I read the first two books in this series with great delight, but this one fell rather flat for me. The plot is moved forward in some interesting ways, but the writing just isn't on a par with books 1 and 2 and according to the author's webpage was written earlier, which reflects what I saw: that the plot development is much less polished. Here the risen members of the Aeon starship's hibernating crew finally find a possible home but meet scientifically advanced humans (Avendians), and neither side is sure if the other can be trusted. A diplomatic mission to the Avendian home planet is undertaken.

The most distracting problem for me was the main character's navel-gazing and his obsession with the physical attributes of the Avendian ambassador and whether a cyborg and his hologram might be rivals for her affection. To me, it would have been preferable (and sufficient) for the reader to be made aware that he found her attractive and was beginning to fall in love with her, and then leave it at that until she'd made her own interest obvious. The agony of young love is boring in an adventure story.

Second, as this is the story of a critical and delicate diplomatic mission, it is not believable that the second-in-command would be the angry, outspoken and sometimes violent Steed. In real life she would never have been considered, or, if she was a last resort, she'd have been controlled.

On a positive note, the cyborg is a wonderful character, and I look forward to reading more on the Starbirds, an alien race met along the way. And despite my lack of enthusiasm for this particular entry, I look forward to the next volume. ( )