After narrowly escaping from a twisted cabal that organized hunting parties using human prey, ex-Regular Space Service officer Heris Serrano and her wealthy employer Lady Cecelia must transport a special passenger home.

He is Prince Gerel—first in line to the throne. Unfortunately, he was also a somewhat unknowing participant in the “hunt,” and his family is quite eager to avoid a scandal. But Lady Cecelia notices that Gerel is not himself. In fact, he seems mentally impaired, as if he’s been drugged, but the prince’s possible poisoning is only the beginning.

When Heris and Cecelia arrive at the royal stronghold of Rockhouse Major, they are pulled into a political conspiracy rooted in pettiness and desires for revenge. As outside agents make moves to unseat the throne, Cecelia is incapacitated by a bitter enemy from her past.

Without the protection of her benefactor, Heris and her skeleton crew must navigate the perilous halls of power to rescue Cecelia, the prince, and possibly the universe…

IN A NUTSHELL 
‘Sporting Chance’ was a fun read; imaginative, exciting, suspenseful and, for something where terrible things were done by terrible people, soft-edged. I liked that this story made full use of the ensemble cast from the last book while introducing a new baddy and deepening the worldbuilding. This is a comfort read series that I’m keen to read the rest of. want to read the rest of.

The action in‘Sporting Chance’ rolled straight on from the events of ‘Hunting Party’ (1993). The central cast of characters remained the same, but this was a darker and more political book than its predecessor. The focus was split between dealing with the very bad things that are being done to Lady Cecelia and the trouble that seems to follow Heris Serrano wherever she goes. 

What was done to Lady Cecelia was truly horrifying. I admire Elizabeth Moon’s ability to get the horror of it across without making the book unbearably dark. The Lady Cecelia thread leads us deeper into how the ruling class of the Familias Regnant regime operates, which I suspect will open the way for much more political intrigue in the future.

I liked that the rich young people in ‘Hunting Party’ were key to the action in ’Sporting Chance’. I’m enjoying watching them develop as they face a variety of challenges. It was good to see that the two young women were the main movers. I think the story was richer because of the age range of the protagonists. The young people in their teens and early twenties, Captain Serrano in her forties and Lady Cecilia in her eighties all see the same events differently. 

Although Captain Serrano isn’t Fleet anymore, she can’t step away from her military background. Her crew are mostly ex-military who have served with her before. She’s equipped her little yacht with weapons and scanning technology that shouldn’t be available to civilians, and she has trouble trusting even the best of the civilian members of her crew. I liked the way Elizabeth Moon used Serrano’s expectations and prejudices both to make it more difficult for her to spot and resolve an intrigue onboard and to hold her own in the inevitable space battle. The Serrano thread expanded the world-building to give a more detailed picture of the motivations and capabilities of the various alliances that border, and potentially threaten, Familiar Regnant space.

I was a little surprised to find that I’m enjoying this series more because of its soft edges. Bad things are done by very bad people, and the sense of threat is real, but the story is made more buoyant by the use of low-key humour, and by an underlying optimism. This series has become a comfort read for me. I know I’ll like the people, the plot will keep me engaged, and there will be a few surprises along the way.