Heroes Adrift
I love this series, though the new book does take a different turn from previous books. I kind of liken it to Kitty Takes A Holiday, in its way- instead of continuing with the usual plot, the characters are taken away from their home and job and have to deal with an entirely different situation. I suspect it's more of a "bridge" book to book four, given how the ending goes. Some people who read the series might not be quite into that change, but I found it enjoyable, albeit not what I might have expected to see. I thought it was a good detour.
Anyway, to the plot: due to Karish's previous refusals of wealth and titledom, he's once again come to the attention of the Empress...and she's smart enough this time to insist that Mallorough come along. But instead of being forced to hang around court, she asks them to go on a secret mission to the southern islands of the world to look for a long-lost royal relative and/or her descendants, if they can be found. Tough duty, but at least there's a family tattoo to look out for. K&M aren't terribly happy to be pulled off of their job for this, but One Cannot Refuse The Empress.
The southern islands are drastically different from what the two are used to. The biggest issue for them is that Sources and Shields are, by government decree, allowed to have anything they want without paying for it... EXCEPT, as it turns out, in the southern islands where nobody gives a fig for what the Empress says. They're abandoned there with no money, no way to pay for anything, no skills they can use to get jobs (and malicious town-destroying storms aren't a problem on the islands), and only a few clothes on them that aren't exactly appropriate for the boiling hot climate. How the heck are they even going to get to Golden Fields, last known home of the Empress's half-sister? Or for that matter, get home?
Our pair solve the problem by signing on with a performing troupe heading in the direction of Golden Fields. Mallorough's favorite hobby, bench dancing, is still popular down below...albeit down here, she'll have to dress up and sex up the dancing a whole lot more to bring in the coins. Mallorough grew up knowing she was plain all her life, but in the south with her red hair, she's considered beautiful. And Karish, Stallion of the Triple S, Hottest Guy Around, Charmingest Guy Around... here, he's considered to be plain and useless. And everyone's puzzled at their lack of family, how Karish is often faking charm (it doesn't go over well at all here), and how Mallorough tries to stay as emotionless as possible. It is a MAJOR switch for them in their character development., and I enjoyed how she changed things up for our heroes.
They also uh, kind of adopt a kid. A strange orphan named Aryne identifies them as S&S, and clearly has both Source and Shield abilities. They keep her around because all undiscovered Sources have to be brought to the school for training, and despite her prickly nature (and Mallorough's prickly nature right back!), they all kind of hit it off.
To be fair, there's a few issues with the plot. You know from the getgo how the Empress family situation is going to go, for the most part (though it's a little different at the end), and this plot doesn't have much to do with previous books. Most of the characters we've gotten to know in this one just kind of disappear (though to be fair, I don't know how the heck the author could have done better at that given the plot situation), which seems slightly odd. And there's one BIG plot development that readers have been waiting for that happens in this one early on... and then uh, mostly isn't mentioned. This seems a wee bit of a cheat to me, even though clearly K&M are uh, pretty busy in this one and I guess don't have all that much time to devote to it. I was hoping for a bit more, especially since I loved how it started. Oh well, next book, I guess.
I'm still giving it three and a half stars, and I look forward to the next one.
