Extraordinary prequel series
921147
Picking up at the conclusion to the first season of Spartacus: Blood and Sand, the six-episode series presents the ascension of the House of Batiatus as the passing Quintus Batiatus' life before his dying eyes.

The series shows the societally impotent Quintus' growth from a groveling schemer to the head of the powerful Batiatus lutus of the series' first season. We get to see Quintus' acquisition of Crixus, as well as that eventual House Champion's rise from lowly slave to powerful gladiator. The character is nearly unrecognizable from the clean-cut image portrayed in the first season, with that shift in appearance part of the character's own development. The initiation of his affair with Lucretia is also shown, with her need to produce a son for Quintus overriding her relatively puritanical view of extramarital activities.

The clear star of the miniseries is Dustin Clare as the charismatic House Champion Gannicus. A hard-drinking, oversexed, lazy gladiator, he becomes the focus of the conflict between Quintus and one of the city of Capua's power brokers. Unwilling to lose his greatest galdiator, and thus the only clear means to achieve some semblance of status above his lanista status, Quintus endures beating, humilation, and other abasement repeatedly due to his refusal to sell Gannicus to his social superior. From his reluctance initially to his increasing boldness as backing down clearly is anathema to him, as is humility and humbleness, he suffers for his ambition.

The gem of the series if Jaime Murray as Lucretia's corrupting friend. From her loose morals to her gold-digging pursuit of a husband, she transforms the House of Batiatus from just a lutus to the carnal house of the series' first season. While she couches her moves and machinations as directed to aid the rise of the House of Batiatus, it's clear that she is really just attempting to meet her own drug-addled desires. And we viewers are the beneficiaries of her lack of moral compunction, from the bloody single combat in the lutus as a demonstration of gladatorial quality to the orgies that are the end result of her sexual liberalism.

The digital images on the DVD rival the quality of my Blu-Ray of the first season, and at lower cost. The special features are respeactable for the most part, with nice behind-the-scenes shorts on such things are choreographing the arena fight scenes, for which the actors had to train relentlessly. The lowest part of the features is the one thing I look forward to the most: the bloopers. While there is a blooper reel, it is just about the most dull set of outtakes I have ever suffered through. It is the first I have never laughed at at all. It's really not funny and the set would just as well have left it out.
3186265
This "prequel" to the Lunar Chronicles collection exceeded my expectations, and was thoroughly enjoyable. I'm just really sorry the series is done. I can see how the author could get a few more stories out of this series, and I'd certainly buy them.

The last story is my favorite, a sequel instead of a prequel, and I'd like to see what happens afterwards. Come on Marissa! You can give us at least one more book per set of characters!
4456657
I thoroughly enjoyed this whole series, and found the prequel novellas to be a good addition.  It's nice to see through the eyes of a few of the more minor characters, learning more about their backstory, personality, and adventures.  If you enjoyed the main series, you will want to read these prequels too to learn more about Alodia, Hector, and Mara.
1076591
There has never been a series that I anticipated and looked forward to the next installment than Anderson's "Destroyer men"!
The characters are diverse, and they have depth.  The plots are not straightforward, and there are some surprises, but they are well crafted and well written.
Starting from the beginning is not required, but will increase your appreciation of the characters and understanding of the chronology.  I have read them all and can hardly wait for the next installment.
3703427
One of the most entertaining series I have ever read-and In 60 years of continual reading, I have read a LOT of them.
The characters are so rich and real. The bits of local history entwined is fascinating and gives a wonderful feel for the area which enriches the characters and stories even more. Each book has a different base story and Abigail makes each one so interesting. You will be interested even if you never thought you cared about such things!

I simply cannot recommend these books enough. You will not regret buying them and will re-read them.
774534
Outstanding depiction of an one of the best book series I've ever read!
4565322
I have been reading these prequels from the very beginning (obviously, if I'm reading #11-14), and while I am loving the village (or town?) of Sorrow and all the strange little characters that inhabit it, I also love seeing Mr. Jace grow as a writer. The early prequels, especially the first couple, were pretty choppy in their flow and extremely awkward in their dialogue. This group of prequels though was damn near perfection (aside from some of the editing errors, but I can get over that). Tight, interesting story-line, realistic and mature dialogue, and it feels like (thought this could just be me), that things are getting darker the further we get into the series (which I like).

Overall, excellent job, Mr. Jace!  I really like how you lead off these prequels with a short little blurb, and you even explain that you're still learning new things every day, and how you never call yourself a writer but a storyteller. Well, as someone who's read all 15 of these prequels, I can honestly say that your writing has matured quite a bit from when you first started this series. It comes through just how much you care about these characters and all their individual stories, and how much time you've invested in getting things just right. I can't wait to continue with this series and learn all there is to know about each and every one of these fairy-tale creatures. I love the story you've come up with (and it certainly is a big one, I'm trying not to mix up all the characters), and while I wasn't too confident in the beginning that you could pull it off, I see now that I was wrong. This is going to be an amazing series, and I'm really looking forward to it.

Now...how about hurrying up and releasing that first novel, eh?  ;)
279011
I waited far too long to pick up this series.  From the strong characters to the intriguingly unique storyline, I was a Mohiri from the get-go.  This book is really a backgrounder, letting you get to know the leads before things get serious.  I highly recommend!
954203
After reading the entire series, I went backwards and read this prequel.  It was great to fill in some blanks and understand the reasons behind some of the plot twists. I thoroughly enjoyed the entire series!
2880376
I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed this prequel.  It was very cool to see the characters from Unstrung as kids, and see the events that set up that story.  Even though this is a prequel, I would recommend reading Unstrung first so you don't spoil some of the surprises in that one.  But whatever order you read them in, you won't be disappointed in this series.  I can't wait to see what happens next!
3358508
This a wonderful Series!!!! I was hooked after reading this prequel and ending up buying the entire set and cannot wait to read the next installment.  Meg moves back in time to medieval Wales and struggles to find her place.  She has her young daughter,Anna, to protect, an abusive 21st century marriage to recovery from and a medieval prince ready to make her his own.  I would recommend this book to anyone - it has a little bit of everything - modern struggles juxtaposed  against a knoghts sense of honor.  All with a fantasy twist of time travel.  A must read in my opinion.
2107548
The entire series is full of love and sadness. The world's this author has created are extremely realistic as they are based off of our solar system in the future. Combat and technology is believable and grounded to more science rather than an almost magical aspect like star wars. You feel a piece of the author in sparrows pain and suffering and his anger and pride. I'm eagerly waiting for this author to write more a prequel or just another series.
542815
If you haven't started this series, you're missing out on the greatest thing to happen to Science Fiction since Star Wars.  Honestly, this has replaced Star Wars as the penultimate Sci-Fi series in my humble opinion.

This first book starts out as just a straight Mil-Sci-Fi story, but you really need to read it to understand what happens in the following books.  Every single one gets better than the last.  The characters are phenomenal.  The story line grows and expands with each new book, and there is always hints at much more to come.

Mr. Cole and Mr. Anspach have written something special, and I can't wait till the day someone makes this into a movie/show.  Give it a try, you definitely won't regret it!
121312
The second book in a series of four introductory novels within the "New Frontier" series is both character and action-packed, introducing the readers to the Excalibur crew left untouched in the first volume.

Excalibur has launched on her mission to Sector 221-G, and her commanders are hard at work sorting out personnel issues ranging from stowaways to the helmsman. But when a refugee transport loses power, it's Excalibur's job to save the ship -- and the people aboard.

"New Frontier", the first Star Trek series to be centered around non-canon characters, is, in my humble opinion, some of the best Trek fiction on the market. The characters, plots, and characters are all stunningly executed by one of Trek's best authors.

8.5/10
4351367
***Note: This review contains NO spoilers***

It is apparent that this is the start of a spin-off series from Mary Ting's bestselling Crossroads Saga. And... "The Angel Knights" is the exciting prequel to said spin-off. Yes, we have come some time from Michael and Claudia's story to now their twins, Lucia and Zachary. Anyways, this prequel introduces this new series with the twins coming into their own as they train to battle the impending evil/darkness that is coming. Yes, the battle between good/evil, heaven/hell continues. Plus, we come to find out the twins are training to go on a special mission.

Of course, in order to find out more about Michael and Claudia's story and to get more of a history of how this spin-off came about, you have to read the Crossroads Saga...haha! However, it really isn't necessary. This new series can be read as a "standalone".

Well, enough of that... Mary Ting has again created a beautiful, yet action/adventure filled, start of a series that, in its own right, has its well-developed characters and complex world building. This is just only the beginning of a series filled with emotions, action, adventure, mystery, and suspense. This prequel is only just a "taste" of what is to come. Therefore, it is highly recommended to read this first. I am so ready to start "The Chosen Knights."

Definitely a prequel novella that is short, yet filled with various elements that will get readers of all ages hooked. I know I am...haha!
2414411
Great prequel to a great series :)

I really like the flow of this series, as it avoids the pitfalls of quick powerups and popup villains, in favor of some solid storytelling. I also like that it doesn't portray nobles as  monsters - as is way too common in modern fiction - but instead as people with flaws and strengths.
2861860
I own both books.  I hope for a third(and a fourth..?) This series presents a level of realism to an unreal universe.  The characters, factions, events, and even the magic are presented in such a fashion that the story has a level of believability that is lacking in most titles of the genre.  Without going into specifics, the characters and story undergo a large amount of change and development for such a short read.  This is even more astounding considering the multitude of major players in the storyline.  All in all, wonderful books. Just wish there were more (Hint, hint Mr. Perry)