Book Review: The Devil and Deep Space

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

The Devil and Deep Space     Amazon US PB Amazon Canada PB
Susan R. Matthews
Class/Genre:   Science Fiction
Series: Jurisdiction Universe # 5
Roc, Nov 2002, $6.99, 416 pp.

After nine long years Fleet Ship Inquisitor Andrej Koscuisko of the Ragnarok is going home but he is not the same man that left years ago. He is very good at his job torturing people into confessions and inflicting pain. He enjoys it, but being an honorable man he also feels stained and corrupt. The only reason he has come home is to legitimize his son and make his son’s mother his first wife.

After he accomplishes his objectives he intends to find out who has falsified a bench warrant with his name on it that orders his execution. Mergau Noycannir is obsessed with destroying Andrej using any means at her disposal and she thinks his loyalty to the crew of the Ragnarok is his Achilles’ Heal. When a corrupt admiral, egged on by Mergau tries to blame the Ragnarok for crimes against the state, Andrej finds himself torn between loyalty to his family and to the men on his ship.

Susan R. Matthews sets her space opera far into the future and shows the corruption that permeates the space command and the politicians who use it to advance their own purposes. The hero is a man at war with himself, a decent person who cannot understand why he enjoys afflicting pain on others. This flaw, terrible as it is, humanizes him and allows the reader to empathize with his problem without condoning it. Fans of space opera and military science fiction will enjoy THE DEVIL & DEEP SPACE.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner