Web Shifters #3 Hidden In Sight [Mass Market Paperback]

In this novel, Picco's Moon has been invaded by someone who is mining Ersh's mountain and killing Tumblers. The disappearance of a Tumbler is reported and this information is forwarded to data collection equipment at Cameron & Ki Exports. Paul and Esen book passage to Picco's Moon on the Largas ship, Vegas Lass, but another passenger, Hom Wolla, has disappeared in the Dump, delaying the departure. Paul goes to the Dump to fetch the passenger, but doesn't return or communicate in two hours, so Esen goes after both of them. When she enters the bar, a Herd of Ganthor enters behind her and another Herd is before her with a drugged youngster who has been stolen from the other herd; the negotiations between the Herds escalates into a firefight. Then heavily armed and armored troopers enter the bar searching for something and both Herds turn against the newcomers. Esen loses sight of Paul and Wolla, but manages to escape through the lava tunnels to relative safety just before the firefight blows off the roof.

Esen flees to the safety of her home and finds a crater instead; someone has blown up her house. She then flees to the greenhouse over their warehouse and finds Joel Largas there. Paul also appears, but is followed by heavily armed and armored troops. When they fire at Paul, Esen shifts to her Web-form, dumping energy in an explosion. The troopers are gone and Paul is dazed, but otherwise fine. Joel, however, has just met his worst nightmare, a Web-being like Death, and has gone into shock. Paul and Esen sedate him and take him home, then book passage on the first starship leaving Minas XII. Esen has shifted to her Oieta form, something like a giant shrimp, and Paul is also disguised as an Oieta, but has a reaction to the fluid within the suit and removes it. Esen, however, has another problem with her suit: an excess of aldehydes has caused her Oieta-self to become intoxicated, literally poisoned, but still a blissful experience; in other words, Esen is spaced out.

This novel is as fast paced as the previous two, but is still mostly about the evolving relationship between Paul and Esen. It has some of the same minor themes, including the Tumbler tendancy to compose, by committee, 500 page messages that no one understands. I am almost certain that the Rand species, a communal intelligence, is a joke and maybe the Cin communal intelligence is another. There is also more about the architectural philosophy of Mixs.

Recommended for Czerneda fans and anyone who enjoys zany adventures with likable persons within a SF setting.

Skalet is not a likable person by any means. She does lots of things for the wrong reasons, and never did understand Esen. To have _her_ be the last surviving member of the original six (aside from Esen) made me feel cheated. And I really didn't like her being in this book.

Since she's such an integral part of the book, that might explain why I mostly didn't like it. The ending is rather hopeful, I guess, but it was a trial and a struggle to get there. And, frankly, I put the book down for a good week and a half before I went back to it, and had no trouble finishing the thing, with no need to re-read anything for greater clarity.

Note that my husband has a dissenting view; his point is that, as an author, if you can delineate your world so well that it sticks in the reader's brain, especially if you don't like one of the characters, you're doing your job. :)

At any rate, because I dislike Skalet so very much, and because I don't like how she interacts with Esen (she pushes her around, as older siblings often do), I had a very hard time getting through this novel.

I still like Esen and Paul, and their relationship; I liked most of the other people in this book, even the flawed Kearn who's _still_ trying to rehabilitate himself. But as I did not like Skalet, it made it harder to buy into the premise of this book.

As for how to rate the whole series, I'd give the series four stars. It's a good series, and other folks might not hate Skalet as much as I do. ;-) And I really like the premise (it's extremely original and well done), and hope that Ms. Czerneda will write more books in this universe (hopefully without Skalet, or with a reformed Skalet that isn't as repulsive).

Barb Caffrey