Product ReviewsIn the Courts of the Crimson Kings by S. M. Stirling (2009, Mass Market)

not up to some of his other books but entertaining

Well written but not nearly as good, in my opinion, as either Mr. Stirling's 'Islands In The Sea Of Time' or his 'Dies The Fire' series, but perhaps that's my bias for earth settings. Those two series, plus 'Conquistador,' made the initial suspension of belief needed to place yourself in the alternate reality extremely easy.

Also, the author's follow-up in the books mentioned above with incredibly detailed and believable descriptions of the adaptations the characters had to make and the settings and life style changes and crafts that needed to be relearned was great. It made those books extremely habit-forming.

On this particular book less easy, I'm sure, to create a whole race on a world we know is dead and make it interesting enough to compete with the other books.

This story 'was' well written, however, except that the ending sort of took a left turn out of nowhere.

I loved getting the author's signature on this book, though. That's why I bought it and it's a 'keeper' for that reason.Read full review...