The fifth of the chronicles of the Rogue Wizard has Magnus and Dirk arriving on a planet that, at first glance, seems to be a very stable, peaceful and successful planet. The people are not starving. There are no wars. There is no rampant corruption. In fact, Magnus and Dirk are about to give up and move on when they uncover a hint at the problems that run deep into the society's core. What they discover is a populace that is micromanaged to the tune of their professions, their houses, even their spouses. Any resistance is met with public punishment and humiliation at best - torture and disappearances at worst. But how can our do-gooding duo cultivate a resistance when individualistic thought is completed weeded out?

So far, I liked this book the best of the series. Dirk is more developed as the comic relief guy paired with Magnus' straight man. I enjoyed the fact the initial plans worked well but that a wrench in the works almost brought down the whole works. Of course, Dirk and Magnus managed to show up just in time to intervene and save the day - but nevertheless - having there be even some risk of failure added some nice dramatic tension. ( )