Produktbeschreibung
Shira Calpurnia, Arbitor Senioris of the Adeptus Arbites, is serious about her duty. The Adeptus Arbites enforce the Emperor's law, pass the Emperor's judgement and enforce the Emperor's peace. Shira Calpurnia is a newly assigned Arbites officer. She knows little to nothing about the bustling dockyards of the Hydraphur system, except that they are home to the mighty Imperial warfleets, which dock, rearm and repair in an endless cycle of war.
Arbitor Calpurnia has only just checked in for her new position and post when an attempt is made on her life. A psyker gunman, invisible to the naked eye, is not cheap. The fact that the assassin's remains are untraceable, due to the gunman's involuntary brain suicide protocols, proves that someone with money is behind it. But why? Shira has only been on Hydraphur a couple of hours.
To make matters even more difficult, Shira's arrival is on the Sixth Day of Septista. There are twelve days to the Mass of Saint Balronas. Each day has a precious religious rite, all its own. Shira finds herself adrift and struggling to quickly learn the traditions and rituals while investigating what becomes a series of assassination attempts. Corruption and double-crosses abound as Shira attempts to bring the faceless enemies to justice.
A great beginning for a new series involving Arbites officer Shira Calpurnia. I, as the reader, slowly learn about Hydraphur along with Shira. I could understand Shira's feelings of being the "crude outworlder" in which the locals think of her. I also understood feeling justified every time Shira proved herself worthy of her position. As an added bonus, I was able to watch some of the Battle Sisters at work and understand a bit more about the Adeptus Mechanicus. The story slowed down too much in the middle for my liking, but all-in-all, I feel this novel has created a terrific foundation for the novels that will follow in this series. |