Deathstalker (Deathstalker #1)

This book is one of the funnest books I have ever read. Simon Green writes his heroes, villains, saints and monsters big and women are just as equally badass or horrible as the men. I have read it at least 5 or 6 times so far. To me it is perfect science fiction.

Once I started reading 'Deathstalker' it became almost impossible to put down. The characters and situations are taken from similar stories, yet are combined in a new way to form a creation of startling originality. There is a Star Wars side to the story, replete with an Evil Empire and evil henchman, yet there are Melrose Place-type social situations that are quite humorous. Green's humor adds an element that gives the story some zing, and the action scenes are fast and furious. This book is really a prologue to the rest of the series, and I am eager to read the next book.

If you like your science fiction short and sweet, Simon R. Green's Deathstalker series is not for you. This is space opera in the grand tradition, filled with sweeping turns and possibilities extending across an Empire of worlds and centuries, featuring a cast of human aristocrats, clones, espers (mutants with varying ESP capabilities), monstrous aliens, augmented men, genetically-enhanced creatures, legends and heroes from the past, and outlaws. The newest outlaw is none other than Owen Deathstalker, de facto leader of the Deathstalker clan ever since the imperial murder of his father. All Owen wanted was to be left alone to pursue his history studies, but destiny has a way of finding its chosen victims wherever they may be. Queen Lionstone XIV declares Owen an outlaw, and in an instant he is running for his life. Thus are sown the seeds of a rebellion that will change the Empire forever. Of course, that story only begins to be told in this first volume of the exploits of Owen Deathstalker. Deathstalker first escapes - barely - to Mistworld, a cold stink-hole of a planet that serves as the one and only refuge of outlaws all across the Empire. In the company of fellow outlaw Hazel D'Ark, to whom he literally owes his life, Owen seeks out the Empire's most legendary rebel, Jack Random, to join his nascent little rebellion. Throw in a sassy female bounty hunter and one of the Hadenmen (augmented men who once sought to wipe out the inferior human race), and you've got quite an eclectic bunch of revolutionaries. Things only get weirder from here, as upcoming destinations for Owen include Shandrakor, the legendary planet where the founder of the Deathstalker clan reportedly lies in stasis, and - deep within the confines of the Dark Rim - the Wolfling World, home of the Tomb of the Hadenmen, the Madness Maze, and the Darkvoid Device, destroyer of worlds. Strangely enough, however, especially given all of the action Owen Deathstalker and his allies see - and, brother, they see all kinds of fierce, bloody action - at least half of this novel takes place back on the home world of the Empire. Here we see just how big a mess the Empire is really in. Besides the Queen's constantly dastardly plans, we see an aristocracy run amuck with intrigues, secret deals, betrayals, murderous vendettas, and all kinds of juicy stuff that truly reeks of decadence. No one is really who they seem, especially the likes of Valentine Wolfe, the Empire's most famous drug addict, and Finlay Campbell, a comical little fop whose secret identity as the Empire's greatest fighter is unknown to everyone but the woman he loves, a woman who just so happens to be a clone - but that is only one of many other secrets that slowly reveal themselves as this epic novel proceeds. Several personal roads lead us deep into the underground, where a secret alliance of clones, espers, and humans plan their own revolution against the Iron Throne. I found this aspect of the novel even m

More addicitive than Wampyr blood is the best way to describe this series! From the first page of the first book, I was completely and totally hooked. The characters and their interactions are so clear to me, it's almost as if I am watching the whole story unfold on a screen in front of me. I have yet to figure out how Simon Green does it, but trust me, this book is enjoyable for anyone that likes good fiction whether they are sci-fi fans or not.

It's a true pity that only one thousand words are available for me to describe how passionate I am about this book and about the Deathstalker books in general. Lucky for me, I can summarize my feelings in just one simple sentence:DEATHSTALKER RULES.(My temptation is to add a "supreme" at the end of that, but such a majestic addition is reserved in my heart for the Mack Bolan books by Don Pendleton, et. al).I originally discovered Green's Deathstalker while travelling abroad in Europe, and I still consider Deathstalker the ultimate European travel book. The super-cool and super-intense sci-fi space opera drama is a great complement to the dusty museums and memorials of Berlin, the mouth-watering restaurants of Warsaw, or even the charming bridges of Sweden. Simon R. Green has done a down-right astonishing job capturing, with great accuracy and consistency, the technology and lifestyles humankind may face in the distant future. Faster that the eye can see, you will be caught up in his world, a world Tolkien-like in scope but a lot less boring and stupid.One last thing- The super-gorgeous hottie evil witch queen of the universe-- she who sends the very deathsquads against the mighty battle-hardened yet sensitive Owen D.S.-- is the best arch-villian since Moriarty's goons stalked Victorian London in search of the great Sherlock Holmes. Anything more would be a terrible spoiler...

The book rocks! The cast of characters is very colorful and none are the usual typecast heroes/villians. Heroes have their own lives and villians are not the obvious pure evil type. There are some who walk the line in between. Green's ability depict a universe in the far flung future is astonishing. The locales are vividly described, from the Imperial throne room to the Wolfling World, an isolated planet where there is no sunlight. There is also humor as well as suspense, LOTS of action, and even the challenges of the heart and of honor. Good stuff, man... no wonder it made me read the other three books as well!