The tag-line for Rachel Bach’s Heaven’s Queen, the finale (for now, hopefully just for now) of her action-packed and thrilling Paradox series could read thusly: “Warrior has the power to destroy or save the galaxy, and in doing so, possibly killing herself, but will this warrior survive the pursuers long enough to enact the questionable plan of salvation?” That is, of course, an over-simplification.
Through a prologue, Bach clues readers in on the origins of the current situation of the galaxy, how years prior to the beginning of the series, the alien invaders known as phantoms were held back from being a threat to our world. Like Devi, we have to look upon these characters a little bit differently than we’ve come to expect over the course of the first two novels in the series. The narrative then jumps back to Devi’s voice as we see her and Rupert pretty much where we last saw them hurtling through hyperspace at the conclusion of the previous novel.
Rachel Bach has crafted a stable foundation over two books in the Paradox series and has left readers like myself hoping for a payoff that both works with that foundation, but also surprises. When we last left Devi, she was an outlaw, having run off from her mercenary group with just her former lover Rupert Charkov by her side. Their relationship is not quite what it once was, Devi now knowing that Rupert wasn’t all that he said he was, she (understandably) finds it difficult to fully trust him at first.. More importantly, he was withholding some very important information from her. This adds more tension to their already strained relationship, but through everything that has affected the two lovers, their true feelings for each other is the core strength of their relationship. Devi, despite her anger and frustration, can’t bury her feelings for Rupert. On the other hand, Rupert continually admits his devotion to her, and almost puppy-dog like fashion.
With no real connection to the life she once knew, and coming out of hyperspace at the beginning of the novel, Devi is surprised to learn how much time has passed. Time enough for many people and organizations to be looking for her because she might be the key to quelling the invasions of the phantoms once and for all. To say this is surprising to Devi would be an understatement especially when the first person who attempts to ‘capture’ Devi is a former ally and on-and-off-again lover. Much of the novel is a balance between the cat-and-mouse chase, with Devi as the mouse, and the resolution of her relationship with Rupert.
Perhaps what I appreciated most was the candor of the dialogue between Brian Caldswell and Devi leading up to the climax of the novel. Their conversations came across as a fairly level-headed disagreement between two characters who both felt extremely passionate about their opposing viewpoints. Both characters even acknowledged the validity of the other’s argument. Bach didn’t make either participant in this debate come across as dumb, ignorant, or evil and it felt all the more plausible because of it. Even though the romance was between Rupert and Devi, something about the relationship between Caldswell and Devi felt just as real and believable.
Like she did under the Rachel Aaron name in the Eli Monpress novels, Bach builds each novel upon its predecessor extremely well. We start out in a personal story on an intimate level about the adventures of one character (and what a character Devi is) in the first book and by the third book the scale has expanded greatly (though the intimate nature of the narrative is still present). While the story begun in Fortune’s Pawn comes full circle here in the final novel, the universe has plenty of room for more stories about Devi or many for the characters who inhabit the world. If anything, the closure at the end of the novel, which acts as the closure to the series as a whole, was a little too neat and clean. This isn’t to say that Devi didn’t earn her ending, because she did
All told, The Paradox Trilogy is edge-of-your seat science fiction that is fun and entertaining. The characters struck a great balance between believable and over-the top. The setting felt fleshed out and rich, Bach revealed enough to both make for a fascinating backdrop and also leave room for conjecture. In short, Wherever Rachel (Bach or Aaron) spins her tales, I’ll follow.
© 2014 Rob H. Bedford
Orbit April 2014
Trade Paperback ISBN 978-0-316-22112-2 400 Pages
Book 3 of The Paradox Trilogy (http://www.rachelaaron.net/books-paradox.php)
http://www.rachelaaron.net/
Review copy courtesy of the publisher, Orbit
I keep meaning to start this series…sounds really good.
I had great time with the first book in the series. Very recommendable and really entertaining.