Saundby, Kate
THE WAGES OF JUSTICE: THE ARCHONS OF NUBLIS
Kate Saundby
Double Dragon eBooks, 2000
CDROM, 183 pages
ISBN#
1-894841-01-8
This was my first eBook and though I agree with
the idea of eBooks, I did find getting started reading a new format
to be a bit daunting--but it isn't hard once you get past the idea
of doing something different. The best part about eBooks is that
you can take so many with you when you travel [or, you can sneak one
into work and maybe not get caught reading while on the job--try
this only at your own risk!].
THE WAGES OF JUSTICE: THE ARCHONS OF NUBLIS is
Volume 1 of the Nublis Series, Part 1 of the Wages Trilogy--but it
reads well as a stand-alone. In fact, it reads quite
well. I'm drawn to court intrigue stories because I like the
setting, but am often disappointed by a heavy drag through
boringsville. Not so this book. THE ARCHONS OF NUBLIS is fast,
fun, and easy to read. Author Saundby does a great job of combining
wonderful world-building, great characterization, and an interesting
plot with fast moving action. It is a well balanced page-turner and
one I highly recommend.
The setting is especially intriguing. In the
Fifth Millennium, Earth is now known as Aretz and there are so many
worlds colonized that an Interplanetary Synod Assembly has been
developed to help keep the peace. But not all is well in the
Assembly. Corruption is running rampant and the only place in the
universe where a man can get a fair trial is on the distant world of
Nublis in the Alpha Centauri System. The Archon is their Chief
Judge, also known as the Dark Emperor of Nublis. The man chosen for
this position is masked and unknown to the populace "to insure his
incorruptibility." He lives as a prisoner and is kept on drugs to
enable a mystic connection to his omniscient (dead)
predecessors--drugs that significantly shorten his lifespan. Such
are the wages of justice: for the Archon is truly a "living lie
detector."
One of the prisoners brought before the Archon
then executed by him was the son of a high ranking official from
Aretz (Earth), and now that man is using money to back pirates on an
invasion of the peaceful world of Nublis. The visible Emperor of
Nublis (brother to the Archon) has assassins coming at him and his
family from outside Nublis and from the greedy within his own
court. His enemies are close . . . but who are they?
I adored the characterization and interpersonal
relationships in this book, so must go find other works by this same
author!
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