This is the third book I have read by this author, and I am definitely going to be keeping my eyes open for more. This one is set in the same universe as Terrorists of Irustan, albeit on different planets this time. There was a lot here that was intelligent and challenging. It held my interest right the way through and I thought the characterizations were excellent. There was a certain amount of handwavium, (thanks to Rivka for reminding me of that awesome descriptor) but I wasn't bugged by it. For the most part everything seemed at least reasonably internally consistent, and the main character is not a technician, so it kind of makes sense that the subject of how some of the stuff works doesn't really arise. I mean I myself don't generally go downstairs in the morning and climb into my petroleum powered internal combustion motivated personal transportation device with an effective range of 240 miles and explain to the passengers how it functions.
So all in all, it worked for me I found it a very enjoyable read. The only niggles I have, and they are small ones, is there's jeest a little too much reliance on coincidence in a few spots and there are a couple of spots where it teeters on the edge of turning from science fiction into a romance with science fictional set dressing. But it pulls up in time. So overall, recommended.
