Fast Moving and Holds Your Interest
The cast of characters is well chosen to relate the story of Mankind's efforts to get out from under the thumb of an alien monopoly on faster than light technology. Humanity has been offered a small slice of the galaxy for settlement on terms offered by the Shoal, a truly alien marine lifeform which controls all FTL travel in the known universe.
A desperate situation, between conflicting cultures sharing a planet, and a bio-augmented "wirehead" pilot, framed for the destruction of an inhabited asteroid, leads to an attempt to recover a derelict starship in a far and hostile environment. The Shoal, anxious to protect their monopoly on interstellar travel, conspire to prevent human aquisition of the relic ship and the tale it has to tell.
Action moves at a good pace. The setting is expertly presented. The cooperating human factions are splintered, complex, and convincing in their humanity. Some plot twists are telegraphed to the veteran si-fi reader, but don't spoil the impact of the story.
Recommended to the space opera fan who appreciates the depth available in a multi-volume series.
