Deathstalker Destiny – Simon R. Green (Deathstalker, Book 5)

Title: Deathstalker Destiny review

Series: Deathstalker, Book 5

Author: Simon R. Green

Genre: Science Fiction

Well, it seems it’s the end of the line for Owen Deathstalker. He has been stranded on a planet, striving to help the neglected leper colony (basically) abandoned there recover from an invasion by both the Hadenmen (cyborgs) and the Shub (a tripartite AI bent on the destruction of humanity). And his love has been kidnapped by the mysterious and elusive Blood Runners (as freaky and screwed up as their name suggests).

Though these may seem extraordinary situations and odds, Owen Deathstalker is no ordinary human. And Green writes with an intense pace. This is definitely a book on an epic scale, and by this point in the series, Green has introduced so many diverse characters he barely wraps up many of the story lines introduced in the first four books of this series (Deathstalker, Deathstalker Rebellion, Deathstalker War, and Deathstalker Honor).

And though you could very much enjoy this book by itself, you’re just doing yourself a disfavor if you don’t attempt to get your hands on the first books of the series and read them first. In fact, it would be most wise to try and acquire all of them (including the trilogy which follows this book: Deathstalker Legacy, Deathstalker Return, and Deathstalker Coda) before starting the first book – that way you don’t have to wait between books.  Because, though there is a sense of conclusion at then end of each novel in the series, and especially in this one, most all the loose ends are not completely tied up and concluded/finalized until the last book (Deathstalker Coda).

Once again, the violence is garish and over-the-top – definitely not for the weak of heart. And surprisingly, though there are allusions to sexual matters, there really is hardly any sexual material in the book.

So, if you’re in the mood for an over-the-top, galaxy spanning science fiction epic, this is the book for you. I found it very well-paced and had a hard time putting it down.

Worldview: secular, though in places theistic

Age Recommendation: Due to the more descriptive and bloody violence, High School age children at the youngest.