I did not read any of the books in this series, and this book did not inspire me to want to go back and pick any of them up.

"The Sea Peoples" eBook was published in 2017 and was written by S. M. Stirling (https://smstirling.com). Mr. Stirling has published more than 55 novels. This is the fourth in his "Rudi's Children" series.

I categorize this novel as ‘R’ because it contains scenes of Violence and Mature Language. The story is set in an alternate timeline, several years after the Change, when unknown powers disabled technology on Earth.

Earlier in the series Prince John, the brother of Crown Princess Órlaith had been captured by dark powers. His sister, along with Japanese Empress Reiko, are searching the Pacific for John. They are briefly delayed by an assault on the Kingdom of Hawaii by the forces of Pyongyang (Korea).

I found the 9.5 hours I spent reading this 331 page alternate history interesting. While I had found the first novels written about the Change to be exciting thrillers I could hardly put down, I found this one falling far short of that mark. To me this was a slow and dull story for the most part. The cover art is OK. I give this novel a 3.5 (rounded up to a 4) out of 5.

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2.5 or 3 stars. Didn't love this one for several reasons. It seemed to be trying too hard to include diversity: there seemed to be characters of every race, religion, culture, gender, sexual orientation, etc. There was even a ranger of the Dunedain! There was also entirely too much description for my taste of every different style of spear, bow, arrow, armor, etc., used by the representatives of each land/culture. Then there were two different stories going on, one taking place in the "real" world of the book and the other in a kind of spirit realm. The spirit realm was the only one I kind of enjoyed as nothing was happening elsewhere, but I didn't see how it tied in to the rest of the book. I see that this book is part of a series and I haven't read any of the others, so maybe it would work better if the reader were reading the series in order.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me a free e_ARC of this book.

I’ve fallen behind on the Change novels, and have clearly missed some important happenings. On the other hand, it’s a good test of a writer’s skill if a reader can pick up the narrative after a few episodes and not be confused. I’m pleased to say Mr. Stirling’s talent for writing a long, complicated series continues unabated.

I try not to include a lot a plot details when I review a book, mostly because no matter how hard one tries, there will be spoilers. So, long story short, The Sea Peoples has one major and one minor plotline, which will be familiar to those who follow this series. The major story line involves a surreal rescue of Prince John Arminger Mackenzie; the minor continues a previous one in which Crown Princess Órlaith Arminger Mackenzie aids her new friend, the Japanese Empress Reiko, battle the Korean hordes. The evil power that has driven most of the villainy in the series hovers in the shadows, this time embodied in the theme of Robert Chambers’s The King in Yellow.

For battle fans, there are plenty of those, both on land and at sea. Not all the enemies are human. That’s all I’m going to say on that score.As someone who has written a fantasy trilogy, I’m very familiar with the difficulty of keeping a multitude of characters, story lines, backstory, history, geography, culture and mythology straight. As someone who has read more than a few longer-running series, I always find it a pleasure when Mr. Stirling takes me back to the world of the Change. Unlike far too many others, he never pads the narrative, leaving the action for the last hundred or so pages, just to drag the conclusion further down the line.

This new episode is no exception. The action is nonstop, and liberally seasoned with humor. The underlying theme of the entire series—that humanity has a huge capacity for survival through cooperation—is one we truly need to hear in these times of chaos when powerful forces seek to divide us into warring tribes.

My one criticism is that the repetition of events from the previous book rather got out of hand. It’s not a good sign when a reader finds herself saying “I got it, already. Move on.” Information is important; redundancy is irksome. Fortunately, most of that happens in the first few chapters, and once we get down to business there’s no stopping for anything except maybe bathroom breaks. Maybe not even those.

The best part of this book for me was the rescue team’s journey through an alternate world slowly being corrupted by a cult of the King in Yellow. There, we observe the development from the villain not from the outside, or even in his own point of view but through the “eyes” of Prince John, whose consciousness travels inside the man’s head. That kind of up close and personal is exceedingly creepy.

Fans of the series won’t be disappointed. Newcomers to the post-Change world should be able to enjoy this book even if they aren’t familiar with what’s gone before and may risk addiction by the time they’re finished. The inevitable unresolved issues at the end, as always, leave the reader anxiously waiting to see what happens next. I may manage to catch up on what I missed by then.

I would personally, as writer and editor, like to thank Mr. Stirling for not referring to the smell of blood as “coppery.” I don’t know who is responsible for starting that particular cliché, but it has become a crutch for far too many writers who apparently don’t have contact with the real thing. And if the reader is a Trek fan, it’s nearly impossible not to wonder whether the dead person was a Vulcan in disguise. But I digress.

The Sea Peoples is another excellent tale from an extremely talented writer who has created a world that looks increasingly enticing to anyone stressed out by the real one. You should buy it. Or ask your local library to buy it.

Standard disclaimer: This review is based on an advanced review copy of the book provided for me by the publisher.

This book is set in a post Apocalyptic world where technology has been truncated by some unknown source. I have no idea what number in the series this is. It is entirely too long since I have read anything in this series. This is sometime after the initial characters have kids and those kids are sending out their own children into a world fraught with peril. The peril is a dark, evil force trying to twist mankind to evil purposes. The good guys have their own forces for good providing their champions with magic swords.

I must have missed too many books because this book only made vague sense. It jumps all over which I referred to in my last review of this series.

Polytheism is a staple throughout the series and some explanation of such is provided in this book. I said in my last review based on the way the story jumped from one time and location to another, it often felt like a book of short stories.

I really enjoyed the first few books in this series but the last few have left me feeling cold at best.

Website http://www.smstirling.com/

Omg, I can't believe it but with every book this series keeps getting better and better!! I recommend this series to all who love alternate history, or just history fiction. My only stipulation is that it really is best to read this series in order.

I don't know about this one. I've tried to read S.M. Stirling books before and I get bogged down in all the would building. Don't get me wrong, world building is an essential part of a good story, but I found that I had a hard time sorting through the description to find the story.

My husband has read a lot of this series, so I know he will like it. This one is going on the "not my style," shelf.

Stirling continues his excellent series that began with The Sunrise Lands. Fans of alternate history who have been following the Emberverse universe will need to read this one.