The Third Claw Of God: Andrea Cort 02 by Adam-Troy Castro

From The Week of February 07, 2010

Having lost the novelty of the first tale which won our affections, sequels must invariably have superior plots to their progenitors in order to avoid disappointment. For not only do readers come to them armed with hopes unfairly elevated by the first book in a given series, authors are often the last to know when they've milked too much of a good thing and turned it sour with repetition. Not so with The Third Claw Of God which is every bit as good as the book that gave it life.

While Emissaries From The Dead emphasized the science fiction over the mystery, The Third Claw of God takes the opposite approach, providing a science fiction setting for a fascinating, if old-school, detective story. En-route to execute another in a long line of repugnant tasks, handed down to her by her extortive masters in the judicial branch of this future, human civilization, Andrea Cort, diplomat extraordinaire, and her two companions are trapped aboard a stricken transport ferrying them to the surface of their destination, a planet become personal fiefdom for one of the most rapacious families in the known worlds. Somehow, during the accident, a murder was committed, a murder which could have only been carried out by someone still aboard the lavish and now crippled ferry. Being as how everyone on the transport is trapped for the next few hours, there's no reason for Ms. Cort not to bring her considerable powers to bear upon the unsolved crime.

Mr. Castro has intentionally restricted the scenery of his book down to the transport and little else. So unlike with Emissaries, he cannot rely upon his creative scenery to carry the story. He turns instead to a cast of fascinating characters, spiteful, greedy, vindictive, jealous, and murderous, to propel the story along. And they give him admirable service, animating an excellent second effort from Mr. Castro that will have me reading the third when it comes out. The Third Claw Of God showed real range, given how much it varied from Emissaries. Impressive work. (4/5 Stars)