What do you think?
Rate this book
StarBridge #3
Shadow World
In what is to be his last assignment, Mark Kenner sets out on a diplomatic mission to bring the Elspind into the Cooperative League of Systems, but he must first survive in an environment that is hostile to the pending alliance
279 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1991
11 people are currently reading
125 people want to read
About the author
A.C. Crispin
70 books316 followersAnn Carol Crispin (1950-2013) was an American science fiction writer, the author of over twenty published novels. She wrote professionally since 1983. She wrote several Star Trek and Star Wars novels, and created her own original science fiction series called Starbridge.
Crispin also served as Eastern Regional Director, and then Vice President, of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. With Victoria Strauss, she founded Writer Beware, a "watchdog" group that is part of SFWA that warns aspiring writers about the dangers of scam agents, editors, and publishers. Writer Beware was founded in 1998, and has assisted law enforcement and civil authorities in tracking and shutting down writing scams.
Crispin, who also wrote a prequel providing the back story for the popular Pirates of the Caribbean movie series, died on September 6th, 2013 at the Hospice of Charles County in Waldorf, aged 63.
She was married to science fiction author Michael Capobianco.
Crispin also served as Eastern Regional Director, and then Vice President, of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. With Victoria Strauss, she founded Writer Beware, a "watchdog" group that is part of SFWA that warns aspiring writers about the dangers of scam agents, editors, and publishers. Writer Beware was founded in 1998, and has assisted law enforcement and civil authorities in tracking and shutting down writing scams.
Crispin, who also wrote a prequel providing the back story for the popular Pirates of the Caribbean movie series, died on September 6th, 2013 at the Hospice of Charles County in Waldorf, aged 63.
She was married to science fiction author Michael Capobianco.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
December 28, 2015
My notes:
Slow starting.
Characters develop nicely, though not deeply. I would care enough to read more about them.
Enough twists to be interesting, well spaced.
Still love the series' premise.
Would like more at the school, itself. Now that we know the interesting things teenagers can do with the training (books 2 and 3), let's see some more of the training.
Slow starting.
Characters develop nicely, though not deeply. I would care enough to read more about them.
Enough twists to be interesting, well spaced.
Still love the series' premise.
Would like more at the school, itself. Now that we know the interesting things teenagers can do with the training (books 2 and 3), let's see some more of the training.
December 11, 2019
Compared to the previous books in this series, we got to spend more time at StarBridge Academy before heading off, which was quite fun to see. This seems to occur around the same time as Silent Dances.
I really enjoyed seeing the interplay between Mark's personal issues and the Elspind's culture as both relate to death. I felt Elliott & Crispin did quite well in showing the evolution of that theme throughout. The aliens were quite interesting, and I loved their daily dance called the Mortenwol.
The StarBridge series's focus on interspecies and intercultural communication has been something of a breath of fresh air. That's not to say violence doesn't exist in this series, but that our heroes avoid it.
Unfortunately the writing wasn't as good as the prior books, with some elements felt a bit young (I mean, technically it's a young adult book, but the main humans are 19 and 17, so it's not that young). Plus, the fact that the Elspind are constantly rushing because of their short lives never quite made sense to me because if their lives are naturally short, it'd be normal for them, so wouldn't need to rush anymore than other species.
I really enjoyed seeing the interplay between Mark's personal issues and the Elspind's culture as both relate to death. I felt Elliott & Crispin did quite well in showing the evolution of that theme throughout. The aliens were quite interesting, and I loved their daily dance called the Mortenwol.
The StarBridge series's focus on interspecies and intercultural communication has been something of a breath of fresh air. That's not to say violence doesn't exist in this series, but that our heroes avoid it.
Unfortunately the writing wasn't as good as the prior books, with some elements felt a bit young (I mean, technically it's a young adult book, but the main humans are 19 and 17, so it's not that young). Plus, the fact that the Elspind are constantly rushing because of their short lives never quite made sense to me because if their lives are naturally short, it'd be normal for them, so wouldn't need to rush anymore than other species.
September 19, 2019
I have to say one of Crispin's strengths is her diversity of aliens and their unique cultures. The way she writes them is so in depth they feel real. I enjoyed this story it is a good addition to the series. Mark and Cara were very interesting protagonists, I liked how they related to each other and how their friendship grew as the story went on. Mark's journey from almost quitting Starbridge to becoming an ambassador (of sorts) was very well done. I am greatly enjoying this series and will be continuing.
March 17, 2021
Another very different alien culture for this, the third book in the series, and it also introduced terrorism to the crime previously highlighted in the second book. The characters are well drafted and engaging, and some interesting philosophical viewpoints are discussed in depth.
This is also one of the series where I don't prefer the original cover art to the new versions, as the baby Elpind as described in the book don't look anything like meerkats!
This is also one of the series where I don't prefer the original cover art to the new versions, as the baby Elpind as described in the book don't look anything like meerkats!
September 22, 2017
Another good read
April 17, 2018
I have been enjoying catching up on this series. I love the relationships between the characters and the depiction of various aliens.
August 2, 2020
Love it. Great characters, dilemmas... Really makes you think
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews