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The best entry in this series since the space voyage many years ago now. More action than in recent volumes: where the previous novel was about 95% internal monologue and conversation, here it's about 80%.

Outstanding chess-game politics, of course, everything the series has delivered all along. A very welcome addition: young Caijieri has grown from scamp and boy-hostage into a *very* impressive thinker. The scenes narrated from his maturing POV are a true delight.

The only downside? The book stops in mid-action, not even delivering a cliff-hanger, just an abrupt end to the page count, almost in the middle of a scene. It'll be a frustrating wait till next year, but well worth it.

Worth noting also that the cover art, as it has been recently, is spectacular.