2017 SF, first of its sub-series. David Rice lost his merchant ship,
but the Mage-King of Mars has given him a new one. And there almost
isn't a price…
This trilogy makes up a side story in the Starship's Mage
universe, returning to the captain whose ship Damien Montgomery signed
up with back in Starship's Mage Omnibus. This is set before the big
rebellion breaks out in UnArcana Stars, so the environment is
essentially one of peace with complications. And it scales things
back: we're not dealing witht the Fate of the Protectorate here but
with the well-being of onr merchant crew.
Well, one merchant crew with a huge ship that needs, even more than
a regular merchant, to be constantly on the move with the holds full
to keep the balance sheet in the green: the ship's too well-armed to
compete in the core worlds, and too big to make a profit in the
periophery. Fortunately the Mage-King's agents have some helpful
suggestions…
…and yeah, soon enough the stakes are upped again, not helped by the
succession plan set up by the crime lord David was partly responsible
for killing. There are shenanigans aboard ships and on space stations,
taking full advantage of the extra hazards of a constructed
environment surrounded by vacuum. There are personal shenanigans too,
because with the hasty expansion of crew to run a larger ship than
before, there's every possibility that some bad eggs got through.
Still, Stewart does his usual excellent job of making the
moment-to-moment stuff interesting and enjoyable to read about, even
as larger matters are slightly stretching my credulity. And at least I
can say "this is a ship that attracts trouble, because her size makes
her a tempting prize and her captain has a reputation" and not have to
worry about how any interstellar trade would happen if all voyages
were this exciting.
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