This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot.wordpress.leafmarks.com & Bookstooge’s Reviews on the Road Facebook Group by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission.
Title: At the Queen’s Command
Series: Crown Colonies
Author: Michael Stackpole
Rating: 4 of 5 Battle Axes
Genre: SFF
Pages: 450
Format: Kindle
Synopsis:
An Alternate Fantasy History. A history where the King James Bible is the King Robert Bible. A world where magic is real, wurms are used as troops and NorIsle and Tharyngia are fighting as viciously as England and France ever did.
Owen Strake is a soldier, sent on a mission from NorIsle to explore and update the outer frontier regions of Mystria.
Only Owen is a pawn being used for hidden means. Can he throw off his shackles, fulfill his mission AND foil the hidden agenda that could spell his death?
My Thoughts:
In response to the above question, the answer is “Of Course!”. Owen Strake is the main character of the book and I thoroughly enjoyed following along. Owen goes from a snobby NorIslean to a Mystrian Patriot.
We get the best of the late 1700’s with magic, zombies and battles.
The last time I read Stackpole was back when he did his Age of Discovery trilogy, which was horrible. It put me off of him for many years. And after I recently went on his website, it seems that he’d been going through a dry spell back then and hated writing.
Thankfully, he was back in top form with this series. While very different from Talion or Once a Hero, it was just as enjoyable and in many ways seemed more mature, in talent. This was a joy to read and my only complaint is that it is part on only a duology instead of something longer.
Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road 