2018 SF, first of a trilogy that's also a sequel to the Indranan War
series. Empress Hailimi is trying to keep her empire out of the war
between two lots of highly advanced aliens… but why do all the
factions want her working for them?
The combination of an entry ramp for new readers (a quick recap
of most of the previous trilogy and who's who among the survivors)
with scene-setting for the new challenge means that this book has a
lot of paving to lay and not always enough space for actual plot or
character. Which faction can be trusted? None of them! They're all up
to something, and the Indranans have to come to terms with being the
mouse in the room while the wrestlers go at each other.
On the other hand, while I can accept that a species with
memory-preserving reincarnation might well get a bit set in their ways
over thousand-year lifespans, I would expect them to have picked up
some basic diplomacy skills rather than just shouting at each other
and casually committing acts of war against allies they want to keep
sweet.
The language can get pretty repetitious (yes, the gods are fighting in
your house; yes, Hail used to be a gunrunner and has a reputation for
violence; yes, all her bodyguard and other allies love her and would
happily die for her) and at times this feels like a few introductory
chapters padded out to novel length, combined with a massive
cliffhanger. It's all right but I didn't feel enthused the way I did
with the first book of the earlier series.