Wow. Engrossing. Politics and alien cultures and conflicts and overcoming hurdles, and a BIG twist that I didn't see coming! ( )

Book 17 of the series has quite a surprise in the middle ( )

I really enjoyed this one. There's a big focus on Bren's roots, from his time at school and training to be a linguist/interpreter, and on Mospheira's culture, in ways that I didn't expect. I really enjoyed learning more about Bren's background, which, even with the one short story and 16 books, has been somewhat shrouded in mystery. Who was Bren when he first started the job? How did he get it? What is his relationship with his predecessor, rather than him just ruminating on the guy?

We learn a lot about the Kyo in this book, and it's fascinating. Bren's reactions to his discoveries in that area are also really enjoyable to watch. Bren has done a lot of work not only as a linguist and diplomat but also as a teacher, particularly of Cajeiri, and he seems like a good teacher, so I enjoyed seeing more of that here, with someone who isn't Cajeiri, Tabini, or his bodyguards. He is a very supportive and comforting person, and finds ways to express that even though the Atevi are not really into overt expressions of comfort, and it is always fun to see him express those emotions more, perhaps because we see that so rarely and so value those experiences more.

And we also see Bren playing more of a diplomat in this book. Bren has played very important roles in a great many deliberations in this series, but it is even more heavily impressed in this book, where he is central to some very important decisions, that Bren's position is important and he has a lot of power in his hands, and his decisions, the ones he makes, can affect a very, very large number of people, in very significant ways. Maybe that's really vague and overlong but this book is all about responsibility and thinking big picture, whereas other entries in the series felt somewhat small picture (e.g., my neighbor is shooting people up, I should go take care of that), even though they really were big picture issues (e.g., the head of this huge faction is doing some dangerous things, I need to help deal with it so a lot of people aren't hurt/killed as a result). Whatever the case, it worked really well here. I appreciate how the issues were handled, how Bren stood up for himself, and of course, Ilisidi, as usual. This book is not one to skip and it's one of my favorites in the series. ( )

Oddly both my favorite and least favorite. The action (always slight in these books) could have been condensed into a single chapter. Most of this book was Bren doing political calculations in his head. However, when the plot began to move I shouted at several points. I think it's important to remember that this book is the middle of a trilogy. ( )

With the kyo starship approaching, Bren and company go up to Alpha Station to resolve the conflicts between groups of humans living there. Then they have to meet the kyo and find out what that alien race wants. A huge surprise awaits him. ( )