Published by Harper, 1999,
paperback, $5.99 ISBN 0-06-105795-9
537 pages

The humans are in it this time. As the various factions expanded within space, they met a terrible foe -- the Remor. No one knows what they look like, or why they simply engage spaceships in battle and lay waste to human colonies, but here they come, and the only thing standing between life and death is the Interstellar Defense League.

The only problem is the IDL is at odds with the Pan Stellar Combine -- a merchant association that considers the IDL a bunch of baby killers -- not to mention the Hansection coalition and the Federated Star Nations, too. As Abraham Lincoln noted about houses and division, this slowly dooms humanity to Remor vengeance, especially since the Remor travel in faster, tougher ships.

Still, a primitive species on Chugan merits investigation as a link to the Remor. Enter Kurt Ellicot, anthropologist extraordinare and recent releasee from a mental institution, his last place of residence after he "went native" on a previous study. Since the Chugenil (called H'kimm) are close to his former subjects -- ruthlessly annihilated by the IDL -- he's brought back to crack the riddle.

Fawkes brings a breathless tale of multi sided politics, inventive alien society, and a bit of alien technologies into play. The prose maneuvers adroitly among the plot elements, and keeps an air of mystery surrounding the H'kimm and Remor. Of more import, he involves you in the personal struggles of Professor Ellicot as he balances the dual goal of cracking the riddle and saving the H'kimm from genocide with his desire to go native yet again. You care about the protagonist, you care about the ancillary characters, and you care about how it will all turn out.

Face of the Enemy provides a good read, nimble prose, and appealing plot and characters. Fawkes should be congratulated on his blend of anthropological investigation and interstellar warfare.