eBook
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Published by Faolan's Pen Publishing.
Beyond the borders of the Protectorate Beyond the eyes of the Royal Martian Navy Beyond the reach of the Mage-Queen Innocents cry out for help—and Mars will answer!
When the Royal Martian Navy moved against reports of piracy in the Fringe Systems, the last thing Mage-Commander Roslyn Chambers expected was to find was a malignant remnant of the defeated Republic of Faith and Reason.
Now the Royal Martian Navy knows their enemy and their Mage-Queen has charged them to bring the First Legion, conquerors of the hidden colonies beyond the Fringe, to justice. The Legion knows the RMN’s tricks, though, and has cleverly concealed their tracks.
As Chambers and the spy Kelly Lamonte sweep distant stars for the trail of their enemies, the fleets of Mars gather behind them—but the fate of millions may lie in the hands of a woman none of them have ever met.
A woman the …
Beyond the borders of the Protectorate Beyond the eyes of the Royal Martian Navy Beyond the reach of the Mage-Queen Innocents cry out for help—and Mars will answer!
When the Royal Martian Navy moved against reports of piracy in the Fringe Systems, the last thing Mage-Commander Roslyn Chambers expected was to find was a malignant remnant of the defeated Republic of Faith and Reason.
Now the Royal Martian Navy knows their enemy and their Mage-Queen has charged them to bring the First Legion, conquerors of the hidden colonies beyond the Fringe, to justice. The Legion knows the RMN’s tricks, though, and has cleverly concealed their tracks.
As Chambers and the spy Kelly Lamonte sweep distant stars for the trail of their enemies, the fleets of Mars gather behind them—but the fate of millions may lie in the hands of a woman none of them have ever met.
A woman the Republic already killed.
I had a lot of fun with this one, I don't really have anything very new to say, other than I'm really enjoying getting anther perspective in the story, since I was starting to grow tired of Damien.
Be careful what you wish for is a phrase I hear often, but rarely heed. I got what I wished for after the end of Mage-Commander. Rosyln Chambers continues her Horatio Hornblower-style naval career in Beyond the Eyes of Mars, and this time, the challenges come with a heavy cost. After three novels, Rosyln finally faces challenges that feel like they require the painful costs that Damien routinely paid.
While my main criticisms of this series are addressed, there's something still missing that doesn't capture the magic of the original novels. I think the First Legion is not a sufficiently challenging antagonist (by definition they are the leftovers of a greater, but defeated opponent), and we aren't given personal viewpoints for us to hate the remnants of the Republic. We've also already done this: Kelly Lamonte and Rosyln Chambers team up to track down an interstellar foe, and …
Be careful what you wish for is a phrase I hear often, but rarely heed. I got what I wished for after the end of Mage-Commander. Rosyln Chambers continues her Horatio Hornblower-style naval career in Beyond the Eyes of Mars, and this time, the challenges come with a heavy cost. After three novels, Rosyln finally faces challenges that feel like they require the painful costs that Damien routinely paid.
While my main criticisms of this series are addressed, there's something still missing that doesn't capture the magic of the original novels. I think the First Legion is not a sufficiently challenging antagonist (by definition they are the leftovers of a greater, but defeated opponent), and we aren't given personal viewpoints for us to hate the remnants of the Republic. We've also already done this: Kelly Lamonte and Rosyln Chambers team up to track down an interstellar foe, and in broad strokes, it's basically the same plot as Mage-Commander.
I find it hard to rate this novel. On its own merits, it's better than the majority of books I read and should be an easy five stars. Yet relative to its predecessors, it's not the blow-out success of the early Starship's Mage stories. Ultimately, I can't consider this book nearly perfect given its similarity to Mage-Commander.
Still - highly recommended.
