The Serrano Succession: Omnibus Three [Paperback]

"Change of Command". The Familias Regnant are stunned when the dynastic head Bunny Thornbuckle is assassinated. The murder throws the Family into chaos and discord. Hobart Conselline cleverly takes advantage of the confusion and lack of successor power to become the new council speaker of the Grand Council at Castle Rock He gets new laws passed that target removing his only threat, the late Bunny's Widow Miranda, his daughter Brun and the children that the latter was forced to carry (see RULES OF ENGAGEMENT). At the same time the Regnant is divided between Hobart supporters and those loyal to the widow, military officers Esmay Suiza and Barin Serrano marry over the objections of their respective adversarial families.

"Against the Odds". The Fleet military wing of the Familias Regnant rebels. This leaves the Familias in jeopardy from its bigger stalking neighbor, the Benignity. Meanwhile the Fleet discharges Lieutenant Esmay Suiza for marrying Barin Serrano compounded by her religious belief. Suiza travels to Castle Rock where she hopes to obtain support from Grand Council member Brun Meager, whom she rescued at a time the leadership debates the issue of near-immortality of the wealthy vs. the aspirations of their heirs.

These are reprints of two of the Suiza-Serrano tales that will please fans of the outer space romantic science fiction series; newcomers will be better off starting with last year's reprint; SERRANO CONNECTION. Both tales are well written and enable the audience to feel they are in space as family members of a Mafia like planetary government. Although the myriad of subplots can prove confusing and bog down the pace, SERRANO SUCCESSION remains a super spellbinding Suiza-Serrano space saga with more stories to reprint.

Harriet Klausner

The author has discovered the best way to make a living writing science fiction: re-issue in a different format. She writes a great story. I had donated the originals to a charity a while back, and enjoyed reading them again.

The Serrano Succession (2009) is the third SF omnibus of the Familias Regnant series, following The Serrano Connection. In the previous volume, Esmay Suiza proved her worth as a combat commander and helped rescue Brun from the New Texas terrorists.

The following is compiled from my more complete reviews of these books, which are also posted on Amazon.

Change of Command (1999) is the sixth SF novel in this series. Esmay and Barin have gained permission to marry, but then someone assassinates Lord Thornbuckle and all Navy leaves are canceled. Bunny's family and friends are shocked and grieving, but his political enemies are taking advantage of the situation.

Hobart Conselline sees an opportunity in the death of the Speaker and gets himself elected as temporary Speaker. He replaces a few key ministers and then proposes some key changes in the statutes. Soon he is firmly in charge, but his subordinates never seem to do things the way he wishes.

Miranda is not only racked by grief, but has to consider her unwanted grandchildren as well. Lady Cecile offers to find new homes for the boys and takes them away on a rented yacht. She passes them on to Ronnie and Raffa, who are living on a very neglected colony planet.

When Cecile returns to Castle Rock, she tries to learn something about the Excet Group that are supposedly providing necessary services for the colony. She discovers that the Conselline Sept controls the Excet Group. As she digs deeper, Cecile finds more colonies that have been mismanaged.

Vida is concerned about the mental problems of some senior NCOs in her sector. She knows that a bad batch of rejuvenation serum caused many of the impairments, but she starts hearing that other causes may have also contributed. Then orders come down for the temporary suspension of senior admirals who have received rejuv.

Against the Odds (2000) is the seventh SF novel in this series. Gussie and his colleagues are stranded on Stack Three. Thinks to Ensign Paralt, they have gotten word of the mutiny out to the world and beyond. Now they just need to lure down a mutineer shuttle to evacuate the facility.

Goonar docks his ship at Falleta Station. After attending a musical -- and falling into lust with the female lead -- he is hurried back to the ship by Basil. Goonar follows his second's lead, but they are going to have a discussion real soon.

On the way up to the station, Basil tells him that a Benignity diplomatic shuttle is within the system. As their shuttle takes off, an auto shuttle follows them into orbit. Later, Goonar allows station security to inspect the auto shuttle.

Then the Benignity representative wants his forces to board the ship and conduct a more thorough inspection. Goonar refuses and takes his ship away from the station with the security team still aboard. Then he has the discussion with Basil.

Esmay is trapped by an ID booth on Trinidad Station. Station security comes to take her to the commanding officer. He presents her with discharge papers upon the order of "Admiral Serrano". Esmay immediately thinks of Vida and is rather upset.

Esmay contacts the Terakian Fortune and mentions the name of Hazel Takeris, whom the RSS had rescued from the New Texas terrorists. Goonar talks to her and allows her passage to Castle Rock. He refuses all repayment, insisting that her presence is an honor to the Terakian clan.

This is the last omnibus edition in the Familias Regnant series. One would really like to have more, but the Vatta's War series is very similar. Read and enjoy!

Highly recommended for Moon fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of naval affairs, political intrigue, and true love. For those who have not previously read this series, the initial omnibus is Heris Serrano.

-Arthur W. Jordin