Tangled Up in Blue (Snow Queen Series #4)
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They call the city Carbuncle because it is both jewel and fester: the personal playground of the Snow Queen, it's also the place where the high and mighty get their water-of-life youth serum. But it's just become Hell for Hegemonic Police Officer Nyx LaisTree.Tree lost more than simply a lot of blood on the night he and some other off-duty cops raided a warehouse full of contraband—illegal tech the Snow Queen herself covets. He also lost his partner, his badge, and even his memory of what went wrong. Something terrible happened that night, but nobody's talking since the raid went bad. Now eveyrone Tree trusted is dead, and he's a marked man, wanted by the underworld, by the Snow Queen's agents, by dirty cops...and maybe by others even worse.His only hope rests with a by-the-book sergeant named Gundhalinu who happens to hate his guts, and a ravishing shape shifter whose loyalties are as elusive as her true face. As the maze of deceit and danger leads them deeper into Carbuncle's twisted heart, they realize that not only their lives are hanging in the balance, but possibly the fate of the Hegemony itself...SF Site - Catherine AsaroIn Tangled Up In Blue, Joan D. Vinge returns to the universe of her Hugo-Award winning novel, The Snow Queen, with another top-notch adventure. Set on the world Tiamat, the book takes place in the city of Carbuncle during the reign of the Snow Queen. Several officers in the police force carry out an unauthorized raid on a warehouse chock full of forbidden smuggled technology. Unexpectedly, two other groups of officers show up -- and what should have been a simple raid goes explosively wrong. It fast becomes clear that far more is going on here than your garden-variety smuggling. The complications faced by the officers in blue are soon folding one on top the other, all of it tangled up in the machinations of the Snow Queen and the intrigues of enigmatic offworlders. Tangled Up In Blue is a stand-alone novel, so you don't have to know the other Tiamat books to enjoy this one. New readers may find it a bit hard at first to follow the world-building, but it comes together quickly. The story pulled me in and kept me reading all night. It also made me want to read The Snow Queen again. However, comparing Tangled Up In Blue to the The Snow Queen is like comparing a sapphire to a diamond. Both are gems, but different. The Snow Queen is a sweeping adventure in the tradition of The Heritage of Hastur by Marion Zimmer Bradley, and Lord Valentine's Castle by Robert Silverberg. Tangled Up In Blue retains the emphasis on character and world-building of those books, but with less of the planetary sweep and more focus on the events unfolding in Carbuncle. It also has an edgier feel, bringing forward the action and mystery aspects of the plot. This book combines a sensibility of today's science fiction with the best of the qualities that brought many of us to the genre. Vinge's work takes the sense of wonder that defines the top science fiction and blends it with a depth of world-building. At the same time, she has a gift for characterization. She can catch the bittersweet quality of human interaction and make a reader care about the people she creates. Subtly worked into the weave of her stories, those threads offer thoughtful insights into human nature. If there was anything I wanted to see more of in Tangled Up In Blue, it was, well -- more. The story is complete, but the novel is on the short side. It leaves some tantalizing loose ends, encouraging the reader to hope that more of Vinge's rich Tiamat stories are yet to come. Tangled Up In Blue has it all: a fast-paced plot that won't let go until its thrilling conclusion; clever ideas drawn from science; romantic interludes; a great cover by Michael Whelan; and a plot with more twists and turns than the exotic alleys of Carbuncle. Vinge has written another winner.
