A good (but imo weaker) follow-up to the amazing first book. The plot here is a little more disjointed than the first - the characters are once again paired off and sent around the galaxy (you never really feel the time travelled) to do various political things. The main draw here is the search for the Katana fleet and I think the plot wraps around that nicely. There are some good twists here and there that keep the overall plot going, but I think the main reason why Zahn is really readable is his chapter structures. Almost everyone of them have a bite-sized story within them, wrapping up things and keeping others going. They also regularly give our characters problems to solve. They aren't always the strongest, but it does give the reader successive set-up and pay off that makes them keep going.