A Meeting at Corvallis

A Meeting at Corvallis (2006) is the third SF novel in the Change series, following The Protector's War. In the previous volume, Signe Havel offered to buy a maddened horse for Rudi MacKenzie, but the owner refused to sell the mare. Rudi climbed into the corral, faced down the horse, mounted her and rode away over fence and hedge into the distance. Eddie Liu led his band in an ambush of Clan MacKenzie coming back from a parlay, killed several, and took Rudi hostage. Juniper cursed Eddie and then alliance forces killed each and every one of the ambush party. The Clan MacKenzie celebrated Samhain with a death rite and asked the gods for assistance in the coming war. In this novel, the Dunedain Rangers kill a bandit gang and take their leader -- a Protectorate knight -- to Corvallis as evidence of PPA machinations. They stash the knight in Hatfield & Hatfield's lockup under guard and go visit the PPA representative to arrange ransom for his return. Seemingly by chance, Sandra Arminger is onhand to negotiate for the release of the knight. She offers to pay the ransom herself and then talks them down to a reasonable compromise. Later, she sends her vassel knight Tiphaine to assassinate the captured knight. Tiphaine is rudely surprised when four Dunedain Rangers ambush her in the warehouse. To their surprise, she gets away, but not without injuries. The Rangers were expecting a rescue attempt, but not a murder to keep the knight from talking. The Corvallis police and the Faculty Senate are rather upset at the murder and tend to blame the Rangers for the bloodshed. This upsets the realists among the Corvallis citizenry. The whole situation makes rather clear the ruthlessness of the PPA to those who are not blinded by the cover stories. In this story, the MacKenzies and the Bearkillers prepare for war. Even Rudi MacKenzie and Mathilda Arminger practice archery with the others of their age. Mathilda is becoming quite good with the bow, but still not as good as Rudi. The Bearkiller militia are practiced in war games against the A-lister cavalry. The practice is so realistic that the medics stand by to treat the inevitable injuries. At least none are killed in training accidents. Juniper MacKenzie and Mike Havel go to Corvallis to try to talk the Faculty Senate into providing forces in the upcoming conflict. The Senate is indecisive, but a few of the landowners have some serious talks with the alliance leaders. Major Jones is also agreeable with the idea of a mutual defense treaty. This story finally relates the start of the war between the PPA and the Williamette Valley alliance. Three PPA columns move out to besiege the monks at Mount Angel and to attack the MacKenzies and the Bearkiller Outfit. The Corvallis Faculty Senate decides to stay out of this war. This tale is enjoyable, but the plot is starting to become stale; there is an element of sameness to the storyline. While the details are interesting in themselves, one

This has been quite a trilogy. The middle book did become a little bogged down, but added a great deal of background to the story. I am really glad I found these books. They have provided a lot of entertainment. This final book was as good as the first. Others have well-stated the plot points. I still don't understand why reenactors are so fond of the middle-ages. It sounds like a really uncomfortable time to me. Being so dependent upon the will of those in a superior position must have been quite stressful. It was probably one of the reasons, along with poor nutrition, and medical care that they died young. Oh well, to each his own brand of reality. My brand of reality wants all books to end with happily ever after. This one mostly did, but I had hoped for a little bit more. I recommend this book and the trilogy to anyone who enjoys a well-written story with lots of historic detail.

I first encountered this author when I picked up book 1 of this series, "Dies the Fire" and enjoyed that book immensely. I was dumbstruck however, but the precipitous plunge in quality of the second book. I also picked up Conquistador, and found that book wanting. But I did not give up, and I am glad I did not. I bought this third book and was very pleased. It takes a good author to take an antagonist and make you understand them and like them. The battles were riveting, the strategy wonderful! He did fall back into old habits of buzzwording and descriptive-tangents occasionally, but he definitely reined it it this time, and stuck to creating a very good book. Again, the ending to this book, like the first, tended towards the cheese factor with the whole Rudi thing... but I suppose it cannot be avoided. I look forward to the new trilogy announced on the website--continuing the saga of the characters we have grown to love. I recommend this book enthusiastically; especially if you enjoyed the first one of the trilogy.

They called it "The Change" and for good reason. Now, nine years (and two books) after the white flash and blinding pain that brought in a new age where electricity doesn't electrify and explosives don't go boom, we see a new world so different from the one we currently occupy that we wouldn't recognize it if we tried. At one point in A Meeting at Corvallis, a character postulates about the possibility that the change did not just change the physics of the natural world, but also changed the people in some fundamental way. Perhaps, but the mysteries of the why take a backseat to the here and now in this book. The here and now is a grim look at the changed world concentrating on the free lands of the Willamette Valley against the Dictatorial Portland Protective Association, under the brutal control of the Lord Protector, Norman Arminger. The free societies consist mainly of Mike Navel's Bearkillers, Juniper MacKenzie's Dun MacKenzie, a Wicca collective, and Mount Angel, a pre-change Monastery, which is an oasis for the escapee's of the Protectorate. Along with theses three main groups are the Dunedain Rangers, and group of Tolkenesque Rangers who speak elfish and treat the change as if it was the fifth age of Middle Earth. These Groups meet at the former Oregon State University, at the city of Corvallis to try to persuade the group to form a treaty to stand against any aggression by any party. OK, I know, it sounds a bit complex, and maybe a bit bizarre, but if you made it through the first two of this Post-Apocalyptic trilogy, you should have some idea of what I am talking about here. The Meeting at Corvallis indicated in the title, is just the prelim to what truly becomes the war between the Protector, and the combined forces that oppose him. This book starts with the political intrigue and maneuvering and moves into an all out Military tale with some of Stirling's strongest battle scenes since The General series. For fans of the series, and writer, which I am, this is easily the strongest of the three books. With the characters developed and the conflict set up, it was time for action. Yet, Stirling takes it a bit further, giving us the best look at the "hated enemy" he has in either of the previous books. While the political and military details were detailed and intricate as you would expect, the sub plots dealing with the Tiphaine, Lady Arminger's bodyguard, give us a great insight into the complicated world of the PPA, and the complications of War. Here, Stirling really surprised me, giving greater depth, and providing a large chunk of the point of view to what seemed like a minor character in the earlier editions. Like with the Draka series, the first hand glimpse at the "evil" enemy doesn't really muddy the waters as much as make you step back and look at the conflict from new angles. Although, your gut reactions may not change much, the knee jerks become less jerky. A Meeting at Corvallis was an exciting and excellent ending f

This, the last of a trilogy set in Oregon after a worldwide change in the laws of physics, is yet another triumph for S.M. Stirling. In "Dies The Fire", we read how societies formed in northern Oregon after "the change" made it impossible for steam engines, internal combustion and jet engines, electricity and explosives to function. Society was set back to at least medieval levels and in some cases to savagery. The next in the trilogy, "The Protector's War", dealt with the various groups as they developed ten years post "change" and the rise of the Protectorate, a feudal medieval recreation, ruled by a tyrannical "Lord Protector" in Portland as a major threat to the more benign societies consisting of the Bearkillers, the Mackenzies, the Monks at Mt. Angel Monastery and the citizens in Corvallis. "A Meeting At Corvallis" deals with the ultimate battle between the Protectorate, who attacks an alliance of the Bearkillers, the Mackenzies, the Monks of Mt Angel Monestary and a group of citizens from the community of Corvallis. The outcome of this final battle is surprising and one is sorry to see the novel end. Throughout all three novels, the development of the various societies, the development of the characters and the interweaving of several excellent sub plots, makes each novel difficult to put down. Having read a number of books that deal with this genre, I can easily state that this trilogy and this particualr book are the best I have ever read. Holdt Garver