I can't entirely explain it but this was my least favorite of the series. I like the main character but I couldn't really get into the family dynamic in a short little burst. ( )

Hart Schmidt, Ambassador Abumwe's B-Team diplomatic aide, is on his home planet of Phoenix for a Harvest Day visit with his family. His politically active and powerful family is by no means convinced that their youngest son is making the best use of his talents as a low-ranking diplomat for the Colonial Union. Hart loves his family, but he's quickly reminded that it's not just the distances involved that cause him to limit his visits to the annual Harvest Day holiday. As he struggles with the normal family dysfunction around him, his father takes him aside and makes him an offer--if he'll just resign from the diplomatic corps and come home for good--that's awfully hard to refuse.

Hart, whom we normally see mainly as a secondary character and Harry Wilson's foil, is center stage here, re-evaluating his life and making critical decisions about his values, his career, and his future direction.

Recommended. ( )

A relatively calm, quiet interlude in which Hart Schmidt goes home for a harvest festival dinner with his family. No big adventure, no tricky plot, just good-natured family ribbing and some backstory. Well, okay, some thoughtful observations about class, presented in an amusing way.

As a whole, this is going to be great.

I bought it. ( )

Nice collection of stories set in the OLD MANƒ??S WAR universe. It continues the plot, so you donƒ??t want to miss it. I listened to the audio version which was very good. You can each episode separately or all together.
We've got a review of the full series here:
http://www.fantasyliterature.com/fantasy-author/scalzijohn/
( )