Review by M Deedee -- Masters and Bastards

[M Deedee]

[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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The book, Masters and Bastards, is a blend of fantasy and sci-fi that takes place in another galaxy after the Earth had long gone extinct. It tells a story of two planets at war with each other with an alien invasion on its way. In this story, there are two races the Iberians and the Arpathians. The Iberians consider the Arpathian people inferior and minorities. They also see their historical existence as ignoble. Unlike the Iberians, Arpathians have to work so hard to earn themselves limited titles and positions. No matter how heroic they are, they can't access higher ranks of the military and can be beaten to death by angry groups of Iberians for talking to an Iberian woman.

The hero of this book is Beowin Andreas Marset, a handsome young military man in the Iberian army. Unfortunately, Andrea is not only an Arpathian but also a bastard. The story begins with Andrea getting summoned to an interrogation by the Iberian imperium for a crime he didn’t commit. Soon, he finds himself at the centre of different political machinations and doesn’t know whom to trust. He knows that he is expandable which is a burden of the Arpathian race but doesn't know of his special gift. Andrea soon discovers his special powers; he is a psionipath and must fight to bring together powerful enemies to become allies with a hope to beat the alien invasion within a short time frame.

Even though this is not my usual genre, I enjoyed reading Masters and Bastards by Christopher J. Penington. I admire the Author’s knowledge of history and his use of characterization. His description of plots and scenarios is excellent. From the first page, the author got into the story which is quite exceptional for a sci-fi. Penington’s style is very vivid, explicit and admirable as he explored themes of war, power, survival, betrayal, romance and politics. The exploration of the planets Gideon and Rubicon felt so real and imaginable. His ability to describe scenarios is a commendable part of his writing and one that his readers will enjoy.

I love the development and growth of the characters as the story continues especially that of the hero, the Legionary Marset, for instance, at the beginning Andrea felt like a powerless hero with limitations around him but as the story continued, he seemed to discover his inherent capacity and became a master of war.

What I like most is the suspense in this action-packed novel. Despite the intense planned military actions and strategies, the eventual actions usually play out differently. This makes the book unpredictable and interesting. The battles were different, intense and emotion-filled as each one felt like the potential end of Andreas even though it reasonably could not be the end of the protagonist. Will Andrea be able to prevent the alien invasion? Is it possible that a high-born dominant region, Iberia be ruled by a low-born bastard of Arpathia? This book will leave its readers on the edge wondering what will happen next.

I also like the moments of tension, action and suspense around the story. Even though the author mentioned that he wants to set more stories around the worlds he created in the book, there were no unresolved plots, it is a complete book. Also, I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars because it is professionally edited and well-written. I recommend this book for adults and lovers of sci-fi and fantasy stories. However, I do not recommend for children and teenagers because of the presence of semi-explicit sex scenes.

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Masters and Bastards
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[Leen282]

Great review! I also enjoyed reading this book and I agree with you, the elements in the book are unpredictable and interesting.

[Teddyquam]

The fact that you don't usually gravitate towards books in this genre and you still enjoyed the story is a testament to it being a wonderful novel, wouldn't you agree?