At Empire's Edge

by William C. Dietz

Book Overview

Zak Cato is a xenocop. He's returning a fugitive shape-shifting Sagathi when things go horribly awry. Saved from being slaughtered with the rest of his men because he is drunk, Cato must now become the hero he was created to be, recapture the Sagathi, and exact revenge.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0441017592
• ISBN13: 9780441017591
• Release Date: October 2009
• Publisher: Ace
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 1.3" x 5.8"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 12 and higher

Customer Reviews

Non-Stop Action //At Empire's Edge//

William C. Dietz writes hard-edged science fiction filled with action and adventure. He is an expert at creating intriguing and often hostile aliens and in depicting the chaos, blood, heroism, and randomness of battle. Dietz's latest, //At Empire's Edge//, finds him at the top of his game. //At Empire's Edge// is the first of a planned two-book series featuring Jak Cato, a "xeno cop" in the interplanetary Uman empire. Xeno cops are genetically engineered with enhancements that make them ideal tools of law enforcement. Jak is a hardened cop with a tendency to drink too much and go his own way. As //At Empire's Edge// begins, Jak and his interstellar shipmates are returning a shape-shifting, man-eating creature called a Sagathi to captivity. Toward the end of the mission, Jak is off getting drunk when his crew mates are suddenly killed and the Sagathi is freed. Driven by the need for revenge, Jak tracks the Sagathi across a planet at the edge of the Uman empire, where he is enmeshed in a political power struggle complete with oppression, deceit, and murder. The writing in //At Empire's Edge// is spare and tight, driving the quickly moving plot forward. There is plenty of intrigue, fighting, and, of course, aliens. My only complaint is that as masterful as Dietz is in depicting battles and keeping things moving, a romance novelist he is not. Dietz's description of Jak's developing romance is awkward, to say the least. Thankfully, the touchy-feely moments are few and do not detract too much from the overall reading experience. All in all, Jak Cato's first adventure is a fun, action-packed romp, and the second is sure to be more of the same, which is a good thing. Reviewed by Doug Robbins

Military tension rises in this winner

AT EMPIRE'S EDGE is set in the far future and tells of the Uman Empire, which has spread to the stars conquering and colonizing worlds. All seems at peace despite their stranglehold - until a cop returning a fugitive finds his captive escapes and requires him to act in an extraordinary manner. Military tension rises in this winner.

Good Read that is Exciting and Entertaining

Mr. Dietz has done it again creating an Empire where Umans struggle against dark forces to become all they were meant to be. Enjoy meeting the bioengineered Xeno cops along with Legates, Legionnaires, birdlike sentientes, an evil shapeshifter and a women villain that you will love to hate!

entertaining police procedural space opera

The Uman Empire has never been challenged by any of their conquests as they increasingly rule the stars; colonizing planets along the way. However, recently a planet has been found containing violent prone shape-shifters; to control the nasty Sagathis, the Uman scientists biologically reengineered a special forces unit the Xeno Corps who has the skill to see past the bodily changes into the essence of these aliens. A battle with the Vord forced a Xeno Corps ship escorting a captured Sagathi to land on former prison planet Dantha for repairs. The crew including Jak Cato gets smashingly drunk. When Jak regains consciousness with a splitting headache, he learns to his horror that every other Xeno cop he served with was slaughtered during the night. Filled with survivor guilt and fueled by rage, Jak vows to hunt down and kill everyone involved with the slaughter especially the person who betrayed them. This is an entertaining police procedural (loosely that is) space opera for fans who relish blood, gore and blood. The story line is fast-paced as Jak and the villains emote overly dramatic while bystanders are killed at an alarming rate. Fans who enjoy a blood-spattered science fiction thriller will want to read the first of a two part saga as William C. Dietz provides an exciting but out of control opening act. Harriet Klausner