Tomes of Starhopping

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This review does not represent the opinions of the general public. It reflects my personal thoughts and opinions on the book.

That said, on to the review!

Title: The City Who Fought
Author: Anne McCaffrey & S. M. Stirling
Publisher: Baen Books
Format: Paperback
Copyright Date: 1993

Thanks to his interest in all things military--an interest bordering on obsession--Simeon, the brain who runs station SSS-900-X, has become one of the greatest uncelebrated tactitians in known space. Now, however, his knowledge is put to the test. Refugees from a far-distant colony have emerged from subspace, nearly crashing into the station. They bring with them news of invaders calling themselves the Kolnari. The refugees fear that they've been followed, and Simeon must now embark on an elaborate subterfuge and resistance that may be the only hope for the station's entire population, and one that may well save Simeon's greatest resource from being enslaved by the Kolnari: himself!

The City Who Fought does a great job of continuing the saga of the shellpersons. It's a shame that one such had to die along the way, to the conclusion, but it of course gave Simeon greater reason to fight, right? What's more is that we get to see precisely how very valuable shellpersons are, and I'm not talking about Simeon's skill in military tactics here.

One of the best parts of having this story about a space station is that all the action takes place in one locale. Well, mostly, since there are the occasional interludes about the refugees and the Kolnari. For the most part, however, all the scenes take place in or around the space station. We don't go planet-hopping all around the galaxy as we did with Helva, Nancia, and Tia. Another good part is knowing that shellpersons aren't completely infallible and omniscient. Having Joat (short for "jack-of-all-trades") being able to slip in and out of Simeon's sensors is a terrific inclusion to the story.

The City Who Fought is rather long, but every word on every page is worth the time to read. Whether it's reading about the suffering the refugees must endure, or the adjustments the station and its population must make to battle the Kolnari, or the difficulties Simeon has with his new brawn (and vice-versa), every word is important to the story!

Rating: Thumbs up! Watch out, Kolnari, because you're about to entire hostile territory: Simeon himself!

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