What do you think?
Rate this book
The Gods of Sagittarius
A grand alternate history, science fiction adventure from multiple New York Times best-selling author Eric Flint, creator of the Ring of Fire alternate history series, the Jao Empire series, and the Boundary series, and multiple Hugo award winner and science fiction legend Mike Resnick.
Russ Tabor is one of the top security specialists in the galaxy. Much against his will, he finds himself assigned to provide protection for Rupert Medawar Narayan Shenoy—“Lord Shenoy,” as he likes to style himself—who is probably the human race’s most brilliant savant. Shenoy has become convinced that the race of ancient aliens known as the Old Ones possessed powers unknown to any modern intelligent species. He believes they had harnessed forces which may well have been actual magic, giving the Old Ones the stature of gods.
Off Russ and Shenoy go to find the secret. Meanwhile, Occo, a member of the alien race known as the Nac Zhe Anglan, returns to her religious creed’s home cloister to find that it has been completely destroyed—and by means which suggest that the Old Ones were the perpetrators. Yet the Old Ones, those ancient and inimical gods of the galaxy, were thought to have perished eons before.
Occo is not a savant of any kind. She is a shaman castigant, a warrior of her creed. Her purpose now is to seek revenge, not to uncover the secrets of the Old Ones. But she cannot do the one without first doing the other. So, she and her familiar Bresk set ought to track down those long-gone deities.
Now human adventures and an alien shaman are on a collision course with the truth: despite their many differences, only if they unite their forces do they stand any chance of surviving the coming encounter with the gods of Sagittarius.
At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management).
About Eric Flint's groundbreaking Ring of Fire series:
“This alternate history series is . . . a landmark…”—Booklist
“ . . . reads like a technothriller set in the age of the Medicis . . . ”—Publishers Weekly
About Eric Flint's best-selling Jao Empire series coauthored with K.D. Wentworth and David Carrico:
“The action is fast and furious . . . a trimphant story . . . ”—The Midwest Book Review
“Building to an exhilarating conclusion, this book cries out for a sequel.”—Publishers Weekly
About Eric Flint's Boundary series, coauthored with Ryk E. Spoor:
“. . . fast-paced sci-fi espionage thriller . . . light in tone and hard on science . . .” —Publishers Weekly on Boundary
“The whole crew from Flint and Spoor's Boundary are back . . . Tensions run high throughout the Ceres mission . . . a fine choice for any collection.” —Publishers Weekly on Threshold
“[P]aleontology, engineering, and space flight, puzzles in linguistics, biology, physics, and evolution further the story, as well as wacky humor, academic rivalries, and even some sweet romances.” —School Library Journal on Boundary
Eric Flint is a modern master of alternate history fiction, with over three million books in print. He’s the author/creator of the New York Times best-selling Ring of Fire series. With David Drake he has written six popular novels in the “Belisarius” alternate Roman history series, and with David Weber collaborated on 1633 and 1634: The Baltic War. Flint was a labor union activist for many years. He lives in Chicago, IL.
Mike Resnick is the all-time leading finalist of science fiction’s Hugo awards.
Russ Tabor is one of the top security specialists in the galaxy. Much against his will, he finds himself assigned to provide protection for Rupert Medawar Narayan Shenoy—“Lord Shenoy,” as he likes to style himself—who is probably the human race’s most brilliant savant. Shenoy has become convinced that the race of ancient aliens known as the Old Ones possessed powers unknown to any modern intelligent species. He believes they had harnessed forces which may well have been actual magic, giving the Old Ones the stature of gods.
Off Russ and Shenoy go to find the secret. Meanwhile, Occo, a member of the alien race known as the Nac Zhe Anglan, returns to her religious creed’s home cloister to find that it has been completely destroyed—and by means which suggest that the Old Ones were the perpetrators. Yet the Old Ones, those ancient and inimical gods of the galaxy, were thought to have perished eons before.
Occo is not a savant of any kind. She is a shaman castigant, a warrior of her creed. Her purpose now is to seek revenge, not to uncover the secrets of the Old Ones. But she cannot do the one without first doing the other. So, she and her familiar Bresk set ought to track down those long-gone deities.
Now human adventures and an alien shaman are on a collision course with the truth: despite their many differences, only if they unite their forces do they stand any chance of surviving the coming encounter with the gods of Sagittarius.
At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management).
About Eric Flint's groundbreaking Ring of Fire series:
“This alternate history series is . . . a landmark…”—Booklist
“ . . . reads like a technothriller set in the age of the Medicis . . . ”—Publishers Weekly
About Eric Flint's best-selling Jao Empire series coauthored with K.D. Wentworth and David Carrico:
“The action is fast and furious . . . a trimphant story . . . ”—The Midwest Book Review
“Building to an exhilarating conclusion, this book cries out for a sequel.”—Publishers Weekly
About Eric Flint's Boundary series, coauthored with Ryk E. Spoor:
“. . . fast-paced sci-fi espionage thriller . . . light in tone and hard on science . . .” —Publishers Weekly on Boundary
“The whole crew from Flint and Spoor's Boundary are back . . . Tensions run high throughout the Ceres mission . . . a fine choice for any collection.” —Publishers Weekly on Threshold
“[P]aleontology, engineering, and space flight, puzzles in linguistics, biology, physics, and evolution further the story, as well as wacky humor, academic rivalries, and even some sweet romances.” —School Library Journal on Boundary
Eric Flint is a modern master of alternate history fiction, with over three million books in print. He’s the author/creator of the New York Times best-selling Ring of Fire series. With David Drake he has written six popular novels in the “Belisarius” alternate Roman history series, and with David Weber collaborated on 1633 and 1634: The Baltic War. Flint was a labor union activist for many years. He lives in Chicago, IL.
Mike Resnick is the all-time leading finalist of science fiction’s Hugo awards.
344 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 2, 2017
28 people are currently reading
194 people want to read
About the author
Eric Flint
250 books876 followersEric Flint was a New York Times bestselling American author, editor, and e-publisher. The majority of his main works were alternate history science fiction, but he also wrote humorous fantasy adventures.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
June 5, 2017
The most recent iterations of Lovecraft revivalism have mostly been grounded in reshaping the “Lovecraftian” tale itself, by explicitly providing a new context for Lovecraft’s much discussed racism (The Ballad of Black Tom, Lovecraft Country) and misogyny (The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe), or by creating a meta-narrative about the Cthulhu Mythos itself (Carter & Lovecraft, I Am Providence). I guess it takes a couple of salty old pros like Eric Flint and Mike Resnick to remind us that, since most of the big beasties in the Lovecraft canon come from outer space, why don’t we all just hop in a space ship and track them down at home?
The Gods of Sagittarius is about two expeditions – one human, one not – that cross paths and purposes as they set off on their respective journeys to uncover the lost secrets of the Old Ones. It is a smart and well composed novel, as one might expect from the two names on the cover. Heady concepts abound: a Warlock Variation Drive that “develops alternative modes of existence. At apparent random”; a Moebius Wormhole, which is basically as cool as it sounds.
It is also a comical odyssey that leans heavily on sarcasm, particularly inflected with Resnick trademark caustic humor. Some of the humor is smart and funny (as one might also expect from these two authors), some of it is hammy and boorish, and the rest of it appears to have been dreamed up on an exceptionally beer-drenched fishing trip where all they did was try to crack each other up with dick and fart jokes.
This novel had really built up a good head of steam in the second half, until its strained and overly cerebral climax killed the momentum, followed by an extraneous denouement that set up a sequel (I guess???) for no good reason.
Still, it’s at least two thirds of a fun ride, with enough smarts and smart-assery to satisfy the authors’ diehard fans.
The Gods of Sagittarius is about two expeditions – one human, one not – that cross paths and purposes as they set off on their respective journeys to uncover the lost secrets of the Old Ones. It is a smart and well composed novel, as one might expect from the two names on the cover. Heady concepts abound: a Warlock Variation Drive that “develops alternative modes of existence. At apparent random”; a Moebius Wormhole, which is basically as cool as it sounds.
It is also a comical odyssey that leans heavily on sarcasm, particularly inflected with Resnick trademark caustic humor. Some of the humor is smart and funny (as one might also expect from these two authors), some of it is hammy and boorish, and the rest of it appears to have been dreamed up on an exceptionally beer-drenched fishing trip where all they did was try to crack each other up with dick and fart jokes.
This novel had really built up a good head of steam in the second half, until its strained and overly cerebral climax killed the momentum, followed by an extraneous denouement that set up a sequel (I guess???) for no good reason.
Still, it’s at least two thirds of a fun ride, with enough smarts and smart-assery to satisfy the authors’ diehard fans.
February 10, 2017
An extreme disappointment. Difficult to read names, silly science, excessive crudeness (an oft farting, argumentative "familiar"). Human characters who read like they were in a 1950s cheap scifi rag, with additional crudeness. All conspired to prevent my being able to get into this book. DNF at 22% with extreme dissatisfaction.
July 3, 2017
So far, not so good. Alleged humor isn't working for me, so far. Humor is hard to predict....
Here's Paul Di Filippo's positive review, which led me to try this:
http://www.locusmag.com/Reviews/2017/...
Abandoned @ p.73, 6/23/17. Not for me! Caveat lector.
Here's Paul Di Filippo's positive review, which led me to try this:
http://www.locusmag.com/Reviews/2017/...
Abandoned @ p.73, 6/23/17. Not for me! Caveat lector.
June 6, 2017
Whether or not you enjoy this book depends heavily on your expectations and your type of humor. If you expect it to be like the 1632 series and Belisarius series, you will be disappointed. If you are familiar with Eric Flint's Joe's World series "Philosophical Strangler" and enjoyed that, this is more in line with that. ...With some absurd Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy thrown in and some Lovecraftian elements sort of cameo-ing/hinted at.
July 24, 2018
I'm giving this 5/5 just to crap on the nay-sayers. This book also craps on anyone who doesn't have a sense of humor. This is one-part mad scientist, one-part mercenary, one-part dutch cussing, and a crap-tonne of Cthuluesque goofing off.
Unfortunately it's got a slightly impotent ending, everyone gets off a little too easy for my tastes considering there's dark gods involved in just about everything.
Yes, that's it, not much more to say without spoilers.
I'm going to make a huge assumption and say that anyone who likes this book will enjoy "Hello Cthulhu"
http://www.hello-cthulhu.com/?date=20...
Unfortunately it's got a slightly impotent ending, everyone gets off a little too easy for my tastes considering there's dark gods involved in just about everything.
Yes, that's it, not much more to say without spoilers.
I'm going to make a huge assumption and say that anyone who likes this book will enjoy "Hello Cthulhu"
http://www.hello-cthulhu.com/?date=20...
July 9, 2017
This was a little bit of a disappointment, but it was okay, it was fun. I think my expectations were too high; because of the past works I've enjoyed from Resnick and Flint I expected something really terrific from a collaboration, but I wasn't overwhelmed. Because it's always a good idea to employ sports metaphors when discussing science fiction or sex or kaiju, I'll suggest that it's like when a Super Bowl or a Stanley Cup game is a boring or one-sided affair despite the superior records of the two teams playing. The Gods of Sagittarius has some good bits and pieces and some really funny sections, but they're offset by some Abbott & Costello style comedic dialogs that stretch too long. The story is a little hard to follow in places because the authors seem determined to drown you in alien nonsense nouns, and the Lovecraft connection never came together for me. It was fun, but I wish I'd waited for the paperback.
October 1, 2018
Fast read. Mostly two viewpoints throughout, which is better than many viewpoints which seems to be the norm nowadays. Also one author obviously writes better and is more creative than the other. Which makes about half the book eminently more readable. After these all too few shaky positives there isn't much left to recommend the book. The initial introduction of the plot even appears mildly interesting but begins to sink of its own accord about 2/3rds through under the weight of indecipherable imponderables. Perhaps this is one definition of recto-fossil ambiguity? And closer to the end the number of new plot twists nearly defy one's patience to finish the book, which I managed -- just. Some of the characters introduced by the better author of the two weren't bad, but overall it is a mostly forgettable experience. I am disappointed in this partnership. I had always thought the one author to be brighter than what this misaligned joint effort indicates.
July 12, 2017
The story line is what captured my attention. It has a Lovecraft theme and read a bit like a comic book
However it became difficult to read. I felt like this might have been a second book and there were things I should already know which made it a bit hard to follow the story line. I also do not think the book had been proof read. There were so many errors. Not spelling errors but just wrong words. Some examples are the word should clearly have been "out" but was printed as "our", or there were places where the print showed "if" but it should clearly have been "is". There were so many of these correctly spelled but clearly not the correct word spots that the reading got annoying. Sadly I liked the story line but the book it self was a disappointment. It did have it's moments but not enough to bring me back for more.
However it became difficult to read. I felt like this might have been a second book and there were things I should already know which made it a bit hard to follow the story line. I also do not think the book had been proof read. There were so many errors. Not spelling errors but just wrong words. Some examples are the word should clearly have been "out" but was printed as "our", or there were places where the print showed "if" but it should clearly have been "is". There were so many of these correctly spelled but clearly not the correct word spots that the reading got annoying. Sadly I liked the story line but the book it self was a disappointment. It did have it's moments but not enough to bring me back for more.
November 6, 2017
There's some fun in this story, but it gets off to a slow start. You have to learn a lot about very fanciful alien cultures. Once the action starts, it's humorous and fast-paced. The biggest problem is the editing. It's like a puzzle that's missing some pieces. Scenes change so quickly that you might think a page was missing. The characters talk about what they cannot say, then say it on the next page. The inconsistencies seem like they could be part of the "magical" plot, but by the end of the book, it looks like they were just human error. A good editor could have saved this project.
April 14, 2018
In the future, humanity is part of an interstellar society. A security expert is tasked to escort a scientist as he investigates a murder with seemingly paranormal aspects. Meanwhile, an alien seeks vengeance for the extermination of her religious sect. Unlike the science-rooted humans, the alien knows that magic is real.
The novel is space opera with a large degree of comedy. Unfortunately, I didn't find the overwrought dialogue and interactions very funny. The story isn't very entertaining either.
http://www.books.rosboch.net/2018/04/...
The novel is space opera with a large degree of comedy. Unfortunately, I didn't find the overwrought dialogue and interactions very funny. The story isn't very entertaining either.
http://www.books.rosboch.net/2018/04/...
November 26, 2017
Mike Resnick tries to write another eccentric team novel similar to The Fortress in Orion and fails miserably. Most of the character interaction consists of endless wisecracks and brief silly and improbable action scenes. Resnick is no Wodehouse and it's very heavy handed. I was hoping the Lovecraft content and Eric Flint would bring something to the table, I was disappointed, I'm avoiding future releases in this series as well as any future Resnick titles without a review from someone I trust.
May 21, 2017
I enjoyed this immensely. Wild and whacky adventure where science meets magic and all done with a humorous touch. I don't mind humour in my SF, including fart jokes, though it's often hard to pull it off without becoming too 'hitchhikers' but in this case I think Mr Flint has managed it. Probably not for those who only want 'hard sci fi' but worth the effort.
October 9, 2017
Though we meet several fascinating beings & learn of unique mindsets, the story makes me think of Hitchikers Guide being taken over by the Dorsai. Befuddling in places as the bereaved Gadrax Occo goes Grendel against those who destroy her home planet, only to later discover it was herself, aided & abetted by clever human Shennoy & his security expert Tabour.
August 31, 2018
it gets a bit bogged down in some technical info early on in this book but if you hang on and slog through it, it becomes the wildest ride though space you can ever imagine. It doesn't use too much science because it is all about the unknown magic of the lost old ones that may have been demons or deities, you decide!! I enjoyed it completely.
August 13, 2020
I got a chuckle or two. I don't really know much about the Lovecraft mythos--I read a couple of things when I was young and thought it was kind of stupid, boring and not scary at all--but the authors use it as a jumping off point and it sort of works.
I liked a characters and their development better than the plot. And it is obviously a setup for a sequel or a series.
I liked a characters and their development better than the plot. And it is obviously a setup for a sequel or a series.
June 20, 2024
What was this? I think it was supposed to be funny, but it was cringy. The plot was either too opaque or way too simple. I didn't feel any connection whatsoever to any of the characters. And what was this one "robot"'s obsession with humans. I get it, the author wants to showcase an outsider's view on humans, but it's just plain odd.
November 3, 2017
This book is an enormous amount of fun. Light, fast-paced, funny! It reminds me of the best of L. Sprague de Camp. Each of the characters is outlandish and over the top, and their interaction is hilarious. The end ties to the beginning and the plot is neatly tied up at the end.
June 8, 2025
Written for money...not art
Many nonsense descriptive paragraphs, names of 10 syllables...plot deranged. What can you conclude except that authors did not have any interest except meeting a deadline and getting paid.
Many nonsense descriptive paragraphs, names of 10 syllables...plot deranged. What can you conclude except that authors did not have any interest except meeting a deadline and getting paid.
July 29, 2017
Very fine blend of drama and humor in this work by two sci-fi masters.
August 3, 2017
Really enjoyed this book especially the dialogue. Very fast moving. Characters are interesting and a delight.
August 22, 2017
nette Idee, etwas konfus und zu wischi waschi
September 2, 2017
First...I love this book. It's a great read. Absolutely.
But...whoever billed this as "alternative history" has a few screws loose. Maybe spending to much time worshiping the elder gods?
But...whoever billed this as "alternative history" has a few screws loose. Maybe spending to much time worshiping the elder gods?
September 10, 2017
I guess I like an occasional dose of absurdity in my space operas.
July 2, 2018
could not finish this book lost all intrest
May 17, 2019
Haven’t read something this oddball in a while. Get ready for a trip...
February 2, 2020
What a ride! This had more crazy than any book I've read in a while, and it was great!
June 13, 2021
Fun read with exciting action, quirky characters and well-developed themes.
November 22, 2024
This is one of the worst books I have ever read.
September 16, 2025
This book thinks itself to be much funnier than it really is. But it's really just a very generic space opera with crude attempts at humor.
March 21, 2018
2.5 rounds up to 3 because it made me laugh at a couple of points.
The future, space travel, a bodyguard, the Skerkud Teleplaser, the Warlock Variation Drive, and the humorous-but-homicidal Jaemu, a multi-legged alien whose race name, the Vitunpelay, translates to "fucking clowns" in Finnish.
It's a decent enough story, though the characters occasionally fall into cliches, and one character's lack of reaction to another character's death is a bit odd.
I would have liked a glossary of all the alien races (and their many ranks and titles), the planets, and other technology. There were a LOT of different alien species mentioned, and sometimes it was hard to tell whether a word was a character's name or their title or their religious sect.
The future, space travel, a bodyguard, the Skerkud Teleplaser, the Warlock Variation Drive, and the humorous-but-homicidal Jaemu, a multi-legged alien whose race name, the Vitunpelay, translates to "fucking clowns" in Finnish.
It's a decent enough story, though the characters occasionally fall into cliches, and one character's lack of reaction to another character's death is a bit odd.
I would have liked a glossary of all the alien races (and their many ranks and titles), the planets, and other technology. There were a LOT of different alien species mentioned, and sometimes it was hard to tell whether a word was a character's name or their title or their religious sect.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews