2023 SF novella, part of an ongoing series. Kiera Alexander, thrust
before she was ready onto the throne of Mars, needs children to carry
on a particular set of magic-wielding genes, but would really prefer a
husband she actually likes too. Barry Carpentier is a failed mage
turned shuttle thief, and it turns out the Queen's ship has a really
interesting prototype shuttle on board…
It is just a novella, and I think largely intentded as a lead-in
to the next novel Nemesis of Mars, but it does a good job both of
showing us what these characters' normal lives are like and of
arranging for them to meet.
We've met Alexander before, of course, and I think Stewart does a good
job of balancing the queen who has to do formal things with the young
woman who wants to have a life too. We're also introduced to some of
her household here, though only briefly.
There's a kidnapping plot, so while Carpentier is busy sneaking round
the luxury liner and past the Royal Guard to get to the shuttle,
Alexander is being drugged and spirited away. There's one big
coincidence, but it's always encouraging to see a bad guy plan that
would actually have had a fair chance of working if the good guys
hadn't turned up unexpectedly and interfered. The final section of the
story has the pair of them working to survive against unreasonable
odds, and Stewart's still able to wring some surprises from this
setting even after thirteen books and several shorter works.
There isn't much of a resolution, but as usual I'm interested to see
where things go from here.