ISBN: 0-441-00464-4 Order from: Amazon.com Barnes & Noble.com
Reviewed by David on November 08, 1998
Genre: Science Fiction (Space Opera)
Synopsis: In the far future the planetary-surface populations are being brutally dominated by two enormous, war-locked fleets. The silver and the gold fleets, each numbering hundreds of thousands of ships, harbor rigid, militaristic societies who raid the "dirt-dwellers" for materials and slaves. Through dozens of generations, the two fleets have battled each other, and made sure that the planetary civilizations never develop enough to rival the fleets' warships. In desperation, the world-dwellers train a group of saboteurs, the Stem, to infiltrate the ships.
Eight years after the Stem's best agent, Dane Steppart, engineered an enormous bloody and indecisive battle between the fleets, and insured relative safety for the planets, rogue members insist on resuming the raids. Except this time, they want not just crippling of the dirt-dweller's civilizations, but their complete destruction.
Full Review: The novel introduces a universe slightly resembling that of Cherryh's Union/Alliance. After endless petty conflicts, the alienated spaceship crews sent to fight the home-planet wars find more in common with each other than with the surface populations. After many mergers and struggles, the interstellar fleets end up in two huge entities, which revolt against the home planets and suppress their technology and travel, while they battle each other for the domination of the galaxy.
After centuries of oppression and destruction, the planets create the Stem, a secret organization intended to disrupt the two fleets and allow the planets to build up their defenses to stop the endless raids.
Dane Steppart is one of the most talented members of the Stem, trained to manipulate others by analyzing their motivations and predicting their reactions. In this sequel to Agent of Destruction Dane has been adopted by one of the most progressive and influential silver fleet families. In the eight years since her enormous but hidden achievement, the horrendous battle between the silver and the gold fleets, some of the more radical fleet elements press to resume the planetary raids.
This may be Dane's most serious challenge to date: keep the fleets from uniting, while keeping the conflicts to a minimum. Meanwhile, a psychopathic general is determined to stop at nothing to destroy Dane's adopted family and Dane herself, while conspiring with the arch-enemies to seize control of the Command Council.
This book takes place on multiple ships, as well as planetary surface. Multiple viewpoints, as well a number of sub-plots, make the story drag. Dane herself is rarely acting in Agent of Chaos, and when she does she appears less active and competent than in its prequel. Combined with the rather sketchy and implausible space battles, this results in a less than satisfying novel.
Overall: 4; Plot: 4; Characters: 4.5; Style: 4.5; World-building: 4; Originality: 4.5;
Copyright date 1997, The Berkley Publishing Group (Ace), August 1997, Mass market paperback, 312 pages
ISBN: 0-441-00464-4 Order from: Amazon.com Barnes & Noble.com