I was disappointed with Trotter's "The Sands of Pride." The pacing was slow, with dialogue often interrupted by background information - characters, buildings, simple ideas, each facet was overanalyzed to the point of my losing interest in not only the item being described, but also the story's development as whole. To combat this, I began to skim paragraphs, looking for further dialogue, rather than reading the mini history lessons injected throughout the narrative.
In addition, the chapters featuring a different character were too brief to create interest, and their overwhelming number detracted from establishing any sense of continuity. (Many times I wondered if I was reading a male version of a Jane Austen novel.) I often had to look back to previous chapters to again familiarize myself with the current character. This process made reading the mammoth 600-page novel too much like cramming for a pop quiz than reading for leisure.
If every other page were ripped from this novel, I would give it four stars. However, the current length, with its overload of history outweighing the plot, characters, and melodrama, only merits two stars.

I would give this book 3.5 stars, but since I don't have that option, I'll go with four. I enjoyed the North Carolina aspect, since I haven't read much about that part of the war. I also thought the author did a good job of portraying the caste system of the South outside the plantation/slave portrait most people are familiar with. His battlefield descriptions were also very good. He does write like a historian though, so the prose isn't anything special. There are also parts of the book that read like he just dropped his research into the pages. Still, I am looking forward to the sequel.

A sprawling, epic novel, THE SANDS OF PRIDE details the lives and exploits of several dozen characters--both Rebel and Yankee--during the conflict in North Carolina between 1861 and 1863. Many of the main characters are actual historical figures, rendered both realistically and dramatically, with as much care as any of Trotter's (many) fictitious characters. The author's treatment of historical fact is colorful and exciting, and even the passages that are obviously speculative read as authentically as those which are factually documented. Trotter draws upon the vast well of knowledge he has gained over many years of research (first evidenced in his CIVIL WAR IN NORTH CAROLINA trilogy--easily the most extensive and best-documented nonfiction work ever published on the subject) and infuses as many details as possible into the novel--usually seamlessly and in appropriate measure to the context of the narrative; there's no squealing of brakes so the author can go off on a binge of self-indulgent detailing of his expertise.

There's more to come, for a sequel is in the works, which will (hopefully) wrap up the threads left open in SANDS, and take us to the end of the war. I can give this book no higher recommendation, and I also suggest checking out Trotter's WWII novel, WINTER FIRE, which is as gripping in its context as SANDS is in its.

The Ascendancy Strategy guide is a fun book, and it has a very nice poster of the various different specisis in the game. However, there are also three "scenerios" speaking from viewpoints of different alien races as they attempt to gain 'Ascendancy.' I found these to be a bit poorly written, as well as the fact that some things in the guide are just plain wrong.
Just something to think about, but it you are a die-hard Ascendancy gamer--like I am--then purchase it.

If you read the review on the back cover you think you are getting a great book, but MS Press must have written their own on this book.

Figures. Can't believe I read the reviews and bought this book anyway. Sheesh. Like, 3 frickin pages in the whole book about multiplay and not nearly enough about advantages,disadv of each culture.

This book is just what the novice player needs. It provides the tips and strategies necessary to make the game enjoyable rather than frustrating. Well written and nicely illustrated, the book carefully details the individual scenarios within each campaign, allowing the player to develop the basic knowledge and skills for more advanced play.