Though this book is part of a series (the third book, in fact), it's perfectly suitable for reading on it's own, without having read the other parts.
I really enjoyed Poisoned Pawn. It tells the story of a small crew of space traders who seem to find themselves in trouble wherever they go. When one of them gets mistaken for a wealthy heiress and gets kidnapped, the others team up with law enforcement in an attempt to set her free. In the story, different parties with different interests are at play, who need to balance their priorities and work together to get what they want.
The story is well written and has a very good flow; it keeps you going and keeps you on your toes. I very much liked the characters in the novel; we gradually get to know them better and get a better view of their interests and concerns. The discussion of Dace's imprisonment is sometimes horrifying, but without getting corny. Due to the different parties involved the book also has enough complexity to carry the story.
All in all a very pleasant scifi, and I definitely also want to read the other parts of the series after having read this one. I hope Clegg will continue the series. ( )

Mediocre straight down the line. The prose is not bad, just workmanlike. Sometimes the language is evocative, but I opened the book to a random page, picked a random chapter, and got something typically spartan as a good example:

"I gripped the door, unwilling to let it close and lock behind me. It took very ounce of self control I had to let it swing shut. I knew an escape attempt right then would be futile. I needed a diversion and a plan to get through the grounds and over the wall. I couldn't just run and hope for the best."

The premise itself showed some potential in the beginning, but I had some major issues with it by the end. Maybe some of it would make more sense if I had read the previous two books, but I suspect otherwise. The gist is that Dace is the pilot of a trade ship, and a very powerful government official wants to recruit her for his agency. Why? I don't know. She fails to exhibit any sort of behavior or skill that might suggest she's a valuable asset, and the only reason Lowell, the commander that's chasing her, gives for his pursuit of her is that she is a magnet for disaster.

That would be an interesting premise if the book was playful with the idea, but the prose, as stiff as it is, is relatively humorless. Sure, there are jokes, but the main plot is meant to be taken seriously. So lets talk about the plot.

Lowell pulls some strings and gets an undercover Patrol agent, Clarke, onto Dace's ship as a second pilot. Dace suspects he works for Lowell but decides to go with it, since she has no other option. I liked the beginning well enough, because Dace is in control of her ship, there's some good ribbing between the crew and a little world building. Then, 80 pages into a 277 page book, she gets kidnapped and spends the rest of the story doing nothing.

What the hell? Dace is clearly the primary character in this book. Every time the POV switches to her the perspective switches to first person, whereas everyone else is relegated to third. But I waited patiently for her to figure something out, take charge, start manipulating her captors, something, anything, and... nope. She chills out while the other characters run around trying to rescue her. At one point she's literally treated like cargo when she's stuffed in a box. By the end she's been bodily picked up and carried around by a number of people without having much of a say in any of it. After finishing it I'm not sure that this book even passes the sexy lamp test, where if a female character can be replaced by a sexy lamp with no real modification to the plot necessary, the story fails.

There were other issues with the story: a whirlwind romance that came out of nowhere, convenient coincidences, some moments of token assertiveness that attempted to make Dace more impressive than I felt she had really proven herself to be, considering a lamp could have played her part, and so on, but I think I would have forgiven quite a bit if by the end she had taken some charge. She didn't, and what I thought was going to be a space adventure with a lady at the head turned into a confused damsel in distress story told from the damsel's perspective. For a book named after a chess move, I expected something more complex than that. ( )

This wasn't really that different for me. However it still had great characters and a great plot. ( )

I received Poisoned Pawn The Fall of the Altairan Empire through Library Thing Early Reviewers. Dace and Jaysn are back on the Phoenix. They seem to have everything they want. The only problem is that they are required to have another pilot. After their current pilot is thrown in jail, they find a man named Trevyn Clark is the only pilot left to hire. Dace is suspicious of him, but hires Clark anyway. It turns out was hired by Lowell, who has tried to force Dace into joining Planetary Patrol.
Lowell hired Clark to "keep an eye on" Dace. Turns out Lowell is using poor Dace as a poisoned pawn.

I enjoyed Poisoned Pawn: The Fall of the Altairan Empire Book Three. This book was filled with fast paced action and high levels of suspense. I had no idea what to expect with every page I turned. I think that Dace is a truly engaging character. She is tough, but not a superhero. She has vulnerable moments in this book that made me cry for her. This book if full of believable characters that have their own distinct personalities. I hope their are more books to come in this series. ( )

I was to receive this book in exchange for a review on the library thing website.
Since I have not received this book all I can say is that the cover graphic is good!