Fortunes of the Imperium
Jody Lynn Nye
Baen, Sep 2 2014, $15.00
ISBN: 9781476736723
In Taino, after losing his driver’s license due to accepting a
foolish dare from his cousin, Core Worlds Lieutenant Lord Thomas Innes Loche Kinago learns from his aide-de-camp
Commander Parsons that his irate mother has a special punishment for his shaming
the dignity of the fleet. Thus Thomas
prepares for a diplomatic mission into the Autocracy of the Uctu sector where
he is to learn why shippers are being held and delayed in that region. However, his hidden agenda is to end the
smuggling of contraband including weapons into Uctu space; as nine vessels recently
were caught with illegal shipments.
To Thomas’ dismay, his cousin Jil joins him due to personal
reasons involving a need to leave Taino for a while. When Thomas and Visoltia the Autocrat meet,
she likes the Core World officer for his upbeat energy and kindness, and amused
by his ego greater than Uctu space; he is
not the usual simpering diplomat she typically encounters. Still as is his personality, Thomas distracts
easily; leaving it to Parsons to keep him as usual focused on the mission; especially
since most likely someone high up in the Autocracy runs the smuggling gamut.
The latest amusing Imperium science fiction (see The View From The
Imperium) is a lighthearted outer space
adventure due to the Jeeves-Wooster hyperbolic characterizations of the lead
pair as they struggle with understanding an alien sentient lizard
populace. Although the storyline remains
a one act joke with too much sidebar focus on Thomas’ latest distraction, this
jocular novel is fun due to the antics of this aristocratic superego playing
the roles of diplomat and undercover agent.
Harriet Klausner
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