The fourth volume in The Wess'har Wars series. A better book than the previous one, with a plot that is less repetitive. The examination of human morality continues, with the lead character making decisions that are internally consistent with her belief system, and yet cruel at the same time. A good series, worth reading. ( )

The premise: ganked from publisher's website: In thirty years, the invincible Eqbas will arrive at Earth to forcibly return the planet to what it once was -- as retribution, in part, for the gethes' thoughtless near-extermination of an alien ocean-dwelling species. First, however, another world requires their attention: the crowded, ecologically ravaged planet of the swarming, insect-like isenj. Efforts to drastically reduce the isenj population have sparked a devastating civil war -- which may well do the savior/destroyers' work for them. And the human visitors can only watch.

Rendered immortal and ever changeable by a parasite in her blood, ex-cop Shan Frankland isn't content merely to play Matriarch to her two similarly infected mates -- one earthborn, one alien wess'har. Her fears for the future of Umeh and the ultimate fate of humankind must be set aside while she tackles an unfulfilled duty that haunts her every waking moment -- a mission that must be undertaken for the sake of the future -- and pursues a righteous vengeance.

My Rating: 7 - Good Read

Despite what felt like a slow start, which I think was inevitable, as book four doesn't start out with the same feeling of numb shock that book three does, Matriarch really feels like it's developing and fleshing out it's themes, and the actions characters take to empathize these themes are in turns fascinating and horrifying. It does feel like a bit of a transition book, because much of the action here is the similar to The World Before, and since there's only two books left in the series, I'm curious to see how things escalate. I'm still jonesing on the series though, which is a good thing, because I'd heard Matriarch was something of a tipping point, and right now I'm chugging along just fine.

Spoilers, yay or nay?: Yay. I want to talk about some major decisions made in this novel and how those decisions are playing into what I see as emerging themes. Do not read this review (nor the book) if you haven't yet caught up on the series. Go read City of Pearl instead. :) Everyone else, if you're caught up, feel free to read the full review at my blog, which is linked below. As always, comments and discussion are most welcome. :)

REVIEW: Karen Traviss' MATRIARCH

Happy Reading! ( )

My personal definition of this book as the "settled" addition of the series. In this book the action slows down long enough for us to observe the human characters as they settle down into their fates--Shan as an isan, Aras and Ade as house brothers, and Lindsay and Rayat as helpers to the Bezeri.

There were times when the plot dragged to me but I was so intrigued by characters who are so well-developed that I continued reading to the end. I think this book was written in a way to set the stage for excitement in the next book.

See the review of Judge. ( )

The fourth book in the Wess'har Wars series is not up to the standard of the previous works.
The story has very little forward momentum. When it ends the situation is in all essentials the same as when it started.
Every action becomes the focus of another moral lesson. While the willingness and ability to address moral dilemmas in an engaging and wellwritten fashion was refreshing in the beginning of the series, where the explorations of ethics and choices were part of a strong plot, this book is making everything into a moral issue, and spelling every nuance of every dilemma out in big letters. Why Traviss is no longer trusting her to have a modicum of insight and ability to understand subtlety, I don't know, but maybe it is because there is prescious little plot to carry this novel.
In my opinion the series would have been much stronger if book 3 - The World Before and this one had been combined in one - much shorter and less filled with overstated mental exercises - third part.
This novel cannot stand on its own. Whereas book one and two of the Wess'har Wars worked as independent stories, with plots that were engaging and selfcontained, and satisfying climactic endings tying up enough loose ends while still working as parts of an overarching storyline, this book has little plot, and no proper ending.
Shan Frankland the former EnHAz police officer responsible for a scientific expedition to a distant space colony, has been through a lot. She has besome near immortal, and is now a matriarch of the alien Wess'har, living as one of them. In this book she keeps facing hard dilemmas as the more agressive Wess'har - the Eqbas - decide to become involved in attaining an environmental balance on both Umeh - planet of the Isenj, enemy of the Wess'har - and on Earth. As matriarch of her own little unique family of immortals she also has to deal with problems of a more personal nature.
The most interesting part of this book is Shans realisation that although she thought she had faced her worst fear, and returned utterly changed, she still had to face the same issues, and keep remaking the same hard choices. Unfortunately it wasn't purveyed very clearly as part of the story, but rather explained repeatedly. ( )