Author: S.L. Viehl

 ISBN: 0451460294

The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen: CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's Reviews

Part of a series, this novel is about the planet Kevarzangia Two, and its
water-breathing inhabitants.

The Hsktskt slavers have been pushed out of the quadrant, so the four sentient
races, who call themselves the Allied League of Worlds, meet on K-2 for a peace
conference. The participants, two air-breathing races and two water-breathing
races, don't particularly like each other. When an ambassador's shuttle is
attacked prior to the conference, Sublieutenant Burn mu Znora stops the attack
and rescues the ambassador's daughter, Liana (some younger 'Zangians, like Burn,
have been surgically altered to be able to survive in the air for hours at a
time). Having drawn the pleasurable duty of guarding Liana during the
conference, Burn realizes that she knows a lot more than she is letting on, and
that someone wants this conference to fail.

Meantime, the 'Zangians have a natural enemy called a mogshrike. Think of a
creature bigger than a great white shark, with a lot more teeth and a much more
nasty disposition. The mogshrikes have been moving into warmer and shallower
water, where the 'Zangians live. They are defenseless against the mogshrikes, so
the radical idea is considered of catching one to study. Dair, an elderly
'Zangian, is totally against the idea, but Teresa, his Terran mate, agrees to
participate. The battle of wills gets to the point where Dair tells Teresa that
they are no longer mated. A baby mogshrike is captured, and it is discovered
that they have been doing some pretty radical evolving.

This is a fine piece of writing. It's got good world building, the characters
are very well done, and it's a first-rate story. As with any series, reading
previous books will help, but this does a really good job of standing on its
own.