The Rose Sea

Rating:
Summary: great book
Review: I think this book is very good.It is probably one of the best books I've ever read(and I've read lots of books).

Rating:
Summary: Well-done sword-and-sorcery. Fluff, but *good* fluff.
Review: It's a pretty standard setup - the Tykissian Empire (a Romanalog) is invading Tarin Tseld (Aegypt). The XIXth Imperial Foot is understrength, so a press gang rounds up some recruits in a tavern --The battle-gore gets pretty graphic, but the heros are smart & sassy, the villains are, well, villainous, and the action is non-stop. Full review at

Rating:
Summary: An engaging read with action, originality, and humor.
Review: This book is a good, engaging read, without the sometimes- overwhelming depth of Stirling's "5th Millenium" books. In a well-fleshed out, approximately Renaissance-level setting, a well-to-do rancher's daughter, a disgruntled army officer, a lawyer who's more than he seems, and an exotic catwoman are thrown together on a quest for a power object which can defeat an evil tyrant. They're helped along the way by a hilarious near-forgotten fertility god, and hindered by a villainous comrade who has dire plans of his own for the rancher girl and her family. This book has a plausible, imaginative setting and strong, believable female characters on both sides of the struggle. This isn't a wildly original, groundbreaking work, but it's a well-constructed, satisfying read.

Rating:
Summary: An engaging read with action, originality, and humor.
Review: This book is a good, engaging read, without the sometimes- overwhelming depth of Stirling's "5th Millenium" books. In a well-fleshed out, approximately Renaissance-level setting, a well-to-do rancher's daughter, a disgruntled army officer, a lawyer who's more than he seems, and an exotic catwoman are thrown together on a quest for a power object which can defeat an evil tyrant. They're helped along the way by a hilarious near-forgotten fertility god, and hindered by a villainous comrade who has dire plans of his own for the rancher girl and her family. This book has a plausible, imaginative setting and strong, believable female characters on both sides of the struggle. This isn't a wildly original, groundbreaking work, but it's a well-constructed, satisfying read.

Rating:
Summary: Well-done sword-and-sorcery. Fluff, but *good* fluff.
Review: This was a very amusing little novel. It certainly doesn't compare with S.M. Stirling's best work (I haven't read enough Holly Lisle to say how it measures up to hers) but it makes for pleasant light reading. The cultures are reasonably well worked out, the magic is believeable (in context), the primary characters are likeable (the villains come off just slightly flat, but this novel doesn't pretend to such weightiness that all sides must be equally fleshed out), and the writing is excellent. The most refreshing aspect is the fact that this fantasy world is not the usual quasi-Medieval setting. Instead, the protagonists are representatives of a culture which seems to be, roughly, Renaissance-equivalent, in both social structure (seems to be some antipathy between traditional landed elites and rising urban ones) and technology (mid-to-late sixteenth century firearms, with a few changes). As an added plus, the authors have even included some rather pleasant humour (the bit about the ensorcelled flask "ever-full of fresh spring water, with little bubbles and a hint of lemon in it" is a near-classic.)

Rating:
Summary: Not to compare with Stirling's best, but fun!
Review: This was a very amusing little novel. It certainly doesn't compare with S.M. Stirling's best work (I haven't read enough Holly Lisle to say how it measures up to hers) but it makes for pleasant light reading. The cultures are reasonably well worked out, the magic is believeable (in context), the primary characters are likeable (the villains come off just slightly flat, but this novel doesn't pretend to such weightiness that all sides must be equally fleshed out), and the writing is excellent. The most refreshing aspect is the fact that this fantasy world is not the usual quasi-Medieval setting. Instead, the protagonists are representatives of a culture which seems to be, roughly, Renaissance-equivalent, in both social structure (seems to be some antipathy between traditional landed elites and rising urban ones) and technology (mid-to-late sixteenth century firearms, with a few changes). As an added plus, the authors have even included some rather pleasant humour (the bit about the ensorcelled flask "ever-full of fresh spring water, with little bubbles and a hint of lemon in it" is a near-classic.)

Rating:
Summary: Fluff, but *good* fluff. 4.5 stars.
Review: ____________________________________________
It's a pretty standard setup - the Tykissian Empire (a Romanalog) is
invading Tarin Tseld (Aegypt). The XIXth Imperial Foot is
understrength, so a press gang rounds up some recruits in a tavern -- a
young horse-trader, a cat-woman, a lawyer. The Tykissian Grand
Admiral is scheming with Darkist(!), Yentror of Tarin Tseld & a Mighty
sorcerer -- well, you get the picture.

Holly & Steve don't let us down. The women are strong, the men are
good-looking, the dialog is snappy...

We're in the Hall of Forgotten Gods:

Amourgin stared at the god the spirit had found... The idol was formed
of some dull grey metal; the subject was a priapic, round-cheeked statue
with a leering grin and vacant eyes ...

"He's Heinous."

"Yes, he is - but what does that have to do with me?"

"He's the *god* Heinous, you idiot..."

"Right, I'll wake him." He sighed. "*How do I wake him?"

"You worship him..."

"Just what sort of worship does old Heinous prefer?"

"Candles, hymns, dancing girl, sacrifices... the usual sort of thing."

"No doubt. And here I am, not a candle or a dancing girl to my name --"

"SING... TO... HIM"

"O Heinous, O Heinous," sang Amourgin, improvising fast,
"How heinous is your name... "

The battle-gore gets pretty graphic, but the heros are smart & sassy, the
villains are, well, villainous, and the action is non-stop. If you've read
solo books by Stirling & Lisle, you'll be able to pick up pretty well (I
think) on who wrote what - which I thought was fun. Recommended
for a few hours of light entertainment. Don't be put off by the generic
Baen cover & jacket copy (as I was - this one sat on my to-read shelf for a
*long* time).

review copyright 1998 by Peter D. Tillman

[note: this is a repost of an old review, which I posted under
a long-defunct account. Ignore the older one...]