Councilor

Modesitt’s smart second Grand Illusion political thriller (after Isolate), set in a world of steam-powered cars and empaths who can remotely sense emotions, turns a microscope on the parliamentary process. Steffan Dekkard and Avraal Ysella-Dekkard, two former security agents for Premier Axel Obreduur, marry and strike out on their own. Steffan is appointed to the governing Council of Sixty-Six, while Avraal takes a job with a well-connected security firm. To head off the unrest fomented by the reformist New Meritorists, Steffan introduces a bill to dismantle the corrupt and out-of-control Ministry of Security. As his fellow councilors barter for compromises on the bill, Steffan is targeted by both rogue Security special agents and more radical Meritorists. He and Avraal investigate, suspecting a connection between the two groups, possibly mediated by a corporate political operative looking to increase the Meritorist threat while keeping the special police available for corporate dirty tricks. Modesitt drills deeply into the day-to-day minutiae of his world’s government (including hearings on the regulation of milled sand dust and the problem of “melon misrepresentation”), perhaps to a level past the interest of most science fantasy readers. Still, his protagonists, both outsiders with integrity, will win readers over, even when they indulge in some murderous tricks to tie up loose ends. This keeps the series going strong. (Aug.)