Trust
Mary Sisson
Various ebook formats:  $2.99
Amazon, B&N, Smashwords

I reviewed the first book in this series, Trang, not too long ago. It was the author’s first novel, and I found it to be enjoyable.  Now, Sisson’s sophomore effort is available.  It’s more enjoyable than the first, which is as it should be.  Authors, especially those early in their careers should be learning and improving with each new work.

There are some mild spoilers for Trang in what follows.  No way to avoid them, really, if I want to talk about this novel, since picks up shortly after the previous one ended.  

During the huge battle  at the end of Trang, the Cyclopes narrowly missed being destroyed by the super powered alien known as the Magic Man as punishment of their attempted invasion of the Host home planet.  If not for the intervention of Phillipe Trang, they would have been wiped out.  Now Trang learns that no good deed goes unpunished. 

When the book opens, the Cyclopes still on the station are starving.  No one on their home planet has sent any food.  That’s because no one is running the government.  They’re all too afraid of offending the Magic Man after he killed most of the previous government, so no one wants to step up and take responsibility for anything.  When Trang tries to find a solution to the problem, the Magic Man appoints him as interim head of the government.  Which is a rather awkward position for a diplomat from Earth to find himself in.

Oh, did I mention that advancement in the Cyclopes government is by assassination?

The cast of characters is still there, with some new ones added, both human and alien.  This is where Sisson’s greatest strength lies, creating believable characters.  They’re interesting, unique, and while you wouldn’t want to bring some of them home to dinner, they are always up to something.  This includes the humans and the aliens.

The focus on the aliens in this novel is the Cyclopes.  I’m not too sure how stable a government based on assassination would be, but it’s fun to read about.  And yes, there are assassinations and assassination attempts.  The most intriguing parts of the book are when we get to see things from the point of view of the Cyclopes.  There are two more volumes planned in this series, and I hope we get a closer look at some of the other alien societies.

Which is not to say that all of the focus is on the Cyclopes.  There’s an ongoing game of laser tag involving several of the alien species on the station which will have major repercussions.  Along with that, there are some shenanigans going on in Earth politics as well involving Union Intelligence taking a more than healthy interest in Trang..

I found this second novel to jump into the action more quickly than the first one, to be more complex, and to flow more smoothly than its predecessor.  If Sisson continues to improve, and there’s no reason to think she won’t, this will definitely be a series to keep up with.  I just wish the next volume would be ready before the release date of 2014.

If you’ve not read Trang, it’s currently available for free through Smashwords through July 1.  There’s a coupon code on the author’s website, along with links to all editions of both books.

Trang
Mary Sisson
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Print $11.99 trade paper $18.99 large print

Although it’s been years since I read them, I was reminded a little bit of Keith Laumer’s Retief stories while reading Trang.  But only a little bit.  Phillipe Trang is also a diplomat, but he’s cut from an entirely different cloth that Retief.  For one thing, he’s more idealistic.  For another, mankind is just entering what passes for galactic society in Trang. 

Most of the novel takes place five years after the discovery of a portal in the Saturn system (that’s the moon system of the planet Saturn, in our solar system, in case you were wondering).  Phillipe Trang is a rising young diplomat who has been selected to be the first ambassador to the alien station on the other side of the portal.

From the beginning things begin to go wrong.  First of all, instead of having United Police as his security detail, Trang is horrified to discover he’s been assigned a squadron of Special Forces.  United Police are less inclined to use deadly force than Special Forces.  Also, SF members tend to say what they think, whereas the UP keep their mouths shut.  And the SF talk like you would imagine hardened killers, as Phillipe thinks of them, to talk.  If you’re offended by hard profanity, this might not be the book for you. 

There’s immediate friction between Phillipe and the leader of the SF over his security arrangements.  Before things are over, he’ll be glad they’re there. And that’s before the alien messiah shows up proclaiming him to be the Chosen One.

Of course, all is not peace and love among the aliens, either.  There are factions among them, and the crustacean-like Hosts, who built the station, refuse to change anything about how they run things.  Who built the portals is a mystery.

This book is essentially anthropological science fiction.  Much of the conflict comes from the politics, although there are some combat scenes.  Sisson presents a number of different aliens races.  We don’t learn a great deal about all of them, but she does give us some insights into the Hosts.  While I would have liked there to have been more detail about them as well as some of the other aliens, there were distinct differences between the cultures that were more than just physiology and appearance.

The novel wasn’t without what I would consider a few minor flaws.  Several characters are introduced in the early chapters, given names and backgrounds, then disappear never to be seen again.  I don’t know if they will be making an appearance in future installments or not.  With the exception of the astrophysicist on the shuttle to Titan, I tend to doubt it.  I’m fairly certain we’ll be seeing her again.  Anthropological science fiction can be a little slow.  For the most part this wasn’t, especially once the machinations among the aliens picked up speed about halfway through, the second chapter tended to slow things down a bit. Trang attends a reception in his honor just before he departs to Titan, and this was where most of the characters we don’t see again are introduced. 

As interested as I was in the aliens, it was Trang’s interactions with his security team that I found most intriguing.  (The game of laser tag with the Swimmer drone and one of the team members was a great touch.)  The members of the team came off as individuals, not cardboard cutouts.  Trang had to do as much to understand their culture as he did the cultures of the aliens.  And there were hints at one point of a possible future romantic relationship between him and the head of his security team.

This is the first novel in a projected four volume series, with the second currently due in either May or June.  Based on the blurb on her website (the books don’t have their own pages), we’re going to see more of a group of aliens called the Cyclopes.  If you enjoy anthropological sf, and you aren’t put off by the language, this one might be for you.  While most of the major plotlines were resolved, there is enough left hanging for a natural sequel.

Now, production values.  Once again, an indie author has put together a book that is essentially error free.  I only noticed one typo (although I don’t remember what page now).  There was an interactive table of contents.  The formatting was good, and the cover told you this was a novel set in space.  Somehow New York can’t seem to figure this out. 

In summation.  While anthropological science fiction is not my first choice of subgenre (that would be space opera or hard science), I enjoyed this book.  It held my interest, made me care about what happened to the characters, and kept me reading.  Which is what I want from a book.