The Crown Jewels

I'm a fan of Walter Jon Williams' work, which is why it pains me to suggest that The Crown Jewels is nowhere near his best.

The first in a three-book series featuring a thief named Drake Majistral, The Crown Jewels feels stilted and oddly passive -- a kind of Victorian era meets the future.

It's surprising given the strength of the other Williams books of the same era (his landmark Hardwired and Angel Station were written prior to the Crown Jewels).

Those looking to see what Williams can really do would be far better advised to read his recent books (his near-future novel Deep State or his superb short-story collection titled The Green Leopard Plague) or plunge headlong into Hardwired -- the novel which helped popularize cyberpunk.

Fun little sci-fi caper novel, with some interesting world-building as the background. I'll almost certainly read the next in the series, House of Shards.

The Crown Jewels is a reasonably entertaining sci-fi heist novel, but lacks a certain pizzaz which could elevate it about acceptable.

Drake Majstral is a licensed thief who gets caught up in some larceny with empire-ending implications. Dodging Royalists and Independents alike, Drake must figure out how to dispose of his booty whilst keeping his life.

The book itself is fine. Williams hints at a both a broader world and some deeper waters within Drake's character, but neither are really fleshed out _enough_. Additionally, the attempts at comedy (largely farce) are innocuous enough, but I'm very hard to please when it comes to comedy writing, and it didn't elicit even a lip-twitch from me.

Very funny and entertaining read.

F/SF