I’ve loved this series. It starts off with all the necessary elements expected to make an enjoyable space opera coming-of-age story in the first book, The High Ground – see my review here. But events suddenly takes a left turn and what I thought would be a romance between the two main protagonists – the tailor’s son and the princess – turns out to be anything but…
Fourteen years have passed and former military officer Thracius “Tracy” Belmanor has built a new life for
himself. Living under an assumed name as the captain of a small trading vessel crewed primarily by aliens, he and his crew engage in both legal and illegal deals just under the radar of the Solar League authorities. At the other end of the social hierarchy, Princess Mercedes de Arango has her own problems. With rumors of a coup swirling around the throne, Mercedes makes the desperate decision to undertake a military campaign and gain her people’s allegiance through a victory – though things don’t go according to plan…
I have seriously doctored the blurting blurb so those of you who haven’t yet had the pleasure of reading the first two books in this delightful series won’t find your experience spoiled. Once more, I’ve enjoyed being able to examine this society by looking at both the highest level and someone bumping along reasonably near the bottom. The crew often are asked to leave eating places where aliens are not welcome to eat alongside humans.
Mercedes’ life isn’t any easier, despite her more high-end lifestyle. She has problems regarding the succession and her fraying relationship with her husband – so when a commander-in-chief is required for a major military sortie to deal with a major threat to humanity, she is the obvious choice. Indeed, she is delighted to get the chance to go…
Tracy is suitably grumpy and hard-edged, given he is somewhat bitter at the hand Life dealt him, which makes him less likeable than Mercedes. But his courage, ability to act effectively under fire and his own unshakeable moral compass have firmly put me on his side. While I always loved Mercedes and still find her really appealing, so I was sad to see her rather ground down by the passing years and a life that had nibbled away her sense of worth. So it was lovely to see her grow into the person she was always meant to be…
This space opera still has the necessary political plotting, space battles and tension required to tick the genre expectations – with the icing on the cake being the really grown-up characterisation that makes these two protagonists such a delight. However, I firmly recommend that you read this series in order – while you undoubtedly could work out what is going on and treat each one as a standalone, the overarching narrative running across the books is the engine that powers this series. Very highly recommended for space opera fans who enjoy nuanced, well depicted characters.
10/10
Brainfluff 