Of Duty and Death by C. J. Merle

Review from: SFRonline
Reviewed by: Jennifer Dunne

Book one of this series, Of Honor and Treason, could be summed up by the opening statement, "The Emperor must die." In book two, the Dorlan heir Eivaunee and the alien Zsar't'lac are waiting for their chance to follow through on that imperative, while trying to do nothing that would allow the Emperor to execute them. After treading too close to the line one time too many, they are sent on a punishment mission to find a serial killer. But the serial killer is no disgruntled miner. He's an alien on a mission to kill Zsar't'lac, the false prophet of their people, and bring his genetic material back to the scientists to craft a more biddable prophet.

You could understand it easily without having read the first book, but there are many subtle nuances that would be lost, so I recommend reading both. This is shaping up to be an excellent, insightful series.

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Review from: Paranormal Romance
Reviewed by: Leslie Tramposch

"Action Packed Space Opera Sequel"

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Review from: Booksnbytes
Reviewed by: Harriet Klausner

C.J. Merle has written a very colorful an exotic space opera that reads like some of the works of Heinlin and Norton. The author creates an alien subculture that seems very believable because the characterizations feel as if the various species live. Especially intriguing is the loyal Zsar who is devoted to Eivaunee while feeling homesickness to be among his own people. Either C.J. Merle was abducted and writing first hand or she is an incredible talent with an imagination that makes the stars feel like a nearby neighborhood.

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Review from: Lightworks
Reviewed by: Jacqueline Litchenberg

Loyalty, honor and integrity are also the core subjects in Of Duty and Death by C. J. Merle. Speculation Press has another winner here!

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Review from: Strange Horizons
Reviewed by: Chris Cobb

Of Duty and Death is now in print and I am pleased to say that it more than fulfills the promise of its predecessor, leaving me looking forward once again to the next book!

Of Duty and Death begins three years after the end of Of Honor and Treason. Zsar't'lac, now well established as Eivaunee Dorlan's second-in-command, must help his captain apprehend a brutal serial killer on the planet NeoCorda, a largely aquatic planet whose main industry is sex-based tourism. There is more at stake than he and Eivaunee realize, however, for the killer is a Hsassan. He has been sent to the human Klimar Empire to assassinate Zsar't'lac: the murders are simply the bait to draw Zsar't'lac within the assassin's reach.

Of Duty and Death uses a conventional murder-mystery framework to continue its character-driven story. Its main attraction is its development of the characters of Eivaunee and Zsar't'lac and the careful but warm friendship that has grown between them. The book deepens the potentially tragic bonds that trapped Eivaunee in Of Honor and Treason: he must execute the vicious will of the emperor he hates or be outlawed as a rebel and destroyed. Zsar't'lac, exiled from his own
Norda people because of his opposition to the plans of the ruling Yseret, bides his time, waiting for revolution at home, plotting how to prevent war between the Norda and humanity. He will need Eivaunee's help, but now he must keep Eivaunee alive and sane for his plans for the future to succeed. It turns out, though, that his own life is in more immediate danger.

Of Duty and Death has many of the same strengths as Of Honor and Treason, but overall its story is not as compelling. It suffers a bit from the "middle-volume" syndrome that often afflicts the second book in a series. It doesn't have the freshness of a first volume that introduces readers to the characters and the created world, and it doesn't have the narrative tension of a third volume that brings all the strands of the plot to resolution. That said, Of Duty and Death's other strengths more than compensate for its unexciting plot, and its subtle foreshadowing promises more dynamic action in the next volume. Merle's writing is much more assured than in her first book; it repays careful reading. This is a book to enjoy in a leisurely fashion.

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