At best should have been a trilogy, there is a ton of dead air in this series. Very difficult pacing with only a mid-tier payoff. It's almost possible to skip books two and four entirely and still understand the motivations well enough. Hated the cliffhanger mystery at the end. First book is pretty entertaining, third book expands some interesting storylines, the rest wasn't a great use of time. ( )

{first of 5 in Exordium series; sci-fi, epic, space war, empires} (1993/ 2011)

I read this in November but didn't carry on with the series (probably because we were travelling) and I wanted to refresh my memory before I read the second book.

The story opens about twenty years after the Dol'jharians attempted to conquer the Panarch's empire of the Thousand Suns, centred on the planet Arthelion, but were defeated and confined to their own home planet. However Jerrode Eusabian, the Avatar of Dol, has been planning an elaborate vengeance during his exile and is now about the enact it.

But you know who’s behind Barrodagh? He’s only a front. He’s run by those crazy Dol’jharians. In fact, he’s no less than the front for their king, or chief, or whatever ‘Avatar’ means—Jerrode Eusabian. And it’s for one of their revenge customs.”
“Revenge?” Palmar had asked, wondering how in the Five Hells you got revenge by stealing a ball from a bunch of bugs.
“What we’re doing, right now, this is what the Dol’jharians call a paliach,” Mother had gone on to say. “It’s a formal vengeance, where the enemy has to symbolically take part in his own destruction. Using the ParcelNet is probably part of it, too, since the nicks run that, so it’s sort of like having the Panarch deliver it himself.” Mother cackled. “Not that this Avatar is really taking much of a chance. Even the Spider and her Invisibles can’t intercept something on the ParcelNet.”

We get lots of viewpoints, including from incidental characters, but the main point of view is Brandon's (and those around him). Brandon, the third and youngest son of the Panarch, is about to have his Enkanion after which he will be expected to shoulder his share of the panarchy's responsibilities. Ten years ago his eldest brother engineered his disgrace and dismissal from the Naval Academy and has controlled his life since. He and his brother Galen have been constrained into inactivity by their ambitious eldest brother, Semion, who wants and expects to be named heir. Now, on the eve of the ceremony as one of the Panarch's heirs, Brandon decides to walk away. But they are about to run into far more dangerous situations - since this coincides with Eusabian's attack on the panarchy.

There are many ... er ... nationalities (humans from different planets) and a few alien species. Most of the characters are humans and most of their planets are part of the panarchy. The distances between them are so vast that even data and messages can only travel as fast as spaceships can and the ability for faster-than-light travel hasn't yet been discovered.

There is some Three Stooges-type slapstick (in fact, one of the alien races bases their interactions with humans on old silent videos of the act) but it's easy enough to ignore though it does draw the characters in shades of white and black rather than grey.

Just as good as the first time. On to the second book.

(August 2023)
4**** ( )

The author has created an interesting, complex world and took me back to the space operas I read when I was much younger.
This is in a time in an unimaginable future where the roayl family has a disgraced younger son determined to avaoid his responsibilities.
Concurrent with his story is the unfolding of an inexorable plot against the empire and all who rule it.
The point of view switches around quite a bit and you see situations from a variety of angles. Fast moving. A real page-turner. ( )

This is one of the series of book I re-read every other year os so. Complex space opera with interesting characters, yum. ( )

http://www.lonelymountain.net/books/jul05.html#smithe ( )