Review by djr6090 -- Masters and Bastards

[djr6090]

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

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3 out of 4 stars

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In the late 70s, I was introduced to science fiction. I read Frank Herbert, Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Ray Bradbury, and a host of others. I devoured their works, marveling at the intricacies of their fictional worlds. Masters and Bastards by Chris Penington is such an intricacy. I enthusiastically recommend it to all science-fiction fans, who require more than the mention of space travel to classify a work as science fiction.

In Masters and Bastards, Penington’s futuristic worlds are the result of Earth’s genetic seeding, accomplished in previous millennia. Three planets were colonized before old Earth disappeared. Two fairly wild planets, Gideon and Rubicon, orbit each other while circling the sun. The third planet, Poltervaut, is an industrialized world and the home of the Imperial Parliament. Its population is divided into two races. The Iberian race governs and considers itself superior. In fact, there is very little to distinguish Iberians from the lowly Arpathians, the worker class. Intermarriage between the two has been unlawful, yet crossbreeding to bring out certain paranormal talents is still being done quietly. The resulting offspring (bastards) do not stand out unless their special talents are fostered and developed.

The central figure in this story is Andreas Marset, an Arpathian bastard. Andreas has inherited the genetic predisposition to telepathy and other paranormal power. Having been carefully mentored in an orphanage, he knows nothing of his lineage. Andreas becomes the focal point of political maneuvering as various women pursue him to conceive a bastard child. The altruistic reason is so that the royal family can unite the two races that have been at odds for so long. But there are other reasons as well. The unification of the human race is crucial, as the three worlds are soon to face the threat of alien invasion.

I appreciated that the author left room for the reader to imagine the prior history of Earth’s DNA seeding. He does not attempt to chronicle the genetic populating of the three worlds. There is no explanation of how the wild creatures that resulted came about. Nonetheless, his description of the beasts and their behavior is vivid and terrifying. I also liked Penington’s humorous names for some of them. In one case, a snaggletoothed feline is called a “smiladon.”

The settings in the story are particularly imaginative. Penington places Andreas in the Imperial palace, complete with a cohort of idle-rich, selfish hedonists. Andreas experiences palace intrigue with an endearing bewilderment. The backdrop is enlivened with banquets, the plots of the evil Crone, and the conversation of the earthy Emperor who is himself a bastard. Later, Andreas has off-world adventures in dusty deserts and steamy jungles and frozen wastelands. I found the settings to be varied and wonderful.

Usually, I am not fond of battle scenes, but I enjoyed the action sequences in Masters and Bastards. Unlike many current sci-fi authors, the writer has his war conducted by real men. In Penington’s worlds, androids had been destroyed and outlawed for many centuries. Thank goodness. I can’t tell you how tired I have become of the machines taking over in other popular stories of this genre. Penington’s pragmatic tactics for tank deployment and ground-level combat are clear and well presented. Since the enemy is an inhuman creature, the author somehow manages to make the violence acceptable. Even though the book sets the battle’s time frame far into our future, Penington does not overwhelm the account with meaningless techno-weapons or futuristic jargon. As the fighting proceeds to a logical outcome, the reader can clearly see why. Even the evolution of Andreas’ power appears rational, as new supernatural talents surface in response to specific threats.

There are a few things I would change if I could. I would have liked to see more of a romantic relationship between Andreas and his love interest. Although there are plenty of steamy sex scenes, there is not a lot of feeling expressed between the participants. A little tenderness would have made the encounters more palatable. The other thing I would change is the book’s cover. I would be lost in the story, happily creating my own mind-pictures, only to have my concepts destroyed by the splash-screen cover every time I paused. In my opinion, the photographic artwork is completely out of line with the sci-fi nature of the book.

I would love to award four stars to Masters and Bastards. Unfortunately, the writing is riddled with errors, mostly misspelled words. Moreover, the errors cause serious misunderstanding; such as, “She confronted the unformed man,” when the word should be “uniformed.” I went back several pages to figure out how the soldier could be unformed. A number of similar errors make me suspect that the book was digitally proofed and auto-corrected. I have to rate the book three out of four stars, at least until it receives some professional editing.

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Masters and Bastards
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

[Lisa A Rayburn]

Finally! A sci-fi book (only marginally based on space), which is not bogged down with oversharing of technological or action scene detail! Sometimes I feel like I'm watching a blow by blow video game instead of reading. The premise of the book sounds interesting, and I think I'm bound to like the author's writing style. I'll definitely be giving this one a look. I loved reading your review. Thanks!

[djr6090]

I know exactly what you mean. And I hope you get the opportunity to read this book. I'm hoping Penington comes out with more futuristic adventures. He surely has the knack for it.

Your compliment is much appreciated. By the way, where did you get your avatar? It is just lovely.

Finally! A sci-fi book (only marginally based on space), which is not bogged down with oversharing of technological or action scene detail! Sometimes I feel like I'm watching a blow by blow video game instead of reading. The premise of the book sounds interesting, and I think I'm bound to like the author's writing style. I'll definitely be giving this one a look. I loved reading your review. Thanks!

[Ekta Swarnkar]

I am reading the book now and haven't completed it yet. I completely agree with you on the cover page. It is almost the thing on which the plot is based but the cover page is created as if to confuse the readers. Otherwise, the book I liked. Thanks for the review!

[Lisa A Rayburn]

Thank you for the compliment! I just did a search somewhere along the lines of "unique pictures involving reading" or something similar and chose from the images Google gave me!

I know exactly what you mean. And I hope you get the opportunity to read this book. I'm hoping Penington comes out with more futuristic adventures. He surely has the knack for it.

Your compliment is much appreciated. By the way, where did you get your avatar? It is just lovely.

Finally! A sci-fi book (only marginally based on space), which is not bogged down with oversharing of technological or action scene detail! Sometimes I feel like I'm watching a blow by blow video game instead of reading. The premise of the book sounds interesting, and I think I'm bound to like the author's writing style. I'll definitely be giving this one a look. I loved reading your review. Thanks!

[djr6090]

Thank you for the compliment! I just did a search somewhere along the lines of "unique pictures involving reading" or something similar and chose from the images Google gave me!

Thank goodness for Google!

[Juliet+1]

What a wonderful review! You covered all the points I usually have questions about when considering a sci-fi book, and many others as well.

[djr6090]

What a wonderful review! You covered all the points I usually have questions about when considering a sci-fi book, and many others as well.

That is so nice of you to say. I obviously enjoyed the story, which made the review that much easier to write. I hope Penington does a sequel.

[djr6090]

I am reading the book now and haven't completed it yet. I completely agree with you on the cover page. It is almost the thing on which the plot is based but the cover page is created as if to confuse the readers. Otherwise, the book I liked. Thanks for the review!

I'm glad that I am not the only one unsettled by the artwork. I'm sure it would be an easy thing for the author to fix. And next time I will be more cautious of choosing a book by its cover.

[spencermack]

Relying on spell check is a killer for sure! Great review!

[djr6090]

Relying on spell check is a killer for sure! Great review!

I'm not sure that the author did, but I know my dealings with online checkers hasn't been foolproof. And I'm glad you liked the review.

[Erin Dydek]

I’m working my way through this one right now. I’m really enjoying the planet exploration (just spotted the smiladon) and looking forward to seeing what’s the big secret reason for being on Rubicon. Thanks for the great review!

[MustaHarleen]

It's apparent that you enjoyed reading this amazing novel. I love that the book is action-packed, hence it won't bore the reader who is reading it. Thanks for your insightful review.

[djr6090]

I’m working my way through this one right now. I’m really enjoying the planet exploration (just spotted the smiladon) and looking forward to seeing what’s the big secret reason for being on Rubicon. Thanks for the great review!

You know, even though it is a long book, it holds the interest from beginning to end. Enjoy! And thanks for reading my review.

[djr6090]

It's apparent that you enjoyed reading this amazing novel. I love that the book is action-packed, hence it won't bore the reader who is reading it. Thanks for your insightful review.

It's a good day when I can guide someone to a book that I love to share. Thanks for following my reviews.