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Starship’s Mage #10
A Darker Magic
A bloody war has ended in a restored peace
And the shield of Martian magic guards the stars
Two centuries of spell and steel to ward all humanity
Two years ago, Lieutenant Commander Roslyn Chambers stood witness to the surrender of the last remnants of the Republic. Fueled by atrocity against Mage and mundane alike, the secessionists who waged war against the Protectorate of Mars are finally defeated.
Now, a special commission from the Mage-Queen of Mars takes Roslyn deep into the former Republic to hunt the architects of that atrocity. Mages who betrayed their own, the creators of Project Prometheus must be brought to justice.
But hidden from even the Republic, Prometheus has woven magic and technology together once more. Here, hidden from all prying eyes, they have created a monster…one that even a Protectorate forged by the spell must call black magic.
And the shield of Martian magic guards the stars
Two centuries of spell and steel to ward all humanity
Two years ago, Lieutenant Commander Roslyn Chambers stood witness to the surrender of the last remnants of the Republic. Fueled by atrocity against Mage and mundane alike, the secessionists who waged war against the Protectorate of Mars are finally defeated.
Now, a special commission from the Mage-Queen of Mars takes Roslyn deep into the former Republic to hunt the architects of that atrocity. Mages who betrayed their own, the creators of Project Prometheus must be brought to justice.
But hidden from even the Republic, Prometheus has woven magic and technology together once more. Here, hidden from all prying eyes, they have created a monster…one that even a Protectorate forged by the spell must call black magic.
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First published March 9, 2021
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About the author
Glynn Stewart
115 books1,747 followersGlynn Stewart is the author of over 60 books, including Starship’s Mage, a bestselling science fiction and fantasy series where faster-than-light travel is possible–but only because of magic.
Writing managed to liberate Glynn from a bleak future as an accountant. With his personality and hope for a high-tech future intact, he lives in Southern Ontario with his partner, their cats, and an unstoppable writing habit.
Writing managed to liberate Glynn from a bleak future as an accountant. With his personality and hope for a high-tech future intact, he lives in Southern Ontario with his partner, their cats, and an unstoppable writing habit.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 97 reviews
March 13, 2021
A rather dull entry in the series. A few pawns get moved around or taken, presumably in preparation for future installments, but nothing much happens otherwise. First half is an investigation where the answer is "it was someone you've never heard of in a place you've never seen in a manner that was thought impossible for no discernible reason." The second half is sort of an extended action scene against completely faceless opposition that is just kind of neatly resolved once its time for the book to be over.
Of the existing cast, only Roslyn makes more than a token appearance and even as the protagonist, I wouldn't say she got any growth or change. The cast of newly introduced minor characters is extensive but none of them are more than cardboard cutouts. Can you imagine we had an atheist Mage running around a theocratic former UnArcana world blowing stuff up and causing planet-level crises and there was not a single negative interaction with any local? Her involvement nearly destroyed their world and there was never even an instance of suspicion or fear or anger or anything.
Of the existing cast, only Roslyn makes more than a token appearance and even as the protagonist, I wouldn't say she got any growth or change. The cast of newly introduced minor characters is extensive but none of them are more than cardboard cutouts. Can you imagine we had an atheist Mage running around a theocratic former UnArcana world blowing stuff up and causing planet-level crises and there was not a single negative interaction with any local? Her involvement nearly destroyed their world and there was never even an instance of suspicion or fear or anger or anything.
March 11, 2021
Note: There are major spoilers in this review.
I enjoyed this book as a quick read. My biggest gripe is that it doesn't feel like part of the main Starship's mage storyline. Damien Montgomery is only featured in a few scenes. I would prefer to keep him as the primary protagonist for the main story arc since I've become attached to him over the course of the series. Instead, I would have spun this book into a new offshoot series focused on Roslyn Chambers. This could mirror the approach that was taken to explore David Rice's character after the first book.
There were also some pretty glaring inconsistencies with the plot of the novel which lowered the score from 4 stars to 3. Inconsistencies include:
- Not having anyone from MISS along to help Roslyn Chambers with the data analysis / confirm the identities of any missing agents. (This was particularly frustrating given what happened in book 9)
- Not using more than one platoon of marines for backup (especially when confronted with the size of the secret base)
- Repeatedly telling her platoon of marines to not to separate....and then telling them to separate
- Not taking a second or third mage with her when taking on at least two known enemy mages + augments
- Not using her "voice" until thousands of civilians had been killed
I enjoyed this book as a quick read. My biggest gripe is that it doesn't feel like part of the main Starship's mage storyline. Damien Montgomery is only featured in a few scenes. I would prefer to keep him as the primary protagonist for the main story arc since I've become attached to him over the course of the series. Instead, I would have spun this book into a new offshoot series focused on Roslyn Chambers. This could mirror the approach that was taken to explore David Rice's character after the first book.
There were also some pretty glaring inconsistencies with the plot of the novel which lowered the score from 4 stars to 3. Inconsistencies include:
- Not having anyone from MISS along to help Roslyn Chambers with the data analysis / confirm the identities of any missing agents. (This was particularly frustrating given what happened in book 9)
- Not using more than one platoon of marines for backup (especially when confronted with the size of the secret base)
- Repeatedly telling her platoon of marines to not to separate....and then telling them to separate
- Not taking a second or third mage with her when taking on at least two known enemy mages + augments
- Not using her "voice" until thousands of civilians had been killed
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 5, 2021
Once again, unbelievably female heavy. I find it very hard to believe that nearly every officer and noncom in the navy and marines is female.
As for the story, a very weak zombie story. The bulk of the story is rehashing the same things over and over and over and over and over..."There are 1000's of zombies, but we can't kill them because their innocents too!! Can I signal virtue any harder!!?!"
That the Mage-Queen and Damian would chose Roslyn to take the investigation into the missing MISS operatives makes NO SENSE. Roslyn has no training in investigations. She doesn't have training in the languages and culture of the planet. She doesn't have the life experience plan her actions appropriately.
Because of her inexperience, she causes the initial bomb and infection to occur. A more experienced investigator would have found a way to look before they leaped.
Because of her inexperience, she charges into the lion's den so the upgraded infection can be released. A more experienced investigator would been more subtle and found ways to isolate the lab before storming it.
In the end she's rewarded for being indirectly responsible for killing 1000's of people and hailed as a hero. I REALLY do not like Roslyn Chambers. She was pretty cool in the beginning, but now she's yet another forgettable Mary Sue.
As for the story, a very weak zombie story. The bulk of the story is rehashing the same things over and over and over and over and over..."There are 1000's of zombies, but we can't kill them because their innocents too!! Can I signal virtue any harder!!?!"
That the Mage-Queen and Damian would chose Roslyn to take the investigation into the missing MISS operatives makes NO SENSE. Roslyn has no training in investigations. She doesn't have training in the languages and culture of the planet. She doesn't have the life experience plan her actions appropriately.
Because of her inexperience, she causes the initial bomb and infection to occur. A more experienced investigator would have found a way to look before they leaped.
Because of her inexperience, she charges into the lion's den so the upgraded infection can be released. A more experienced investigator would been more subtle and found ways to isolate the lab before storming it.
In the end she's rewarded for being indirectly responsible for killing 1000's of people and hailed as a hero. I REALLY do not like Roslyn Chambers. She was pretty cool in the beginning, but now she's yet another forgettable Mary Sue.
January 30, 2023
The book started well and the story was developing quite nicely, if a little slowly.
Then came the riots and it started to go in a direction I didn’t particularly like.
The problem for me started with the idea that the riots were caused by the bomb Roslyn transported “50,00ft into the air”, this really didn’t work, at this altitude any nanites would have been carried a long way from the city. Then came the ‘Zombies’, I really don’t like zombie stories. Even without zombies I would have found this part of the story hard work to get through. Unfortunately it seems that the author isn’t going to let this storyline die.
There was one other little thing that I found a bit irritating;
Then came the riots and it started to go in a direction I didn’t particularly like.
The problem for me started with the idea that the riots were caused by the bomb Roslyn transported “50,00ft into the air”, this really didn’t work, at this altitude any nanites would have been carried a long way from the city. Then came the ‘Zombies’, I really don’t like zombie stories. Even without zombies I would have found this part of the story hard work to get through. Unfortunately it seems that the author isn’t going to let this storyline die.
There was one other little thing that I found a bit irritating;
May 10, 2021
Well written from a technical standpoint, but boring. Add to that, a main character with a martyr complex, whining about how everything the bad guys did while she was around was her fault somehow; tiresome. The only bit that moved the series along was the last chapter, the rest of it was like reading a disaster management exercise.
If this was the beginning of a series I'd drop it. As it is I'm not sure I care too much anymore, as the central character, Damien, has been effectively retired and only shows up in cameos at the beginning and near the end of the book. He too seemed to think the world(s) revolved around the outcome of his actions (albeit with some justification), but at least the series was interesting in the beginning.
If this was the beginning of a series I'd drop it. As it is I'm not sure I care too much anymore, as the central character, Damien, has been effectively retired and only shows up in cameos at the beginning and near the end of the book. He too seemed to think the world(s) revolved around the outcome of his actions (albeit with some justification), but at least the series was interesting in the beginning.
November 3, 2021
A DARKER MAGIC is the tenth book of the Starship's Mage series and the first that doesn't have much of Damien Montgomery at all in it beyond just a cameo. This is about Roslyn Chambers and her visit to a heavily Catholic planet that finds itself under attack by ZOMBIES. Yes, it is a zombie book. I think that was kind of suspension of disbelief breaking as they're far less interesting antagonists than the Republic of Faith and Reason. I also feel like making their creators Mages takes away from the setting's theme of the UnArcana worlds being metaphors for fascism. Its okay but it's not really great.
March 9, 2021
“We was robbed”
This will probably be a long review because I have lots of thoughts about this book.
Let me begin by saying that I quite like Roslyn Chambers. I would happily read lots more books with her as the main character. I would, however, prefer them to not be labelled as Starship’s Mage books. Call them Chambers’ Saga or some other name but as far as I’m concerned Starship’s Mage book should focus on Damien Montgomery and the previous book and this one clearly do not.
This is book 10, a nice round number so I had hoped for more Damien, but instead it had the least amount of Damien of all the Starship’s Mage books. He was in it for all of 10 seconds and then was never heard from again, after dropping some bombshell revelations. More about those later on.
Doing a Chambers spin-off is not a bad thing, I very much enjoyed the Red Falcon spin-off and it meant at least that readers knew what to expect: little to no Damien.
What’s in the book
I liked most of the storyline. I thought the teething problems with new tactical operations systems was going to go somewhere but it didn’t. It was merely a parallel storyline that didn’t really affect the main storyline.
Roslyn taking a while to recognize the Mage-Queen was weird. Also, adding a character named (Mage-Commander) Kristofferson was slightly confusing after multiple books featuring a completely unrelated character who was similarly named: (Dr) Christoffsen.
As always, I enjoyed the secondary characters and the almost non-stop action. Multiple times, it was emphasized how powerful a mage Chambers was, despite that, I felt that at some point she was reckless and should have called in for backup. I feel that, at some point, she will be made Hand of the Queen and then we’ll have a second Damien, a character too powerful to carry an entire story and there will probably be another focus shift, if the series continues that long (which I hope it does). Promoting Chambers at the end of every book has now happened three times, I think. If this continues, she’ll be an admiral with only 10 years of active duty…
What’s Not in the book
To repeat the title of this review: “We was robbed”. For a series called Starship’s Mage, this book and its 2-year time jump made us readers miss important events in Damien’s life. I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one who feels cheated by that. I don’t want to tell Glynn Stewart what to write (though I admit to a certain extent, I do), but skipping his partnering ceremony to Grace (I had expected a wedding given that he’s now a prince of Mars and second in line to the throne), the Rune Wright conversation and how he is suddenly second in line to the throne as well as the birth of his daughters is very sad (why do they have the last name McLaughlin?). The previous book teased about a conversation with Grace and the concept of Rune Wright children, so at the very least, I had hoped to see that scene play out. Having all this play out off-page was extremely disappointing.
This will probably be a long review because I have lots of thoughts about this book.
Let me begin by saying that I quite like Roslyn Chambers. I would happily read lots more books with her as the main character. I would, however, prefer them to not be labelled as Starship’s Mage books. Call them Chambers’ Saga or some other name but as far as I’m concerned Starship’s Mage book should focus on Damien Montgomery and the previous book and this one clearly do not.
This is book 10, a nice round number so I had hoped for more Damien, but instead it had the least amount of Damien of all the Starship’s Mage books. He was in it for all of 10 seconds and then was never heard from again, after dropping some bombshell revelations. More about those later on.
Doing a Chambers spin-off is not a bad thing, I very much enjoyed the Red Falcon spin-off and it meant at least that readers knew what to expect: little to no Damien.
What’s in the book
I liked most of the storyline. I thought the teething problems with new tactical operations systems was going to go somewhere but it didn’t. It was merely a parallel storyline that didn’t really affect the main storyline.
Roslyn taking a while to recognize the Mage-Queen was weird. Also, adding a character named (Mage-Commander) Kristofferson was slightly confusing after multiple books featuring a completely unrelated character who was similarly named: (Dr) Christoffsen.
As always, I enjoyed the secondary characters and the almost non-stop action. Multiple times, it was emphasized how powerful a mage Chambers was, despite that, I felt that at some point she was reckless and should have called in for backup. I feel that, at some point, she will be made Hand of the Queen and then we’ll have a second Damien, a character too powerful to carry an entire story and there will probably be another focus shift, if the series continues that long (which I hope it does). Promoting Chambers at the end of every book has now happened three times, I think. If this continues, she’ll be an admiral with only 10 years of active duty…
What’s Not in the book
To repeat the title of this review: “We was robbed”. For a series called Starship’s Mage, this book and its 2-year time jump made us readers miss important events in Damien’s life. I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one who feels cheated by that. I don’t want to tell Glynn Stewart what to write (though I admit to a certain extent, I do), but skipping his partnering ceremony to Grace (I had expected a wedding given that he’s now a prince of Mars and second in line to the throne), the Rune Wright conversation and how he is suddenly second in line to the throne as well as the birth of his daughters is very sad (why do they have the last name McLaughlin?). The previous book teased about a conversation with Grace and the concept of Rune Wright children, so at the very least, I had hoped to see that scene play out. Having all this play out off-page was extremely disappointing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 28, 2021
I posted in my review of Starship's Mage #9 that I felt slightly disappointed that we see so little of the titular "Starship's Mage".
In this latest installment, we double down with our protagonist, Roslyn Chambers...a fine addition to the series, make no mistake...however I think I've figured out Damien's problem, he's just got nowhere exciting left to go, with his rise to Prince-Regent, he's at the apex of mage society and as such there's precious little to currently challenge him.
Last time, I complained this was the case, this time I'm hoping that what we are seeing is Glynn build multiple threads together into a greater whole, with the hinted at "Calamity" of the incoming aliens perhaps finally giving something worth stirring Damien from Mars (Although for the love of everything, can we fix his hands please, I feel like I distinctly remember the doctor saying that it would be years before he could use them, it's been years and he feels like he's stuck in this really odd underpowered/overpowered loop...lets give him his runes back, let him swing like he used to in the earlier novels!)
An honest 5 star, if a little different from the other books....I just very much hope we're building towards a reveal in books 11/12, followed by an epic trilogy of all these beloved characters fighting to defend Humanity as a whole!
In this latest installment, we double down with our protagonist, Roslyn Chambers...a fine addition to the series, make no mistake...however I think I've figured out Damien's problem, he's just got nowhere exciting left to go, with his rise to Prince-Regent, he's at the apex of mage society and as such there's precious little to currently challenge him.
Last time, I complained this was the case, this time I'm hoping that what we are seeing is Glynn build multiple threads together into a greater whole, with the hinted at "Calamity" of the incoming aliens perhaps finally giving something worth stirring Damien from Mars (Although for the love of everything, can we fix his hands please, I feel like I distinctly remember the doctor saying that it would be years before he could use them, it's been years and he feels like he's stuck in this really odd underpowered/overpowered loop...lets give him his runes back, let him swing like he used to in the earlier novels!)
An honest 5 star, if a little different from the other books....I just very much hope we're building towards a reveal in books 11/12, followed by an epic trilogy of all these beloved characters fighting to defend Humanity as a whole!
March 22, 2021
Lazy book with zombies. So far out from what I expect of this series. It repeatedly seemed like the protagonist acted like she was alone, rather than having an entire ship full of allies in orbit, not to mention ignoring the instantaneous comms. back to literally the most powerful and intelligent people known on Mars.
It stops making sense to have "the officer on the scene" making all the decisions unilaterally without input from above when they can talk to people who are much more experienced and knowledgeable literally instantly. Can't break encryption? Send it to Mars for cracking. Not sure how to handle something? Ask for advice. Worried about multiple hostile mages? Call down a couple of the four other mages on your ship! Dumb, but at the end, she gets promoted for the multiple blunders and getting several thousand people killed.
Not to mention the over-representation of deviant sexual orientations that Glynn Stewart shoehorns into all his books. In his world, every third person is a "they" or some form of homosexual. Actually makes reading the books difficult sometimes with all the "they"s included, since that's the word used for groups of people AND when referring to non-sentient objects. If you're going to have so many non-gendered humans/aliens in your books, make up a different word to describe refer to them. Please?
It stops making sense to have "the officer on the scene" making all the decisions unilaterally without input from above when they can talk to people who are much more experienced and knowledgeable literally instantly. Can't break encryption? Send it to Mars for cracking. Not sure how to handle something? Ask for advice. Worried about multiple hostile mages? Call down a couple of the four other mages on your ship! Dumb, but at the end, she gets promoted for the multiple blunders and getting several thousand people killed.
Not to mention the over-representation of deviant sexual orientations that Glynn Stewart shoehorns into all his books. In his world, every third person is a "they" or some form of homosexual. Actually makes reading the books difficult sometimes with all the "they"s included, since that's the word used for groups of people AND when referring to non-sentient objects. If you're going to have so many non-gendered humans/aliens in your books, make up a different word to describe refer to them. Please?
August 2, 2021
Stewart is one of the more underrated writers working today. This was another fun read with Chambers taking the spotlight.
July 24, 2021
Short review:
Could have been an interesting short story. Maybe even a novella. I mean: magic! zombies! in space!
But, mostly full of bad writing choices.
So, nope. Sorry, this didn't work for me.
------
Longer review:
(Warning: spoilers and aggravated rant ahead)
So, nope. Sorry.
Could have been an interesting short story. Maybe even a novella. I mean: magic! zombies! in space!
But, mostly full of bad writing choices.
So, nope. Sorry, this didn't work for me.
------
Longer review:
(Warning: spoilers and aggravated rant ahead)
So, nope. Sorry.
November 4, 2022
Does the author know of any other plot twist beyond "betrayal". How many times has the protagonist been betrayed by someone they have come to trust way to easily and quickly (even after being betrayed in the same manner by other people in the past)? By now it is obvious to everyone that mimicking appearances is more than doable, I dare say even easy, for most infiltrators in the world of this book. Roslyn has a full profile on Killough, including a DNA sample. We know it's easy to analyze DNA in this fictional setting, and Kay (the fake Killough) didn't even look like the picture in his profile, just had a likeness. At this point I have to assume that either all the characters are purposefully dumb, the author assumes the reads are dumb, or the author doesn't know of any other plot twists to use in their books. It's so sad. I like the world the books are operating in, but without Montgomery, and with the repetitiveness of the plots throughout the books, I really don't know if there is any point to continuing to follow this series. I may try the next book, but if I so much as smell a hint of betrayal anywhere (as it has always been so obvious in the previous books), I'll be returning the book and forsaking the author completely.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 25, 2021
Interesting new view
I really love this series. I been been reading and listening for 4 years now and I recommend it to everyone I know who reads. This book was disappointing to me. If Rosalyn is going to be a new hand and Damien is going to retire in the next three books and I have to follow someone else I will be kinda disappointed. This and any future books about Rosalyn, I feel, would be better listed as a secondary series like Red Falcon was. I will continue to read, support, and recommend Glynn Stewart. I just hope that Darth Montgomery isn’t gone; I love that man too much to loose him now, especially after the last outing we got from him.
I really love this series. I been been reading and listening for 4 years now and I recommend it to everyone I know who reads. This book was disappointing to me. If Rosalyn is going to be a new hand and Damien is going to retire in the next three books and I have to follow someone else I will be kinda disappointed. This and any future books about Rosalyn, I feel, would be better listed as a secondary series like Red Falcon was. I will continue to read, support, and recommend Glynn Stewart. I just hope that Darth Montgomery isn’t gone; I love that man too much to loose him now, especially after the last outing we got from him.
March 31, 2021
Honestly this felt lacklustre and lazy. There’s no real depth or complexity to any of the characters, the story is mundane. I got fed up with so many italicised words, they made me think I was reading very young adult stuff. The religious folks are all over the top. The main character is annoyingly self-effacing. All the plot developments could be seen a mile ahead. I stayed with it because I wanted to see the series story progress, but this is just uninspired drudge. May abandon ship on the series.
March 14, 2021
This book was reasonable. I'm just getting tired of not getting to the real aliens. It's utterly obvious that that is where this series is going, which is all to the good. But we've finished off the Republic of Faith and Reason, and a sidequest to get a few rogue mad scientists felt a bit bleh. I mean the stakes were high enough and it was ok, but get to the real aliens already since we finished off RoFaR.
May 23, 2021
Boring
Verbose
The entire plot is spent on a techno-magic virus, which, (yawn) turns people in zombies. Sorry, Mr. Stewart. This one bombed.
Verbose
The entire plot is spent on a techno-magic virus, which, (yawn) turns people in zombies. Sorry, Mr. Stewart. This one bombed.
January 27, 2022
I’ve wondered when Al-generated fiction would be sufficient to meet my needs for distraction. The time might be now?
August 9, 2021
Love the previous books but just couldn't get into this one for some reason.
May 20, 2022
WHAT THE hell a side-story
You did it aging you idiot side story go in there own column stop putting them in the main series do it like Red Mage keep them separate.
You did it aging you idiot side story go in there own column stop putting them in the main series do it like Red Mage keep them separate.
May 8, 2021
I am a big fan of the series. I think this is a good one and I gave it 5 stars but i wanted 4.5 because there are some slips. Firstly, like in many book series, including those by the same author, there is a galloping power inflation. You see it in ship and weapon strength and now in magic. He handwaves Chambers' strength away by saying she is of a powerful bloodline, but the power and her reactions just turn her into Damien Montgomery with tits. It is a wasted opportunity to not only make a different character, but also a less virtuous one. The series would benefit from a central viewpoint character who thinks differently even to the point of being anti heroish, though I am not a deconstructionist and am fine with virtuous heroes. Niska was that until the author housebroke him. And, while the magic based resolution of the issue in the book is ok, albeit derivative, it would be interesting to explore how a lesser powered character would handle things, though i do not think the focus should shift away from mages.
Secondly, the planet in thos book is too poorly sketched out in comparison to Ardennes. It ends up feeling like a planet of the tokens. Ok, they are Catholic and their governor is a Cardinal. Handwaved as still democratic. Ok, but there are no extra details to mark that society as different. Ethnic ok. Everything is still the secular, current year-ish Americanized (Canucked?) gloop. A school makes an appearance in the book, why not make it a religious school? And specify that most education is provided by the Church in this presumably self selected colony, especially a young one, when the founder effect is most in evidence. Maybe introduce some cultural issues, like resolving the throaway line of attraction between Chambers and a local through a cultural embarrassment regarding sexual attitudes. Make the vulgarly antisocial attitudes of the token professional criminal in the book also relate to hostility at being a Buddhist or Muslim in a Christian centered society. Something like that.
And, frankly, I can't summon any enthusiasm for the future big reveal the author is building up towards. The series is at its best when exploring the world. Introducing aliens or whatever at some point in the future detracts from that. This is why i found the civil war and the politucal adventure in the Ardennes to be the most interesting parts of the series.
Nevertheless, this is a favorite series of mine and I eagerly await every new entry. Looking forward to no 11.
PS Didn't Montgomery use Exalt in a previous book?
Secondly, the planet in thos book is too poorly sketched out in comparison to Ardennes. It ends up feeling like a planet of the tokens. Ok, they are Catholic and their governor is a Cardinal. Handwaved as still democratic. Ok, but there are no extra details to mark that society as different. Ethnic ok. Everything is still the secular, current year-ish Americanized (Canucked?) gloop. A school makes an appearance in the book, why not make it a religious school? And specify that most education is provided by the Church in this presumably self selected colony, especially a young one, when the founder effect is most in evidence. Maybe introduce some cultural issues, like resolving the throaway line of attraction between Chambers and a local through a cultural embarrassment regarding sexual attitudes. Make the vulgarly antisocial attitudes of the token professional criminal in the book also relate to hostility at being a Buddhist or Muslim in a Christian centered society. Something like that.
And, frankly, I can't summon any enthusiasm for the future big reveal the author is building up towards. The series is at its best when exploring the world. Introducing aliens or whatever at some point in the future detracts from that. This is why i found the civil war and the politucal adventure in the Ardennes to be the most interesting parts of the series.
Nevertheless, this is a favorite series of mine and I eagerly await every new entry. Looking forward to no 11.
PS Didn't Montgomery use Exalt in a previous book?
February 17, 2023
This is the first official Roslyn Chambers novel in the Starship's Mage universe, Book 1 in the series Mage-Officer of Mars, and as such was written as an Origin Story. This is a strategic flaw because for long term readers, we don't need an introduction to a character that has been around for 3+ novels. Glynn Stewart wants us to treat The Service of Mars as the ending of Arc 2 (UnArcana Rebellion), but that novel already felt like Roslyn's main character debut. This mismatch in expectations results in a below standard novel.
If you pick up this novel expecting an Origin Story, I think it'll be fine. For me, I didn't care for a self-contained story, purposefully set on the fringes of civilization to reduce complexity, with teasers to the larger universe. There are no long-term arcs of importance and while it's entertaining, I suspect it can be skipped without impacting the enjoyment of future novels.
Recommended only for completionists.
If you pick up this novel expecting an Origin Story, I think it'll be fine. For me, I didn't care for a self-contained story, purposefully set on the fringes of civilization to reduce complexity, with teasers to the larger universe. There are no long-term arcs of importance and while it's entertaining, I suspect it can be skipped without impacting the enjoyment of future novels.
Recommended only for completionists.
May 23, 2021
I pre-ordered the audiobook version after I blew through every mage audiobook before it. I found the audio narration to be amazing and the story lines of the previous books to be very entertaining and so was very much looking forward to this new installment. I wasn't disappointed!
This book continues with the familiar tactile officer chambers that was introduced as Montgomery's and alexanders protege. However this time she is the star of the plot, as she is in a mission from the new mage queen, while Montgomery is back on Mars acting as Prince regent. Because Glynn did such a good job of building up chambers as a character, I didn't mind that she was the main lead, in fact she is quite interesting in her own right. The modesty trait of always thinking she is only doing her duty fits well with her actions as the heroin.
While the plot isn't as unusual as the early books, it is interesting and certainly gains pace by the end portion of the book.
Overall I enjoyed the book and it is good to hear that this is the first in a new series of books 'officer of mars'.
I do however hope we see the mysterious creators of the rune language soon though, as it's been alluded to a few times now.
This book continues with the familiar tactile officer chambers that was introduced as Montgomery's and alexanders protege. However this time she is the star of the plot, as she is in a mission from the new mage queen, while Montgomery is back on Mars acting as Prince regent. Because Glynn did such a good job of building up chambers as a character, I didn't mind that she was the main lead, in fact she is quite interesting in her own right. The modesty trait of always thinking she is only doing her duty fits well with her actions as the heroin.
While the plot isn't as unusual as the early books, it is interesting and certainly gains pace by the end portion of the book.
Overall I enjoyed the book and it is good to hear that this is the first in a new series of books 'officer of mars'.
I do however hope we see the mysterious creators of the rune language soon though, as it's been alluded to a few times now.
March 9, 2021
This Could Be a Movie
Right off the bat, SURPRISES! While this book doesn't focus on Damien Montgomery, he does make appearances, briefly.
Roslyn Chambers, former juvenile delinquent, now mage lieutenant commander in the Martian navy, is not really any longer new to being at the top of the food chain. The price she's paid to get and stay there has been steep, though.
Roslyn is a great character because she is honest and flawed, but always does her best.
This book itself has, maybe not as extreme as usual, plot twists that Glynn is famous for. I could easily see this book being a movie. It keeps your attention throughout.
I did receive an ARC for free in exchange for an honest review.
Right off the bat, SURPRISES! While this book doesn't focus on Damien Montgomery, he does make appearances, briefly.
Roslyn Chambers, former juvenile delinquent, now mage lieutenant commander in the Martian navy, is not really any longer new to being at the top of the food chain. The price she's paid to get and stay there has been steep, though.
Roslyn is a great character because she is honest and flawed, but always does her best.
This book itself has, maybe not as extreme as usual, plot twists that Glynn is famous for. I could easily see this book being a movie. It keeps your attention throughout.
I did receive an ARC for free in exchange for an honest review.
March 10, 2021
I have really enjoyed this series and this book maintains the high enjoyment level. On the negative side the author continues to tantalize and tease of a bigger subplot that never moves far forward. Who or what was behind original Mars experiments and the current organization preparing to defend against their return. This sub plot that runs through the series has moved into the slightly annoying level.
I believe this book can be read alone but familiarity with the storyline background will add to full understanding and enjoyment.
A bio weapon left over from the war and a race to find those behind it and prevent mass destruction. A spy thriller, magic, spaceships, and zombies? What else could we want. No vampires!
I believe this book can be read alone but familiarity with the storyline background will add to full understanding and enjoyment.
A bio weapon left over from the war and a race to find those behind it and prevent mass destruction. A spy thriller, magic, spaceships, and zombies? What else could we want. No vampires!
April 16, 2021
Another excellent book in the Starship's Mage series. Though I miss Damien I love how fully Roslyn (as the new MC) is being developed. I wish there was more space-oriented combat or just use of magic in general, but the plot of the book was enticing enough that I didn't mind. That being said I absolutely love the continued plot line of blending magic and science to achieve novel results; something only possible in a series like this with a unique backdrop. Lastly, I still love the sem-frequnt lines lines of "what use is Her Majesty's Protectorate if we don't protect people?" I hope Glynn continues to make the eloquent speeches he always throws into all of his books. Especially when said by Damien and other MC's.
May 27, 2022
I read the first 12 books of this series back-to-back over the course of a month. They are not distinct stories in my memory, so I've reviewing them as a group. I liked the start of the series quite a lot, but by book 12, it's gotten rather predictable. There are even pet phrases that repeat multiple times in each book. "What is her Majesty's protectorate if we do not protect?" for example. There's also some Marines cheerleading that feels forced to me, and a moral high ground perspective that goes unchallenged by human nature and gray areas. Eventually, the books became entirely predictable. It was well written enough to keep me entertained, but not interesting enough to get great ratings from me.
October 1, 2024
Lieutenant Commander Roslyn Chambers has been sent by the Mage-Queen of Mars to the ex-Republic world. She wants to bring the people behind Project Prometheus to justice. Unfortunately, she finds that a hidden organization has weaved together magic and technology to create something that is called the Orpheus weapon. Now Roslyn Chambers has to find a cure for this biological weapon, which causes people to become murderous monsters that trample each other and kill people. The book is descriptive, exciting, and interesting; I enjoyed it very much and I highly recommend A Darker Magic to people who enjoy science fiction, magic, space travel, and books about biological weapons.
- Echo (they/it)
- Echo (they/it)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 10, 2021
This entry in the Starship’s Mage series focuses on Roslyn Chambers as the protagonist. After the part she played in The Service of Mars, I was hoping we’d get a book mainly dedicated to her, and we did. The author has created a rich universe and many characters who can take centre stage. This has prevented the series from getting ‘stale’. This was a very good entry into the series and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I look forward to reading more about Roslyn Chambers, however I hope Damien Montgomery plays a bigger part in the next book. 5 stars.
March 13, 2021
Chambers to the rescue and pulls out all the stops
Definitely enjoyable and didn't suffer from "too many characters" syndrome. Having a protagonist that isn't all-powerful makes for interesting story progression and conflict resolution options, so while I miss following Damian, Chambers picks up the baton nicely.
With what we know from previous books, the last chapter leads me to believe we're coming to a major conflict point with mysterious outsiders and I eagerly look forward to the next story arc!
Definitely enjoyable and didn't suffer from "too many characters" syndrome. Having a protagonist that isn't all-powerful makes for interesting story progression and conflict resolution options, so while I miss following Damian, Chambers picks up the baton nicely.
With what we know from previous books, the last chapter leads me to believe we're coming to a major conflict point with mysterious outsiders and I eagerly look forward to the next story arc!
March 24, 2021
Yet another brilliant read from Mr. Stewart
Although I do miss Damien as the chief protagonist, Mage-Commander Chambers has done a very good job filling the void left by his absence. I suppose a story about a zombie apocalypse should not be surprising in a story which blends technology with magic, Mr. Stewart's use of magical nanotech was a novel approach. The ending, while not a complete surprise, did reveal the existence of a group I had thought Damien had eliminated. I look forward to the continuing story.
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Although I do miss Damien as the chief protagonist, Mage-Commander Chambers has done a very good job filling the void left by his absence. I suppose a story about a zombie apocalypse should not be surprising in a story which blends technology with magic, Mr. Stewart's use of magical nanotech was a novel approach. The ending, while not a complete surprise, did reveal the existence of a group I had thought Damien had eliminated. I look forward to the continuing story.
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