Allegiance of Honor
By Nalini Singh
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: June 14, 2016
The Psy/Changeling series began
with Slave to Sensation, which focused
on empath Sasha Duncan and alpha leopard changeling Lucas Hunter. At the time of their story, the psy maintained
a rigid emotionless protocol known as Silence.
Sasha’s ability to sustain it was crumbling, and her budding
relationship with Lucas allowed her to escape, even though that meant being an
outcast from the psy world. The child at
risk in Allegiance of Honor, Naya, is
Sasha and Lucas’s daughter.
The fact that Naya is targeted
gives Singh the opportunity to showcase the vast changes in the series world
over the span of 15 books. Silence has crumbled, and chaos ensued, eventually
leading to a new accord among psy, changelings, and humans. As always with
radical social change, there are groups opposed to the new order, and some are
working covertly to sabotage it.
Kidnapping Naya is seen as a way to control Lucas, who has become a
power in the new social structure.
In contrast, whoever took the
water changeling, Leila, wants to turn her into a weapon, but the purpose
behind that goal isn’t revealed. The
quest to free her and to unmask those behind the attempt to grab Naya showcases
the teamwork among the changelings and between them and their psy allies. The bonds between these groups have deepened
as the series progressed, and Allegiance
of Honor brings the Human Alliance more closely into the fold.
As the characters work on
these two problems, the reader sees the romantic relationships and passion of
couples from prior books in the series. Fans will particularly enjoy that
aspect of the story. We also see more about the water changelings and the humans,
and there’s new trouble in the PsyNet, the psychic web all psy need to survive.
The new romance in the book
comes mostly from the journal of Father Xavier Perez, who worked with Judd
Lauren and Kaleb Krychek to help bring down Silence. Father Xavier’s village was wiped out by Psy.
The woman he loved, Nina, escaped by
jumping into the river but then vanished.
He has been searching for her,
and the journal entries switch to present action as his quest nears its
end. This is a minor part of the story and thus is more likely to satisfy fans
than new readers. The previous books in
the Psy/Changeling saga are more traditionally structured as romances, and some
may find those more in keeping with their reading preferences.
For me, as a fan, this book
rates 5 stars.
~Nancy
She's an author I've been meaning to read - sounds good, thanks.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Catslady. I obviously love this series, and I started with Slave to Sensation. I hope you enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteI read a few books at the beginning of the series, but have not keep up with it. I enjoyed them, but have not had the time. This one makes me think I need to go back and catch up.
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