Conventions of War by Walter Jon Williams
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This third book, originally conceived as a trilogy, is easily the best. (So far)

Everything about it is extremely satisfying even if it is very frustrating for the two main characters.

The battle on the homeworld, overthrowing the invaders, feels just like a more fantastic, more glorious version of the French Resistance during the WWII occupation, but thanks to the full weight thrown into the economics, the intrigue, great hacking, and the rising up of the population, it happens to work BETTER, IMHO. At least for a coherent story. And I rather cheered throughout it. :)

The battle out in space was no less fun, but I tended to get a bit more frustrated with the Old Praxis way of doing things. Stupidity and tradition do seem to go hand-in-hand, no? So my frustration was always on the side of our dear hero who always had a trick up his sleeve. Gotta love this kind of story. :)

All told, the entire novel is pretty freaking fantastic. My original reservations during the first novel were washed away in the steamroller of the story that came after. :) This is one of the best Space Operas I've read.

I totally recommend THE SERIES. By no means do yourself the disservice of merely reading the first book. :)

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