The Unkillable Princess

Hunt continues The Kystrom Chronicles series (after The Immortality Thief) with this entertaining planet-hopping quest to find a missing sibling. Smuggler Sean Wren is on the run from both the human Republic and the genetically enhanced Ministers after refusing to hand over the Philosopher Stone, valuable data containing the secret to immortality, to either government. Now Sean receives a message from his sister, Brigid, asking for his help. But he remembers seeing Brigid’s lifeless body after their planet Kystrene was destroyed in a war between the Republic and the Ministers. Is the message really from her, or is it a trick to smoke him out? Despite his doubts, Sean’s devotion to his family spurs him and his traveling companions, former Republic soldier Tamara Gupta and Indigo, a 300-year-old renegade Minister, on a frantic mission to track her down. They must travel under the radar of their many enemies, including the corrupt Senator Todd Ketal, whom Sean is blackmailing, and the dying clone Ministers who need the Philosopher Stone to revive their race. Cuts between the present and past occasionally disrupt the flow, but Sean’s pluck and determination in a world of government bureaucracy and uncooperative technology makes him a worthy hero. This is a rollicking adventure. (Feb.)