The Character work is just outstanding. Hozark, as the Wampeh Ghalian – the master Assassin, is brilliant. The captivating way in which he engages with his world is totally enthralling, and you find yourself glued to the book, unable to pull away. Hozark travels with a small crew, a pilot ‘Bud’, who helps him on missions, he is just hilarious. He is not a Ghalian, but having worked with Hozark, knows all about them. He has a co-pilot Laskar, who is a gifted pilot (the only reason they keep him around), but he has the common sense of a dead rat. The dialogue between Bud and Laskar is like a comedy routine at times, and keeps you laughing. There are some other characters, but I won’t discuss them so as to not give away spoilers. For parents and younger listeners, this audiobook contains a fair amount of vulgar language and some mature subject matter. There are also a few scenes that may be considered to be violent or graphic in nature. The author has never stated that he has intended this series for younger listeners, yet I think many could enjoy it. I would only recommend this series to more mature listeners because of this.

It involves seeking a vespus blade (the most powerful sword of the Ghalians that stores and channels magical power), and dealing with someone the assassins thought was dead.It is a real shame because I loved the world Scott Baron created but this is a really basic thing to get right when writing a story. The instructions you are given in (363) will get you killed if you follow them during the floor tile puzzle at (332). The plot is not complex. The story is about a master assassin executing a couple of contracts without really any concern about obstacles and not really being in any danger.

World building is limited at times but descriptive and livid enough to grasp the environment the characters are currently in. Can feel that the author really tried to relay the images in his own head onto paper. Speaking of protagonists, I did not feel like some parts of the story were being told through the perspective of any particular character. Paying attention to the warning given at (68) is liable to result in making a suicidal decision at (14).This book is obviously written by a reader of science-fiction and fantasy who understands world-building. The characterizations are sketches at first, allowing readers to fill some blanks, but the dialogue and story reveal who the people truly are. Fight scenes are realistic as far as I can tell (not an expert), but the space travel is not hard science; it's fantasy--which works out just fine for its purpose. There was far more at play than was apparent on the surface, and Hozark would require all of his wits and skill to get to the bottom of it. And he most surely intended to do just that, no matter how high the body count. He just hoped to do so before more of his kin fell victim to the nefarious plot.