Legend of the Duelist

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Gripping
Review: A good friend of mine reccomended it to me. I decided, on a whim, to get it from the library one idle Saturday. I was finished by Monday noon! One of the most intensely written books I've ever read. Legend of the Duelist truly puts you into the place of the protagonist, Benjamin Slate, and makes you keep reading to find out what could possibly happen next to the man! Through all the chaos, Slate may lose some control over his world, but he stays in control of himself, as any Duelist or warrior must. However, some of his reactions are not for the faint-hearted! A tad gruesome in parts, but handled well. Makes me wish there were more in the series... A truly great book for anyone who is a fan of sci-fi, warriors, or books in general.

Rating:
Summary: growing cult-following status - may be worthwhile to collect
Review: Due to the growing popularity of the Duelist series, this book may be reissued. An original first-edition may be worthwhile to collect, who knows?. Amazon is currently the best bet for finding a copy.

Rating:
Summary: Half of a great book
Review: I loved the first half of the book. Right up until we learned too much about the aliens. The duellist society is a great environment for conflict and drama, and the characters are great. There is a great sense of more happening than is revealed. But then we meet the aliens and it just takes a left turn into "too wierd to continue to suspend disbelief" and from there it moves along to "wraps up too neatly". I want to read more of the duellists interacting with themselves and mundane society.

I felt this book reached for too much, rather than digging into the substantial material it already had to work with, but that may have been a matter of this being the first book by this author that I had read.

Rating:
Summary: Powerful SF Adventure
Review: This is the story of a Duelist, an elite combat artist who has chosen to make battle his way of life. There are not many men or women like that in the future world the hero inhabits, and so when he finds himself embroiled in a huge conspiracy to destory the idyllic civilization of which he is a part, he must find, within himself and his handful of friends, the strength needed to stop what is going to befall society. The book's strongest point is it's characters, who manages to be both larger than life and real. It is short, and well written, and easily worth the discriminating reader's time.