322 pages
English language
Published Dec. 14, 2011 by Harper Voyager.
"Edie Sha'nim believes she and her bodyguard lover, Finn, could find refuge from the tyranny of the Crib empire by fleeing to the Fringe worlds. But Edie's extraordinary cypherteck ability to manipulate the ecology of evolving planets makes her far too valuable for the empire to lose. Recaptured and forced to cooperate--or else she will watch Finn die--Edia is shocked to discover the Crib's new breed of cypherteck: children. She cannot stand by while the oppressors enslave the innocent, nor can she resist the lure of Scarabaeus, the first world she tried to save, when researchers discover what appears to be an evolving intelligenge. But escape--for Edie, for Finn, and for the exploited young--will require the ultimate sacrifice...and a shocking act of rebellion."--P. [4] of cover.
Second and concluding novel in the series. Space opera with awesome planet moulding ecotech, nasty government types and rebels yearning to be free. Creasy excels at unexpected plot twists, bad guy machinations, tense action, and those ‘aha’ moments when a plot element you’ve been looking at all along finally falls in place.
