2014 SF; sequel to Fortune's Pawn. Devi is now security chief on the
tramp space-freighter she signed on with, but clearly something very
strange is going on.
We open in some confusion, not really surprising after what
happened at the end of the last book. For much of this volume, Devi is
missing a chunk of her memories, though she knows she can't stand to
look at the ship's cook (or even remember his name). Just not why.
But this isn't just a matter of recovering her memories and finding
her True Love. It's much more complicated than that. By the time
Devi's got her memories back, she has plenty of more serious reasons
not to trust her True Love, nor he her. (Indeed, if you like exploring
the idea of loving someone who's done Bad Things, there's a doozy
here.) There's clearly an existential threat to the universe, but none
of the two, or possibly three, factions with plans to do anything
about it seems to be more than mid-grey on an ethical scale (there are
most definitely Omelas moments here) and they certainly don't have
her best interests at heart; they're more prone to regard Devi's
weird powers as a prize to be won, and Devi herself as an unfortunate
piece of extra baggage.
The world-building still isn't terrifically solid, but it gets the job
done, and the action continues to be well-drawn and exciting. There
are multiple twists in the plot, too, with various people changing
status between enemy, ally, and ally-of-convenience as more
information becomes available and their own behaviour under stress
becomes more obvious. Devi's a bit unfortunately slow in realising
what it is that controls her powers, but it doesn't have a devastating
effect on the story. As before, the book ends on something of a pause
rather than a break, and I plan to go on to the final volume soon.
Not at all highbrow or demanding reading, but good enough not to be
guilty pleasure either; rather to my surprise, one of my favourite
books of the year. Definitely not a good place to start the series.
Followed by Heaven's Queen.
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