"For fans of space opera and military science fiction"
After nine long years Fleet Ship Inquisitor Andrej
Koscuisko of the Ragnarok is going home but he is not the
same man that left years ago. He is very good at his job
torturing people into confessions and inflicting pain. He
enjoys it, but being an honorable man he also feels stained
and corrupt. The only reason he has come home is to
legitimize his son and make his son's mother his first wife. After he accomplishes his objectives he intends to find out
who has falsified a bench warrant with his name on it that
orders his execution. Mergau Noycannir is obsessed with
destroying Andrej using any means at her disposal and she
thinks his loyalty to the crew of the Ragnarok is his
Achilles' Heal. When a corrupt admiral, egged on by Mergau
tries to blame the Ragnarok for crimes against the state,
Andrej finds himself torn between loyalty to his family and
to the men on his ship. Susan R. Matthews sets her space opera far into the future
and shows the corruption that permeates the space command
and the politicians who use it to advance their own
purposes. The hero is a man at war with himself, a decent
person who cannot understand why he enjoys afflicting pain
on others. This flaw, terrible as it is, humanizes him and
allows the reader to empathize with his problem without
condoning it. Fans of space opera and military science
fiction will enjoy THE DEVIL & DEEP SPACE. Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted October 10, 2002
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