Synopses & Reviews
As Chief Medical Officer aboard the Jurisdiction Fleet Ship Ragnarok, Andrei Koscuisko's duty is to care for his shipmates; as Inquisitor, to extract confessions and administer punishment. But while the doctor takes pride in his healing skills, the torturer knows only guilt and self-loathing. For years, Andrei has walked the razor's edge, struggling to hold the two sides of his nature apart -- and himself together.
As the Ragnarok's crew readies the planet Burkhayden for the arrival of its new governor, the brutal attack on a Nurail slave woman by a ship's officer sets in motion a chain of events that culminates in murder. Summoned at first to minister to the injured woman, Andrei is soon pressed into duty as Inquisitor of the prime murder suspect: a gentle and unassuming Nurail gardener who had both motive and means to avenge his kinswoman. But Andrei is surrounded by powerful enemies, including two intelligence specialists who take a most unwelcome interest in his private affairs. In this minefield of intrigue and deception, where a single misstep means death, Andrei's always precarious equilibrium will be strained to the breaking point -- and beyond.
At once a rousing military adventure, a murder mystery, and a sophisticated portrait of one man's struggle to survive in a culture where duty and honor are irreconcilable, Hour of Judgment confirms the arrival of Susan R. Matthews as a major SF talent.
About the Author
After earning an undergraduate degree in psychology, Susan R. Matthews was commisioned into the United States Army, where she was the operations and security officer for a combat support hospital specializing in nuclear, biological, and radiological warfare. Currently working as an auditor for an aerospace manufacturer, Susan lives with her partner in Seattle, Washington. ONSALEDATE: 1999-01-01 00:00:00.000 PUBSTATUS: ACTIVE