The Helverti Invasion

You do not have to read the first book of the series to understand what is going on. Briefly, hundreds of years after the Apocalypse, the destiny of the human race is supervised by benevolent aliens. Just to get things spicy, there are various factions of alien chaos cults that like to stir up troubles and start wars. Fortunately, there are humans trained by the "good" aliens to stop them. This book is a lot about spirituality and the warrior muse. It is a refreshing intake, different from the usual macho mentality in those kind of books. Sadly, I was expecting more character development in some of the supporting cast, like Kabiki, the sister of Jamila (a character in the first book). However, this book is superior to the first in every way and recommended strongly.

The Helverti Invasion is the second novel in the Monitor Service series, following The Lizard War. In the previous volume, Brothers from the Order of Saint Higuchi and their allies infiltrated the Saint Lawrence People's Democratic Republic in order to attack a group of sado-hedonist offworld aliens, the Lizards, who had been manipulating the local government and encouraging them to invade the neighboring states. In the PDR town of Erfurt, Jamilla Smith was captured and later killed by the Lizards. Luis Raoul DenUyl managed to access the alien spaceship, killed the captain and other crewmembers, wrecked many controls, and disabled the force shield. Meanwhile, Lemmi Tsinnajinni penetrated the PDR headquarters and killed the Chairman. In the ensuing confusion, Tahmm led the other infiltrators into the ship and killed or captured all the other Lizards. In this novel, five years later, Luis and Lemmi have completed their training as masters and are ready to lead their own missions. They, two other masters and Tahmm are flown to the brother house at Moleen in a Monitor Service airship, where they are briefed by Masters Fedor and Freddy as well as Bishop Foley. They learn that a group of alien Fohanni chaos cultists has made illegal contact with the principal chief of the Dkota tribe and is probably fomenting a war with the Kingdom of Sota. Three years past, the Dkota and Sota had signed a peace treaty and the king of Sota is a molly who refuses to listen to any mention of the Dkota breaking the treaty. Lemmi is charged with surveying the Dkota situation and Luis is ordered to check the readiness of the Sota Kingdom. The next day Luis and Lemmi meet their team and prepare for departure. They are pleased that Paddy Glynn, now a Brother himself, will be part of their team and are suprised as well as pleased to discover that Kabibi Christian, Jamilla's sister, has been admitted to the order and will be going with them. Masters Carlos del Passo and Ho Peng will also accompany them to the new brother house to act as their support element. They all leave the next morning for Hasty, the capital of Sota. Meanwile, Jorval, the leader of the Fohanni cultists, learns that all is going well with the invasion plans, but Mazeppa Tall Man has made changes in the plans. After his son Ench embarrasses him in front of Mazeppa, Jorval leaves the boy with the Dkota to learn their ways. This story involves an effort to avoid war or, if such is inevitable, to force the invaders to lose an unacceptable number of warriors and force a rout. The situation is complicated by a dream that Mazeppa had on his vision quest that told him that he was destined to rule the whole region. Jorval has fanned the flames by telling him that the Sota kingdom is planning to kill all the buffalo. And King Eldred is weakening Sota by dismantling the militia and reducing the number of guards allowed in each duchy and barony. The story is an good example of the author's ability