http://bactra.org/weblog/algae-2015-03.html ( )

Definitely a step down from the first four of this series. It felt "slapped together". The authors are good storytellers, but I walked away dissatisfied. ( )

Well, I'm glad I read it. Nice addition to the world. But I don't find that universe particularly interesting (I don't know why...and actually, I'm currently itching to read the first one again...maybe I will). Hmmm - what it is is, I don't find the mystic stuff particularly interesting, though I enjoy the space opera. And this one is pretty thoroughly mixed, but all (or nearly all) the deep motivations and action-drivers are on the mystic side. If it had been more from Jens' point of view, and we'd known from the start what his motivation was, it might have been space-opera-ish enough for me; since we mostly see it from Faral's point of view, and he's busy trying to figure out the immediate world more than looking for motivations, the various angles of Mage and Adept and ghost(s) take on too much importance. And like most such mystic stuff, the ending - the "climax" - is way too fuzzy. How did Guislen get anywhere? Were Mael's efforts with the cable helping, or could they have been done separately? Why was Klea left out of the battle (that's a decision by the authors)? The epilogue is funny, and politics thereafter will be more interesting than they were before...but still. Glad I read it, doubt I'll reread, at least any time soon. ( )