How to live with the consequences of your choices.
This is the dilemma Traviss' characters circle in this latest installment of Wess'har series, begun in 2004 with City of Pearl and followed in 2005 with Crossing the Line.
Journalist Eddie Michallat worries that by helping the Wess'har he has lost his objectivity. The Wess'ej on F'nar fear their way of life will be ruined by the arrival of their brethren from Eqbas Vhor, the titular World Before, from whom they have been separated for over ten millennia. The Isenj prime minister commits an act of political betrayal in hopes of convincing his countrymen to seek the help of the Wess'ej in rebalancing the ecology of their overpopulated world. Shan Frankland weighs the risk of an imminent restructuring of Earth's ecosystem by the Wess'ej from Eqbas Vhor.
This is not the future of Star Trek's Federation, where humans act benevolently in their exploration of the cosmos. In Traviss' universe, humans are as we know them today - greedy, grasping, intolerant, and ready to kill for advantage. No longer the preeminent power in the universe, humans must now learn to accept limits to their expansion imposed from afar by a more powerful species.
Besides a refreshingly candid portrait of homo sapiens, what distinguishes this series of novels is Traviss' development of character. The players grow and learn as a result of their experience and Traviss is not afraid to explore faults in her heroes, or redeeming qualities in her villains. Naval commander Lindsay, for example, once in charge of the Thetis mission and now responsible for setting off a nuclear device that results in the near extinction of the aquatic Bezer'ej, learns to deny her selfish desires for revenge and for her own death by choosing to spend the rest of her life helping the Bezer'ej to rebuild their society.
Aside from a few contemporary references that don't seem to fit in the world of the 24th century (such as white boards at managerial meetings), there is little with which to find fault in Traviss' writing. This series is well conceived and expertly drawn. I don't read many books a second time, especially fiction, but these novels were worth it. I look forward to the story's conclusion and hope that Traviss has the ability to finish with as much skill and aplomb as she began.
