Ghosts of Innocence
Stop what you are doing and get Ghosts of Innocence and start reading it. It is superb and well-worth your time.
Anyway. Onto an actual review.
Ghosts of Innocence, by Ian S. Bott, is set in an world with an intergalactic Empires teeming with various factions inside and out. The story’s focus is on the actions of an agent of one faction, Shayla. She is an assassin of a group trying to overthrow the Empire and get pay back for the planets it has ‘cleansed.’ She kills and blends in easily in order to kill the Emperor and allow her faction to wreak havoc. She may be part of a larger group, but that does not mean she does not have her own reasons and plans. What she intends to do with the Emperor is not what the others necessarily desire.
Differing motivations make up the web of plots of the book’s plot. Everyone is their own agent and the book gives time to show their point of view and explain them. You can understand the actions of the characters. The author switches point of views to accomplish this, but focuses specifically on Shayla. This is Shayla’s story first and foremost, but the other characters have their part to play and are given time to enrich the overall experience and impact.
The world building of the setting that the characters inhabit is for the most party pretty good. I found the old style politics in a futuristic space setting to be particularly interesting. I only wish there was more depth to some descriptions to flesh out the world and understand the geopolitical context of which the book is happening.
I just want more of it. The ending was good and felt reasonable, but I wished there was more given to it. The build up was strong and the execution could have been elaborated on more. It works fine as is, but I just wanted more of it. That is because this book was an extremely compelling read for me; I really enjoyed it and was blown away by it. I cannot recommend Ghosts of Innocence enough.
