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The Lounge => Media and Inspiration => Topic started by: Kiero on December 01, 2023, 06:18:29 AM

Title: [Starship's Mage] Pretty good sci-fi with magical elements
Post by: Kiero on December 01, 2023, 06:18:29 AM
I'm making my way through Glynn Stewart's Starship's Mage (https://www.goodreads.com/series/124536-starship-s-mage) series, and it's actually pretty good.

I don't really like science fantasy, far too often they use magic as a crutch for lazy writing (a spin on "a wizard did it") or try to shoehorn in Medieval elements like swords and dragons and shit that make no sense. But this is a setting where they've done it right. It's mostly quite grounded sci fi, with gravity and such being a consideration, but with the addition of magic primarily as a means of granting FTL travel.

Ships move around with regular drives inside a system, but mages can teleport ships a light year at a time (whilst also tiring themselves out). Slight Spelljammer vibe there, if anyone remembers that old D&D setting. There are hints at some horrible eugenics stuff in the past that brought magic "back".

Needless to say, it would make a pretty interesting RPG setting. Check it out.
Title: Re: [Starship's Mage] Pretty good sci-fi with magical elements
Post by: Kiero on January 05, 2024, 10:45:01 AM
I'm going to have to revise my initial appraisal a little, now I'm well into the series. Whilst there were hints of it as it went along, the series takes a major turn for the woke with book 10. All of a sudden every other new character is non-binary, virtually all the major characters are female (including killing off the Mage-King and replacing him with his daughter); we only get male characters who are either pathetic betas or if they're even remotely masculine then they're arseholes or evil.

It's a shame because the story is still quite engaging. As an alternative to the main series, I might suggest reading the first book, then branching off into Red Falcon, the three part spin off and stopping there.