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Fantasy. Fiction. HTML: A former refugee rises through the ranks of Jupiter's navy in the second novel of this sci-fi series from the New York Times�??bestselling author. He was driven by violent injustice from his home moon of Callisto�??and set forth to claim the epic destiny that would blaze across worlds and time. He saw his family destroyed, his sister carried off into sexual slavery, his beautiful lover killed�??and he swore revenge against the murderous pirates who held the Jupiter planetoids in a stranglehold of terror. Fired by raw courage, steeled by young might, he rose in the navy of Jupiter to command a personal squadron loyal to the death. And it was death they faced�??against piratical warlords of the Jupiter Elliptic who laughed at the young commander's challenge . . . until they met the merciless fury of the warrior who would annihilate all obstacles in his path to immortal renown as the tyrant of J… (more)
User reviews
I liked this book much more than the first. I don't mind the intrigue as much as the wanton brutality of the first book. In this volume, even the ceremonial rape is desired by its victim and women are definitely given a larger, more aggressive and more self determined role. I certainly prefer that type of reality. I enjoyed the references to the historical battles of significance, although I think that allowing the pirates to play their assigned roles as closely as they did was not particularly compelling or genuine. I would have preferred more of a deviation from history rather than a simple recreation.
While I think it's cute that a cryptographic key is given the form of a physical key, I can't help but think that Piers is changing the story up as we go along - like he did with the Incarnations of Immortality series. I'm sure that in the first book the key was an ACTUAL key and it was only after the key was introduced that he changed it to be cryptographic. Those kinds of shenanigans are one of the real complaints I have with Piers as an author - he starts with a solid foundation and then gets too cute with it - either with puns or by trying to tie things too tightly into a bow.
The other thing I wanted to mention here was that this series is starting to remind me a lot of the Stephen Donaldson space opera series, The Gap Cycle. First book incredibly violent and subsequent volumes more concerned with strategy than brutality. We'll see how well the analogy plays out as the series progresses.
We'll see how the next volume progresses.
I am a fan of Piers Anthony; but, reader beware -- this ain't no Xanth. Much more intense situations.