From Booklist
In this sequel to Hammerfall (2001), the story of an important desert planet that was nearly destroyed by the alien Ondat continues. Marak Trin Tain is the planet's leader and a key figure in maintaining the tentative treaty between human and alien powers. The focus here is on Concord Station, which monitors the tiny planet at the edge of the galaxy and is the fulcrum of the precarious balancing of peace and power between two intergalactic empires. Because of past associations, Procyon, a young watcher monitoring the planet, becomes the object of intense interest for the major powers, Marak, and the leaders of the planet's underground movement, which has its own agenda. Complications arise with the unexpected visit of the Earth ambassador and an attempt on his life that seriously threatens to reopen old wounds and plunge the universe back into devastating war. Although it begins quietly and occasionally slackens pace under the weight of complex political alliances and strategies, this story is not to be underestimated. It carries the reader along as it gathers momentum toward the stunning and unexpected ending that is realized with masterly aplomb. Paula Luedtke
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