Fulminata reviewed Agent of the Imperium by Miller, Marc
Review of 'Agent of the Imperium' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
This revised and expanded edition still holds up. Although I can't really tell you exactly what was revised and expanded, there's a couple extra reports from Enna Plant Lagash, which was nice, and an additional paragraph at the end that adds a nice stylistic touch. Unfortunately, I preferred the graphic design and layout of the first edition. The Imperial Sunburst chapter headers have been replaced with generic sunbursts, and the generic spacesuited figure on the front cover is not an improvement over the iconic Tigress of the original.
I did notice one problem with both this and the original that I was less sensitive to the first time I read it. The idea that the Agent's personality chip only works in males seems completely unnecessary to the plot, and potentially problematic in a setting that is generally known for its gender equality.
Review of original edition:
Surprisingly good book by …
This revised and expanded edition still holds up. Although I can't really tell you exactly what was revised and expanded, there's a couple extra reports from Enna Plant Lagash, which was nice, and an additional paragraph at the end that adds a nice stylistic touch. Unfortunately, I preferred the graphic design and layout of the first edition. The Imperial Sunburst chapter headers have been replaced with generic sunbursts, and the generic spacesuited figure on the front cover is not an improvement over the iconic Tigress of the original.
I did notice one problem with both this and the original that I was less sensitive to the first time I read it. The idea that the Agent's personality chip only works in males seems completely unnecessary to the plot, and potentially problematic in a setting that is generally known for its gender equality.
Review of original edition:
Surprisingly good book by a first time novelist. An innovative premise lets us travel to a number of iconic places and events in the history of the Traveller Universe in a way that makes sense. Episodic at first, some plot threads develop to tie things together as the story goes on.
There are some major threads dangling at the end of the book, including what is arguably the main plot thread, so hopefully there will be a follow on volume at some point.
Highly recommended for any fan of the setting, and I think it could be an interesting read even for someone new to the Traveller Universe (extensive appendices should help with most questions that might come up, although they could be problematic to reference in e-book format).