paperback, 357 pages
Published Dec. 10, 2018 by Faolan's Pen Publishing Inc.
A humanitarian mission into unfriendly stars A training cruise under the watch of a fortified fleet base The closing jaws of a trap years in the making
It has been over a year since the UnArcana Worlds of the Protectorate of the Mage-King of Mars seceded, shattering the unity of the human race. The new Republic of Faith and Reason has raised new banners in defiance of the power of the Protectorate’s Mage aristocracy.
Now, Hand Damien Montgomery commands a relief mission to a Republic world ravaged by famine. His humanitarian mission collides with a newborn military beginning to flex its muscles—and a newborn nation prepared to accept no violations of its sovereignty, regardless of their needs.
Elsewhere, disaster strikes the Nia Kriti Fleet Base as an earthquake shatters their only communication with the rest of the Protectorate. Officer-in-training Roslyn Chambers is in the middle of the recovery effort when …
A humanitarian mission into unfriendly stars A training cruise under the watch of a fortified fleet base The closing jaws of a trap years in the making
It has been over a year since the UnArcana Worlds of the Protectorate of the Mage-King of Mars seceded, shattering the unity of the human race. The new Republic of Faith and Reason has raised new banners in defiance of the power of the Protectorate’s Mage aristocracy.
Now, Hand Damien Montgomery commands a relief mission to a Republic world ravaged by famine. His humanitarian mission collides with a newborn military beginning to flex its muscles—and a newborn nation prepared to accept no violations of its sovereignty, regardless of their needs.
Elsewhere, disaster strikes the Nia Kriti Fleet Base as an earthquake shatters their only communication with the rest of the Protectorate. Officer-in-training Roslyn Chambers is in the middle of the recovery effort when she realizes Nia Kriti is under attack.
The Republic is done with peace. They are coming for the Protectorate—and they will see the fleets of Mars break!
I really do like this story, but now the stakes are starting to be a bit higher than what I personally enjoy, still, the characters are great, and they are still cooperating and being nice, which I do really enjoy.
I took a break from the Starship's Mage series for about a year and so jumping back into this series via UnArcana Stars feels like a mental adrenaline shot. Glynn Stewart writes incredible space opera, with highly developed world-building and a complete and utter lack of regard for the status quo. I've always enjoyed his writing and this is no exception. UnArcana Stars is a triumph within the universe of the Protectorate of Mars, and I highly recommend this novel to anyone who has gotten this far.
What makes this novel stand out is that it does not hold back. Glynn Stewart will break that implicit agreement between author and reader that the foundational elements of a universe are sacrosanct. World-shattering events just keep crushing the reader with their far reaching scope, and UnArcana Stars takes this even further as it ties together multiple plot threads from the previous novels …
I took a break from the Starship's Mage series for about a year and so jumping back into this series via UnArcana Stars feels like a mental adrenaline shot. Glynn Stewart writes incredible space opera, with highly developed world-building and a complete and utter lack of regard for the status quo. I've always enjoyed his writing and this is no exception. UnArcana Stars is a triumph within the universe of the Protectorate of Mars, and I highly recommend this novel to anyone who has gotten this far.
What makes this novel stand out is that it does not hold back. Glynn Stewart will break that implicit agreement between author and reader that the foundational elements of a universe are sacrosanct. World-shattering events just keep crushing the reader with their far reaching scope, and UnArcana Stars takes this even further as it ties together multiple plot threads from the previous novels and brings them all together. Our heroes are constantly faced with unbelievable odds and even when you think they're okay, the antagonists come up yet another surprise. I often felt like I needed to take a break from UnArcana Stars, just because it was so fast paced!
And so to summarize - a book that rewards its fans with invested subplots coming to fruition, surprise after surprise having long-term impact, and heroes doing their best facing long odds.
Highly recommended.
