Defender

Defender is an odd book.

I know I talked up this trilogy, but it's definitely the ideas and the characters and not the pacing. One of the things that I think the Foreigner series does generally well is that it a series of trilogies, where each book also has its own arc and sense of closure. Defender is the one book that breaks that mold and just... frankly... doesn't have enough going on. As part of a trilogy it's excusable and, if you're on book five of this series, at this point you're also here for an analysis of space politics? Probably it's fine.

The first half of the book is "huh what's Tabini up to? what's going on with Yolanda? this is all puzzling". It takes more than half the book to reveal that (of course) the spaceship is leaving and (also of course) Bren is going to be on it. The back half of the book is Illisidi showing up and having an incredible dinner showdown with Captain Sabin and using the power of manners and politeness (and poisoning) as power play. But in all honesty, it feels like these two halves of the book are parts of their respective bookends—it all feels more like a duology than a trilogy. The first half is a continuation of what was going on with Captain Ramirez in Precursor, and the conflict with Sabin and Illisidi is tied in much more with Explorer.

Tabini wouldn’t rush to judgement or to action. Not in this. Silence meant that the subordinate in question should act as wisely as he understood how to do, and silence meant if the subordinate fouled up—the aiji in Shejidan could change everything in a heartbeat.

Worse, I think the "Bren is confused" dance at the beginning of Defender is too close to what goes on in the previous book. What makes this book work better than how this is handled in the previous one is that in that confusion Bren has to stew in a number of other uncomfortable feelings as he is kept out of the decision loop. I think we get more of his internal jealousy and paranoia here than we normally get, and it really works as a counterpoint to the wild increase of authority that he continues to exercise.

Some things I do really like here:

• our first introduction to Cajeiri, the aiji's six year old heir apparent
• Illisidi dinner party power play
• the Toby/mom/Barb family situation spiraling further—Bren being highly competent in his job but unable to be the mediator diplomat in his own family life
• Illisidi saying she'll literally turn this spaceship around if her polite demands aren't met