Review by Flowers123 -- Masters and Bastards

[Flowers123]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Masters and Bastards" by Christopher J. Penington.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Masters and Bastards by Christopher J. Penington mixes both fantasy and science fiction, which demands great skill in creating the best of stories in this genre. The events of this fiction occurred on a planet outside of our galaxy. Andreas Marset, the legend of the novel, is a military man in the Iberian army. A bastard coupled with Arpathian origin seemed to have his fate sealed, and doomed to a life of servitude. Arpathians on this planet though humans were neither considered nor treated as one. They didn’t have access to the same privileges as the ruling Iberian race of planet Poltervalt.

Despite Andreas' shortcomings, there's something significantly extraordinary about him; he possesses superior abilities. Andreas, unaware of the magnitude of his powers, soon became the target of both the imperial family and the powers that be in politics. He struggled with the realization of being a pawn in a string of developing plans and conspiracies. So, Andreas had to learn the hard way to discern who to trust and how to overcome dauntless enemies.

Masters and Bastards is captivating from the first page. The story picked up from the beginning and there wasn’t anything slow about it. I find the plots elaborate and interesting an all-round work of art. There are layers to each plot, the personas are for the most part profound. There's strong, relatable character development. I felt an inclination that I was literally in the same spot as Andreas. There are exciting twists and turns scattered throughout the story. It is suspense-packed, and I enjoyed the magical abilities discussed in this book.

There are many things I liked about this story as it kept me guessing for what might happen the next moment. There are some amusing scenes in it too. Various superb activity scenes will charm and submerge anyone into this story. The plot has a lot of realistic components of war, and this book is just appropriate for either full grownups or young adults. It is simply not suitable for a younger audience because of its extensive use of vulgar languages and profanity. The author demonstrated a versed insight into the military-strategic fighting. That is quite appreciable.

If I have to pick a thing or two I dislike about this book, it would be its excessive use of vulgar language and profanity. I feel they were necessary in this context though. The author's descriptions seem over-elaborate at times. It made the story a bit boring and dragging from time to time.

The story has a couple of mistakes. I found some spelling and grammatical errors. Yet, these errors haven't removed any importance from this story and have no genuine effect on it overall. Consequently, it's easy for me to rate Masters and Bastards a 4 out of 4 stars. The story ended well enough, and there was no cliffhanger left. I will recommend this book to an audience of fantasy and science fiction lovers.

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Masters and Bastards
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