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Review of Kristine Smith's Endgame
Sep. 25th, 2007 03:44 pmOn the strength of having read and enjoyed Contact Imminent
, a novel in Chicago-based author Kristine Smith’s (![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
kristine_smith) Jani Kilian series, I signed up for a contest to get a review copy of Endgame, the last novel in the series. I’m doubly glad – I got a review copy and I enjoyed it immensely.
Jani Kilian is a “hybrid,” a human who has been altered genetically and surgically to become a mix of “Humanish” and Idomeni. Needless to say, conservative members of both species have much heartburn over this, and that heartburn is a key part of this novel’s conflict. In “Contact Imminent” Jani discovered that she wasn’t the only hybrid, and that there was in fact a community of hybrids living on Elyas, a human-controlled colony planet. She decided to stay and help run this colony. Well, if a single hybrid was causing heartburn, a whole colony of them are causing something more like a heart attack.
To add to the strife, various Human and Idomeni colony worlds are looking to secede from their respective home governments. The same powerful people who don’t like hybrids like secession even less. The Idomeni decide to strike first, sending an operative to “secretly kill” the religious leader of the hybrids. Assassination is not typical Idomeni style – if they want to kill somebody they do it face-to-face, so this will look like a Humanish attack.
Although it certainly helps to have read “Contact Imminent,” this book can be a standalone entry into the Jani Kilian world. That world is an exciting one, with intrigue, adventure and suspense, all masterfully crafted by the author. Kristine has spent a huge amount of time creating a believable alien society, which Jani and the other characters in the book spend a lot of time exploring. It’s time well spent by the reader.
Jani Kilian is a compelling character, but certainly not the only one. I find Captain Lucien Pascal, a former lover of Jani (and assassin) to be the most interesting, but all the characters are believable and multi-faceted. There are no cardboard cutouts in this book – every character thinks they’re doing the right and honorable thing. In short, I found “Endgame” a most fitting cap to the Jani Kilian series.
, a novel in Chicago-based author Kristine Smith’s (kristine_smith) Jani Kilian series, I signed up for a contest to get a review copy of Endgame, the last novel in the series. I’m doubly glad – I got a review copy and I enjoyed it immensely.Jani Kilian is a “hybrid,” a human who has been altered genetically and surgically to become a mix of “Humanish” and Idomeni. Needless to say, conservative members of both species have much heartburn over this, and that heartburn is a key part of this novel’s conflict. In “Contact Imminent” Jani discovered that she wasn’t the only hybrid, and that there was in fact a community of hybrids living on Elyas, a human-controlled colony planet. She decided to stay and help run this colony. Well, if a single hybrid was causing heartburn, a whole colony of them are causing something more like a heart attack.
To add to the strife, various Human and Idomeni colony worlds are looking to secede from their respective home governments. The same powerful people who don’t like hybrids like secession even less. The Idomeni decide to strike first, sending an operative to “secretly kill” the religious leader of the hybrids. Assassination is not typical Idomeni style – if they want to kill somebody they do it face-to-face, so this will look like a Humanish attack.
Although it certainly helps to have read “Contact Imminent,” this book can be a standalone entry into the Jani Kilian world. That world is an exciting one, with intrigue, adventure and suspense, all masterfully crafted by the author. Kristine has spent a huge amount of time creating a believable alien society, which Jani and the other characters in the book spend a lot of time exploring. It’s time well spent by the reader.
Jani Kilian is a compelling character, but certainly not the only one. I find Captain Lucien Pascal, a former lover of Jani (and assassin) to be the most interesting, but all the characters are believable and multi-faceted. There are no cardboard cutouts in this book – every character thinks they’re doing the right and honorable thing. In short, I found “Endgame” a most fitting cap to the Jani Kilian series.
