** No Cake, Still Interesting **
I remember my birthday upon turning felicitous 9, and I can tell you it was a big deal. Protector spends much of its time orbiting a similar milestone, with less of a payoff.
The book is almost a day-in-the-life entry: one Atevi, a few human youngsters, conversations, errands, and politics branching into more obscure and ancient obligations. Cherryh’s Atevi plots and manchi break down fractally into endless subplots of protocol and maneuver. That’s what we need to support the thousands of pages of prose!
But it works. I wasn’t asking when we would get back to the aliens. The planetside conversations carry enough weight to hold attention. The new bus emerges as almost a character of its own. Less convincing is the name Shadow Assassin’s Guild. It sounds like the kind of vast conspiracy writers invent around season three when better ideas run out.
And the birthday itself? Too much plot development. That’ll wait until the next book.