Product Description
Here's the long-awaited solo novel--the first of an imaginative interstellar trilogy--from the co-author of the New York Times bestselling Death Gate saga, Tracy Hickman.With more than ten million copies of the Death Gate novels in print, Tracy Hickman's talent is widely recognized. Now this popular fantasist begins an epic trilogy set in future space. The war-like Arachta, aliens from the past, invade the Earth searching for a cure to the plague that will spell their own demise if they're unsuccessful. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Very poor
I've read and enjoyed a lot of Tracy Hickman's fantasy collaborations with Margaret Weis, and I've also read and loved Weis's solo sci-fi series Star of the Guardians. When I learned that Hickman had also written a solo sci-fi, I wanted to read it. I'm now very sorry that I did so.

This book is utterly boring. The idea behind it is cool -- Hickman clearly wanted to take the rules of sea-faring and incorporate it with space exploration. So we have an interstellar "darkwind" and ships that sail it. Fine enough, except then the ships are made of wood (?????), the sails are operated through a magic system whose rules are clearly made up and discarded at will (deeply stupid - the world concept would've been stronger if he'd abandoned magic entirely), and the galactic empire is so rule bound and annoying that I started skipping every paragraph that dealt with inter-officer patter.

The characters had motivation, but I never felt very invested in any of them. Their interactions with each other were extremely stiff and forced, and while there was plenty of action, at times it seemed confusing and unnecessary. There are hints of politics and manuevering, but a lot of it just gets dropped or streamlined.

Instead of reading this, I'd recommend trying out Sherri Tepper's sci-fi. Start with "Grass" or "Singer From The Sea." She has a lot of similar baseline elements, but her work succeeds in the areas where Hickman's fails.

Filled with action.Slow start, but worth the read.
I must have started readin "Requiem of Stars" 4 times.When I finally decided to get into it, I am glad I did.The book is full of action.The detail involved in the personality of each character made me see them in my mind's eye.The imagination expands and escapes the limits of reality and physics.

Fantasy intertwined with science fiction was a surprisingly refreshing change.Space travel, magic, mystisicm all rolled up in one story that breaks the boundaries of sci-fi/fantasy.

You love and hate each character.The detail given to the personalities of each character or without limits.If you can't see each individual character and their personality in your mind's eye, then you must be like "Djan" after his meeting with the attacking aliens.(Read the book to find out what being like Djan means.)

Good theory, bad delivery.
The theory behind the book is a good one, I will admit. However, Hickman lacks the temperate hand of Weis in this novel, and the story dissolves into mass chaos at several points in the book.

We're introduced to several characters who serve no purpose, and are whisked out of the story faster than it took to describe them. We face not one but three disasters at different intervals, and by the time the book is finished, not only do you not have a general clue as to who is where, but you are tired, and worn out by all of the action.

The character developments happen fast, with very little interpersonal reaction. They bond because they have to in order to survive. Beyond that, there is nothing interpersonal about these people, and the relationships between them are distant at best.

All in all, I don't think I can suggest this as a good read. More like a big disappointment.

What a terrible book
I have to say that I hated this book. I have read some of the authors other works and found them entertaining but this book was not. The entire idea of wooden sailing ships in space just makes me cringe. This is a fantasy book that is trying to grab some sci-fi readers by saying it is about galactic conflict. If you feel the need to read somthing by this author find a fantasy work and stay away from this piece of garbage.

such a dissapointment
i am a huge fan of the work hickman and weiss have put out together. and i have read weiss without hickman, and i still like her work. and i've read hickman's The Immortals, and it was excellent, so i was rather dissapointedin this book. it was slow, dull, i couldn't even finish it, and believe me,i tried. i know the man has more talent than what i saw in this work.hopefully his next solo novel will be up the par of The Immortals. ... Read more

Product Description
UPC Code 9 788448 034399 ... Read more

Product Description
The second of seven novels in "The Death Gate Cycle". Haplo the Patryn again risks the Death Gate at his master's command, with the aim of bringing chaos to Pryan, the Realm of Fire. He arrives to find a world where the three races - humans, elves and dwarves - are irreconcilably divided. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (24)

Amazing. Purely amazing.
I cannot begin to describe how much I love Weis and Hickman's writing - while I will be first to admit that, on a most basic level, Martin, Jordan and Tolkien definitely outshine them in certain areas, I find Weis' work to be more readable on a base level. I -enjoy- reading her work. At times Martin can become a pure chore, and Jordan's dangling plot threads are a monstrous beast of their own - he even spent an entire, HUGE book going over the happenings of a 24 or 48 hour period. It was disgusting. And Tolkien was amazing, but he's unrefined iron in the face of good steel - he was great for his day and age, and is still great - but these authors have learned from their predecessor's mistakes.

I often see people ranting about Zifnab, and his seemingly out of place remarks and references to the past. While I'm not quite convinced Zifnab IS god, I would deeply believe that he is a very, very old Sartan, perhaps one of the first to be born/imbued with their power after the nuclear war that ended what we know of as contemporary society. Zifnab was undoubtedly one of the first Sartan to challenge the Council, because they found the omniscient being their leaders wanted to deny. When you're thousands of years old, probably living only because the Higher Power wills it, you're allowed to be insane, you're allowed to see the nature and pattern of the Wave, and work to correct it - and you're allowed to make references to the ancient past, like to George Lucas (and the Raistlin remarks just get a chuckle every time!).

An amazing writer, Weis will always be in my top five. Forever and always. I hear the words 'cliche' and 'regurgitated' thrown about in reference to her work - so what if they all follow the same staple characters? I find it makes the books more readable in a leisure sense. The first time I read this series, I started on Book 2, read book 5, book 6, Book 7, then went back and read them all. Years later, I've come back and am rereading them, all over again - and am greatly enjoying myself.

No, there is no doubt in my mind - Weis and Hickman will forever go down as some of the best fantasy authors of our time, even if people wish to deny it.

Incredible
The finest series this side of Dragonlance Chronicles. However hey never gave the series much credibility and for that I wish they had. Deathgate has the best character development, best storyline and a great mixture of comedy and interaction from other worlds, Got to love Wiess and Hickman. Highly Recomended.

Simply Amazing
This series like all the works of Wies&Hickman are outstanding.They show a great deal of the characters thought procession.The magic is also ingenious and aslmost entirely different than the magic of Dragonlance. After reading all the Dragonlance Chronicles I was reluctant and wary ofmany of Fantasy Series, though this one was amzing.

Best group of books I've ever read
I've read the entire Death Gate Cycle and it was great.The system of magic is complex and powerful.The characters are very well written.Not much else to say except you need to READ THESE BOOKS.

Best series of all time!
I read the DeathGate cycle and told my friends, they said it was, from what I said, a tolkien knock-off.I just read Lord of the Rings and DeathGate is totally different and better! ... Read more

Product Description
Here's the long-awaited solo novel--the first of an imaginative interstellar trilogy--from the co-author of the New York Times bestselling Death Gate saga, Tracy Hickman.With more than ten million copies of the Death Gate novels in print, Tracy Hickman's talent is widely recognized. Now this popular fantasist begins an epic trilogy set in future space. The war-like Arachta, aliens from the past, invade the Earth searching for a cure to the plague that will spell their own demise if they're unsuccessful. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Very poor
I've read and enjoyed a lot of Tracy Hickman's fantasy collaborations with Margaret Weis, and I've also read and loved Weis's solo sci-fi series Star of the Guardians. When I learned that Hickman had also written a solo sci-fi, I wanted to read it. I'm now very sorry that I did so.

This book is utterly boring. The idea behind it is cool -- Hickman clearly wanted to take the rules of sea-faring and incorporate it with space exploration. So we have an interstellar "darkwind" and ships that sail it. Fine enough, except then the ships are made of wood (?????), the sails are operated through a magic system whose rules are clearly made up and discarded at will (deeply stupid - the world concept would've been stronger if he'd abandoned magic entirely), and the galactic empire is so rule bound and annoying that I started skipping every paragraph that dealt with inter-officer patter.

The characters had motivation, but I never felt very invested in any of them. Their interactions with each other were extremely stiff and forced, and while there was plenty of action, at times it seemed confusing and unnecessary. There are hints of politics and manuevering, but a lot of it just gets dropped or streamlined.

Instead of reading this, I'd recommend trying out Sherri Tepper's sci-fi. Start with "Grass" or "Singer From The Sea." She has a lot of similar baseline elements, but her work succeeds in the areas where Hickman's fails.

Filled with action.Slow start, but worth the read.
I must have started readin "Requiem of Stars" 4 times.When I finally decided to get into it, I am glad I did.The book is full of action.The detail involved in the personality of each character made me see them in my mind's eye.The imagination expands and escapes the limits of reality and physics.

Fantasy intertwined with science fiction was a surprisingly refreshing change.Space travel, magic, mystisicm all rolled up in one story that breaks the boundaries of sci-fi/fantasy.

You love and hate each character.The detail given to the personalities of each character or without limits.If you can't see each individual character and their personality in your mind's eye, then you must be like "Djan" after his meeting with the attacking aliens.(Read the book to find out what being like Djan means.)

Good theory, bad delivery.
The theory behind the book is a good one, I will admit. However, Hickman lacks the temperate hand of Weis in this novel, and the story dissolves into mass chaos at several points in the book.

We're introduced to several characters who serve no purpose, and are whisked out of the story faster than it took to describe them. We face not one but three disasters at different intervals, and by the time the book is finished, not only do you not have a general clue as to who is where, but you are tired, and worn out by all of the action.

The character developments happen fast, with very little interpersonal reaction. They bond because they have to in order to survive. Beyond that, there is nothing interpersonal about these people, and the relationships between them are distant at best.

All in all, I don't think I can suggest this as a good read. More like a big disappointment.

What a terrible book
I have to say that I hated this book. I have read some of the authors other works and found them entertaining but this book was not. The entire idea of wooden sailing ships in space just makes me cringe. This is a fantasy book that is trying to grab some sci-fi readers by saying it is about galactic conflict. If you feel the need to read somthing by this author find a fantasy work and stay away from this piece of garbage.

such a dissapointment
i am a huge fan of the work hickman and weiss have put out together. and i have read weiss without hickman, and i still like her work. and i've read hickman's The Immortals, and it was excellent, so i was rather dissapointedin this book. it was slow, dull, i couldn't even finish it, and believe me,i tried. i know the man has more talent than what i saw in this work.hopefully his next solo novel will be up the par of The Immortals. ... Read more