Well, the Ca’cadasan Empire has a new Emperor and that’s bad news for the Terran Empire! Unlike the recently assassinated young idiot who was called the Emperor, this new Cas’cad Emperor is an educated and mature being, one that is a lot smarter than most all his peers and probably closer to the intelligence of the humans in the Terran Empire military HQ. The war is not going so easy now.
The humans are still encroaching in Cas’cad territory, but they have been forced to slow things down now because the Cas’cad are not acting in their normal stupid way. Their new Emperor has replaced a lot of old and aging Admirals who can no longer think for themselves. He’s seen a lot of that lately with Cas’cadans who have been promoted not due to their skills, but due to their connections. That isn’t happening now, but to flush out these substandard Admirals will take time, if the humans give him enough time.
So, while the humans are now trying to figure out what to do and where, the Cas’cad Emperor is slowly building up two huge fleets. He’s keeping these as secret and will eventually use them to win a decisive battle with the humans at his choosing. He’s laying some traps for the human Admirals and for Sean, the Emperor, but on time will tell if they fall for his plot. If they do, their loses might be enough to cause the Terran Empire to agee to sit down and discuss terms. The Cas’cadan Emperor knowns he now cannot defeat the Terran Empire after the loses they suffered during the reign of the idiot Emperor, so the best he can home for is to make an unfavorable peace with the humans. Of course, his plans could lead to his assassination just like his predecessor.
Lots of thinking going on in this book. Not a lot of fighting. This has turned into more of a chess game than anything else. Sean might has some thing hidden up his sleeve that could just surprise this new intelligent Cas’cadan Emperor. Only time will tell.
Obviously this isn’t over so there is an 18th book, but I haven’t seen it yet.