Description:
If you like science fiction fantasy on the scale of The Phantom Menace, discover the Mageworlds series by Doyle and MacDonald. The Stars Asunder is Book 6, but readers can start here; it's set 500 years before the others (next is The Gathering Flame, then The Price of the Stars, Starpilot's Grave, By Honor Betray'd, and The Long Hunt). It's grand space opera--interstellar war, swashbuckling heroes, an embattled queen, and mystics on both sides using supernatural power--but in this installment the authors focus on the Mageworlds, enemies of the protagonists in the previous books. For series fans, The Stars Asunder adds a new dimension to the conflict between the Republic and the Mageworlds. The Mageworlds are separated from the rest of the galaxy by a huge, interstellar gap. Arekhon sus-Khalgath sus-Peledaen ('Rekhe), son of a noble trading family, joins Garrod syn-Aigal and his Demaizen Circle of Mages. Their goal: to reunite the galaxy, blazing a trail through the Void of hyperspace and setting a beacon to guide Mageworld ships. Discontent at home and tragic errors when they meet the technologically advanced but warlike people on the other side combine to set the scene for many years of conflict. 'Rekhe inherits Garrod's position and his mission, to reweave the pattern uniting the worlds. So settle back with a cool drink and some stylish, escapist fun in a galaxy far, far away. --Nona Vero
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