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Sten #8
Empire's End
Стэн, не имеющий практически никаких других вариантов действий, поднял отчаянный мятеж против стремительно теряющего рассудок Вечного Императора. И хотя ему удалось найти союзников в этой борьбе и нанести империи несколько чувствительных ударов, на самом деле успех или неудача зависят исключительно от того, удастся ли Стэну и его сподвижникам разгадать два самых главных секрета бессмертного владыки – откуда берётся Антиматерия-2 и каким образом император возвращается после смерти. Именно этим вопросам приходится уделять львиную долю внимания, при том что ни один из других «фронтов» борьбы упускать из виду нельзя – пусть император безумен, но он далеко не глуп, и любой промах мятежников может стать для них фатальным.
522 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1993
About the author
Chris Bunch
91 books126 followersChristopher R. "Chris" Bunch was an American science fiction, fantasy and television writer, who wrote and co-wrote about thirty novels.
Born in Fresno, California, he collaborated with Allan Cole on a series of books involving a hero named Sten in a galactic empire. (Cole married Bunch's sister, Kathryn.) He served in Vietnam as a patrol leader. He also wrote for Rolling Stone and was a correspondent for Stars and Stripes. He died in his hometown of Ilwaco, Washington, after a long battle with a lung ailment.
Born in Fresno, California, he collaborated with Allan Cole on a series of books involving a hero named Sten in a galactic empire. (Cole married Bunch's sister, Kathryn.) He served in Vietnam as a patrol leader. He also wrote for Rolling Stone and was a correspondent for Stars and Stripes. He died in his hometown of Ilwaco, Washington, after a long battle with a lung ailment.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
December 26, 2020
I really enjoyed the Sten series, and the finale was very good as well. It reminded me of the Deathstalker series by Green. (If you liked this and have not read Deathstalker, check it out). We start off right where we left off in volume 7; Sten is still on the run, tormenting the Emperor in a variety of ways, while the Emperor loses it more and more...
Regarding the series as a whole, Bunch and Cole populated a world with many aliens, but in a Starwars like fashion-- I kept thinking of the bar scene in Starwars when aliens were discussed. Sten is you basic working class hero, first rebelling against the injustice of his world (Vulcan) and then going off to serve Mantis, the Empire's black ops squad. The Eternal Emperor seems to be just that-- he has ruled for thousands of years, and controls all the AM3, the main power source of the star drives to just about everything else.
We finally get the back story on the Emperor, rising from his humble origins on Earth to his discovery of AM3 and how he plans to exploit it.
One of the best things about the series is the righteous cynicism directed at politics and business and we see lots of examples of bad, immoral actions in people's quest for wealth and power. Still, this is really an escapist read as beyond the parables of what such quests yield, this is basically action adventure writ large. Feeling melancholy after finishing it. 4 stars for the book and series.
Regarding the series as a whole, Bunch and Cole populated a world with many aliens, but in a Starwars like fashion-- I kept thinking of the bar scene in Starwars when aliens were discussed. Sten is you basic working class hero, first rebelling against the injustice of his world (Vulcan) and then going off to serve Mantis, the Empire's black ops squad. The Eternal Emperor seems to be just that-- he has ruled for thousands of years, and controls all the AM3, the main power source of the star drives to just about everything else.
We finally get the back story on the Emperor, rising from his humble origins on Earth to his discovery of AM3 and how he plans to exploit it.
One of the best things about the series is the righteous cynicism directed at politics and business and we see lots of examples of bad, immoral actions in people's quest for wealth and power. Still, this is really an escapist read as beyond the parables of what such quests yield, this is basically action adventure writ large. Feeling melancholy after finishing it. 4 stars for the book and series.
February 28, 2013
It was a bit easier for me to read this book than it was with the previous book in the series. This is probably because of the initial disappointment of The Eternal Emperor going bananas and the empire going down the drain had already sunk in with the last book and I was more prepared for that this time. Quite honestly, this is a book that I more or less read only to have completed the series so my expectations were not that high.
The book is just as well written as the previous books, the parts with Sten and his colleagues and friends as enjoyable as always, Kilgour’s supposedly Scottish dialect as annoying and unreadable as before and the parts with the emperor and his cronies as depressing as in the last book.
The path of the story had pretty much been laid out in the previous books so there where bot really much surprises there. The flashback bit where you got to follow the original Emperor on the journey to finding AM2 and how he became “eternal” in the first place could have been interesting to read but the way it kind of popped up in the middle of the book it more felt like it was interrupting the story. It was really detailed and, to me, it felt more like it was there as a filler to get the page count up more than anything else.
I think it was a quite said ending of the series and I cannot say that I liked it very much. The Eternal Emperor, when he still had all his grey cells working, was one of the colorful characters that I really liked in the earlier books and I felt that it took away a lot of the fun in these books when he went cruel and paranoid. Again, the book was not really bad but it was not really much to my liking. I think the rating I have given is a compromise between the actual qualities of the book and my dislike for the path the story took.
The book is just as well written as the previous books, the parts with Sten and his colleagues and friends as enjoyable as always, Kilgour’s supposedly Scottish dialect as annoying and unreadable as before and the parts with the emperor and his cronies as depressing as in the last book.
The path of the story had pretty much been laid out in the previous books so there where bot really much surprises there. The flashback bit where you got to follow the original Emperor on the journey to finding AM2 and how he became “eternal” in the first place could have been interesting to read but the way it kind of popped up in the middle of the book it more felt like it was interrupting the story. It was really detailed and, to me, it felt more like it was there as a filler to get the page count up more than anything else.
I think it was a quite said ending of the series and I cannot say that I liked it very much. The Eternal Emperor, when he still had all his grey cells working, was one of the colorful characters that I really liked in the earlier books and I felt that it took away a lot of the fun in these books when he went cruel and paranoid. Again, the book was not really bad but it was not really much to my liking. I think the rating I have given is a compromise between the actual qualities of the book and my dislike for the path the story took.
August 31, 2023
The last installment of the series, and I have to say, it was not a bad one. In fact, better than most of the other Sten books.
We get to see old friends become bitter rivals. We witness worlds being destroyed at the whim of a madman. We learn more about who the Emperor was, and how did he become the most powerful being in the universe. And on top, there is the grand battle in the end, between the good and the evil.
We get to see old friends become bitter rivals. We witness worlds being destroyed at the whim of a madman. We learn more about who the Emperor was, and how did he become the most powerful being in the universe. And on top, there is the grand battle in the end, between the good and the evil.
May 13, 2014
The last book of the series embodies it nicely: lots of drakh and clots everywhere. The series, imho, had been going downhill since book 6, and I was afraid, that this last book might be just a sterotypical and boring "wrap it all up" creation. My rating of this book proves that my fears were unfounded. More, I found this book to be the best of whole series. It perfectly tells a story of Emperor's rise to power, and the reasons of his immortality and absolute control, as well as origins of AM2 were simply amazing - I've had lots of theories, but turned out I never had even a clue. A great book which perfectly sums up a great series.
October 7, 2012
Several friends warned me that as far as the Sten saga goes, this is the worst of the series. However, I find it well in line with the rest of the books(and I liked it better than Vortex), and the revelation of the Emperor's secret was handled pretty well - I found it both surprising and unexpectedly plain, in a way. An OK entry in the series, and a solid, albeit a little lackluster and anticlimactic end for the saga.
January 7, 2013
These two authors get together with the desire to write 1 million words. The result was a far-flung futuristic series that's worth following from Book I to VIII. But the last book was just awesome, especially when it explained how the Emperor came to be. These guys have a flair for devious, diabolical plots and characters too unique to not enjoy.
September 27, 2018
The Eternal Empire is exhibiting signs of insanity. He's had Mahoney killed and he's after Sten. The only thing Sten can do is run and try to stay alive. Well, not the only thing. He can fight back.
The story is good, but not as good as the first one. Still, it's enjoyable and engaging from start to finish.
And there's another tall tale from Kilgour, about a bear and a hunter.
The story is good, but not as good as the first one. Still, it's enjoyable and engaging from start to finish.
And there's another tall tale from Kilgour, about a bear and a hunter.
June 14, 2022
Now that I have read the series to the 8th time:
Here I am 83 years young and this series still delights me.
Science fiction is a wonderful area of wonder. May all you youngsters visit these many adventures, as often as I have.
Find other authors and enjoy letting your imagination expand.
Just take the first star to the right and go on to morning!
Here I am 83 years young and this series still delights me.
Science fiction is a wonderful area of wonder. May all you youngsters visit these many adventures, as often as I have.
Find other authors and enjoy letting your imagination expand.
Just take the first star to the right and go on to morning!
June 19, 2017
Good wrap to the series.
June 28, 2018
So I finally finished this series as I have wanted to for more than 20 years. Little disappointed in some of the results, but some was pretty obvious.
April 27, 2020
A great conclusion to the series.
Read
September 17, 2020The series should have stopped sooner.
March 25, 2023
Once more into the fray.
An enjoyable conclusion to an eight book saga.
An enjoyable conclusion to an eight book saga.
June 28, 2016
And so ends the series I bought and read solely because my friend wouldn't. He was looking for something to read, and I found the first two of these on the Powell's Books web site, but he wouldn't go for it. So of course I had to in order to prove him wrong. Well I did. You -- you know who you are -- were so wrong! These books were awesome! Don't you totally regret not having read it now? Nevermind the star ratings, they're great! Really.
I didn't anticipate the turn this series took in the last book, but a note at the end of this one explains it was intended all along. The authors were sick of science fiction where all of creation was bundled into one giant empire and somehow there was always a benevolent ruler. I can only assume the authors were familiar with Asimov and Herbert, among others. Anyway, this book is one long takedown of the Emperor on the part of Sten, scrappy hero and alternate universe Schwarzenegger stand-in.
Except for a novelette in the middle where, now that the Emperor is going down, the authors suggest we should suddenly be interested in his backstory. I was, mildly, but I think this material would have been much better in book 6, The Return of the Emperor, interspersed among the scenes of his clone being conditioned and integrity tested. It was at least worth finally learning the source of AM2 and sort of how the Emperor is able to clone himself. And it turns out the Emperor is/was an engineer! We can certainly dream.
Most of the other plot buttons get pushed like they should. Sten's almost death, the special knife he's had since day one getting some play in the final confrontation, and even Alex gets his day in the sun on a special mission to infiltrate the imperial palace. He may even speak more in this one than any other, and that written form of a Scottish accent is as painful to read as ever. It's a satisfying, if not spectacular, ending.
I didn't anticipate the turn this series took in the last book, but a note at the end of this one explains it was intended all along. The authors were sick of science fiction where all of creation was bundled into one giant empire and somehow there was always a benevolent ruler. I can only assume the authors were familiar with Asimov and Herbert, among others. Anyway, this book is one long takedown of the Emperor on the part of Sten, scrappy hero and alternate universe Schwarzenegger stand-in.
Except for a novelette in the middle where, now that the Emperor is going down, the authors suggest we should suddenly be interested in his backstory. I was, mildly, but I think this material would have been much better in book 6, The Return of the Emperor, interspersed among the scenes of his clone being conditioned and integrity tested. It was at least worth finally learning the source of AM2 and sort of how the Emperor is able to clone himself. And it turns out the Emperor is/was an engineer! We can certainly dream.
Most of the other plot buttons get pushed like they should. Sten's almost death, the special knife he's had since day one getting some play in the final confrontation, and even Alex gets his day in the sun on a special mission to infiltrate the imperial palace. He may even speak more in this one than any other, and that written form of a Scottish accent is as painful to read as ever. It's a satisfying, if not spectacular, ending.
December 7, 2020
At long last, we come to the end of the Sten series by Cole and Bunch, who moved on to other things for a while before finally splitting to write on their own - a pity, as they were a marvelous team. The Eternal Emperor has gone megalomaniacally mad at last, and Sten and his allies determine that they must fight a battle against overwhelming odds to unseat him from the throne. In a move reminiscent of the Caesars, the emperor has clandestinely supported the Cult of the Emperor, which claims he is a representative of the Holy Spheres, and has used his patsies in the Parliament to declare him God. He is ruthlessly suppressing dissent, and plans to send planetbuster bombs to destroy the home worlds of all who oppose him.
A direct confrontation is hopeless, so Sten and his allies - the Bhor, the Rom, the Zaginaws, and other disaffected cultures - begin a propaganda and guerilla campaign to harass and discredit the emperor. They also concentrate on finding out two key items - how does the emperor always return to life several years after being assassinated or dying of other causes, and where does the AM2 which powers the Empire come from?
The answer to these questions will determine whether they can remove the emperor permanently from the equation, and whether civilization itself can survive his absence. There is an extended middle section that answers these questions for the reader, simultaneously arriving at the same place as our heroes, by telling the story of how the Emperor, nee Kea Richards, got his start.
The only downside to this story is that it ends, and we never find out how Sten and his friends fared after Empire's end.
A direct confrontation is hopeless, so Sten and his allies - the Bhor, the Rom, the Zaginaws, and other disaffected cultures - begin a propaganda and guerilla campaign to harass and discredit the emperor. They also concentrate on finding out two key items - how does the emperor always return to life several years after being assassinated or dying of other causes, and where does the AM2 which powers the Empire come from?
The answer to these questions will determine whether they can remove the emperor permanently from the equation, and whether civilization itself can survive his absence. There is an extended middle section that answers these questions for the reader, simultaneously arriving at the same place as our heroes, by telling the story of how the Emperor, nee Kea Richards, got his start.
The only downside to this story is that it ends, and we never find out how Sten and his friends fared after Empire's end.
August 1, 2021
Nov 2015
At last, all the elements that have been bonded into Sten over the previous volumes -- gang member, soldier, spy, investigator, bodyguard, ship captain, POW, and diplomat -- come into play as Sten has to face off as freedom fighter against the mad Emperor. Good, good stuff, and a great pay-off for the series.
----------------
PREVIOUSLY (Oct 2012) - 3 stars
Sten vs. the Eternal Emperor, with the stakes being intergalactic civilization itself. Cole and Bunch's disguised polemic (see the afterword) comes to a climax, as Sten leads a rebellion against the Empire, we learn of the Eternal Emperor's origins, and final, fateful course of the Empire is made.
Good action and adventure, with minimal explicit preaching but lots of nicely crafted character bits, bringing to a satisfying conclusion the entire series. The main critique I have is the overwhelming use of portmanteau compound nouns (flashspot, bloodspatter, wordsplurge) to give things a "futuristic" action sensibility that is hardly needed.
---------
PREVIOUSLY (April 2002)- 4 stars
This is the exciting -- and fitting -- end to the series. Yes, the authors are playing a bit of an ideological trick, but it really makes sense in the end, and I kicked myself for falling right into it.
I've reread this series several times, and it never fails to please. Each book has its own feel, but each is still part of the greater whole. Now if only they'd get them back into print, I could recommend them to more of my friends.
At last, all the elements that have been bonded into Sten over the previous volumes -- gang member, soldier, spy, investigator, bodyguard, ship captain, POW, and diplomat -- come into play as Sten has to face off as freedom fighter against the mad Emperor. Good, good stuff, and a great pay-off for the series.
----------------
PREVIOUSLY (Oct 2012) - 3 stars
Sten vs. the Eternal Emperor, with the stakes being intergalactic civilization itself. Cole and Bunch's disguised polemic (see the afterword) comes to a climax, as Sten leads a rebellion against the Empire, we learn of the Eternal Emperor's origins, and final, fateful course of the Empire is made.
Good action and adventure, with minimal explicit preaching but lots of nicely crafted character bits, bringing to a satisfying conclusion the entire series. The main critique I have is the overwhelming use of portmanteau compound nouns (flashspot, bloodspatter, wordsplurge) to give things a "futuristic" action sensibility that is hardly needed.
---------
PREVIOUSLY (April 2002)- 4 stars
This is the exciting -- and fitting -- end to the series. Yes, the authors are playing a bit of an ideological trick, but it really makes sense in the end, and I kicked myself for falling right into it.
I've reread this series several times, and it never fails to please. Each book has its own feel, but each is still part of the greater whole. Now if only they'd get them back into print, I could recommend them to more of my friends.
September 6, 2019
This novel (Empire's End - Sten #8) and the previous (Vortex- Sten #7) were really tedious, made even more so by the nearly impossible to decipher Scottish 'accent' of Kilgour thrown in increasingly unacceptable quantities.
I eventually started skipping large sections of Kilgour narration just to stop from ditching the entire novel. I really wanted to finish the series dammit! At least the novel was saved to an extent by insights into the emperor's secrets leading to a somewhat predictable yet tepid ending of an otherwise excellent series.
In general, the series was well worth the effort, but with the last 2 novels struggling to carry the story to a satisfying completion in much the same way that a TV-series fizzles out in the 8th season due to viewer/writer fatigue; that in hindsight could have ended on a high note in Season 5 or 6.
Go ahead, read & enjoy the series - especially if you're a young adult. I would very likely be more critical of many of my childhood favorites, had I read them for the 1st time today, so take that as a qualification of my 2-star rating being reflective of this novel, rather than of series as a whole.
I eventually started skipping large sections of Kilgour narration just to stop from ditching the entire novel. I really wanted to finish the series dammit! At least the novel was saved to an extent by insights into the emperor's secrets leading to a somewhat predictable yet tepid ending of an otherwise excellent series.
In general, the series was well worth the effort, but with the last 2 novels struggling to carry the story to a satisfying completion in much the same way that a TV-series fizzles out in the 8th season due to viewer/writer fatigue; that in hindsight could have ended on a high note in Season 5 or 6.
Go ahead, read & enjoy the series - especially if you're a young adult. I would very likely be more critical of many of my childhood favorites, had I read them for the 1st time today, so take that as a qualification of my 2-star rating being reflective of this novel, rather than of series as a whole.
October 4, 2015
This was probably the best book of the series and a fitting end to the overall story. There was a good chunk of flashback to explain some things about the Eternal Emperor, but it was done well and still remained entertaining. The rest of the story is exactly what you expect from a Sten novel, so if you've read the first 7, you might as well finish it off.
January 23, 2016
Изчетох я най-сетне, въпреки че от поне две години се подмята из нас.
Като цяло - не е на нивото на предните книги. Но нивото ѝ е доста над останалите бози, които се предлагат за фантастика.
За всички, които са чели поредицата - Задължителна. Другите да почнат от първа книга. Една от най-добрите фантастични поредици, писана някога!
Като цяло - не е на нивото на предните книги. Но нивото ѝ е доста над останалите бози, които се предлагат за фантастика.
За всички, които са чели поредицата - Задължителна. Другите да почнат от първа книга. Една от най-добрите фантастични поредици, писана някога!
November 16, 2007
Autographed by Cole, the master. My prize possession and the emperor is finally done in. Good stuff.
July 13, 2010
Sten rebels against the Eternal Emperor, and plunges the empire into civil war.
I don't really know how to rate this one; I loved most of the story, but I really really hated the ending.
I don't really know how to rate this one; I loved most of the story, but I really really hated the ending.
July 13, 2018
Best Space Opera EVER. Reread for the 4th time since original purchase.
Great finish to an 8 book series
Great finish to an 8 book series
June 22, 2012
Wraps up the series well. Overall a good read.
June 10, 2022
Retroactive Review (9 Jun 2022): Please see my review of the series
here
under the first volume.
February 17, 2019
Terrible ending to a fantastic series of books.
June 4, 2014
One day, I'm going to write a very positive review for this book, and it's series.
May 27, 2015
Final Sten book. Not as satisfying as a conclusion book as I should be, but still well written.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews