Unfortunately, he doesn't really do much with it that was compelling. It wasn't a *bad* story, but it didn't really grab me either. A few too many cliches (if you don't actually "witness" the death scene of a major character, odds are the character isn't dead) made me a little cynical and gave this a potboiler feel.
The story is told from the point of view of Maia, a female of lower status trying to make her way in the world. She gets caught (many times) in the wrong place at the wrong time and eventually winds up a major player in a fight between many important factions. Exactly *what* these factions are all hoping to accomplish remains a bit nebulous, and I think a little more background on personalities in the capital city would've helped here. In fact, even though I didn't like this book all that much, I think a prequel written from another point of view (say, the alien visitor or one of the major government figures) would've made this a stronger book. Unfortunately, what we'll probably get (if anything) is a *sequel*, which I think has less potential.
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