Queen

The muddled third space opera in Zahn’s Sybil’s War series (after Knight) continues the struggle for control over the Fyrantha, an immense psychic former warship. The self-appointed Shipmasters force the many alien species that have been thrown together aboard the ship to compete so they can determine which will be most valuable to sell as warriors. The Fyrantha teleported human Nicole Hammond, a former member of a Philadelphia street gang, on board to repair its deteriorating machinery in the previous installments and has since appointed her the Protector of the ship and its inhabitants. Now she works to win the support of fractious humans, coordinate the talents of various nonhuman allies, and repair the Fyrantha’s fragmented artificial intelligence. But evading the wily Shipmasters and their brutal partners, the Koffren, becomes much more complicated when they teleport domineering members of her old gang from Philly onto the ship. The many factions make for a convoluted conflict, and the ship’s complex physical layout makes the action sequences difficult to follow. New readers will have a hard time playing catchup and understanding the personal stakes for Nicole. This middling installment is strictly for die-hard series fans. (Apr.)