Book Review: Deathstalker

Deathstalker by Simon R. Green
Release Date: February 1995
Publisher: ROC (Penguin)
Audience: Everyone
Pages: 528
Buy the Book: Amazon
Book Rating: 4/5
Defiance Audio Length: 15 Hours
Buy the Audiobook: Defiance Audio
Audiobook Rating: 3.5/5






I am a bit torn on this book. I attempted several times to read the book when I picked it up at a thrift store, but it moved too slowly to keep my attention. However, as an audiobook it kept my attention and interest. In short, this novel takes it time telling the story of a corrupt empire and the people, willingly or forced, who rebel against the empire. Owen Deathstalker, an aristocrat, is outlawed by the empress in order to obtain the Dark Void device, a weapon capable of destroying 1000 suns. The story follows Owen Deathstalker as he flees from world to world, collecting a eclectic band of pirates, warriors, and rebels, to locate and keep the device out of the empress's hands.

I enjoy the book primarily because of the heavy doses of political intrigue that abound in the Deathstalker books I have read thus far. From the many aristocratic families trying to kill one another, to the various rebel factions bumping heads, if you desire a book that could be based off of Risk 2042 (provided it covered the entire empire) you will enjoy the book. However, for a sci-fi book, it is slow and while there are aliens and strange devices and new technology, they are few and far between and seem almost like placeholders until the multi-book story gets up to speed. Both Deathstalker and Deathstalker: Rebellion seem like their purpose is to explore this empire as its being created by the author and setting up the pieces for later books to play with.

As a stand-alone book it feels like a series of mini-arcs confined to specific planets than a story-wide arc so, if you plan to just read this and walk away I would recommend reading other sci-fi books in your queue. However, I think once you get into the book (by that I mean several hundred pages) it will keep your interest and you will continue on with the story as it progresses in subsequent books.

Audiobook Content:

While the Deathstalker series aren't rife with sound effects and background music and atmospherics, they do have a full cast, and the narrator from the Deathlands series narrates these as well. However, when the effects are used they stand out more than the Deathlands series and, sometimes, they clash with whats in the story and pull you out of the story. Not bad audiobooks in my opinion.