Chafe, Paul C.
DESTINY’S FORGE
Paul Chafe
BAEN 2006
Hb 672 pages
ISBN#
14-16520716
This one’s a winner, especially if you like lots of action &/or you’re already a Man/Kzin War fan. DESTINY’S FORGE offers a superb war strategy format against the intriguing backdrop of a world-building that houses high-tech weaponry alongside complex primal culture and telepathy. As of this publishing date, DESTINY’S FORGE is chronologically the last Man/Kzin War [the 6th], though if you’ve never read in this storyline this is a good place to start because DESTINY’S FORGE describes the Kzinti culture in intimate detail [by showing it during high action scenes]. The Kzin are very large lionish sentients who consider honor more important than wealth: their wealth is valued by how much honor they accrue.
Main character Pouncer is First-Son of Kzinti Patriarch Meerz-Rrit [leader of all Kzin in known space]. Though he’s been well prepared for the job of Patriarch [and is the epitome of honor], Pouncer is in no hurry to take over his father’s position. Unfortunately, not all Kzin Prides want to follow the Rrit anymore. Power is in sway both on Kzinhome and on Earth where very few humans support the peace mission just sent to Meerz-Rrit. Human emissaries Captain Ayla Cherenkova and Major Quacy Tskombe barely have time to get to know each other before dropping into the middle of a Kzinti civil war where they run for their lives, fall in love, and get separated. The ordeals they endure after that are even more difficult.
DESTINY’S FORGE reminds me of Frank Herbert’s DUNE, for there are several plotting parallels. And it also has a taste of Larry Niven’s RINGWORLD. DESTINY’S FORGE is science-fiction at its best because author Chafe remembers that entertaining readers is just as important as introducing new ideas.
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