Stars' End

Starfishers #3

by Glen Cook

At the edge of the galaxy lies the fortress known as Stars’ End, a mysterious planet bristling with deadly automated weapons systems, programmed to slaughter anyone fool enough to come within range. But who built this strange planet of death, placing it within view of the Milky Way’s great lens… and tantalizingly close to the hydrogen-filled feeding grounds of the interstellar dragons known as Starfish and the priceless ambergris they create?

Should the harvestships of the High Seiners, known as Starfishers, gain control of that arsenal, they need never fear the Confederation’s navy nor the armies of the human-like Sangaree again. But intelligent life everywhere now needs the might of Stars’ End—and the expertise of agents Mouse Storm and Moyshe benRabi. For in the midst of the Sangaree wars, a far more sinister enemy approaches, coming from the depths of the galaxy, in hordes larger than a solar system.

From Glen Cook, the Master of Modern Heroic Fantasy, comes Stars’ End, the final novel in the Starfishers Trilogy, a seamless blend of ancient myth, political intrigue, and scintillating futuristic combat action.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy, American, Space Opera, Ebooks

351 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published July 1, 1982

About the author

Glen Cook was born in New York City, lived in southern Indiana as a small child, then grew up in Northern California. After high school he served in the U.S. Navy and attended the University of Missouri. He worked for General Motors for 33 years, retiring some years ago. He started writing short stories in 7th grade, had several published in a high school literary magazine. He began writing with malicious intent to publish in 1968, eventually producing 51 books and a number of short fiction pieces.
He met his wife of 43 years while attending the Clarion Writer's Workshop in 1970. He has three sons (army officer, architect, orchestral musician) and numerous grandchildren, all of whom but one are female. He is best known for his Black Company series, which has appeared in 20+ languages worldwide. His other series include Dread Empire and and the Garrett, P.I. series. His latest work is Working God’s Mischief, fourth in the Instrumentalities of the Night series.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/glencook

Reviews

[✘✘ Sarah ✘✘ (former Nefarious Breeder of Murderous Crustaceans) · Rating 3 out of 5]

☠ Bloody Shrimping Hell Someone Hacked Glen Cook Please Goodreads Support Do Something Buddy Read (BSHSHGCPGSDSBR™) with my Dearest of Wives, The Sometimes Wise Canadian One, The Ex Noob and The Prodigal Mercenary ☠

This book does not exist. Ergo, I did not read it. And certainly did NOT rate it 3 miserable little stars. Which quite logically implies that you are not reading this crappy non review right now. This is naught but a drunken construction of your Deliriously Inebriated Barnacly Minds (DIBM™), my Lovely Arthropods. No, jesting I am not. Yes, highly intoxicated you seem to be. Want me to prove it to you? With delectable pleasure. Here goes: it is totally, completely, utterly impossible for this book to have happened. Because Glen Cook does not do unsatisfying, disappointing 3 miserable little star books. He is a God. He cannot help it, he was born that way. It is therefore physically, psychically and technically impossible for him to write Non Fangirl Mode Enabling Books (NFMEB™) The Silver what, you say? The Silver Spike? Never heard of it. No idea what you're talking about. Probably one of those Silly Sanderson Books (SSB™). Yeah, that's what I thought. . Follow my uncanny reasoning here? Good. QED and stuff.



Why thank you, Spocky! So good of you to notice! Oh, and by the way: yes, you are definitely in danger. Anyone with those ever-befuddled eyebrows and fishy earring appendages would be.

Had we been in a parallel universe which does seem to be the case in these somewhat discombobulating, sadly flabbergasting days of stupendously baffling #alternativefacts. But I ever so slightly digress , this book might have possibly had a 1% chance of existing. Maybe. Had it existed, it would have obviously been written by Glen Cook's evil twin, Canyon Chef see what I did there? No? Damn. Here I am trying to be super clever and awfully brilliant and stuff, and you don't even get it. Double damn . You know, the one who is NOT into gloriously evil backstabbing and deliciously cunning plots and exquisitely devious double crossings? Yeah, that one. The guy really is the black sheep of the family. No wonder his parents disowned him before he was born. I personally would have chopped him into tiny little pieces instead, but I have been told my educational values are a bit extreme. I wonder why. Anyway, Canyon Chef really sucks. I mean, come on, the guy doesn't even like killing ALL his characters! That is, like, the most outrageous thing ever! And like, so totally uncool!



See? This is so totally uncool even Batman is bummed about it.

Plus, it seems that Canyon Chef is close to discovering a cure to insomnia. Not that I know anything about it, because this is all highly hypothetical, remember? We are currently in a parallel universe, remember? We are NOT talking about Glen Cook here, remember? ← Just making sure you remembered and stuff. You're welcome. So yeah, in this alternate reality, there is a slight possibility that the first half of this book might have possibly been bloody a teensy little bit boring. And in this alternate reality, there is a slight possibility that Canyon Chef might have been thoroughly vicious, too. You know what he might have done? He might have written six Gloriously Glorious Glen Cook Worthy Chapters (GGGCC™) right smack in the middle of what might have been an otherwise goddamm slightly dull story. Only to end said goddamm slightly dull story in the most disgustingly un-GlenCookish way ever: with a spoiler spoiler spoiler *gasps* Now that might have been truly, horrifically, wholeheartedly, profoundly distasteful. And somewhat despicably scandalous, too.

But you know what? All is well in the world. Because we are NOT in a parallel universe, Glen Cook NEVER wrote this book, I NEVER read it, DID NOT rate it 3 wretched little stars, and you NEVER read this crappy non review. So happy days and stuff.



» And the moral of this I Did Not Almost Not Read an Almost Not Disappointing Glen Cook is a God Book Phew that Was Close Crappy Non Review (IDNANRaANDGCiaGBPtWCNR™) is: I am innocent. And you are SO wasted or is it the other way around? I forget.

✎ Book 1: Shadowline ★★★★
✎ Book 2: Starfishers ★★★★
✎ Book 4: Passage at Arms ★★★ ← are you seeing a 3-star rating here? I knew it. You're drunk again. Damn, how many times have I told you alcohol was bad for you?!



[Pre review nonsense]

Three stars. Three pathetic little stars. For a Glen Cook is a God Book (GCiAGB™). I'm pretty sure some dark evil is at work here. Must have something to do with the White House or something.

This never happened. I never read this book. I wasn't even here. Neither were my fellow Glen Cook Cult (GCC™) members. We were all busy backstabbing stuff elsewhere. Dearest of Wives, Sometimes Wise Canadian One, Ex Noob, Prodigal Mercenary:



►► Full You Might Think You Read this Crappy Non Review but You Didn't You Must Have Been Dreaming or Something Crappy Non Review (YMTYRtCNRbYDYMHBDoSCNR™) to come.

[Choko · Rating 3 out of 5]

*** 3 ***

A buddy read with my friends @ BB&B! Because we love Glen Cook!!!

I love this author!!! I have been quite open with my almost worship for his talent and work, so this is killing me to have to say, but this one was a bit of a miss... I read the first two books in the series and enjoyed them quite a bit. The third book started well, then had a bit of a lull in the middle, then started a very nice, exciting build up to a finish which kind of went... flat... Why all the building of our expectations, when it lead to an anticlimactic resolution-nonresolution.... And a seed planted for a possible forth book to follow...

The world GC has created for this series Universe is quite amazing while his thought processes are fascinating and complex as always. Mouse and Moishe/Tom are multifaceted and full of potential. Amy, despite of being annoying as hell and full of feelings of inferiority, was a good addition, cold eyed and cold hearted Marya was tragic and strong, while the Admiral and Navy personal made life as complicated as possible. Most lovable character in the whole book, Chubs The Space Dragon who wants to learn to tell jokes...

Mouse and Tom are amazingly well written characters! I should have been able to give one extra star for just their development, the personality reprogramming they go in and out of, but the plot would not let me do that. It just meandered about was so full of potential, but it never lived up to it... I have way too high of expectations for Cook's work to let this one slide...

Despite not being able to reach the usual hights of excellence, I still enjoyed this read and am hoping that we get some closure with the next and last novel of this series. Looking forward to reading it, because only GC brings his kind of magic and I am addicted to it, no matter how much of it I can get:-)

I wish you all Happy Reading and may you always find what you are looking for in the pages of a book!!!

[Lee · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 Stars for a Glen Cook book? Yes, you better believe it.

If you read my review for the Starfishers (Book 2) you will know that I became increasingly frustrated with the story. I had high hopes that many of the questions raised in that book would be answered in the last of the trilogy. Unfortunately they were not which leaves some very big holes in the plot that fundamentally ruin the book for me.
I am very much a character driven reader and I have to say, the characters in the last two books are shite! There is no better word for it. They appear flat and their interaction with each other appears juvenile times. Development of key characters was left untouched which appears to be lazy writing. My thoughts are were: that whilst writing book 1, Cook had grandiose ideas about the Starfishers World and how the series pans out. But after looking at the publication dates, it appears that 2 and 3 were published a year before 1. Which does in fact make sense when you read the story. One of the main characters is completely different in book 1 and even the style if different,

There is nothing positive for me in this book. Hugely disappointed.

[Eilonwy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The rest of my mercenary gang have all finished this by now. So I feel free to say what I really think.

As the final volume of the Starfishers trilogy, this installment picked up pretty much where Book Two left off. But somehow, it never recaptured the momentum or intrigue for me.

There are all these tantalizing threads: A mysterious bipedal race that has the goal of wiping out every other species in the universe. Important new information about the Sangaree (and with them around, really, was there any need for the other nasty bipeds?). Exploration of the mysterious “planet” at Stars’ End. More about the space dragons/starfish. Moyshe benRabi’s many missions and identities running together and leaking all over the place.

And what do we get the most story about? Moyshe and his Starfisher girlfriend/wife. I don’t hate Amy as much as my co-readers do, but neither she nor any other of Moyshe’s female involvements really added anything to the plot. (Okay, to be fair, there were some twists involving them, but even that managed to be weirdly dull.) And spending all that time on this plot element in a pretty short book really took away from everything else.

To make it extra-disappointing, everything intriguing then gets explained at the end with a massive deus ex machina that felt like a major cop-out.

So this was an okay book for what it was trying to do -- tell a story about a man looking for connection and solid footing in the world, and more or less finding it. Yay for happy endings! But it wasn’t really what I read Glen Cook for. And aside from being set in the same universe and featuring Mouse Storm as one of the main characters, these second two books had no relation whatsoever to Shadowline.

I’m giving it three stars because it’s still Glen Cook, which means it’s full of interesting characters living in a well-constructed and fascinating universe. But I sure hope Passage at Arms has a lot more backstabbing and double-crossing!

[Zare · Rating 5 out of 5]

Conclusion to the adventures of benRabi and Mouse.

What I like when it comes to Glen Cook is that author gives what you might call open ending - I am yet to read one of his books that would end with a full stop. Reason is very simple (as far as I can tell) - these books are about people not about struggle for its own sake, so struggle can continue even after main characters find their closure and strength to keep on going. Author's stories are very humane in a way that people interactions are normal, everyday. Spies fall in love with wrong people, people die in hundreds due to misunderstandings, families are put to sword and survivors are sworn to never ending vendettas that can only result in the more cataclysmic events and destruction, aliens behave as actual aliens, even when they are biologically very similar to humans (just look at the Sangaree for this or Dragon/Fishes or even Stars' End over-mind for the other end of spectrum).

All of this takes place against the backdrop of ancient mysteries, unimaginable merciless enemies, politicking and backstabbing in human universe and epic battles ..... but again, let me repeat, people are focus. People that do heroic stuff but eventually end up pretty much damaged after years of undercover (Manchurian Candidate type) work amongst the people they finally fall in with or after years of pursuing blood vengeance and then losing the reason to continue living or having to live with the ones actions that have sentenced billions to death. Maybe most important message from the book is how fixation on only one aspect of existence can spell doom to the entire species.

When it comes to action, shadowy spy work, agents and commandos chasing one another, hijackings for information, psychological programming and various other deadly technology available to operators - all of this is something that would not be out of place in stories about Alpha Legion in W40K.

What I especially like in Glen Cook's SF is realism of space combat. Maybe only Neal Asher and Iain M. Banks come near when depicting insanely fast, combat engagements lasting seconds and spanning thousands of miles.

Book has a bitter sweet ending, but after all, when one looks at it through prism of danger lurking on the horizon, everything seems justified (even that research base destruction - although I am still divided on this one). It kinda brings back the belief that humans are not wolves to each other, which is something that last decades seem to just desire to imprint on everyone. Here we have various societies working together, interacting (again in normal way without too much drama) and coming to the solutions that will benefit everyone (again, this is fiction but again, considering the enemy not something unimaginable). Most importantly all characters are reasoning and coming to solutions, yes there are emotions and some actions do come out of them (aforementioned vendetta), but main focus is on reasoning and not allowing emotions to decide on a species wide decisions.

Only element I have a problem with is role of Sangaree - it seems like author wanted to do something with this violent offshoot of humanity but decided not to. I wonder how would the story shape itself if this approach was more developed.

In any case this is great book, great story, highly recommended to fans of SF action/adventure.

[Milena · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've now read most of Glen Cook's works, and I am truly amazed by the range and scope of what he's written. Having recently finished the Dread Empire series, it's hard to imagine this is the same author. Yet the two series were basically written concurrently. This series feels a bit like an experiment that just didn't take. Cook built this universe, tried to approach it from a few different angles, and ultimately decided to pack it in. The first two novels in the series have little in common, and this, the third, feels like an abortive shift. Almost like he got about halfway through this, realized that to do it justice would require (at least) another trilogy, looked at sales, maybe got a word from his publisher, and decided to move in a different direction.

The book reminds me a bit of the end of the Instrumentalities series. I enjoyed that series a lot more, although in that case he sort of cut the thread and left things a tangled mess. Here, he tied a small bow and didn't even attempt to address the larger plot narratives. This series was basically an enjoyable read, with some nice ideas, but wasn't given its due, and ultimately leaves the reader frustrated.

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Third in the Trilogy. Mouse and Moyshe, having become part of the Starfisher Danion's crew have settled in after the events of Starfisher. But the Naval Intelligence Admiral Beckart is not so willing to let them defect. And a new threat has appeared.
Space Opera. If you're looking for deep understanding of interpersonal relationships in this book, forget it. In general, good readable and decently written SF. Not great.

[George K. · Rating 5 out of 5]

well worth your time

The point I am trying to make is you should read this book. I read this book when it was first published & enjoyed it enough that I read & enjoyed it again almost 40 years later. The characters & locations are well developed. The descriptions of the organizations the various characters represent is detailed & makes sense. It is a presentation of a possible & plausible future, all we need is the science & the aliens.

[MrsAReader · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars
An amazing conclusion to the Starfisher trilogy. Complete with political intrigue and deep, existential questions, I loved this book. my favorite of the trilogy.

[Paschalis]

elibrary

[Eric Wisdahl · Rating 3 out of 5]

In my opinion this was the weakest of the Starfisher trilogy. It seemed to me that there was a bit of confusion as to what technology level everything was supposed to be at, and, what other supernatural items were known as compared to the first novel in the series. There were parts that seemed cobbled together and it seemed a bit rushed at the end. The enemy was never really explained; the key to unlocking the star's end fortress was glossed over; the actuality of whether or not deals were upheld; the short account of the first battle in the war with the massed legions. All of these things and more seemed disjointed.

And yet, it was still a worthwhile novel. I enjoyed reading of Moyshe and his plights. There were portions of the novel that were quite interesting (the discussion of the various alien races, the idea of the climbers, the scenes where Moyshe was hiding out on The Broken Wings, Moyshe's varous psyches breaking down, etc).

I just kind of wish that the series had continued on in the path of the first novel.

[Lesley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Star's End wraps up the Starfishers trilogy (although apparently he wrote another novel set in the same universe some years later, Passage at Arms, which I have yet to acquire). Star's End is a stronger novel than Starfishers but not as worthwhile as Shadowline. It leads off the events that took place in Starfishers and neatly wraps up all the odd loose ends in it. I enjoyed many of the concepts in Star's End, but I felt like some of its best ideas were largely wasted. For instance, the moment where a character realizes that an enemy approaching is so endless in number that even if they are defeated, they will effectively transform human society into something unrecognizable is brought up only in an offhand conversation and doesn't seem to go anywhere special. The ending is oddly idyllic given all the revelations the characters experience. I found myself wishing that the trilogy had been wrapped up in a way that really made me identify with where the characters had been left at the end of the book. A decent read, but not what I remembered.

[Richard · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is, apparently, one of the middle books of a multi-volume series. As such, the book is difficult to follow if the reader has not already read the predecessor books in the series. I found it very difficult to follow the story because the author did not provide story continuity until well into the book. In addition, there were so very many plot threads that they seemed to tie into a Gordian Knot. The characters are not very well-developed. The dialog is not believable. The author wants us to believe that hobbies like stamp and coin collecting would still be viable 1,000 years into the future, and that paper (flimsies) would still be used for communication. The is definitely NOT one of the author's best works.

[Jesse Mcconnell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the grand entry of the series into the rest of the story's universe - exploding with a galaxy-wide impact. The entire series has been building to this story, and it carries it off with a marvelous bang, leaving the series clearly completed, but the galaxy obviously entering a brand new phase.

Whether everything wraps up to a satisfactory to the reader will depend on the reader's preferences, but there's not denying the power of the story to rip the reader along with it as it blasts along.

[Matt Sabonis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an odd ending to what amounts to be a fairly good, if scattered, series. Cook takes an interesting tack of making the final conflict, the one that everything's leading up to, exist almost solely on a personal level, ignoring the larger story at hand. It changes the status quo of the universe that Cook created drastically, but doesn't give us time to learn what this new status quo is. Good, but, again, very odd.

[Brian Richardson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Perhaps it was false expectations, but a book titled "Stars' End" should really focus on the title subject...the Stars' End Death-Star-like fortress planet and the use of that technology to drive back the hordes from the center of the galaxy. Sounds exciting, no? Unfortunately, that piece took up about 10 pages at the end of the book. To get there, you slog through endless depressed musings and odd, not-quite-right personal interactions between characters that are difficult to love.

[Jay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I never read the first two volumes of the Starfishers trilogy, just this book and Passage at Arms. Nonetheless, this is one of my all time favorite books. It's not chock full of hard science, but it does present a threat so chilling, and of such magnitude, that I literally had to stop reading for a while, so I could process through the implications. I hope Glen Cook will return to this series. I'd love to see the shape of this universe a few hundred years after the events of this book.

[Brad · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this series overall. I would not really classify this as a trilogy. The first book in the series has little to do with the second two books. It just introduces the character Mouse and some other details. More of a prequel. The second two books were jammed packed with details, really one long novel. I was entertained, since I was looking for some space opera.

[Larry Kenney · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great end to the series. It didn't go the way i predicted from the end of the second book, and it turned out great.

The twists and turns of this one were hard to predict, and i really enjoyed it for that.

Leave it to Glen Cook to take a series all the way to the extremes of epicness.

[Mars · Rating 4 out of 5]

if you ignore the last 10% of the book, it's probably the best of the trilogy.

The actual ending is somewhat akin to that of the LotR movies - it's over, and you know it's over, and the author knows it's over, but it just drags on and on.

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel really should have been combined with Shadowline. It is the superior of the two novels. Much of what I said for the second can be said for this one. the internal complexities were a bit more entertaining, the end showed it to be a bit of fluff for public consumption.

[George Christie]

Excellent. Wish there would be some follow up, I think the thousand year war could have some good stories in it