Just Finished Reading: Conventions of War by Walter Jon Williams.

With the death of the last of the ruling race known as the Shaa the empire they left behind is torn apart by Civil War. The client race known as the Naxids are attempting to gain power by occupying the capital world and by defeating the Fleet in deep-space battles. Unfortunately for them a pair of human heroes has arisen – the enigmatic Caroline, Lady Sula and Lord Gareth Martinez. Each a tactical genius they are trust into impossible situations yet manage to triumph against all expectations despite opposition from hostile forces both on their own side and on those of the enemy. Sula must attempt something that has not been achieved in living memory – a successful ground attack against vastly superior forces – whist Martinez must fight in space using the first tactical innovation for generations. The fate of an Empire rests on their shoulders and billions will die no matter who finally wins.

This was the final part of the Dread Empire’s Fall trilogy – the other two books being The Praxis and The Sundering. A huge trade paperback of more than 670 pages it was a roller-coaster of a novel. WJW is a fantastic writer whose work I have been enjoying for decades. I think that this trilogy was his first attempt at classic Space Opera yet he managed to produce one of the best examples of the genre I’ve read. His characterisation was outstanding – particularly of the two main characters. Even those characters you are not meant to like evoke the emotions the author wants you to feel. Every character is important to the plot. Every one is rounded with histories, objectives and failings. The society they inhabit is fully functioning and believable and clearly drives the characters to do what they do. But the best parts where what I read Space Opera for – the battles. Here we are presented with massive space ships without the force fields or inertial dampeners we are used to in shows like Star Trek. No, these engines of destruction need to spend days (or weeks) accelerating up to a decent speed always limited by the endurance of their crews. They are protected by defence lasers and missile batteries using anti-matter warheads because if just one enemy missile gets through – they’re history. There are few wounded ships after these space battles – just the victorious and the enemy ships reduced to an expanding cloud of radioactive plasma.

If you like combat SF at the top of its game I can heartily recommend this series of books