The very first time I read this I was so excited to see how the story ended that I went through it in half a day and concluded it was utterly brilliant. I still found it to be thoroughly enjoyable a second time through, but a few faults showed up much more clearly upon closer examination.

I think the problem lies mainly with the presentation and not the story itself; had the story told in Swordhunt, Honor Blade, and The Empty Chair been heavily edited and revised into a single novel, the result would have been much better. But of course, the publishers would rather sell three novels at 300 pages each than one at 600 pages, so we're left with far too many pages of Kirk or Ael moping about the loneliness of command, endless discussions of tactics, descriptions of everyone sitting around the rec room waiting for the battle to start, etc.

This still manages to rise far above the average Star Trek novel, mostly because Diane Duane puts so much thought into her work. She clearly researched military history and tactics and thought about how they might apply to starships in order to make the space battles much more believable. The same with her treatment of the Romulan (sorry, Rihannsu) government - she clearly has a cheat sheet somewhere in her notes where she's worked out who's who and how it all works, instead of just throwing around a few random titles and names. Duane also gets full marks for character development, which is another of her strong points. The familiar characters are well-written and her original characters are full of an energy and depth that is too often lacking in other stories of this kind.

Ultimately, what we're left with is a fun and entertaining book with a few too many slow sections and some minor but irritating plot holes. While I was definitely entertained, I was also very frustrated - the material for a much tighter, better-paced story is absolutely there, and we know that Duane can deliver because she has done so often in the past. ( )

This was the final , novel in diane Duanes Rihannasu , Bloodwing saga. it took 22 years for this book to be finished . I was worth the wait and for me personally it will be a classic of the star trek genre. The story has depth and beauty , life death portrayed , with cunning amazing cloak and dagger story like. I recommend this for anyone who has read any of the others ,but this book will stand alone. ( )

This book can be read alone, but it depends fairly strongly on the reader already having the Rihannsu background from the previous 4 books. That said, it's a rip-roaring yarn and a satisfying read. ( )

This is the fifth book in Diane Duane's twenty-two year long tale of the Romulans. The first four books (My Enemy, My Ally, The Romulan Way, Swordhunt, and Honor Blade) have been collected and published in an omnibus entitled Rihannsu: The Bloodwing Voyages which was released last month along with The Empty Chair. I have been eager to read this final book ever since I finished the cliffhanger Honor Blade in 2005, and I was quite frustrated with my local bookstores for not carrying it. However, I was able to pick up a copy during my holiday travels....more