I stand corrected on my previous statement that I didn't need to know more about Sully's past/heritage. With the additional of his Kyi-Ragkiril mentor, Regarth, well it all got a whole lot more interesting. Reading the by-play between Sully and Regarth or the interchange between Chaz and Regarth was highly informative. Not just in how well (or little) each new the other, but also in how far they would push back.

Despite the fact I should have seen Philip as an obstacle, or at least a hindrance to Sully/Chaz's relationship (as I did in Gabriel's Ghost), I understood pretty quickly that Philip wasn't really in it to win back Chaz. He understood that even if by some chance Chaz came back to him, for whatever reason, what Chaz and Sully had could never be replaced by any feelings he had. So instead he became the protector and devil's advocate that Chaz needed occasionally. Someone who was, for the most part, looking out only for HER best interests. The family Chaz needed with everything that happened with Thad, her brother.

What fascinated me most was the not-so-slow dissolve of the original government and the move to a rebel Alliance. I may not be much of a politician myself, but boy how I enjoy them! Small acts are what topple a body of power moreso then large demonstrations. If you break a people's belief in the system, how can they complain when its replaced right under their noses under the guise of 'making things better'? ( )

Didn't stick the landing. Like at all. ( )

Went straight from finishing the first book into this one - and then on to the next. So in this book...Sully gains a teacher, but with culture clash and (willful?) idiocy, it turns out to be a really bad idea. I hope what he taught Sully is actually useful, aside from the attitudes he was trying to inculcate. Philip Guthrie turns up again, and goes from a stiff and stuffy stereotype to a guy I quite like; it's somewhat amusing how everyone expects him to be up in arms over Sully and he's just not. The greater conflict also goes from black labs and secrets to outright warfare - again, I wish I could see this from a normal person's perspective because everyone here knows all the backstory and Tage's actions are just too blatant. There are at least three climaxes, each one providing an obvious peak and end...except the next one takes you up a step. And Chaz actually loses patience with Sully - one step too far - though it turns out it wasn't really his idea, and he redeems himself. Stupidly, but he does. The long-term repercussions may be interesting - if they're not linked any more, what now? Can they link again? Or is it better to stay unlinked, in the hopes of cooling off his runaway reactor of a power? Still a lot of questions at the end of the book, and while there are sequels they don't focus on Chaz and Sully any more. Good story - and I immediately went on to the next book. ( )

It's 2:30 in the morning. I should have been asleep hours ago, but I couldn't put this book down. And now I'm sad that it's over, because the remaining novels in the Dock Five Universe (at this time) feature other characters - and not my beloved Chaz and Sully.

Wow, what a read. I enjoyed it. I enjoyed it very much. I hope the remaining novels in the D5U tell us what happened to these characters, and I seriously hope this isn't the last we've heard from them. ( )

It reads along the same lines as S.L. Viehl's Stardoc books. An Accidental Goddess is still her best book. ( )