{4.5\/5} “I stepped on a Balrog when it was in a dispersal phase — actively looking for a new host. Now, it’s happily bonded to me and reproductively dormant. Entirely. Almost. It would only spread to someone else if the chance was too promising to pass up: a host so superior, the Balrog had to seize the opportunity, for the greater good of the universe.”<\/p>\n
Hunted<\/strong> by James Alan Gardner, published in 2000<\/p>\n Edward is aboard a ship crossing the line into interstellar space when everyone else dies. He suspects that the League of Peoples has killed everyone because they were dangerous nonsentients. Then he finds a Mandasar queen in the hold — she’s dead too. Then he finds a swarm of deadly nanites. When Edward gets into port a week later, he really wants someone to tell him what’s going on.<\/p>\n This is the 3rd Festina Ramos novel, following Vigilant<\/strong><\/a>. Our old friend Festina Ramos shows up a quarter of the way through this one.<\/p>\n It’s about what happens when you’ve been told you’re stupid all your life. It’s about dealing with different lifeforms, some of whom want to kill you and some just want to exile you far far away.<\/p>\n It’s a smooth read, with Gardner’s delightful sense of humour.<\/p>\n This is the 2nd time I’ve read it.<\/p>\n