Ace, 2000, $6.99, ISBN 0-441-00735-X, 325 pgs.

Sadly, I picked up this novel without reading all the intervening ones--you lose a certain perspective doing that because you miss the author's efforts at building character background and motivations. Now I have to go back and find the originals because this one was that good.

The Confederation of Sentient Beings is stuck between a rock and a hard place--the Thraki and the Sheen. The former are refugees intent on slaughtering all who oppose them, and the latter are machines programmed to kill the Thraki and anyone else helping the Thraki. Worse, a religious lunatic has altered the programming to make sure all sentient beings are exterminated. Talk about your Cylons and the human traitor!

The action proceeds apace, the hero Colonel Booly is suitably heroic, and several battles bring you to the concluding fight.

It's a riveting book--just start at the beginning.

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