A Princess of the Aerie PDF
Preview A Princess of the Aerie
Jak Jinnaka is off to save a princess yet again—except . . .
Ostensibly a diplomat, really a spy in training, Jak Jinnaka has such a gift for getting into trouble that his fellow students have voted him “most likely to have a war named after him.” His latest offense against cultural sensitivity would have ended his career at his junior year—except that the Academy is thoroughly corrupt, Jak has powerful and wealthy friends, and there’s an easier way for the dean of students to get rid of him: Jak’s ex-girlfriend, Princess Shyf of Greenworld (one of hundreds of nations in a space station the size of the moon), sends a cry for help that will conveniently take Jak one hundred eighty-five million miles out of the dean’s hair.
Just like that, Jak is off to save Shyf in the name of true love, the Aerie for the sake of liberty, and his own potential for a lucrative and undemanding government job.
But Shyf has found a very unpleasant use for Jak, and now that she’s got him, she might not let him go.
From BooklistAmiable thirty-sixth-century teen spy Jak Jinnaka hops to it when ex-girlfriend Sesh, now Princess Shyf of Greenworld, beseeches him to come help her with a few hazily described problems. Recruiting his friend Dujuv Gonzawara and Duj's just-ex-girlfriend, Jak decamps for Greenworld, where the three are dismayed to find Shyf a cruel, disdainful ruler. Pulled into a sexual and political snarl, Jak grasps harsh reality when he realizes his world supports Shyf, even when her drive for power includes murdering her father. Fortunately, when Jak reunites with his formidable alien friend, Shadow on the Frost, fierce combat follows, leading to the friends' violent expulsion to Mercury, where Jak stumbles into another deadly struggle. In this satisfying sequel to The Duke of Uranium [BKL S 1 02], Jak has to comprehend and value different cultures and races, gets in situations in which even the best action casts a bad light on him, and sees friendships suffer when he follows his conscience. Dialogue and characters remain riveting, and Barnes injects a little libertarianism to mull over. Roberta Johnson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
“Serious worldbuilding as background here, but picaresque adventure dominates, for a fun, fast-paced SF romp through some intriguing worlds.” —Locus
“Jak’s back!” —SFcrowsnest.com
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