Contact Imminent
Fourth book in the Jani Kilian series
“Kristine Smith supercedes herself with each new book.” Janny Wurts
Synopsis:
Jani still has Lucien Pascal; to complicate personal matters, her long-smoldering relationship with John Shroud, the physician responsible for her human-idomeni hybrid state, is throwing out the occasional spark. Her position as Haárin-human liaison, however, has taken a downturn. Human objection to the idomeni presence in the Commonwealth capital of Chicago is growing, and Jani-the-hybrid finds herself distrusted by both sides.
Spurred by a personal request from Tsecha and an odd hologram image received by John Shroud, Jani undertakes a mission to quell a brewing power struggle at the Haárin enclave on the human colony of Elyas. Together with John, she investigates the origin of the image, and Jani realizes that the growing dissension between the ruling Vynshàrau and their Haárin is only one aspect of a situation that could alter the futures of human and idomeni alike.
About the book:
This was the book that almost broke me, that battled me every step of the way. Part of the reason was that it was behind schedule and I needed to push, which meant that I never had the time to sit back and think about things. Combine that with the fact that two of the POV characters, Micah and Elon, didn’t come clear to me until near the end of the book. Add in the issue that I couldn’t figure out a beginning–I think I wrote six different chapter ones before finally settling on the one I settled on.
I also had trouble figuring out Niall Pierce’s motivations. How would he react when he realized that his and Jani’s interests no longer coincided, that in helping her, he worked against the Commonwealth he believed in so strongly? Could a friendship between two such headstrong, principled beings survive?
In the end, I think I got a grip on Elon and Micah. I think I figured out Jani and Niall’s friendship. In the end, I finished the book.