Mind GamesConditioned to enhance an inborn ability to acutely perceive another's emotional state, Klavik, security director of a massive world ruled by the sole monarchy in neohuman interstellar society, investigates the ruler's assassination while on holiday in parsecs-distant Eden, a terraformed pleasure world operated by a distant syndicate peopled by alien exotics. A pair of royal companions force themselves upon Klavik during his sojourn in Eden, where his empathic perception “sixth sense” enables him to fasten on a nervous official as a prime suspect to interrogate, but is frustrated because his energies must be channeled toward protecting his illustrious companions. Eden's planetary director, Shatterhand, ushers the threesome into a “hall of mirrors” where nothing is as it seems. After feints and ploys designed to distract or frighten he and his charges away, Klavik senses “nibblings” at the limbic fringes of his mind, and intuits the the presence of an alien telepath. Sly mental assaults persist until his charges are taken hostage, and the ultimate confrontation erupts in a rapacious battle of wills. |
From inside the book
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... took advantage of the brief respite from public scrutiny. “Their mood?” he asked in a monotone. “What do you make of it?” Tall and rangy, clad in neutral gray rather than the bumt-orange robe signifying the PM's Kamala allegiance ...
... took a grip on himself. “The terrible happening in Eden drives your noble urge, Highness. Your motive is easily understood. Yet I beg you to let common sense prevail. I realize you have only the best of intentions, but to brashly place ...
... took his leave. Although chronologically juvenile, Kewart, the primogenitive inheritor of a centuries-old monarchy and its traditions, was the scion of Kraan' s Royal House; in not many standard months, he would be crowned His ...
... took his cue in stride. Knowing how imperative it would be for the prince and prime minister to remain incognito, he asked how many others in Eden knew of their actual personas. “Only myself,” said Shatterhand, “and Buford, the ...
... took the liberty of selecting the entire upper floor of Petite Palais, a charming hostelry, if not as luxuriously appointed as either reserved suite. Should the apartments fail to meet with your satisfaction, other arrangements can be ...