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A Meeting at Corvallis
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Manufacturer: Roc Hardcover
Author: S.M. Stirling
Publisher: Roc Hardcover
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Our Price: $6.99
You Save: $ 18.96 ( 73% )
Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Roc Hardcover
Author: S.M. Stirling
Publisher: Roc Hardcover
Average Customer Rating:
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A Meeting at Corvallis Description
Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
Format: Bargain Price
Label: Roc Hardcover
Manufacturer: Roc Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 512
Publication Date: 2006-09-05
Publisher: Roc Hardcover
Studio: Roc Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
Format: Bargain Price
Label: Roc Hardcover
Manufacturer: Roc Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 512
Publication Date: 2006-09-05
Publisher: Roc Hardcover
Studio: Roc Hardcover
Editorial Review of A Meeting at Corvallis
In the tenth year of The Change, the survivors in western Oregon have learned how to live in a world without technology-but there are those who would exploit the new world order. On one side stands Michael Havel's Bearkillers and their allies, Clan MacKenzie under the leadership of Juniper MacKenzie. On the other is the Lord Protector, Norman Arminger-the Warlord of Portland, whose neo-feudal empire rules over much of the Pacific Northwest.
The tensions between factions have been building for some time, and the only reason they haven't met on the battlefield is because Arminger's daughter has fallen into Clan MacKenzie's hands. But a plan to retrieve her threatens to plunge the entire region into open warfare.
Customer Reviews of A Meeting at Corvallis
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: A Great Close to the Trilogy!
Review: This third book in S.M. Stirling's original "Change" series, commencing immediately after the events of "The Protector's War", is the strongest entry in the series and an excellent conclusion to the trilogy.
Nearly ten years after the Change, Mike Havel's Bearkillers and Juniper McKenzie's Wiccan Clan McKenzie stand opposed to the Portland Protective Association, the medieval kingdom ruled by former professor Norman Arminger - "the Lord Protector". With Arminger's daughter Mathilda captured by Clan McKenzie, and friends with Havel and Juniper's son Rudi, the long-coming war simmering in the first two novels finally bursts into flame.
This book is easily the strongest in the trilogy because Stirling here takes the time to provide convincing, realistic detail to his depictions of a world built on the bones of industrial civilization. His inclusion of a smaller group referred to in the second novel, the Catholic monks of Mt. Angel, provides a counterbalance to both the pagan viewpoints of the Clan McKenzie and the dictatorial Christianity of the Protector's dominions, and his detailed depictions of life within both the Protector's realm and the smaller kingdoms of his allies and opponents are richer and more convincing than those in the second novel. And, as always, Stirling's depictions of combat - particularly the final combat between Mike Havel and Norman Arminger - are stirring and immediately real.
Buy and read this book - you won't be disappointed, and it will leave you ready for the next series set within the Changed world.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: A Great Ending to what was NEVER an Apocalyptic Story
Review: The third and best of the initial trilogy of "The Change" series, "A Meeting at Corvallis" is a great ending to a hack-n-slash adventure trilogy. If you have been disapointed by a book that isn't apocalyptic enough to sit well with fans of "The Postman" by David Brin or "Lucifer's Hammer", please note the top reviews of this book specify that it contains "a group of Tolkenesque Rangers who speak elfish and treat the change as if it was the fifth age of Middle Earth."
Statements like these strongly indicate that this trilogy does not belong to the apocalypse sub-genre of sf. The entire trilogy is strongly hack-and-slash, especially when one considers the end of "A Meeting at Corvallis". The constant references to individual, battlefield, and small unit tactics with medieval era weaponry strongly influence a narrative full of nearly last stands and David and Goliath moments.
Even the blatantly obvious imagery of the Portland Protective Association adopting the "eye of Sauron" (See "J.R.R. Tolkien Boxed Set (The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings)") as their battle-standard contribute to the fantastic nature of this narrative.
The excellent battle-scenes and well-narrated combat in this book make it a strong finish to a trilogy that struggled at times. Stirling's success makes this book a safe bet for any adventure sf fans that feel like reading a well-executed hack-n-slash.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: satisfying
Review: I started this series because I thought the first one was an interesting idea, but I was NOT too crazy about all of the Wiccan speak going on. In fact, I was hoping he would kill off Juniper, because her part of the story annoyed me, but Mike Havel's part intrigued me. That ended fine, but obviously it was a 'to be continued'. 'Protector's War' updated you on what was going on in the character's lives, how they had progressed, and generally stirred the pot for book 3, but it wasn't bad, especially if you love Tolkien, and I no longer wished for Juniper to die. 'A Meeting at Corvallis', was the book I had hoped it would be, delivering ALOT of battle scenes bent on strategy, and digging deep into the lives of the interesting characters, and what they stand for. It's a good book when the characters MUST fight if they want any hope for their families lives. Of course there was alot of death, and some very sad moments, but I felt they were all very fitting. Not everyone survives such hard times. I felt closure for 'this chapter' of the the story, though the book implies that there will be more to come involving Rudi and the upcoming generations, because in life, the story always continues, especially when you have upcoming generations to factor in. So, I will be reading Stirling's next series, which picks up a little over a decade later, when Rudi should be about a good fighting age....
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: the Final Show Down?
Review: Just finished this book and it did not disappoint. After reading the first two I did find myself skipping all of the silly songs and incantations that the Mackenzies spew in this novel. I thought it was a bit of overkill. Anyway this novel has all of the merits that the first two books had, great story, exciting and bloody action, etc. I might be crazy but I had hoped that the war would have been a bit more drawn out. The actual war was over rather quickly and I had thought there would be a bit more give and take before the final throw-down. Sam of clan Mackenzie was almost nonexistent in the later portion of the book which was disappointing since he was my favorite character. Still it was a great finish. I will NOT spoil the end of the book but will say it was very well done!
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Likeable characters and reasonably strong writing, but losing its edge
Review: The first book in this trilogy, Dies the Fire, was wonderfully written and chock full of inventive approaches to social organization and technology. Unfortunately the author seems to have run out of the novel ideas that drove the initial entry into the series by this point, and the characters, though still compelling, developed little. That said, though, the plot does move along at a decent pace, and I chewed through the book quite quickly - The action and the ending were reasonably satisfying.
If you read The Protector's War (which featured no war), then The Meeting at Corvallis (which features no meeting at Corvallis, but does feature a war) is certainly worth the read. If you're considering whether or not to finish the series after reading the stellar Dies the Fire, you might be better off investing your money in the other side of this story as well. The entire Island in the Sea of Time trilogy is very well written, and the characters and technologies in the series develop at a much more even and compelling pace.
This was a decent book. Given the ability, I'd have given it another half-star, but it doesn't warrant a full four-star rating.
Review Summary: A Great Close to the Trilogy!
Review: This third book in S.M. Stirling's original "Change" series, commencing immediately after the events of "The Protector's War", is the strongest entry in the series and an excellent conclusion to the trilogy.
Nearly ten years after the Change, Mike Havel's Bearkillers and Juniper McKenzie's Wiccan Clan McKenzie stand opposed to the Portland Protective Association, the medieval kingdom ruled by former professor Norman Arminger - "the Lord Protector". With Arminger's daughter Mathilda captured by Clan McKenzie, and friends with Havel and Juniper's son Rudi, the long-coming war simmering in the first two novels finally bursts into flame.
This book is easily the strongest in the trilogy because Stirling here takes the time to provide convincing, realistic detail to his depictions of a world built on the bones of industrial civilization. His inclusion of a smaller group referred to in the second novel, the Catholic monks of Mt. Angel, provides a counterbalance to both the pagan viewpoints of the Clan McKenzie and the dictatorial Christianity of the Protector's dominions, and his detailed depictions of life within both the Protector's realm and the smaller kingdoms of his allies and opponents are richer and more convincing than those in the second novel. And, as always, Stirling's depictions of combat - particularly the final combat between Mike Havel and Norman Arminger - are stirring and immediately real.
Buy and read this book - you won't be disappointed, and it will leave you ready for the next series set within the Changed world.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: A Great Ending to what was NEVER an Apocalyptic Story
Review: The third and best of the initial trilogy of "The Change" series, "A Meeting at Corvallis" is a great ending to a hack-n-slash adventure trilogy. If you have been disapointed by a book that isn't apocalyptic enough to sit well with fans of "The Postman" by David Brin or "Lucifer's Hammer", please note the top reviews of this book specify that it contains "a group of Tolkenesque Rangers who speak elfish and treat the change as if it was the fifth age of Middle Earth."
Statements like these strongly indicate that this trilogy does not belong to the apocalypse sub-genre of sf. The entire trilogy is strongly hack-and-slash, especially when one considers the end of "A Meeting at Corvallis". The constant references to individual, battlefield, and small unit tactics with medieval era weaponry strongly influence a narrative full of nearly last stands and David and Goliath moments.
Even the blatantly obvious imagery of the Portland Protective Association adopting the "eye of Sauron" (See "J.R.R. Tolkien Boxed Set (The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings)") as their battle-standard contribute to the fantastic nature of this narrative.
The excellent battle-scenes and well-narrated combat in this book make it a strong finish to a trilogy that struggled at times. Stirling's success makes this book a safe bet for any adventure sf fans that feel like reading a well-executed hack-n-slash.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: satisfying
Review: I started this series because I thought the first one was an interesting idea, but I was NOT too crazy about all of the Wiccan speak going on. In fact, I was hoping he would kill off Juniper, because her part of the story annoyed me, but Mike Havel's part intrigued me. That ended fine, but obviously it was a 'to be continued'. 'Protector's War' updated you on what was going on in the character's lives, how they had progressed, and generally stirred the pot for book 3, but it wasn't bad, especially if you love Tolkien, and I no longer wished for Juniper to die. 'A Meeting at Corvallis', was the book I had hoped it would be, delivering ALOT of battle scenes bent on strategy, and digging deep into the lives of the interesting characters, and what they stand for. It's a good book when the characters MUST fight if they want any hope for their families lives. Of course there was alot of death, and some very sad moments, but I felt they were all very fitting. Not everyone survives such hard times. I felt closure for 'this chapter' of the the story, though the book implies that there will be more to come involving Rudi and the upcoming generations, because in life, the story always continues, especially when you have upcoming generations to factor in. So, I will be reading Stirling's next series, which picks up a little over a decade later, when Rudi should be about a good fighting age....
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: the Final Show Down?
Review: Just finished this book and it did not disappoint. After reading the first two I did find myself skipping all of the silly songs and incantations that the Mackenzies spew in this novel. I thought it was a bit of overkill. Anyway this novel has all of the merits that the first two books had, great story, exciting and bloody action, etc. I might be crazy but I had hoped that the war would have been a bit more drawn out. The actual war was over rather quickly and I had thought there would be a bit more give and take before the final throw-down. Sam of clan Mackenzie was almost nonexistent in the later portion of the book which was disappointing since he was my favorite character. Still it was a great finish. I will NOT spoil the end of the book but will say it was very well done!
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Likeable characters and reasonably strong writing, but losing its edge
Review: The first book in this trilogy, Dies the Fire, was wonderfully written and chock full of inventive approaches to social organization and technology. Unfortunately the author seems to have run out of the novel ideas that drove the initial entry into the series by this point, and the characters, though still compelling, developed little. That said, though, the plot does move along at a decent pace, and I chewed through the book quite quickly - The action and the ending were reasonably satisfying.
If you read The Protector's War (which featured no war), then The Meeting at Corvallis (which features no meeting at Corvallis, but does feature a war) is certainly worth the read. If you're considering whether or not to finish the series after reading the stellar Dies the Fire, you might be better off investing your money in the other side of this story as well. The entire Island in the Sea of Time trilogy is very well written, and the characters and technologies in the series develop at a much more even and compelling pace.
This was a decent book. Given the ability, I'd have given it another half-star, but it doesn't warrant a full four-star rating.