2015 modern fantasy short novel, originally published as blog posts on
the author's web site; second in the series. Dina Demille's magical
inn needs guests; she's offered the chance to host an interstellar
peace conference. But only because everyone else has turned it down…
And yet, Andrews doesn't go for the easy option and have a
murder among the delegates. That would be too easy. Instead, Dina has
to sort out the practical details of accommodating a few dozen mortal
enemies (the magic of the inn only goes so far, and it needs
direction), and solve a host of minor problems, not helped by the fact
that the Arbitrators who set all this up don't seem to be particularly
on her side.
(They're apparently grown-up versions of characters from Andrews'
series The Edge, which I haven't read. I didn't feel I was lost
through not having known them before.)
Of course the stakes do rise; of course it's ultimately up to Dina to
end a years-long war where no faction can bear to back down. (Her
solution is perhaps a bit new-agey, but in context it just about
works.) If you're surprised by the nature of the Ultimate Terror
Weapon that one of the sides is using, you really weren't paying
attention.
The thing that makes this book stand out from most stories with
supernatural creatures and a female lead is that Dina behaves like a
grown-up, rather than dropping everything to go misty-eyed over the
first troubled bad boy who shows up at her door. Yeah, that sort of
thing is nice, but let's make sure nobody murders anyone else first,
OK?
There are occasional infelicities of writing, and too much of the
magic/supertech feels as though it does only what the plot demands
rather than being consistent, but the book is still highly enjoyable;
without the world-building burden of the first volume there's room to
stretch out with one large plot rather than a succession of small
ones. Followed by One Fell Sweep.
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