Dominion's Reach: A Tom Doherty Associates Book

Intergalactic politics, espionage and techno-medical miracles all figure in this third volume in Thornley's Unified Worlds saga (Echoes of Issel, etc.), which continues the adventures of Admiral Lujan Serege, his mate, Darcie Dartmuth, and their son, Tristan. During the signing of the Isselan Assistance Agreement, Lujan was severely wounded. As this novel opens, he lies in a hospital bed, paralyzed and comatose. Darcie sits by his side as he slowly recovers his consciousness, hearing and gross motor functions, and while his body is outfitted with high-tech gadgets. Meanwhile, Chief Cabinet Minister Seulemont Remarq, the hidden power in Issel, plots to regain control of the Unified Worlds, blackmailing the highest ranks in order to further his nefarious schemes. While Tristan battles his own ghosts and wonders if he will lose the father he's only just made peace with, Lujan fights a sweaty, nerve-wracking battle against his body, his memory and Remarq's deadly manipulations. Much of the story takes place in and around Lujan's hospital bed, and readers who can't warm to the intimate details of a sensory-impaired quadriplegic's miraculous recovery may think the action less than thrilling. Military and medical fiction fans, however, should be comforted by the orderly way everything eventually clicks into place. (Mar.)