The Wizard of Karres

I first read Witches of Karres back in the early 70's and was pleased to find another title. I was a little disappointed at first to see the orginal author, James Schmitz hadn't penned this but being familar with Eric Flint took a chance. This was a great sequel and I enjoyed it very much. They have left room at the end of this to continue the saga and I hope they do.

First read about The Witches of Karres. The biggest complaint about Witches is that there wasn't a sequel. Once the Karres universe was created, it was abandoned. Now there's another book that builds on where the first one left off. Anyone would be hard pressed to find better writers than the ones chosen for this task. And a fine job they have done indeed. The characters are continued, and so is the feeling or tone you get in reading the book. Serious heavy duty reading, no. But it's one of those books that after you buy it you have to ask yourself, "Do I really want to stay awake most of the night reading this, or should I save it for a rainy day." The story - space opera at its finest: valiant but kind of bumbling hero, strange characters in unlikely situations -- well you know. And if you want to know more read the chapters that the publisher has made available.

James H. Schmitz's "The Witches of Karres" has been one of my all time favorites for almost 35 years. I cannot tell you how many times I've read "Witches". It was another one of those great books set up for the sequel that never came. I've seen other favorites of mine, where sequels were finally written. Most of those I found to be mediocre to just plain bad. They damaged and diluted the original work. That was my fear when I discovered "The Wizard of Karres" had been published; however (and happily to my surprise), it was both well written and a good story. My only complaint is that the authors/editors/publisher did not include any kind of editorial notes. I would have been very interested in the story behind this sequel. I'm sure it was fascinating. For those who have enjoyed Schmitz's wonderful story of Captain Pausert, Goth, and the Leewit, you'll enjoy taking another ride with them onboard the good ship "Venture" in "The Wizard of Karres". Jim Baen, Eric Flint, Mercedes Lackey, and Dave Freer have done a great job on this book. They are to be congratulated.

As a teenager and young adult I was one of those who always looked for a new Schmitz story in the 1960's and 1970's. Recently I discovered Baen's Bar, a group of discussion forums for fans of Science Fiction and Fantasy, paid for by Baen Books. A place where authors and Jim Baen himself actually talk to we mere mortals. I strongly recommend the Bar to all SF & F fans, and particularly BAEN FREE BOOKS and WEBSCRIPTIONS. Yep - FREE books, by top named authors such as David Drake, David Weber, Eric Flint, Mercedes Lackey and Dave Freer. And Webscriptions provides electronic copies of new releases BEFORE they appear in deadtree format, and at lower prices. Well, within a week of joining the Bar, I found things called "snippets" - small parts of a new book being released for view by the "barflies" in the months prior to public release. I am now just one of thousands of snippet addicts. And you get to discuss the nsippet with other knowledgeable readers, and often the authors chip into the discussion. In snippets did I discover "The Wizard of Karres". In wrath did I chastise the authors for their hubris in taking Schmitz's work and daring to make a Witch a Wizard. Then, as I followed the snippets, I discovered the authors had done a GREAT JOB. So, I bought the "Wizard of Karres" online in HTML format from Webscriptions. I'm proud to say I was the first to get to post onto the Bar, "MORE, PLEASE". The Wizard follows directly on from the "Witches of Karres". It adheres to the spirit of Schmitz. Its a great read. Recommended to anyone who likes their fanatasy with lots of sub-plots, lots of humour, and wishes that they, too, had psi powers (or klatha, in Schmitz's terms). Ian Clark Gladstone, QLD, Australia

I was absolutely pleased when the Witches of Karres was reprinted in hardback (my paperback was getting soooo tattered.) But now Baen has managed to come up with a sequel, and it is of the same quality as the book by Schmitz. I think the three authors did a great job, and am looking forward to another Karres book. If you want to know what's in the book, you'll have to read it - anything said would be a spoiler. It's very entertaining. Please authors - write another one. Thanks to Jim Baen, Eric Flint, Mercedes Lackey and Dave Freer for a wonderful read.