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Andrea Cort #2
The Third Claw of God
Andrea Cort became a "war criminal" at the age of eight when an unexplained darkness invaded her soul. Now, decades later, the Devil is calling her. Employed by the Diplomatic Corps but secretly aiding the AI masters of the universe, Counselor Andrea Cort despises the powerful Bettelhines—unrepentant death merchants who have prospered from the annihilation of civilizations. Now curiosity compels her to answer a cryptic summons to their home world, where the only law is Bettelhine law. But a murder attempt greets her arrival at Xana's orbital entry port—and far graver peril awaits aboard the elevator transport meant to carry Andrea to the planet's surface. Trapped miles above Xana—surrounded by suspicious Bettelhines, their slavishly loyal retainers . . . and a corpse liquefied by a 15,000-year-old weapon—Andrea must unmask an assassin or die an equally hideous death. But the true reason for her summons—and sordid secrets weaving through her own dark past—threaten to destroy Andrea Cort more completely than the Claw of God.
400 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
9 people are currently reading
291 people want to read
About the author
Adam-Troy Castro
236 books166 followersAdam-Troy Castro made his first professional sale to Spy magazine in 1987. Since then, he's published 12 books and almost 80 short stories. Among those stories are "Baby Girl Diamond" (nominated for the Bram Stoker Award) and "The Funeral March of the Marionettes" (nominated for the Hugo and Nebula Awards in 1998). "The Astronaut from Wyoming," a collaboration with Jerry Oltion, appeared in Analog and was nominated for the Hugo and Nebula Awards in 2000, before winning the Seiun (Japanese Hugo) for best translation in 2008.
His "Of A Sweet Slow Dance in the Wake of Temporary Dogs" was nominated for the 2003 Nebula. His original short story collections include Lost in Booth Nine (published by Silver Salamander Press in 1993), An Alien Darkness and A Desperate Decaying Darkness (published by Wildside Press in 2000), Vossoff and Nimmitz (2002), and Tangled Strings (2003). He is also the author of the Spider-Man novels—Time's Arrow: The Present (written in collaboration with Tom DeFalco), The Gathering of the Sinister Six, Revenge of the Sinister Six, and Secret of the Sinister Six—as well as the nonfiction My Ox Is Broken! The Andrea Cort novels include, Emissaries from the Dead, The Third Claw of God, and a third installment currently in progress, tentatively titled The Fall of the Marionettes.
Castro, who married the divine Judi on 25 December 2002, lives in Florida with his wife and four cats: Maggie, Uma Furman, Meow Farrow, and the latest acquisition, Ralphie, an orphan of 2005's hellacious hurricane season.
His "Of A Sweet Slow Dance in the Wake of Temporary Dogs" was nominated for the 2003 Nebula. His original short story collections include Lost in Booth Nine (published by Silver Salamander Press in 1993), An Alien Darkness and A Desperate Decaying Darkness (published by Wildside Press in 2000), Vossoff and Nimmitz (2002), and Tangled Strings (2003). He is also the author of the Spider-Man novels—Time's Arrow: The Present (written in collaboration with Tom DeFalco), The Gathering of the Sinister Six, Revenge of the Sinister Six, and Secret of the Sinister Six—as well as the nonfiction My Ox Is Broken! The Andrea Cort novels include, Emissaries from the Dead, The Third Claw of God, and a third installment currently in progress, tentatively titled The Fall of the Marionettes.
Castro, who married the divine Judi on 25 December 2002, lives in Florida with his wife and four cats: Maggie, Uma Furman, Meow Farrow, and the latest acquisition, Ralphie, an orphan of 2005's hellacious hurricane season.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews
April 25, 2021
This is a SF / mystery, the second volume of Andrea Cort trilogy. Andrea Cort works for the Diplomatic Corps (DipCor), UN like agency for human interstellar confederation (the Hom.Sap Confederacy) as a Prosecutor-at-Large. As of this volume, she is a defector to the alliance of software intelligences known as AIsource, the creation/emergence of which predates humanity for millions of years, and whose goal is actually to stop their eternal life. She travels with a cylinked pair, Oscin and Skye Porrinyards, one person in two bodies, who is her lover and bodyguard.
The novel starts with a shock: Andrea says she has died, but insists that the important question is why, not how. Then the story begins: she with Porrinyards is on a space station about a private world of a mighty weapon manufacturer family, Bettelhines, its current leader asked for her visit. She is attacked by two Bocaians, who are disabled by her and her bodyguard, only to find that one of them tried to use a 16000 old weapon (or its replica) called the claw of god. It was developed during religious wars by yet another alien race – exoskeletal K’cenhowten, who punished with it their heretics by melting them inside.
Without finding out why she was attacked, Andrea with a group of other guests and members of Bettelhines family uses the personal family space lift to go to the planet. At the middle of their descent the lift stops and during ensued panic another assassination attempt is made, this time successful. Now Andrea has to find out who of the passengers is guilty and why. Moreover, AIsource informs her that her choices will affect destinies of millions.
A nice second volume, nothing spectacular but a nice easy read.
The novel starts with a shock: Andrea says she has died, but insists that the important question is why, not how. Then the story begins: she with Porrinyards is on a space station about a private world of a mighty weapon manufacturer family, Bettelhines, its current leader asked for her visit. She is attacked by two Bocaians, who are disabled by her and her bodyguard, only to find that one of them tried to use a 16000 old weapon (or its replica) called the claw of god. It was developed during religious wars by yet another alien race – exoskeletal K’cenhowten, who punished with it their heretics by melting them inside.
Without finding out why she was attacked, Andrea with a group of other guests and members of Bettelhines family uses the personal family space lift to go to the planet. At the middle of their descent the lift stops and during ensued panic another assassination attempt is made, this time successful. Now Andrea has to find out who of the passengers is guilty and why. Moreover, AIsource informs her that her choices will affect destinies of millions.
A nice second volume, nothing spectacular but a nice easy read.
August 30, 2021
J'aime bien Andrea Cort malgré les quelques défauts du livre, je m'amuse bien. L'intrigue policière en vase clos est plutôt réussi, la métahistoire progresse. Reste que les scènes d'action sont toujours aussi ratées et que la traduction devrait se relire (une bonne dizaine de phrases insensées dans l'ouvrage).
January 25, 2025
Suite des aventures d'Andrea Cort dans ce futur lointain où l'humanité est intégrée à une confédération de races diverses.
Ici, on n'est moins exposés à l'altérité puisque la quasi totalité du récit ne concerne que des humains.
On est plongé pendant l'essentiel du roman dans un huis clos que n'aurait pas renié Agatha Christie, avec une structure on ne peut plus classique : lieu clos, meurtre, enquête, résolution finale.
Les enjeux sont intéressants, le traitement efficace, j'ai passé un très bon moment !
Ici, on n'est moins exposés à l'altérité puisque la quasi totalité du récit ne concerne que des humains.
On est plongé pendant l'essentiel du roman dans un huis clos que n'aurait pas renié Agatha Christie, avec une structure on ne peut plus classique : lieu clos, meurtre, enquête, résolution finale.
Les enjeux sont intéressants, le traitement efficace, j'ai passé un très bon moment !
June 21, 2022
Úžasné! ❤️
July 21, 2021
Coucou mes Mystigris 😉
J'ai lu le second tome de la saga Andrea Cort La Troisième griffe de Dieu de @adamtroycastro . Merci beaucoup aux éditions @albinmichel pour cet envoi 😊
🅲🅷🆁🅾🅽🅸🆀🆄🅴 On retrouve Andrea Cort, cette fois-ci elle est invitée par une famille extrêmement riche et connue pour sa fabrication d'armes et ses génocides. Arrivée sur la planète Xana, Andrea est victime d'un attentat au moyen d'une griffe de Dieu, une arme datant de plusieurs millénaires. Puis elle se retrouve piégée à bord d'un ascenseur spatial avec de nombreux invités. Un meurtre est commis, Andrea et les inseps vont devoir mener l'enquête afin de trouver l'assassin.
🄼🄾🄽 🄰🅅🄸🅂 j'étais tellement ravie de retrouver Andrea Cort, cette avocate insociable au caractère insupportable. Elle essaye tout de même de s'assagir en présence des inseps Oscin et Skye que j'apprécie de plus en plus. C'est un joli trio qui ne manque pas de piquant.
L'auteur nous fait voyager à bord de cet ascenseur spatial où tout le monde semble suspect. Cette enquête m'a fait penser aux romans d'Agatha Christie avec des questions, des déductions... J'ai tenté de trouver l'assassin moi aussi, les doutes se sont installés mais je ne m'attendais pas à ces révélations finales !
🄲🄾🄽🄲🄻🅄🅂🄸🄾🄽 un second tome au top, des personnages toujours aussi variés et un trio que j'ai adoré. Il me tarde de terminer cette trilogie pour connaître le fin mot de l'histoire.
J'ai lu le second tome de la saga Andrea Cort La Troisième griffe de Dieu de @adamtroycastro . Merci beaucoup aux éditions @albinmichel pour cet envoi 😊
🅲🅷🆁🅾🅽🅸🆀🆄🅴 On retrouve Andrea Cort, cette fois-ci elle est invitée par une famille extrêmement riche et connue pour sa fabrication d'armes et ses génocides. Arrivée sur la planète Xana, Andrea est victime d'un attentat au moyen d'une griffe de Dieu, une arme datant de plusieurs millénaires. Puis elle se retrouve piégée à bord d'un ascenseur spatial avec de nombreux invités. Un meurtre est commis, Andrea et les inseps vont devoir mener l'enquête afin de trouver l'assassin.
🄼🄾🄽 🄰🅅🄸🅂 j'étais tellement ravie de retrouver Andrea Cort, cette avocate insociable au caractère insupportable. Elle essaye tout de même de s'assagir en présence des inseps Oscin et Skye que j'apprécie de plus en plus. C'est un joli trio qui ne manque pas de piquant.
L'auteur nous fait voyager à bord de cet ascenseur spatial où tout le monde semble suspect. Cette enquête m'a fait penser aux romans d'Agatha Christie avec des questions, des déductions... J'ai tenté de trouver l'assassin moi aussi, les doutes se sont installés mais je ne m'attendais pas à ces révélations finales !
🄲🄾🄽🄲🄻🅄🅂🄸🄾🄽 un second tome au top, des personnages toujours aussi variés et un trio que j'ai adoré. Il me tarde de terminer cette trilogie pour connaître le fin mot de l'histoire.
February 28, 2009
A decent follow-up to the first book in the series, although not quite as strong. I can't put my finger on it, but while I read the books and enjoy them I can't quite get engrossed in them. There's some very interesting ideas at work, and I don't have any issues with characters or dialogue. It may be the fact that because of the nature of the first two books, which both center around murder mysteries, there's a lot of long interrogation scenes. These were offset in the first book, but take up the majority of this book. This makes sense considering the main character's position is essentially an investigator/prosecutor, but it means that there is more exposition handled in the same room than there is anything else, which tends to get a bit dull and predictable.
I do also have a bit of a problem with the main character, there's something about Andrea Cort that I don't quite buy into, but yet for some reason I find myself compelled to read anyway.
It's an enjoyable novel, and their a number of interesting concepts explored with regard to free-will and identity. The novel is thought-provoking without being mind-blowing, but I still liked it, and will probably read the next one in the series too, which I guess is all that I really need to say in a review.
I do also have a bit of a problem with the main character, there's something about Andrea Cort that I don't quite buy into, but yet for some reason I find myself compelled to read anyway.
It's an enjoyable novel, and their a number of interesting concepts explored with regard to free-will and identity. The novel is thought-provoking without being mind-blowing, but I still liked it, and will probably read the next one in the series too, which I guess is all that I really need to say in a review.
May 30, 2021
Ce second roman de la série Andrea Cort est encore une fois une vraie réussite. Entre SF et polar, l’auteur nous offre une nouvelle enquête classique mais bien construite et très prenante dans un huis-clos haletant. Mais ce qui fait tout le charme de cette série c’est surtout l’évolution du personnage principal de textes en textes, un personnage remarquable qu’on prend grand plaisir à suivre et que j’ai déjà hâte de retrouver…
Critique complète sur yuyine.be!
Critique complète sur yuyine.be!
October 13, 2009
I read the first one of these books and I really enjoyed that one and now this one (although a tiny bit less than the first for some reason). It's great Sci-Fi, no gloopy romance, this one is written a bit like an Agatha Christie mystery in space. I really really like the character and the melding of mystery and sci-fi and can't wait for the next installment.
October 28, 2020
I loved this book - one of the best I have read in quite a while.
I know that there are more Andrea Cort novels 'out there' but only the first two seem to have been made available in printed format, which is a shame as I'd love to learn what happens next.
I know that there are more Andrea Cort novels 'out there' but only the first two seem to have been made available in printed format, which is a shame as I'd love to learn what happens next.
January 1, 2011
The story of a diplomat who is rude to everybody. Does that makes sense? Don't worry, neither does anything else in the book.
April 30, 2025
Dans cet épais roman, l'antipathique Andrea Cort et son amant à deux corps se retrouvent rapidement emprisonnés dans un ascenseur spatial avec une dizaine d'autres personnes et, très vite, un mort. Et oui, malgré la quincaillerie très science-fictionnelle, ce roman est un whodunit des plus classiques, avec les avantages et inconvénients typiques de ce format d'enquête.
Dans les avantages, il faut bien sûr des personnages hauts en couleur, et c'est le cas avec la famille Bettelhime et ses étranges serviteurs. J'allais dire que certains personnages sonnent creux, et il s'avère que ces personnages creux le sont pour des contraintes internes. C'est très bien pensé.
Il faut aussi, pour un bon whodunit, un meurtre aussi inexplicable que monstrueux. Et là, on est servi. Le corps qui pourrit sous les yeux des personnages est sensible même à travers le media pas très olfactif du texte. Et il sera aussi visible qu'encombrant dans tout le livre, révélant bien sûr le meurtrier puisque ça fait partie de la forme.
Dans les inconvénients, je suis toujours mal à l'aise avec cette forme dans la science-fiction, puisqu'elle réduit bien souvent la puissance science-fictionnelle à un décor. Et là, c'est le cas. Bien sûr, l'amant de Cort sort du lot, mais pas tant que ça. Et comme tout le reste du décor a été exclu par l'auteur (pas d'extra-terrrestres, pas de wifi - ou équivalent, pas de vaisseaux spatiaux), on se retrouve réduit à un récit d'un style éminement daté. J'ai en même temps conscience que le rôle d'Andrea Cort (procureure extraordinaire) nous pousse dans le monde du procedural à l'américaine, mais là, on est remonté encore plus loin dans l'histoire du genre policier.
Du coup, je trouve cette histoire inférieure, sans doute parce que je ne suis pas fan de ce genre d'enquête qui est un piège pour lecteur : le lecteur essaye de faire preuve de son intelligence face à un auteur qui, par la nature même du media, ne saura jamais que le lecteur était intelligent.
A contrario, la nouvelle présente en fin d'ouvrage est bien plus intéressante, bien plus vivante, même si Andrea Cort n'y est qu'un troisième rôle. On a là une exploration plus vivante de la Nouvelle-Londres servant de base à notre procureure préférée.
Alors voilà, si vous aimez les enquêtes, les huis-clos, les whodunit, c'est pour vous. Personnellement, ça n'est pas exactement pour ça que je lis de la SF.
Dans les avantages, il faut bien sûr des personnages hauts en couleur, et c'est le cas avec la famille Bettelhime et ses étranges serviteurs. J'allais dire que certains personnages sonnent creux, et il s'avère que ces personnages creux le sont pour des contraintes internes. C'est très bien pensé.
Il faut aussi, pour un bon whodunit, un meurtre aussi inexplicable que monstrueux. Et là, on est servi. Le corps qui pourrit sous les yeux des personnages est sensible même à travers le media pas très olfactif du texte. Et il sera aussi visible qu'encombrant dans tout le livre, révélant bien sûr le meurtrier puisque ça fait partie de la forme.
Dans les inconvénients, je suis toujours mal à l'aise avec cette forme dans la science-fiction, puisqu'elle réduit bien souvent la puissance science-fictionnelle à un décor. Et là, c'est le cas. Bien sûr, l'amant de Cort sort du lot, mais pas tant que ça. Et comme tout le reste du décor a été exclu par l'auteur (pas d'extra-terrrestres, pas de wifi - ou équivalent, pas de vaisseaux spatiaux), on se retrouve réduit à un récit d'un style éminement daté. J'ai en même temps conscience que le rôle d'Andrea Cort (procureure extraordinaire) nous pousse dans le monde du procedural à l'américaine, mais là, on est remonté encore plus loin dans l'histoire du genre policier.
Du coup, je trouve cette histoire inférieure, sans doute parce que je ne suis pas fan de ce genre d'enquête qui est un piège pour lecteur : le lecteur essaye de faire preuve de son intelligence face à un auteur qui, par la nature même du media, ne saura jamais que le lecteur était intelligent.
A contrario, la nouvelle présente en fin d'ouvrage est bien plus intéressante, bien plus vivante, même si Andrea Cort n'y est qu'un troisième rôle. On a là une exploration plus vivante de la Nouvelle-Londres servant de base à notre procureure préférée.
Alors voilà, si vous aimez les enquêtes, les huis-clos, les whodunit, c'est pour vous. Personnellement, ça n'est pas exactement pour ça que je lis de la SF.
July 22, 2022
Encore meilleur que le premier.
Le 1er tome était déjà très bon, mais le texte principal y était plus réduit, puisqu’il partageait la vedette avec plusieurs nouvelles.
Ici il n’y en a qu’une, et elle conclut le livre. Donc cette fois, immersion totale et directe dans le récit principal, au cadre à la fois charmeur (un ascenseur spatial de luxe pour invités de marque, avec suites personnelles, vue sur une planète protégée et conservée et grande cuisine) et carrément flippant (un ascenseur. Dans l’espace ! Qui tombe en panne !!).
Le huis clos est génial et vraiment addictif, tous les personnages sont tellement suspects, des employés aux patrons, en passant par les invités, certains plus que d’autres. Andrea Cort est égale à elle-même, bien qu’un peu radoucie par rapport au tome 1, ce qui la rend infiniment plus aimable ! Les Bettelhine sont également marquants. Je n’en attendais pas moins d’une famille de truands ! Le plus charismatique reste malgré tout le patriarche, le fameux Hans Bettelhine, dont on passe notre temps à entendre parler, sans jamais le voir.
L’Empire des Bettelhine semble au départ plutôt paradisiaque pour sa population. Puis, au fur et à mesure, la désillusion, la lente descente aux enfers : le voile tombe et dévoile par morceaux de plus en plus sombres l’horrible vérité derrière le système en vigueur sur la planète Xana, qui s’avère finalement pire que celui de la Confédération homsap, alors que celui-ci n’avait déjà pas brillé par sa politique et son fonctionnement dans le tome 1. De plus, la menace en arrière plan alourdit encore l'atmosphère : le danger guette à chaque instant...
La nouvelle en fin de livre introduit un nouveau personnage que j’ai bien apprécié et qui semble important.
Vraiment un excellent tome, addictif, avec beaucoup de suspens, et des personnages que je pense et espère revoir dans le dernier volet de la trilogie. En résumé, un tome aussi riche que ses personnages, si c’est possible.
Sans oublier cette chère Andrea et ses commentaires mordants.
« Faites confiance aux Bettelhine. Chez eux, même l’air est plus riche »
Soit dit en passant, la traduction est de très bonne qualité, et la couverture est magnifique. Une jolie perle dans ma bibliothèque.
Le 1er tome était déjà très bon, mais le texte principal y était plus réduit, puisqu’il partageait la vedette avec plusieurs nouvelles.
Ici il n’y en a qu’une, et elle conclut le livre. Donc cette fois, immersion totale et directe dans le récit principal, au cadre à la fois charmeur (un ascenseur spatial de luxe pour invités de marque, avec suites personnelles, vue sur une planète protégée et conservée et grande cuisine) et carrément flippant (un ascenseur. Dans l’espace ! Qui tombe en panne !!).
Le huis clos est génial et vraiment addictif, tous les personnages sont tellement suspects, des employés aux patrons, en passant par les invités, certains plus que d’autres. Andrea Cort est égale à elle-même, bien qu’un peu radoucie par rapport au tome 1, ce qui la rend infiniment plus aimable ! Les Bettelhine sont également marquants. Je n’en attendais pas moins d’une famille de truands ! Le plus charismatique reste malgré tout le patriarche, le fameux Hans Bettelhine, dont on passe notre temps à entendre parler, sans jamais le voir.
L’Empire des Bettelhine semble au départ plutôt paradisiaque pour sa population. Puis, au fur et à mesure, la désillusion, la lente descente aux enfers : le voile tombe et dévoile par morceaux de plus en plus sombres l’horrible vérité derrière le système en vigueur sur la planète Xana, qui s’avère finalement pire que celui de la Confédération homsap, alors que celui-ci n’avait déjà pas brillé par sa politique et son fonctionnement dans le tome 1. De plus, la menace en arrière plan alourdit encore l'atmosphère : le danger guette à chaque instant...
La nouvelle en fin de livre introduit un nouveau personnage que j’ai bien apprécié et qui semble important.
Vraiment un excellent tome, addictif, avec beaucoup de suspens, et des personnages que je pense et espère revoir dans le dernier volet de la trilogie. En résumé, un tome aussi riche que ses personnages, si c’est possible.
Sans oublier cette chère Andrea et ses commentaires mordants.
« Faites confiance aux Bettelhine. Chez eux, même l’air est plus riche »
Soit dit en passant, la traduction est de très bonne qualité, et la couverture est magnifique. Une jolie perle dans ma bibliothèque.
August 7, 2017
An Andrea Cort novel. Andrea is invited to a meeting with the wealthy and powerful Bettelhines. A family that makes their fortune selling weapons that aid in the destruction of worlds. She despises them. The opening scene she arrives on the orbital facility, Layabout, and an attempt is made on her life with an ancient alien weapon, translates to claw of god. After a disruption of traffic for a few hours the investigation goes no further. She and the Porrinyards board the Royal Carriage for transport to the surface. They are soon joined by Philip, Jason and Jelaine Bettelhine, a couple of their personal aides, a pair of low level employees that excelled and won a trip, wealthy business woman Dejah Shapiro, the Bocain scholar The Khaajiir and four carriage employees. The carriage is partway along its descent when it abruptly stops, the lights go out, and there is a murder accomplished with another claw of god. Andrea takes the lead in the investigation.
When the thought of conspiracy is mentioned she makes a reference to Murder on the Orient Express. Oh, but in this book there is a lot more going on than just one murder. Why did Hans Bettelhine invite her to Xana? The interviews with the occupants brought up questions. Like why would Arturo Mendez become chief steward of the Royal Carriage when he loved the beaches so much and working for the inner family meant he'd never leave Xana? How about the AISource telling her that there is a threat to all of humanity. Even after she solves the murder, the AISource comes back and says the threat is still there.
Great as a murder mystery. There are a few life or death action scenes. A fantastic job of explaining the actions of the characters, like why Mendez took the job on the Royal Carriage and didn't regret it. All leading up to a truly astonishing ending. Fun read, did not bog down and easy to follow. It is probably better having read some of the prior stories and/or Emissaries from the Dead, but I think it can be read as a standalone novel. The necessary background is given.
When the thought of conspiracy is mentioned she makes a reference to Murder on the Orient Express. Oh, but in this book there is a lot more going on than just one murder. Why did Hans Bettelhine invite her to Xana? The interviews with the occupants brought up questions. Like why would Arturo Mendez become chief steward of the Royal Carriage when he loved the beaches so much and working for the inner family meant he'd never leave Xana? How about the AISource telling her that there is a threat to all of humanity. Even after she solves the murder, the AISource comes back and says the threat is still there.
Great as a murder mystery. There are a few life or death action scenes. A fantastic job of explaining the actions of the characters, like why Mendez took the job on the Royal Carriage and didn't regret it. All leading up to a truly astonishing ending. Fun read, did not bog down and easy to follow. It is probably better having read some of the prior stories and/or Emissaries from the Dead, but I think it can be read as a standalone novel. The necessary background is given.
June 5, 2023
3.5 stars, actually.
Perhaps my rating is colored a bit too much by annoyance at some fairly clunky writing stuff that made me roll my eyes a bit.
The author begins with an explanation of where this book fits into the future space opera world he's created and foreshadows mentions of characters from other short stories. He also gives us a run-down of the main character, Andrea Cort's history etc....and then the novel gives the same run-down and repeatedly makes it clear that Andrea is considered a criminal, Bocaians hate her, etc. etc.......for something she did under mind control as a child.
Hmmm.....not sure that very first suspension of disbelief was impacted by the repetition. It was hard for me to suspend my disbelief that her whole life has been defined by an atrocity she committed as a mind-controlled child when the whole story is soaked in intellectual strategizing, etc.
Andrea has been invited to the homeworld of a super rich weapons manufacturing family. Only, she and her cylinked bodyguard/lovers are stuck in a transport with a dead body and a locked room murder mystery that has galaxy spanning implications.
Andrea also has connections to an AI society that oh so plot-device conveniently serves up snippets of information just to tantalize...but then falls back on "I can't tell you at this time" whenever the plot needed Andrea to find stuff out later.
Le sigh. Not to mention another guest pulling that "you don't need to know this now" as well as Andrea's lovers and even Andrea herself!
That kind of obvious manipulation just...frustrates me. If you have to keep withholding information from your main POV with artificial roadblocks, its just not as fun as finding stuff out along with the POV.
Anyway, I apparently didn't mind this very writer self-aware style of writing in the first book. And like in the first book, I still was fascinated with Andrea...just not as much as when I first discovered her.
Perhaps my rating is colored a bit too much by annoyance at some fairly clunky writing stuff that made me roll my eyes a bit.
The author begins with an explanation of where this book fits into the future space opera world he's created and foreshadows mentions of characters from other short stories. He also gives us a run-down of the main character, Andrea Cort's history etc....and then the novel gives the same run-down and repeatedly makes it clear that Andrea is considered a criminal, Bocaians hate her, etc. etc.......for something she did under mind control as a child.
Hmmm.....not sure that very first suspension of disbelief was impacted by the repetition. It was hard for me to suspend my disbelief that her whole life has been defined by an atrocity she committed as a mind-controlled child when the whole story is soaked in intellectual strategizing, etc.
Andrea has been invited to the homeworld of a super rich weapons manufacturing family. Only, she and her cylinked bodyguard/lovers are stuck in a transport with a dead body and a locked room murder mystery that has galaxy spanning implications.
Andrea also has connections to an AI society that oh so plot-device conveniently serves up snippets of information just to tantalize...but then falls back on "I can't tell you at this time" whenever the plot needed Andrea to find stuff out later.
Le sigh. Not to mention another guest pulling that "you don't need to know this now" as well as Andrea's lovers and even Andrea herself!
That kind of obvious manipulation just...frustrates me. If you have to keep withholding information from your main POV with artificial roadblocks, its just not as fun as finding stuff out along with the POV.
Anyway, I apparently didn't mind this very writer self-aware style of writing in the first book. And like in the first book, I still was fascinated with Andrea...just not as much as when I first discovered her.
September 5, 2023
I vacillated between 3 and 4 stars on this one. I went with 3 because of the large number of obvious typos and editing mistakes that gave the book the feel of being self-published by someone who could not find a friend to read his work.
Also, the middle 2/3 of the book was tedious and uninteresting as Andrea was trapped in a parlor solving a dinner murder mystery while interviewing a dozen suspects. Snooze.
What's great about this book is the evolution of "big ideas" that we were introduced to in the first book of the series. Some of those ideas continue to expand and evolve while a few new ones are introduced and are deeply though-provoking.
The ending included a flourish of action and reveals but was ultimately unsatisfying because some main characters' decisions at the end were simply unrealistic given the setup of the world.
We learn at the end that Andrea's mother was one of the exiled Bettelheim kids who was wrongly pushed out of the family. The Dip Corps knew this and let her be treated like shit her whole life because they wanted to use her against the Bettleheim family in negotiations.
At the end, the linked pair of Jason and Jasmine Bettleheim tell her this and invite her to stay on Bettleheim and become fantastically weathy and powerful and she idiotically says "nah".
Also, the middle 2/3 of the book was tedious and uninteresting as Andrea was trapped in a parlor solving a dinner murder mystery while interviewing a dozen suspects. Snooze.
What's great about this book is the evolution of "big ideas" that we were introduced to in the first book of the series. Some of those ideas continue to expand and evolve while a few new ones are introduced and are deeply though-provoking.
The ending included a flourish of action and reveals but was ultimately unsatisfying because some main characters' decisions at the end were simply unrealistic given the setup of the world.
We learn at the end that Andrea's mother was one of the exiled Bettelheim kids who was wrongly pushed out of the family. The Dip Corps knew this and let her be treated like shit her whole life because they wanted to use her against the Bettleheim family in negotiations.
At the end, the linked pair of Jason and Jasmine Bettleheim tell her this and invite her to stay on Bettleheim and become fantastically weathy and powerful and she idiotically says "nah".
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 31, 2023
Really enjoying this SF series, really annoyed that the third book is currently only available as an audiobook or in German. They’re excellent mix of SF and mystery - cool ideas with the implications thoughtfully worked through, while at the same time the mysteries are both sf-nal and fair. Other sf or fantasy mysteries I’ve read are either normal mysteries in an unusual setting, or solved by detectives who realize whodunnit because this amount of gold at that time of the moon has so e astrological significance that isn’t explained until after the fact, or whatever. But Castro always leaves Chekov’s gun sittings on the mantel before letting it go off in the third act, and slips you the information you need about the conditions of firing unobtrusively, while pretending to explain something else. Inconsistencies of the situation and setting all turn out to make an inevitable sense.
And I do like Andrea. She’s so delightfully bad-tempered, though she did push it a little too far at one point (believably so, but unpleasant.)
And I do like Andrea. She’s so delightfully bad-tempered, though she did push it a little too far at one point (believably so, but unpleasant.)
August 20, 2017
First, I have to say I absolutely hate the fight scenes - so much rumination that happens in the span of a few seconds gets really annoying. It was worse in the first book and I hope it was an accident, but it happened on this one also.
Second, I find the main character more and more pathetic as time passes - if she started as a badass in the first part of the first book, she is now devolving into a sentimental crybaby and she gets on my nerves.
I'll listen to the last book in the series just to have some closure, but I doubt this series will be on my favourites list.
Second, I find the main character more and more pathetic as time passes - if she started as a badass in the first part of the first book, she is now devolving into a sentimental crybaby and she gets on my nerves.
I'll listen to the last book in the series just to have some closure, but I doubt this series will be on my favourites list.
February 17, 2023
On her way to meet with the wealthy Bettelhine family, Andrea Cort is attacked in the space port. After that she takes a private space elevator with members of Bettelhine family and their staff to meet the head of the family. The elevator mysteriously stops and one of the passengers is murdered. Can Andrea find the culprit or culprits before they kill again. This was fun. A locked room mystery in space. Andrea is one of the most fascinating protagonists out in science fiction today. Hopefully the third book will have an English edition.
April 10, 2024
Please read Goodreads summary above.
So here we have the continuing adventures of Andrea Cort, Prosecutor at Large (a new title to go with her new employer, AI Source).
She is headed to Xana to meet with the CEO of the Bettelhine family, who captains a corporation that manufactures weapons of war. The reason for the summons is unclear.
Things get hazardous pretty early on, with an assassination attempt against the universally reviled Cort when she is on the space station above Xana waiting to get on the space elevator that will take her to the surface of the planet. The weapon that almost hit her-a "Claw of God", causes death by a particularly macabre means.
The elevator, although customized for the ruling family, is anything but safe.
The trip to the surface becomes a locked room mystery with more revelations than just the identity of the murderer.
So here we have the continuing adventures of Andrea Cort, Prosecutor at Large (a new title to go with her new employer, AI Source).
She is headed to Xana to meet with the CEO of the Bettelhine family, who captains a corporation that manufactures weapons of war. The reason for the summons is unclear.
Things get hazardous pretty early on, with an assassination attempt against the universally reviled Cort when she is on the space station above Xana waiting to get on the space elevator that will take her to the surface of the planet. The weapon that almost hit her-a "Claw of God", causes death by a particularly macabre means.
The elevator, although customized for the ruling family, is anything but safe.
The trip to the surface becomes a locked room mystery with more revelations than just the identity of the murderer.
October 9, 2022
Castro's written a space cozy. Apologize to Agatha Christie. (it was formatted right out of the cozy manual.)
Poor Andrea, she keeps getting beat up. Castro must subscribe to the Nevada Barr school of writing where the heroine keeps suffering grevious injuries two or three times in every episode.
Otherwise, it was okay.
Poor Andrea, she keeps getting beat up. Castro must subscribe to the Nevada Barr school of writing where the heroine keeps suffering grevious injuries two or three times in every episode.
Otherwise, it was okay.
January 3, 2024
Not as good as the first book, but still entertaining. I like Andrea for the most part, except when she's being whiny about her past, which happens way too often. I do like that this book touched on some of her past and connected it with her present and future. The mystery was a locked door type and it was interesting enough if not surprising in who did it. 3 out of 5 stars.
February 18, 2019
In this day and age where it feels like hatred towards the rich, who keep working to enrich themselves further at the price of everyone else, just seems to be increasing this book felt even more poignant. I adored it. Every step. Every clue. Science fiction who done it to the max.
August 11, 2023
This is essentially, Murder on the Space Elevator Express.
I was hoping for more strange worlds and aliens, but mainly got more toxic politics and oppression.
I'm not saying it's not good, the trilogy simply concentrates on a different aspect of Emissaries from the Dead than I had in mind.
I was hoping for more strange worlds and aliens, but mainly got more toxic politics and oppression.
I'm not saying it's not good, the trilogy simply concentrates on a different aspect of Emissaries from the Dead than I had in mind.
July 12, 2017
4.0 stars.
Solid read, significant improvement over book#1 "Emissaries from the Dead". Deftly handled plot twists, made it entertaining.
Solid read, significant improvement over book#1 "Emissaries from the Dead". Deftly handled plot twists, made it entertaining.
July 24, 2017
another though start. still a little more grim than I like but a good book in the end.
May 5, 2022
Toujours bien 👍
May 5, 2022
Encore un succès et un franc plaisir pour ce second opus des aventures d'Andrea Cort !
Une série et un univers à découvrir, vraiment !
Une série et un univers à découvrir, vraiment !
March 17, 2024
A sugar rush of a series. More, please. I'm addicted.
October 31, 2024
If you are a fan of classic mysteries and sci-fi, this is the series for you! Once again, our favorite prosecutor at large is out in the university doing her thing, and I loved every minute of it!
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