Conspirator by C.J. Cherryh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This series is still proving to be my go-to feel-good alien-human political machinations with a good mixture of comedy and in-depth world-building.

Bren is a solid guy now and we're seeing a lot more of Cajeiri, the eight-year-old son of the head of the Association, from his PoV. And none of these novels are right without Ilisidi, his great-grandmother, and close friend of Bren.

Cajeiri always seems to get into HUGE amounts of trouble, but that's to be expected by an Atevi alien that grew up on a human-run spaceship. He's an alien of both worlds and so is of neither. He's also a breath of fresh air and errors. :) I'm honestly rather happy with this turn. Bren is still a big part of it all, of course, but Cajeiri keeps it fresh.

Bren is a full Lord of the Atevi now. It still shocks me how far he's come, and I can't say the change is undeserved. He's done more for both the Atevi and the Humans than anyone in this world's history, and he's freakishly loyal. :)

This is feel-good adventure and politics. Don't think it's all that light, though. It isn't. It's played close to the cuff and we're always forced to live through the big reveals as they come. As a thriller, it's fantastic.

There's always some lord somewhere wanting to kill someone. That's the problem with a society run by assassins. :)

Great stuff!

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