pjonsson's review
3.0
I wasn’t really thrilled with the previous book, Children No More, in the series so I was quite happy that this one brings the series back in shape. Although it’s still a lot about children in the book it’s not really the main focus of the story. Instead we’re back to Jon doing some good old infiltration work. Of course there’s a girlie in it as well which brings the usual complications for Jon.
There are still a lot of flashbacks in the book and I’m not really a great fan of loads of flashbacks but it’s a minor complaint. What I do like very much though is that Jon and Lobo finally have that long overdue talk where Jon finally reveals his nano-machines to Lobo (who actually had deduced most of it anyway) and Lobo in turn reveals some quite interesting secrets about himself.
All of this bodes well for the next book in the series. Well, that is if the author decides to write one and to make use of this of course but I certainly hope that we finally get to see more of both Jon’s nano-machines as well Lobo’s various capacities put to god use.
There are still a lot of flashbacks in the book and I’m not really a great fan of loads of flashbacks but it’s a minor complaint. What I do like very much though is that Jon and Lobo finally have that long overdue talk where Jon finally reveals his nano-machines to Lobo (who actually had deduced most of it anyway) and Lobo in turn reveals some quite interesting secrets about himself.
All of this bodes well for the next book in the series. Well, that is if the author decides to write one and to make use of this of course but I certainly hope that we finally get to see more of both Jon’s nano-machines as well Lobo’s various capacities put to god use.
leons1701's review
5.0
This series has been quietly gathering steam, particularly in books 3 and 4 where we learned a lot more about the respective origins of Jon and Lobo. And here's the payoff. Jon takes a job rescuing a child from a group of rich old men that kidnaps children and auctions them off. Of course, Jon insists on rescuing all the children, which complicates things slightly, but not as much as being identified by the leader of the group, one of the wealthiest and most powerful men in all of humanity. Normally, Jon and Lobo would go to ground on some backwater world until the heat died down. After all, when you're an immortal and your best friend is a sentient spaceship, you can afford to just wait things out.
Unfortunately, things never quite go as planned for Jon and Lobo. Jon gets a message from an old friend. Very old indeed, one of the oldest people alive (except of course, Jon himself). So old she should be surprised that he's still alive as well. She wants to meet him, but there's one problem, the world she lives on is the same one as his new enemy. The smart thing to do would be to ignore the message, but of course, Jon won't do that. Once again, Jon has to come up with a plan to keep his secrets, confound his enemies, help his friends and protect the innocent. But this time, his secrets, his life and the lives of an entire world might be endangered because he just can't walk away.
One of the best things about this series, one of many, is Van Name's ability to write high tech capers without overwhelming the reader with technobabble or leaving too many unexplained holes in the plot and this book is no exception. While a bit less tech focused than some of the other books in the series, it's still definitely a caper and as always one that makes the most of Jon and Lobo's unique talents.
Unfortunately, things never quite go as planned for Jon and Lobo. Jon gets a message from an old friend. Very old indeed, one of the oldest people alive (except of course, Jon himself). So old she should be surprised that he's still alive as well. She wants to meet him, but there's one problem, the world she lives on is the same one as his new enemy. The smart thing to do would be to ignore the message, but of course, Jon won't do that. Once again, Jon has to come up with a plan to keep his secrets, confound his enemies, help his friends and protect the innocent. But this time, his secrets, his life and the lives of an entire world might be endangered because he just can't walk away.
One of the best things about this series, one of many, is Van Name's ability to write high tech capers without overwhelming the reader with technobabble or leaving too many unexplained holes in the plot and this book is no exception. While a bit less tech focused than some of the other books in the series, it's still definitely a caper and as always one that makes the most of Jon and Lobo's unique talents.
More...