S. Andrew Swann
Partisan (1995)
Hostile Takeover #2
Reviewed: 1996-03-11

Sequel to Profiteer, this middle part of the Hostile Takeover trilogy is another gripping post-cyberpunk space opera full of slick technology and well executed action sequences. Swann weaves a delicate web of intrigues, untangling of which seems to uncover ever more of its extent. More pieces of the puzzle appear as we learn more about the unexpectedly complex background to the action.

It becomes increasingly clear that the war waged against Dominic Magnus, once known as Jonah Dacham, by his twin brother Klaus Dacham, is much more than a personal affair and only part of a larger plot for a takeover of the anarchic world of Bakunin by the Confederacy. However, different arms of the Confederacy are pitted against each other, and while there is a mastermind in the background who seems to follow a grand plan, we don't know his scheme and possibly not even all the players. Most protagonists are haunted by the ghosts of the past and future, and with the effects of wormhole space-time travel this has occasionally more than its metaphorical meaning! Above all, Bakunin holds a secret which might render the war "insignificant"...

A novel at the cutting edge of modern space opera.

Home Page | Review Index | Latest Reviews

Generated: 1998-11-16