Review by alavirafi -- Masters and Bastards
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alavirafi
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Review by alavirafi -- Masters and Bastards
[Following is a volunteer review of "Masters and Bastards" by Christopher J. Penington.]
Masters and Bastards by Christopher J. Penington is a spellbinding tale based on sci-fi and fantasy. The core character here is Andreas Marset who is a bastard from the Arpathian race: a race that is considered lowborn by the Iberians, ruling a planet named Poltervaut. But with psionic powers, Andreas, the main protagonist, gradually understands his fate is not an ordinary one. The Imperium and the government of Poltervaut use Andreas as a pawn in their political games. Some of the higher officials want to assassinate him while some others want to use his power and that is what keeps him alive. When the whole human race is engaged in plotting conspiracies against each other like headless chickens, an alien race named the Vulgari threatens to take over the whole planetary system of the humans. Will Andreas be able to save mankind from being enslaved by the Vulgari? Or will he be engulfed by the political conspiracies? Read to find out.
I have read other books of Christopher J. Penington and one thing attracted me every time that is his selection of words. Here, too, Penington has expressed his art of words, easing the pace of the whole story. Though the book Masters and Bastards consists of more than four hundred pages, you won’t get bored until you can resolve the plots in the first part of the story. The author has blended sci-fi with magic skillfully in this novel. The tale carries events of intense battle, friendship, leadership, romance, betrayal, and above all political conquest and conspiracy.
Different aspects of science like time and gravity are induced in the story for bringing on advanced techs like GATES (Galactic Alternate Transit Endeavor System), artificial gravity, high hovering police crafts, etc. I enjoyed the history of the human race that the author came up with. But the best parts of the story comprise events of the battle against the Vulgari. I appreciate all the effort Penington had to give to make out the battle plans that Andreas used against the Vulgari. The author has also highlighted the unity of the human race on the face of communal violence.
Christopher poured in tension from the first page of the book. Gradually these tensions take up a flamboyant color through the conspiracies of the Emperor’s wife. The complex characters here are built up by the author dexterously. I enjoyed the diversity in the characters which express typical mortal natures. The whole story revolves around Andreas, and he rarely knows whom to believe as he has experienced a lot of betrayals earlier. He possesses unbounded powers about which he barely knows until later in the story. The backdrops in the narrative may seem to be impractical as these occur on a planet far away but if we consider the clashes between races and countries at present then we may conclude that these aren’t at all unfamiliar to mankind.
There are two things I disliked in this book. One is the lengthiness of this book. The other is the lack of a much-needed glossary at the end. Some words in the story like “psionipath” demanded explanation at the end. Other than these, there are some minute editing errors for which I don’t decrease any points. So, I feel a rating of 3 out of 4 will be perfect for this novel. The story contains many non-borderline profanities along with erotic scenes that set the book for adults only. This book can be recommended to readers who like intense battles and blends of sci-fi and magic.
******
Masters and Bastards
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Masters and Bastards by Christopher J. Penington is a spellbinding tale based on sci-fi and fantasy. The core character here is Andreas Marset who is a bastard from the Arpathian race: a race that is considered lowborn by the Iberians, ruling a planet named Poltervaut. But with psionic powers, Andreas, the main protagonist, gradually understands his fate is not an ordinary one. The Imperium and the government of Poltervaut use Andreas as a pawn in their political games. Some of the higher officials want to assassinate him while some others want to use his power and that is what keeps him alive. When the whole human race is engaged in plotting conspiracies against each other like headless chickens, an alien race named the Vulgari threatens to take over the whole planetary system of the humans. Will Andreas be able to save mankind from being enslaved by the Vulgari? Or will he be engulfed by the political conspiracies? Read to find out.
I have read other books of Christopher J. Penington and one thing attracted me every time that is his selection of words. Here, too, Penington has expressed his art of words, easing the pace of the whole story. Though the book Masters and Bastards consists of more than four hundred pages, you won’t get bored until you can resolve the plots in the first part of the story. The author has blended sci-fi with magic skillfully in this novel. The tale carries events of intense battle, friendship, leadership, romance, betrayal, and above all political conquest and conspiracy.
Different aspects of science like time and gravity are induced in the story for bringing on advanced techs like GATES (Galactic Alternate Transit Endeavor System), artificial gravity, high hovering police crafts, etc. I enjoyed the history of the human race that the author came up with. But the best parts of the story comprise events of the battle against the Vulgari. I appreciate all the effort Penington had to give to make out the battle plans that Andreas used against the Vulgari. The author has also highlighted the unity of the human race on the face of communal violence.
Christopher poured in tension from the first page of the book. Gradually these tensions take up a flamboyant color through the conspiracies of the Emperor’s wife. The complex characters here are built up by the author dexterously. I enjoyed the diversity in the characters which express typical mortal natures. The whole story revolves around Andreas, and he rarely knows whom to believe as he has experienced a lot of betrayals earlier. He possesses unbounded powers about which he barely knows until later in the story. The backdrops in the narrative may seem to be impractical as these occur on a planet far away but if we consider the clashes between races and countries at present then we may conclude that these aren’t at all unfamiliar to mankind.
There are two things I disliked in this book. One is the lengthiness of this book. The other is the lack of a much-needed glossary at the end. Some words in the story like “psionipath” demanded explanation at the end. Other than these, there are some minute editing errors for which I don’t decrease any points. So, I feel a rating of 3 out of 4 will be perfect for this novel. The story contains many non-borderline profanities along with erotic scenes that set the book for adults only. This book can be recommended to readers who like intense battles and blends of sci-fi and magic.
******
Masters and Bastards
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: The Different Kinds Of Monsters by Seth Chambers
