Some soldiers are the shields of innocent souls
Others are the fanatics of their cause
And for them…no war is ever truly over!
Tempered on the anvil of the war against the secessionist UnArcana Worlds and tested against the evil of Project Orpheus, Mage-Commander Roslyn Chambers has risen through the ranks of the Royal Martian Navy to serve as second-in-command of one of their most prestigious battlecruisers, Duke of Magnificence.
A desperate call for help sends Roslyn and her new ship deep into the frontiers of Protectorate space, where they discover that hold-outs of the UnArcana Worlds’ fleets have returned to plunder innocent ships across the Fringe.
To protect the innocent and serve her Queen, Roslyn Chambers must rise to the task before her. She must learn to command—both herself and a warship of the Mage-Queen of Mars!
There is something that reminds me of Heration Hornblower with this one, quite a fun book, I really enjoyed it, kind of wild that I'm almost already through all of the books in the main series now, just a couple to go, I still enjoy these ones just as much as the first ones :) It's again the same thing that really comes out to me, people are good and trying to help each other, and that just feels nice :)
Mage-Commander finally has Roslyn Chambers stepping out of the shadow of Damien Montegomery and finding her own path. This path is a Horatio Hornblower-style naval career (ie. rising star during a war), and we find ourselves ensconced in the machinery of the Protectorate's navy with the focus on a single ship instead of the multi-star system fleet battles that were a hallmark of the UnArcana arc. I admit I was expecting Roslyn to replace Damien as another Hand, and so I'm pleasantly surprised by her turn at the helm of a space ship.
The fallout of the UnArcana rebellion is finally upon us, and the universe expands by skipping forward several years, as well as introducing new areas of the Protectorate. Returning to the daily tasks of a starship and its interactions with various space stations, it pleasantly reminds me of the first Starship's Mage novel. I'm happy to lower …
Mage-Commander finally has Roslyn Chambers stepping out of the shadow of Damien Montegomery and finding her own path. This path is a Horatio Hornblower-style naval career (ie. rising star during a war), and we find ourselves ensconced in the machinery of the Protectorate's navy with the focus on a single ship instead of the multi-star system fleet battles that were a hallmark of the UnArcana arc. I admit I was expecting Roslyn to replace Damien as another Hand, and so I'm pleasantly surprised by her turn at the helm of a space ship.
The fallout of the UnArcana rebellion is finally upon us, and the universe expands by skipping forward several years, as well as introducing new areas of the Protectorate. Returning to the daily tasks of a starship and its interactions with various space stations, it pleasantly reminds me of the first Starship's Mage novel. I'm happy to lower the stakes from the ridiculous heights of creating a Constitution and defending the whole of the Protectorate!
I have nitpicks, primarily that the challenges Roslyn faces feel underwhelming at times... so much so that she's starting to feel a bit Mary Sue. As an author, you really need to be careful if your main character's biggest problem is that they're too modest of their successes. Glynn Stewart has managed to walk that fine line, but I really don't want any more conversations where people tell Roslyn how amazing she is. If you are sensitive to these problems, then you might want to pass, but these are nitpicks and I'm happy now that the next stage of Starship's Mage is finally here.
