Each successive novel in Gardner's "Expendable" series is better than the one before and this is no exception. Great political world-building with believable aliens (prognosticating glow-in-the-dark moss?!) and a self-deprecating sense of humour which has you rooting for the good guys right from page one. But who, exactly, ARE the good guys is something the author keeps close to his chest with a Machiavellian plot whose double-, triple-, and quadruple-crosses eventually lead to a spectacular ending that plays in your head like a Hollywood blockbuster. Great fun! ( )

How the mighty fall

I was pretty impressed with the story at first. Previous novels in the series had also been impressive, and I was pretty sure that this one would be good...which it was at first, but then towards the end, sadly, the author succumbed to the modern habit of skewering the plot for ACTION & DRAMA!... ( )

I plowed through this whole seven-book series in less than two weeks time, joined the author's Patreon, tweeted at him (and received a reply!) and then went looking for more of his books (sadly, there aren't many -- yet!). I don't remember each of the books individually very well (should have reviewed them right away), but I'll leave this review for the series as a whole:
The basic premise is that we aren't alone in the universe, there is a League of Peoples who have agreed to an edict handed down by a far superior (and never actually seen) species, which is basically not to cause harm to any member of any sentient species. There are still people living on Earth: those who refuse to agree to this rule or who have already broken it, but the sentient individuals who can abide by it flit around the universe, investigating new planets and species and making trade relationships.
Throughout the series we get to meet various fascinating races of 'aliens' and learn about their cultures and species. We also get to explore the theme of what constitutes "harm" intentional or otherwise, and towards the end make some hypotheses about the nature of this superior race who enforce the no-harm rule by basically immediately killing anyone who has broken it the next time they try to leave one planet for another. The series is packed with fun characters the reader comes to understand and even love, but they are properly flawed and dynamic individuals who are living their own journeys.
I really, really wish (hope?) there were (will be?) more books in this series. You should do yourself a favor and read it. I'll definitely revisit it someday. ( )

Unique plot sort of a [b:Tale of Two Cities|1953|A Tale of Two Cities|Charles Dickens|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1309203235s/1953.jpg|2956372] redux with brothers, sisters, aliens and intergalactic travel all stirred in for good measure.

Didn't appeal to me on the same level as the others in the series I have read but I was furiously turning the pages late at night anyway!

A step toward the human->insectoid love scenes and politics that [a:China Miéville|33918|China Miéville|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1243988363p2/33918.jpg] will later take full tilt in [b:Perdido Street Station|11340479|Perdido Street Station (Die Falter Der Weber)|China Miéville|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41SY0OTaynL._SL75_.jpg|3221410] and [b:Embassytown|9265453|Embassytown|China Miéville|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1320470326s/9265453.jpg|14146240].

Next on my list is [b:Trapped|837276|Trapped|James Alan Gardner|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178782802s/837276.jpg|2469678] . . . ( )

Pretty straight forward science fiction adventure yarn with clones, killer moss and lobster queens. Reads like old sci-fi with a totally believable Universe. Doesn't take itself too seriously, but still has a moral at its heart. "Do the right thing and don't act like a jerk." This is Book Four in the League of Peoples Series. The adventure, however, is self contained. It made me smile more than once and I look forward to reading more from this author. ( )