn to conclusion by reading all three. There are connections. I'm so glad these authors brought it to a conclusion with the possibility of off shoot stories. But with even these "new" authors doing these books, it took 18 year for these 3 to be made.

[Charles MacCracken · Rating 5 out of 5]

My only complaint is that it took 10 years to produce. Of course I have read and enjoyed many of the books in other series written by the two authors during those years. Flint and Freer have produced another first rate novel. They have the knack of making their characters come alive. Here The Leewit is forced, kicking and screaming, to grow up. Very entertaining.

[Maurynne Maxwell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I will never get over the nostalgia of reading the original works of James H. Schmitz when I was young, so I have a soft spot for these. Not nearly as engaging as the Telzey books, but the most appropriate for continuing on with different writers. Does live up to the light-heartedness of the originals.

[Ted · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm still craving more stories about Karres, but all the books have been amazing.

The characters pop! The story is fascinating, and the Kalatha Magic satisfies my desire for ,magic in the universe. Read It!

[Alanajames · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this one as I did the whole series

Fingers crossed there will be another someday. Truly
Memorablep
Characters and circumstances. Read when you want something delightful. Or sit want to relax

[Psyckers · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent read with fantastic and well thought characters, a good dose of swashbuckling and thrills that result in great character development, imaginative scenes and mysteries galore.
Well worth reading and very hard to put down. Definitely recommended on its own or as part of the trilogy.

[Frank Steele · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this series

[Paul D.]

A good ending

A long and righteous journey over many years. And a good and satisfying ending. With still the option of a further adventure.

[John W H · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can’t really add to what previous reviews have stated so well.
I read the original book (Witches of Karres) many years ago shortly after its paperback release and enjoyed it. Rediscovering it lately was still enjoyable particularly with its slight re-editing by the late Eric Flint at Baen books.
I quickly read all the sequels which were all quite entertaining and respected the style and heart of the original.
This last novel is a good wrap up and I am grateful that Eric Flint and Baen books gave life to these Witches. If you’re interested though, please read the original first.

[Gary L. Brock · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great read! Many years from the first to the last ( so far). I enjoyed the character play and plots!

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent sequel to the classic Witches of Karres. Though the magic seems a bit too much at times.

[Squeaky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story, lots of things are sorta tied up.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just reread the whole series, in honor of the recent passing of Eric Flint. I originally read this book years ago, when it was first published and was a bit surprised at the end. Has this book been revised since its original publication?

In the first book (written by James H. Schmitz) the underage witch Goth declares that she is going to marry the adult Pausert when she's old enough. This plot line carries through all four books as Goth gets older and they travel together through a number of adventures. At the ending of this book, they return to the planet Karres to get married.

That's not what I remember from originally reading this book, though. I remember being vaguely dissatisfied that this plot thread wasn't resolved and especially as it looked unlikely that the series would ever get a fifth book.

Am I just misremembering the book, or was the ending changed to provide a more satisfactory ending to the series? 🤔

[Jane · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved The Witches of Karres, en the second book, written by M. Lackey & Eric Flint, was a good book. But parts 3 and 4 are much worse written, with unreal behaviour and unreal dialogues. This one has The Leewit as the main character, but the way she talks is as if she is supposed to be simultaneously a 7 year old from the first book, and an adult from the last book. Poorly done, uncomfortable.
Also, the plot is a bit far-fetched, and I read that it wraps up all the questions nicely, but I found it mostly dragging out all sorts of things that add nothing to the whole. I could have left it at the first two parts.

[Shirley Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Witches of Karres was my favorite book as a teenager. I have read it several times. This sequel is a perfect follow up to the original novels. The author channeled the original characters perfectly.

[Shae Erisson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great cap to the series, while I hope there will be more, this feels like a good ending point.