Bland & unconvincing
I wanted to enjoy this book. I bought the whole trilogy before even reading this first story purely on the pedigree of its authors. I was expecting to be as engrossed as I had been by the `Catteni Sequence' by Anne McCaffrey, or one of the handful of short stories I'd previously sampled by Elizabeth Anne Scarborough. But while there are positive attributes, which I'll go into later, sadly `Powers That Be' makes for a surprisingly shallow and disappointing read and one that I'm surprised has spawned so many sequels.
I expected that the pooling of the talents of these two highly regarded fantasy writers would result in an enthralling and original space-faring epic, but while the planet of Petaybee can be described as exhibiting life-signs, none of the characters, or indeed the linear plot offer anything beyond a lifeless experience for the reader. The central protagonist is the prime example- Yabana `Yana' Maddock is totally unappealing. Her skills as an investigator (the reason for which her superiors ordered her to settle on Petaybee) are laughably non-existent and her suspicion of the residents of the planet dissipates in a very unconvincingly short space of time. There's also no depth to any of the characters beyond what takes place within the narrow confines of the plot and because they're awarded so little back-story it's very difficult to empathise with of them.
I would say, however that this story is worth reading for the solid prose alone, especially if you're a fan of either contributor whose eager to read something, anything by one of these successful authors. But be aware that with such astonishingly two-dimensional characters and an undeniably tepid plot, it's not a novel to become so enthused over that you rush to read the next installment.
