Conventions of War - Walter Jon Williams

...and so the trilogy comes to a close. Nothing really new here; we have Martinez continuing his career as space captain, and Sula leading an armed uprising against the invaders; the high command continue to be frustratingly traditionalist, and the Naxids continue to be evil... Most of the elements are there, but this book is unfortunately slightly less interesting than the others, as it is lacking the entertaining political machinations of Martinez's family, and Sula's dealings with the criminal gangs is quite a poor substitute. However, for no-frills sci-fi (and I use the term advisedly), this does the job; it also manages to have an ending that is not at all cheesy but rather poignant.

Williams is kind of the sci-fi equivalent of Katherine Kerr - writing fairly formulaic genre material but with enough gusto to carry it off. This series won't change your world and certainly won't do anything to revolutionise the genre, but for good, basic space-action fun, look no further.

7/10