The Price of the Stars

I first read this book some years ago and it a testament to the story that I somehow return to it once a year even though I no longer read much science fiction. This wonderful space opera introduces a wonderful cast of characters and a suitably convoluted plot to carry through the series. Space battles, mysterious enemies with unknown powers, sibling dramas and voyages of personal discovery- the Mage Worlds series has them all! I especially love that the main character is Beka, a rebellious young woman who left home rather than continue her training as the hereditary ruler to a dead planet. When her mother is assassinated, Beka starts a quest to hunt down the killers and ends up saving the galaxy. Of course, the saving the galaxy part show more doesn't happen until later in the series, but the cornerstones are all laid in this first book. A great read that stands the test of time- 5 stars! show less

This is the first book of the Magewar trilogy. They are just about my favorite space opera, hence the reread. They're essentially a different take on the Star Wars trilogy. Instead of a princess, a dashing starpilot and his alien sidekick, and a mystical young hero with android sidekicks, we get the Rosselin-Metadi siblings (from youngest to oldest): Beka (princess and swashbucklinging starpilot rolled into one), Owen (unassuming mystical apprentice Adept who fights with two-handed staff), and Ari (the giant but peaceful medic in the Space Force). They've got the political, religious, and military angles all covered amongst themselves.

Like the original Star Wars trilogy, these books represent the second generation. Their parents are the show more famous Domina Perada Rosselin and General Jos Metadi, who were instrumental in stopping the Mages from taking over the "civilized galaxy." Their story is told in the prequel, which I always find interesting for the "continuity errors" between its narrative and the legends/history as portrayed in the main trilogy.

Anyway, Beka is the main plot driver, and most (but certainly not all) of the action revolves around her, but the story jumps around among the three siblings and their important supporting characters. It's a fast-paced action story with some very amusing dialogue.

Beside the main character differences from Star Wars, these books also differ on the story angle. Rather than being a battle between good and evil (or the Dark Side of the Force), it's really about two different cultures and philosophies/religions: the Adepts believe in a kind of metaphysical noninterference policy and are essentially individualists, while the Mages (who fight with one-handed staffs) believe in manipulating space-time/reality for higher purposes and work in groups ("Circles"). The battles with staffs involve just as much light show as lightsabers, but it's generated by each individual's own power rather than a little gizmo. So the Mages aren't evil, per se, just different, and from a different part of the galaxy.

Those are the reasons why I like the stories.

Problems: well, once again, an entire galaxy of white people, even from two apparently completely distinct civilizations. Only one person in the entire series is described as being brown, and with all of the extras involved in such an epic tale, there's plenty of room for more. And of course, as far as we know, everyone is straight.

However, I must say that a definite strength is that there is about a 50:50 gender ratio in terms of characters. If anything, when two secondary characters are presented, the woman is more likely to be in the leadership position. So lots of strong women characters as both protagonists and window dressing. Definitely passes the Bechdel/Wallace test.

Nonhumans get pretty short shrift too; I mean, really, an entire galaxy full of two human civilizations? The Selvaurs are the only ones that get any playtime in the story, since one of them is Jos Metadi's engineer during his privateer days during the Magewar (pilot with alien sidekick, check) in the prequel. It was this relationship that allowed Jos and Perada to begin to form an allied space fleet to kick Mage ass, so the Selvaurs played a pretty pivotal role in the historical context.

And since Ari, the oldest sibling, was fostered on the Selvaur homeworld to cement that alliance, the Selvaurs do turn up as relatively minor characters throughout the trilogy. The only other aliens who make a very brief appearance are the Rotis, who show up in By Honor Betray'd during a key plot moment. That's it? C'mon. What's the use of space opera with some aliens if you don't have fun with it?

And what's with this "civilized" space thing? The Mages are barbarians? They clearly have better technology in a few different fields. They're a unified culture, as opposed to the hodgepodge of independent planets of the Adept territories. And if they were so hurting for goods in their home territory that they needed to start raiding "civilized" space (Vikings, anyone?), how the hell did they get the advanced technology in the first place? So some flaws to basic underlying premises and the way the story is framed.

But hey, if you ignore subtext (subtext, what's that?) and lack of representation and the general shallowness of the story, characters, etc., it is entertaining. And like I said, an interesting spin on Star Wars, defects aside. show less

I decided to put a hold on The Price of the Stars, written by Debra Doyle and James D. MacDonald, after reading this article on swashbuckling science fiction heroes from the past 100 years. I mean, just look at that cover! She is wearing a red eye-patch! Anyway, reading this book was definitely one of the better decisions (reading-related or otherwise) I've made recently; it was the perfect combination of action, adventure, romance, humor, magic, and techno-geekery to help me celebrate the turning of the year.

Beka Rosselin-Metadi is the youngest child of a powerful politician and the head of the galaxy's military forces, both of whom were responsible for essentially saving the universe at some point predating The Price of the Stars. show more Given the weight of all that prestige, and the fact that she is slated to inherit her mother's title as ruler of a now-dead planet, it's little surprise that Beka left town as soon as possible to become a freewheeling starship pilot. However, after her mother is assassinated on the Senate floor, her father tracks her down and offers her a bargain: his prized ship Warhammer for the names of those responsible. With the assistance of a mysterious stranger, she assumes the alternate personality of a ruthless (male) gunslinger with a reputation for violence and begins her hunt, uncovering in the process the shape of a much larger conspiracy that may stretch into the sinister Mageworlds themselves.

Doyle and MacDonald present the story from five primary points of view: Beka, her equally talented brother Ari, the urbane medic Jessan (himself secret royalty), the Adept Llannat, and the much put-upon Commander Gil, aide to General Metadi himself. The characters are engaging, and the plot--well, here is the best recommendation I can give it (and I am aware that this will immediately date me): The Price of the Stars reminded me of the original Star Wars, except the female characters were infinitely more kick-ass, the dialogue was better, and the worldbuilding felt like it had the weight of serious thought behind it. A delicious romp through space! show less

This is Star Wars fanfiction, and I mean that in the best possible sense: the copyrighted details have been changed, but the same heart beats here.

The Price of the Stars is a space opera, complete with a roguish spaceship captain (comes standard with one specially-outfitted ship), a wise old mentor-type (may say cryptic things and speak in overly formal tones), and a few people with prices on their heads (some of them family). And a mystical energy that Adepts and Mages can control. Remind you of anything?

Yes, it's all a bit Star Wars-esque. Still, Beka Rosselin-Metadi (the aforementioned captain) is no orphaned farmboy from the back of beyond, and her skills in flying and fighting are tested to breaking as she works to discover who assassinated her mother. On the up side, there are at least two great female main characters. On the down side, it rather seems like the rest of show more galaxy is male. Ah, well.

It takes some time for the story to get going, but once it does, it just doesn't stop. The second half of the book is a steady stream of ground skirmishes, space battles, spy missions, training exercises - and the occasional war room where they plan skirmishes, battles, and missions. It definitely took awhile for me to get into it, but then I couldn't put it down. show less

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Title: The Price of the Stars
Series: Mageworlds #1
Authors: Debra Doyle & James Macdonald
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: SFF
Pages: 406
Words: 143.5K

Synopsis:

From Fritzfreiheit.com/wiki/Mageworlds_(series)

Freebooter at heart, spacer by trade, Beka Rosselin-Metadi doesn't want to hear about how her father whose rugged general ship held back the Mageworlds -- or her highborn mother whose leadership has held the galaxy together since. Beka pilots spacecraft show more -- as far from her famous family as possible.

Then Beka's mother is assassinated on the Senate floor, and her father offers her the title to Warhammer, prize ship from his own freebooting youth -- if she agrees to deliver the assassins to him "off the books."

Looking for assassins has a tendency to make assassins look for you. In doing so, Beka's arranged her own very public death and adopted a new identity; now all she has to do is leave a trail of kidnappings and corpses across five star systems, and blow the roof off the strongest private fortress in the galaxy.

My Thoughts:

This book, the first of seven, was published in 1992. Timothy Zahn had published his seminal Heir to the Empire in 1991 which ignited the much beloved and much maligned Star Wars Extended Universe. This obviously was trying to catch some of that popularity. While it may not have taken off like the EU, where it was FAR more successful was in how it passed the torch to the next generation.

What killed the the EU (besides Lucas simply killing it off because he's a jackass, just like Disney, but Disney is a jackass whore) was the fact that none of the writers used ever created any characters who could hold a torch to the Big 3 (Luke, Leia and Han). Even one of the final books, Crucible, was ALL about those 3 characters while ignoring sub-characters who were supposed to be the next generation of heroes.

Doyle & Macdonald don't make the mistake of passing the torch. That's already done. And what's more, one of the big 3 is killed right at the beginning, thus propelling the whole adventure. It was handled masterfully. When I started the Galaxy's Edge series I was overpowered by the Star Wars vibe. It was Stormtroopers as the goodguys and it was fantastic. This series had the Star Wars vibe, but it was much more of the rogue'ish trader and mystic than the military. It was a different aspect but it was just as fun.

My only complaint was that the timeline didn't feel like it was told as. I believe this book was supposed to have taken about 2 years but honestly, it felt like 2 months. That's a nitpicky thing, I know.

★★★★☆ show less

This book serves as a very fun beginning to a surprisingly good series that doesn't seem to get as much attention as it merits. The later Mageworld books have been a bit uneven, but I recommend the initial trilogy to any fan of space opera, and I have reasonably high hopes for the pre-prequil series currently in progess. The strengths of the series are its likable characters, an interesting magic system, and some well set up surprises. It combines military action, political scheming, and interstellar espionage, with some effective fantasy elements (kind of like star wars, sans any pretensions).