Warring States

Jurisdiction #6

by Susan R. Matthews

The Ragnarok's legal status has been ambiguous since it shot its way out of Taisheki Station to escape a threat against the lives of its innocent crew. Ship's Inquisitor Andrej Koscuisko hopes to take advantage of this period of chaos and unrest to see his bond-involuntary Security slaves somehow freed and sent to Gonebeyond space. The personal conflict he is experiencing has surprised and distressed him, and yet he cannot afford to let his private agonies interfere with his purpose. But an incident that happened years ago in a dark cold street in Port Rudistal - the site of the Domitt Prison - has bound Koscuisko to a man who, all unknowingly, holds the key to a murder that's changed the course of history. More alone than he has ever been in his life, Andrej must face the deadliest threat he has ever encountered - the unknown enemy who murdered the First Secretary at Chilleau Judiciary, and set all of Jurisdiction Space into anarchy and horror.

Genres: Science Fiction, Space Opera, Fiction

416 pages, Paperback

First published March 29, 2006

About the author

After earning an undergraduate degree in psychology, Susan R. Matthews was commisioned into the United States Army, where she was the operations and security officer for a combat support hospital specializing in nuclear, biological, and radiological warfare. Currently working as an auditor for an aerospace manufacturer, Susan lives with her partner in Seattle, Washington.

Reviews

[Paulina Rae · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one took me a long time to finish. Look, I generally like politics in books and the more tedious the better. But this was… dry. Still enjoyable, but I could only take it in small doses.

[Juushika · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Bench specialists convene to determine Jurisdiction's fate during its most rocky time. This is one of the longer books in the series, and while I anticipated the constructive effect of a stronger arching plot it makes for a surprisingly boring resolution. The worldbuilding has grown distinctive, but the politicking is talky, distracted by unsubtle espionage, and stands at a distance from Andrej. There's room in this longer book to play out resolutions for the characters and relationships; external views of Andrej offer insight into his character arc, and the ghost of Joslire is revived to interesting effect. I like these interpersonal elements--but they're disconnected from the plot and that makes for a slow, strained reading experience.

[Kirk Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the most scintillating read in the series, but solid.

[JHM · Rating 2 out of 5]

It seems that Susan Matthews wanted to give readers some insight into how the Bench could change, and offer some hope of a brighter future after the grimness of the earlier books in this series. The problem is that in doing so, she took her narrative far afield from Andrej Koscuisko, the most interesting character. From the beginning, it's been his story, his complex psychology, his own "warring states" of honor and sadism which have been the primary appeal of the Jurisdiction books. The Bench Specialists, on whom many pages are spent in this book, aren't nearly as interesting.

The best part about this book is that it resolves Koscuisko's several dilemmas about his duties, his relationships, and his desires -- although it does so in far too few words.

I really, really wanted to like this book, but it was very slow going. I would, however, be willing to pick up another Koscuisko story and focused on him.

[Annii · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series. I wish this wasn't the last one in the series, but I like the way it ended. This book was really heavy on the politics, and if you're not interested in political maneuvering and intrigue, this book could get really boring really fast. I love that stuff, however, so I really enjoyed this book.

[Annii Frazer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series. I wish this wasn't the last one in the series, but I like the way it ended. This book was really heavy on the politics, and if you're not interested in political maneuvering and intrigue, this book could get really boring really fast. I love that stuff, however, so I really enjoyed this book.

[Alexa · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was brilliant. She goes back and picks up all sorts of loose ends and ties them off. The ending was quite satisfying even though she turns everything upside down. It had the type of ending and reworking of previous details that makes me want to go back and reread the entire series all over again.

[Aine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series. I wish this wasn't the last one in the series, but I like the way it ended. This book was really heavy on the politics, and if you're not interested in political maneuvering and intrigue, this book could get really boring really fast. I love that stuff, however, so I really enjoyed this book.

[Kirkus · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the first book for because it tackled a hard subject (Torture). The other books where shallow in comparison. Second book did a fairly good job of continuing the saga but after that it became a bad soap opera. The writer explores her weakest skills in book 3,4,5,6 for no apparent reason.
I would recommend readers to stop after the 2nd book.

[The Book Coyote · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series. I wish this wasn't the last one in the series, but I like the way it ended. This book was really heavy on the politics, and if you're not interested in political maneuvering and intrigue, this book could get really boring really fast. I love that stuff, however, so I really enjoyed this book.

[Penny · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series is addictive ...

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Involving, evocative, interesting and suspenseful.