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A review by colossal
Alliance by S.K. Dunstall
5.0
A great second book in this brilliant space opera series.
Ean Lambert finds himself as the chief Linesman of the New Alliance, a new political entity rising out of the events of the previous book. The New Alliance is also at war with the Gate Union, a conflict that it is bound to lose because of the GU's monopoly over galactic trade and the Gates required for safe travel. What stops the war from being over before it's begun are the alien ships that Lambert and his friends now have control over, but they remain an unknown quantity at the beginning of this book.
We get viewpoints in this book from Ean, an experienced Lineship captain who is being considered as the new captain of the Eleven and an enemy agent who is attempting to get a hold of Ean to explain to the GU exactly who and what he is and how he's doing it.
There's a term for this sort of book: competence porn. The good guys are really good at what they do, and in almost all cases, the best at what they do. Even the bad guys are really, really good, just not as good at it as the good guys. There's a very narrow line that these authors work deftly to dance upon where the good guys get challenged and the bad guys still lose. For context, this is the same sort of thing that goes on in the Miles Vorkosigan books by [a:Lois McMaster Bujold|16094|Lois McMaster Bujold|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1377313786p2/16094.jpg]. I don't think anyone would complain about being compared with that brilliant series and I eagerly devoured this one much as I devour every Miles book I get my hands on.
Highly recommended.
Ean Lambert finds himself as the chief Linesman of the New Alliance, a new political entity rising out of the events of the previous book. The New Alliance is also at war with the Gate Union, a conflict that it is bound to lose because of the GU's monopoly over galactic trade and the Gates required for safe travel. What stops the war from being over before it's begun are the alien ships that Lambert and his friends now have control over, but they remain an unknown quantity at the beginning of this book.
We get viewpoints in this book from Ean, an experienced Lineship captain who is being considered as the new captain of the Eleven and an enemy agent who is attempting to get a hold of Ean to explain to the GU exactly who and what he is and how he's doing it.
There's a term for this sort of book: competence porn. The good guys are really good at what they do, and in almost all cases, the best at what they do. Even the bad guys are really, really good, just not as good at it as the good guys. There's a very narrow line that these authors work deftly to dance upon where the good guys get challenged and the bad guys still lose. For context, this is the same sort of thing that goes on in the Miles Vorkosigan books by [a:Lois McMaster Bujold|16094|Lois McMaster Bujold|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1377313786p2/16094.jpg]. I don't think anyone would complain about being compared with that brilliant series and I eagerly devoured this one much as I devour every Miles book I get my hands on.
Highly recommended.