This space opera was another engaging entry into the Daniel Leary/Adele Mundy series. With peace breaking out, Daniel is put on half-pay by the RCN and the Princess Cecile is set to be sold.

When the ship is purchased by rich outworlders, Daniel is hired as Captain, and he hires her former crew. They are heading to the Galactic North on a search for a legendary artifact known as the Earth Diamond. Adele has been tasked by Mistress Sand to check into rumors that the Alliance is building a base which is nearly finished.

The pair have a variety of adventures along the way. They hunt flying dragons, encounter jealous lovers, flee from a riot begun with an accusation of cheating at cards, and run into a religious order with shady practices, before they find that the rumors of the Alliance Base are true.

Adele has a stronger than usual role in this story. She is a viewpoint character here and we get to know more about how she feels about the Three Circle Conspiracy which changed her life and murdered her family. She has found a new family in Daniel Leary and the crew of the Princess Cecile and her loyalty to them is absolute.

Despite Daniel's hobbies of drinking and consorting of vapid young women, he is a man of deep loyalties to Cinnabar and the RCN. And, though he tries to distance himself from his estranged father, he is a savvy political operator when he has to be.

The story was exciting and fast-paced. It was filled with various adventures which show the world Drake has built. The narrator did a good job with both the pacing of the story and the various characters. Fans of space opera will enjoy this tale. ( )

This space opera was another engaging entry into the Daniel Leary/Adele Mundy series. With peace breaking out, Daniel is put on half-pay by the RCN and the Princess Cecile is set to be sold.

When the ship is purchased by rich outworlders, Daniel is hired as Captain, and he hires her former crew. They are heading to the Galactic North on a search for a legendary artifact known as the Earth Diamond. Adele has been tasked by Mistress Sand to check into rumors that the Alliance is building a base which is nearly finished.

The pair have a variety of adventures along the way. They hunt flying dragons, encounter jealous lovers, flee from a riot begun with an accusation of cheating at cards, and run into a religious order with shady practices, before they find that the rumors of the Alliance Base are true.

Adele has a stronger than usual role in this story. She is a viewpoint character here and we get to know more about how she feels about the Three Circle Conspiracy which changed her life and murdered her family. She has found a new family in Daniel Leary and the crew of the Princess Cecile and her loyalty to them is absolute.

Despite Daniel's hobbies of drinking and consorting of vapid young women, he is a man of deep loyalties to Cinnabar and the RCN. And, though he tries to distance himself from his estranged father, he is a savvy political operator when he has to be.

The story was exciting and fast-paced. It was filled with various adventures which show the world Drake has built. The narrator did a good job with both the pacing of the story and the various characters. Fans of space opera will enjoy this tale. ( )

The adventures of Daniel Leary and Adele Lundy continue in this story. of interstellar intrigue. With a rare moment of peace between the warring superpowers of Cinnabar and The Alliance of Free Stars, Daniel and Adele find themselves at a bit of a loose end so they find themselves escorting a pair of Novy Sverdlovsk nobles on a quest to regain the lost crown jewels of their homeland. The quest attracts Daniel's romantic nature and Adele had her reasons to join him. The story is probably one of the more mystical as Daniel and Adele find a society using a strange device to foresee the future. And we get to learn more about Daniel's relatives. ( )

This is supposed to be an old time 'space opera' novel. Lt. Leary and his merry crew must travel far across space, through enemy territory, encountering good, bad and mysterious aliens, all while serving the Navy and the empire, and the ridiculous 'passengers' that have hired the ship. Of course, they really are still serving the Navy, even though they aren't officially in the navy. Its not terrible, but this isn't terribly imaginative. If you think of it as a revival of the old time space opera (Doc Smith, etc) genre, its not bad. ( )

Lt. Daniel Leary and Signals Officer Adele Mundy are still trying to be the Aubury and Maturin of the Spaceways and still falling short. This time they are hired to take some rich offworlders on a cruise into the more remote parts of the galaxy. Enjoyable enough space opera.. ( )