ROC, $6.99, ISBN 0-451-45750-0, 421 pages

The last of the series pits an ever-diminishing Human Empire against a trinity of perils percolating in the previous books. The Hadenmen, the Shub AI, and the Recreated are all invading. Outnumbered, outgunned, and out of time, Owen Deathstalker and friends remain Humanity's last line of defense. You can almost here the refrain, "Here I come to save the day!"

Now, if you've read this far, you know it's all space opera, so you know over-the-top events will happen, and sure enough, you won't be disappointed. Heroes be heroes, villains be villains, and without giving away the ending (and its multiple implications of spin-off novels), all may not be right with the universe, but the humans will breathe a little easier.

If you've read the series so far, read this too. You may not feel great about the ending, but you'll at least know the ending.

Conclusions About the Deathstalker Series

After a couple thousand pages, I was rather pleased with the series. There were plenty of battles, a couple editorial oversights, and wild, over-the-top action. True, some of this space opera was too over-the-top, like instant regeneration of limbs and total obliteration of an army of baddies with a single thought, but with all the multiple layerings of conspiracies and activities, Green's pulled off a good one.

The villains tended to be overdramatic at times, and sometimes a little one-dimensional, but most of the heroes grew well enough as they faced peril after peril. Sometimes 1990s slang intruded in this far future setting, but by and large the prose flowed over you with verve. The Deathstalker series may be long, but for space opera fans, that's exactly what you're looking for, and the result is pure reading enjoyment.

More Deathstalker

Deathstalker
Deathstalker Rebellion
Deathstalker War
Deathstalker Honor
Deathstalker Destiny