Friday, November 30, 2018

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: After the Crown by K.B. Wagers




After the Crown is the second book in K.B. Wagers' Indranan War trilogy, which began with "Behind the Throne" (which I reviewed HERE).   I'd said in my review of that book that I couldn't quite describe well why I enjoyed that book so much, because the book never really fit into a clear genre mold (political scifi was kind of the best fit, but even then it wasn't the greatest).  That book's tag-line boasted that its heroine was like a mixture of Han Solo and Princess Leia, but the comparison didn't quite fit, even though I really enjoyed the book.

In this book, the second book in the trilogy, that comparison actually works a lot better, as the book definitely takes on Star Wars vibes as our Heroine is forced to work with criminals and smugglers to fight against those who would try to destroy her people.  We're very much into space opera mode here, and the transformation of genre works beautifully.  The result is an expansion of the universe the story takes place in that feels natural, with more excellent characters introduced and old ones developed, and a really fun plot that surprises on a few occasions.


----------------------------------------------Plot Summary-----------------------------------------------------
Having taken care of the immediate threat of the Coup against her, now-Empress Hailimi "Hail" Bristol (formerly the gunrunner "Cressen Stone"), has the rough duty of actually ruling the Indranan Empire, with its somewhat backwards ways.  Hail and her bodyguards are aware that they have only weathered the beginning of the storm, as many others opposed to her rule still exist, most notably an Admiral in charge of a substantial portion of her fleet, and that some of them have managed to keep their opposition secret.  And then there's the Outside threats moving against her Empire, such as their galactic rival the Saxon Alliance (which has already moved against one of her planets) and the mysterious man Wilson - the man who has orchestrated the death of most of Hail's family.

Hail is out of her depth - she's spent the last 20 years as a gunrunner and criminal - and she doesn't have the time to be so.  But when Hail's attempts at defusing the potentially devastating war are met by forces with their own agendas, Hail will find that she will need to call upon her gunrunner skills....and her former allies in the criminal world in order to ensure there is still an Empire left for her to rule.  But can she really trust these criminals now that she's no longer one of them, but the Empress of a galactic power?  Or will she be following the rest of her family to an early death?
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Like its predecessor, After the Crown follows Hail Bristol as she attempts to figure out what the hell she's doing as Empress of an Empire on the verge of crisis, and Hail is once again a terrific character.  After the Crown gives her more room to shine as well - whereas the prior book dealt with Hail's past as a "gunrunner" (the book's odd term for smuggler) just as a background element, this book forces Hail to use her gunrunner skills and knowledge in the pursuit of her goals directly, with Hail having to work with her former criminal allies in order to achieve her goals.  The result gives Hail - already a really great character to follow - more time to shine and kick ass, which is really really fun.

The rest of the cast is excellent as well, from the returning characters to the newer ones.  Hail's chief bodyguard Emmory and his husband Zin get the same large-sized roles (and they were the 2nd and 3rd biggest roles in the prior book) and are easy to care about; while lighter returning characters Stasia, Alice, Cas, and Fase (and some others I'm sure I'm forgetting) get expanded roles that makes them less archetypes and more developed characters.

Meanwhile, among those added to the cast are several of Hail's former friends and rivals when she was Cressen Stone, notorious gunrunner.  Most notable of which is Hao, Hail's former mentor whose relationship with Hail is really fun and has a really fun voice, especially in comparison with Emmory (Hail's newfound mentor) - whereas Emmory is naturally cautious, Hao is absolutely not and his action-first attitude is really fun.  Then there's pirate/information broker Rai and his genderfluid fighting partner Johar, who are a bit more independent and less predictable.  This part of the cast reminds me of reading about Han Solo's old smuggler friends in the old Star Wars EU, and they compare pretty favorably to those characters.

The plot is much faster than the prior book, which was much slower, with tension simmering under the surface for 3/4 of the book before the tension boiled over into open conflict at the end - in this book it only takes about 40% of the way through for the conflict to come out in the open, forcing Hail into more and more reckless and crazy plans, which are a lot of fun to see play out.  I liked those tense moments in the first book mind you, and I like them here as well, but the space opera parts of this book that arise in the second half are a really nice addition to the series.  If there's one complaint it's that again, the book seems to suggest that certain characters from Hail's past are not trustworthy and notorious and dangerous and then those characters fall into line with Hail remarkably easily.  It works, but it's a little bit bothersome when it happens repeatedly in the second half with one character after another.

Can't wait to read the conclusion of this trilogy, and then for the next book in the second trilogy to come out.  This series is a lot of fun and easy to read quickly.
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