The third and final book in "Lucasfilm's Alien Chronicles," following ‘The Golden One' and ‘The Crimson Claw.'As it opens, we find Our Hero, Ampris, former pet of the Imperial Ruler, gladiator, slave, and victim of a cruel scientist, living free in the wilderness, with a group of other escaped abiru (slave races). Unfortunately, the wilderness is harsh, and drought has set in. Necessity leads the group toward the Imperial city – but even here, the signs of imminent collapse are unavoidable, as the spoiled, selfish Kaa, Israi, is incapable of dealing with the many problems facing her reign. Ampris had set aside her revolutionary aspirations in favor of motherhood (and, while she has many admirable qualities, her mothering skills leave something to be desired – her cubs are insufferable brats, if not downright evil), but in the city, she finds herself again taking on the mantle of subversive leader.As with the other two books, this is wholly enjoyable, fun space opera – but I was disappointed at the end – there aren't any more books in the series, but the ending is definitely wide open for a sequel, with several unanswered questions, unfinished character arcs, etc... Perhaps someday we'll find out what happens to the next generation?
Picked this paper back up in a bin of severely discounted books! I do that alot! For me being a total sci-fi geek, I was pleasantly surprised and of course had to get the other two books in Chester's series. I really like the authors style of writing. Her characters are believable.Of course, i thought the titles were a little cheesey so I totally hid these books while reading them! I don't find too many women i know that really love science fiction like I do. They just look at me with raised eyebrows.
