This book takes up the story five years on from the first book's conclusion, five years in which the supply of starship fuel, ekti, has become scarcer and scarcer.

This has an enormous effect on both human and Ildiran societies. Colonies begin to fail, and the first signs of rebellion are seen.

The human gypsy-like Roamer clans continue to seek for new ways to survive and to mine for ekti to sell to the Hanseatic League, and also see an alliance with Theroc, the independent planet of the Worldforest as an important step in ensuring their future.

The Ildiran Mage-Imperator continues his plotting and scheming in an attempt to puts the brakes on the decline of his civilisation, and it becomes more and more apparent that he is not a true friend of humankind, believing they are there to be used for the good of the Ildirans.

At the heart of the Hanseatic League there are the struggles between the League Chairman and the new King Peter, determined to make his position more than just the puppet actor role his predecessors have played.

All the while confrontations between the Earth Defence Force and the mysterious Hydrogrues are increasing with more and more disastrous results for the EDF. In an attempt to gain an advantage over their enemy the EDF have introduced new soldier compies, robots with technology provided the Klikiss robots creating thousands of these machines. This despite the fact they do not truly understand the Klikiss robots motives.

And following a request from their son, the Hanseatic League Chairman sends an agent to track down Margaret and Louis Colicos last known to be investigating Klikiss ruins on a deserted world in the company of a green priest and three Klikiss robots, and not heard from in five years. Davlin Lotze, the agent, soon discovers their fate and also their research notes, indicating a newly discovered Klikiss technology, one which possibly could alter the future for mankind.

This is a big book, the middle part of a big trilogy. And there is a lot going on. This is a book whose size is due to actual content rather than too-flowery prose. As a reader who prefers one of stories of novella or short novel length, I was a little overawed before starting book one of this series, but now I'm two books in, all I want is more. This is engrossing – totally!

There are a lot of strands to this tale, it does truly fill the galaxy with the action visiting a large range of worlds centering in turn on the Hansa worlds, the non-Hansa human civilisations, the Ildirans and the Klikiss robots.

Anderson's writing style is easy to read. It fulfils the number one requirement I have for a writer's prose. He tells a story, his words let the story happen without getting in the way. His characters become real, and interact well with each other, each having their own clear motives and desires.

It's also a story where the rules don't totally apply. Reading his you get the feeling that any of the characters could die, and the tale could go in just about any direction. Nothing is certain, no one is safe.

This adds quite a deal of appeal to a book like this. And once you are reading it, it makes it a lot harder to put the book down.

Now, roll on book three.