Like Apple, this is a somewhat depressing story. Better than Apple - here, disaster is averted - but there's an awful lot of manipulation, twistiness, and highly obscure motivations in this story. Amalda is way out of her depth at the beginning - by the end, she's rather ridiculously in control. The last confrontation where she brings Roznine in is...such a switch from how she's been dealing with him that it seems to be an application of author fiat. The last couple times they've come in contact Amalda has run away immediately; this time Roznine can't even touch her. Too easy. I suppose it ends happily ever after - especially considering Boris and Sascha Roznine in Pegasus in Flight. I don't know whether they're Amalda's (or grandsons) as well as Roznine's, but clearly he settled down pretty well. Because the last confrontation is such an anticlimax, I find the story unsatisfying on its own; however, it's a nice continuation of the previous stories and foundation for the later ones. ( )