Deathstalker Coda

This third instalment of Simon R Greens latest Deathstalker books provides as much 'over the top' gung-ho mayhem and downright fun as the previous novels. The 'Blessed Owen' has returned and is travelling back through time to try and stop The Terror, aka Hazel D'Ark his former love. The Emperor Finn is meeting opposition to his evil regime and is trying to create a Clone army to counteract the rebellion (Hmmmm...Wonder where that idea came from). Meanwhile resistance is coming from the previous ruler, Douglas and his former soldier Stuart along with Lewis Deathstalker and his entourage. Simon R Green is a master at combining a fast paced adventure story with a good balance of humour. His humour is somewhat 'off the wall' and blood and gore abound, but look beyond this and you have a wickedly funny space opera. This is a 'must buy' for any fan of his.

There's hardly a bigger problem to imagine the hero having to face than the very existence of the galaxy itself. But that's the problem that Owen Deathstalker has to face in this the conclusion to Simon Green's Deathstalker series. I make this the eighth book in the Deathstalker series. It promises to be the last. All the story lines are wrapped up in a tidy little bundle. There will be no more. But then again, Deathstalker Destiny was billed as the Fifth and Last Part of the Life and Times of Owen Deathstalker. I guess the public just wouldn't let Mr. Green end it so easily. As with all the series, this book is filled with swash buckling action, covers a bunch of territory (as well as a lot of time as Owen goes back a couple of hundred years), and you know that good has to triumph over evil. If you are new to the Deathstalker series, you're in for a real treat.

Fans of Simon R. Green's "Deathstalker" series will find the latest a 'must have' conclusion to the series: here Owen Deathstalker has survived his confrontation with the Terror - only to discover its real, shocking identity. To stop his former love, he must prevent her transformation even as political forces vie for power. Deathstalker Coda is a highly recommended pick and essential reading for any prior Deathstalker fan.

I've read every book SRG has written... twice. And, let me tell you, this book will not disappoint. It beings with a sentence as shocking as the last sentence in Return. And I know SRG had a little smirk on his face when he wrote it, knowing how it would drive his fans who have been waiting so long for this book crazy. The book starts right in the thick of things, with no one knowing exactly what to do. Owen leaves Lewis's group, much to their chagrine, and goes back in time to find Hazel. All the way back to the first Empire. Meanwhile, King Douglas goes to the Rookery to start his rebellion. And everytime something goes right for Douglas, something seems to go wrong for Emperor Finn. Lewis travels to different planets with his gang to try to amass an army to go to Logres and fight Finn. He gets his army, and an epic war is in the making. Owen's time travels play a real havoc with your mind, setting paradox after paradox, and the series ends with another question mark, at least in my mind. Simon said that this is the last word in the Deathstalker Series, but I think this universe is too much to just throw away. I smell a couple of spinoffs based in the First Empire. Overall, this is a fitting end to one of the most amazing sci-fi series I have ever read. If you've read any of the Deathstalker series, you have to read this book.

Deathstalkers are legends in the universe they inhabit and Greeen should be a legend of Sci-fi. He has managed to end a series in a way that is both satisfying and fitting, one of the things many authors simply cannot seem to do. OK, there could be more, but this is definitely a great book, tying together more in its few pages than we fans have a right to expect. No spoiler here, just a recommendation that if you have read and enjoyed any of the other DS books, you need to read the rest!! I love everything Green writes and this was no exception.