Diamond Mask (Hardcover)

Diamond Mask is once again told as the recollections of Rogi Remillard, though for the most part this device dissolves into standard storytelling except when Rogi is directly involved. The book primarily focuses on Dorothea MacDonald (aka Diamond Mask). Her childhood, early life and her connection to the Remillard family through the entities Fury and Hydra (and later through Jack) are explored in this book. The development of her mental abilities and her major role in the Galactic Milieu takes center stage for most of the book. Fury and Hydra also become more of the focus of the book as Diamond Mask is heavily influenced by them in her childhood and in her later adult life.

Another focus of the book is Marc Remillard and his continuing development and increasing influence on the Galactic Milieu. This along with the growing rebellion against the Milieu is one of the main subplots to the book that get explored further in Magnificat, the third book in the series.

The characters are once again well thought out and though many years are skipped at times to move the story along it keeps us focused on important events instead of boring details. The pacing of the book is quick and the events revealed are momentous and it leaves you itching to get to the next book in the series.

This is everything a second book in a series should be. It is holds up well on its own, but it also neatly links up the preceding and following books in the series.

Imagine it: in the not-too-distant future, humankind has learned that there really *is* life out there; moreover, that life down *here* is richer than was once thought. Psychic gifts have finally been recognized, and are being trained to their highest potential. New technology has made nearly everything we have today obsolete, and death has almost been conquered thanks to such miracles as genetic medicine and rejuvenation tanks. However, some things never change... and the tendency of mankind to get into messes is one of them. These ideas appeared in _Jack the Bodiless_, and continue to be brought to life by May's grand talent in this sequel.

_Diamond Mask_ doesn't only have an intriguing premise and fabulous writing; it is also possessed of a plotline that's deliciously chilling without being frightening enough to give one nightmares. The metapsychic monsters Fury and Hydra introduced in _Jack the Bodiless_ are still on the loose and as horrifying in their power--and their mystery--as ever, tangling now with entirely new characters. Enter Dorothea Macdonald, a lady as interesting in her own right as any Remillard... and another legend introduced the Saga of the Pliocene Exile. While I can't say the Blessed Illusio was quite as I imagined her, it was certainly a pleasure to learn her story. I look forward to its continuation in _Magnificat_.

If the book has a flaw, it's that it's too short: more information about Dorothea's early life would have been welcome; likewise, I wouldn't have minded a bit more insight into Jack and Marc's working relationship... or the lives of the various Remillards... or--well, all right, so it would have been nice to get more detail on any number of things. Still, _Diamond Mask_ is a delightful page-turner that I'd thoroughly recommend to series fans and those new to May's Milieu (though the latter may wish to read _Jack the Bodiless_ first) alike.