This is actually somewhere around 2.5 stars for me. I enjoyed it, but not as much as By Honor Betrayed (the other Mageworlds book I've read). Also, I requested it under the impression that it was the fourth in the series, which it technically is, but it is *actually* the *prequel* to the series. I am doomed to read the series out of order. Once again, the worldbuilding was interesting and the action decent, but I didn't like the characters nearly as much. Also, for some reason the use of the word "cha'a" bothered me, because it is ubiquitous and indistinguishable from coffee (it reminded me of calling a rabbit a smeerp). Overall, a decent bit of space opera.

The Gathering Flame

The Mageworlds are pludering the civilized galaxy, one planet at a time. First, their scout-ships appeared above the outplanets. Raiding parties followed, then whole armadas bent on loot and conquest. The Mages break the warfleets that oppose them. They take entire planets. Who can stop them?Not Perada Rosselin, Domina of Entibor. She's the absolute ruler of a rich world and all its colonies, but Entibor's space fleet is too small to mount a defense. And Perada herself, just back from school on distant Galcen, is almost an outworlder in her own court.  Not Jod Metadi, the most famous -- or notorious -- of the privateers of Innish-Kyl. Jos can fight the Mages and he can best them one on one, but his preferred targets are cargo vessels, not the dangerous and unprofitable ships of war. Metadi stays clear of the Mageworlds' battle fleet -- when he can.  Not Errec Ransome. He understands the Mageworlds better than anyone. But there are some things he'll never tell -- and some things he's sworn to himself that he'll never do again.  Now, the Mages have attacked Entibor. That was a mistake.

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