There is certainly a war, but I founf no eternal part to it. ( )

I enjoyed this robust, fast-moving space opera, nothing startlingly original, but good, strong characters, tidy plotting and lots of action. The heroine is Lieutenant Keira Jenkins of the Simulant Operations Programme, commander of a squad of malcontent rookies in the Alliance Navy. Simulant operations involve manipulating flesh and blood simulations which do the actual fighting, the death of the simulant is called a "transition", and the number of transitions undergone denotes experience and promotion. Following a bungled operation against the sinister terrorist group known as the Black Spiral, Keira's squad are banished to an ageing ship sent to conduct a search for a missing vessel, where they encounter the Black Spiral again as well as an old enemy, the warlike Krell, and discover the beginnings of a massive conspiracy. Entertaining and a real page-turner, great light reading, well worth the price. ( )