Redspace Rising

As this nimble, bloody space opera from Trent (Ten Thousand Thunders) opens, narrator Harris Alexander Pope is restored to full awareness of his own identity after 20 years undercover as a warrior on the Partisan side in the brutal Martian civil war. Now he’s returned to the Order of Stone and tasked with assassinating the Partisan high command. Once he accomplishes this mission, however, and is reunited with his brother, David, president of Mars, Harris learns that the worst of the Partisan leaders have escaped by uploading their identities into new bodies. He must continue the hunt for these war criminals wherever—or whoever—they are now. Trent works in some thought-provoking speculation on the pliability of identity and technology’s ability to change human nature. Mainly, though, the story leaps from one slick but forgettable high-tech fight scene to the next. It harkens back to pulp-era SF, and as such will most please readers seeking anything-goes action. (Sept.)