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wincher2031's review against another edition
4.0
An internal affairs thriller that tackles some dark subject matter without veering into melodrama.
While the pacing is occasionally brought to a halt by caches of expository dialogue, the premise is well executed enough that it keeps the story from sinking in the stream of its other sci-crime contemporaries. True, it does wallow in the details more than the action at times, but above all the tight and simplistic writing style prevents any risk of getting lost.
It's a straightforward story with a complex concept and Beam Piper handles it marvellously, a fun and fast read worth spending an afternoon on.
While the pacing is occasionally brought to a halt by caches of expository dialogue, the premise is well executed enough that it keeps the story from sinking in the stream of its other sci-crime contemporaries. True, it does wallow in the details more than the action at times, but above all the tight and simplistic writing style prevents any risk of getting lost.
It's a straightforward story with a complex concept and Beam Piper handles it marvellously, a fun and fast read worth spending an afternoon on.
capellan's review against another edition
2.0
A rather pedestrian effort from ol' HBP, this. It relies a fair bit on you knowing the main characters already, and the antagonists are pretty much entirely an "off screen" presence, which isn't really conducive to my deep engagement with the storyline. Not bad, but not memorable.
chan_fry's review
3.0
It’s an imperfect book with interesting ideas and characters. Mostly I was flummoxed by far too many characters with little to distinguish between them, personal pronouns used often without it being clear to whom they referred, and far too little exposition about the world and society around them.
I wrote a longer review when I read this in 2015.
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