Neodymium Sacrifice

The byzantine third installment to Finelli’s Neodymium Chronicles picks up one year after Neodymium Betrayal, with Lem Benzaran no longer a member of the Frelsi resistance movement and in exile among students on Beryllia, the galaxy’s premier center for learning, where she’s haunted by a prophecy that claims she will cause the heat death of the universe. The Frelsi have Lem’s former compatriot Jei Bereens on a short leash, but he manages to get permission to bring Lem along on one last mission. They’re joined by their old, eclectic crew as they search for the reason behind the Growen regime’s increased interest in neodymium crystals. Meanwhile, Jei’s childhood rival Jared Diebol still taunts Jei through the connection between their minds. Jei’s fight for freedom becomes far more literal as he and Lem discover that Diebol is developing a mind control device—and that he plans to use it to subjugate Jei. Not for the faint of heart, this intricately plotted outing ups the already sky-high stakes of Finelli’s turbulent space opera series, setting up the board for a bombastic finale to come. Series fans may be mildly overwhelmed, but they will not be disappointed. (Dec.)