This is book 2 in the Paradox series, and it's not meant as a standalone. Please check out ‘Fortune’s Pawn’ first.
Devi’s adventures continue. She keeps serving on the Glorious Fool after all her memories involving Rupert and the crew’s secrets have been wiped out. She focuses on her job until the day when everything changes, and she has to fight for her freedom, making unexpected alliances.
The book was quite slow to start. For about a third of it, not much was happening, and I considered abandoning it several times. Then, it suddenly picked up pace, there was an unexpected turn of events, and Devi plunged into action. Everyone seemed to have their own agenda, and Devi was their key to reaching their contradictory goals.
In this book we learn more about Maat and her ‘daughters’, the Fool’s mission and phantoms. We also have a glimpse into the xith’cal culture, and get a few encounters with the lelgis.
The author explores the moral dilemma of ‘greater good’: how ethical is it to sacrifice a few innocent lives in order to save the many? We discover that there are no good guys and bad guys, everyone is rather morally grey, though some of them see themselves as righteous, and Devi is caught in between them all, trying to do the right thing.
Devi seemed more likable to me in this book. Her range of emotions expanded, she became more complex, and I started perceiving her as a real person instead of a set of stereotypes.
The romance is still present, but it doesn’t take as much space as in the first book. It mostly just made me feel uncomfortable and confused, especially when some truths about Rupert were revealed.
The book is also still filled with action, alien battle scenes and unexpected turns of events, and it provides good and easy entertainment. I suspect most people who liked ‘Fortune’s Pawn’ will like ‘Honor’s Knight’ as well. If you didn’t like the first book though, there is nothing for you here. It ends with a cliffhanger, too, so most of the questions will have to be answered in the last book. I don’t know if I’m going to read it. I’m curious, but not really involved and don’t mind not knowing. Maybe, the time for it will come one day, when I’m in the mood for something light and adventurous.
You can get the book on Amazon, Barnes&Noble, Apple and in other retailers.