This entire book felt like there was something missing. Like the story had been compressed into the limit of what the publisher would allow, without real expansion or explanation of the world more. Perhaps it was because it needed to have been read after the RAMA novels, but it doesn’t specifically state that it is a sequel to that series. It does hold up as a semi-interesting story, but much extrapolation and less action than I would care for overall. It felt like this entire since volume could have been stretched out into three, four, or more novels, with infinitely more details than we gain. From an innocent, unknowing citizen to pirate collaborator then back to a more public citizen and returning to the pirate world, so much more could have been done. The other possibility is to pare the story down more, take out some of the unnecessary details and keep the story moving. While I wouldn’t stick this book in the same category as Spider Legs by Piers Anthony, it in no way scores as high as Ender’s Game ( )