From Booklist
Readers who have been entranced by the previous adventures of Daniel Leary and Adele Munday (With the Lightnings , 1998; Lt. Leary, Commanding , 2000) will sigh with relief to see them again. After settling a few family matters on Cinnabar with the high body count usual for Adele, the pair re-embarks aboard Princess Cecile . Their old ship has been sold out of the navy, however, and is now the private yacht of the Klimovs, two mad Russians touring the stars in search of big game, high stakes gambling, and the priceless Earth Diamond--the last known map of old Earth. With Daniel and Adele doing teamwork, the quest is successful, despite the Klimovs' best efforts and a rogue Cinnabar naval squadron. By then the duo has stumbled on an Alliance plan to stage a Pearl Harbor and must trade the diamond for Cecile , which they turn back into a highly successful warship. But really, Mr. Drake, three years is too long to wait for another Leary-Munday. More and sooner, sir! Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Book Description
While the Republic of Cinnabar is at peace with the Alliance, warriors like Lt. Daniel Leary and Signals Officer Adele Mundy must find other work--like escorting a pair of wealthy nobles on an expedition to the back of beyond! The Princess Cecile, the corvette in which they carved their reputations in letters of fire, has been sold as a private yacht, but she still has her guns, her missiles, and her veteran crew. Daniel and Adele will need all of those things as they face winged dragons, an Alliance auxiliary cruiser, jealous lovers, and a mysterious oracle which really does foresee the future. That won't be enough, though, when they penetrate a secret Alliance base and find a hostile fleet ready for a war that will sweep Cinnabar out of a strategically crucial arm of the galaxy. Preventing that will involve skill, courage, and more luck than a sane man could even pray for; and it will require a space battle on a scale that a tiny corvette like the Princess Cecile has no business being involved in. But she'll be in the middle of it anyway, because Daniel, Adele, and their Cinnabar crew would never turn their backs on a fight!

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
Lieutenant Daniel Leary and Warrant Officer Adele Mundy are back in The Far Side of the Stars, the third book in David Drake's RCN series (With the Lightnings and Lt. Leary, Commanding). A marked departure from his popular military science fiction novels (Warlord, Conqueror, etc.) and bestselling Lord of the Isles fantasy saga, Drake's RCN series is best described as high space opera. Protagonist Leary is part John Wayne, part Don Juan, as he travels the galaxy killing villains and seducing damsels in the name of the Republic of Cinnabar Navy.

In The Far Side of the Stars, the recent armistice between Cinnabar and the Alliance of Free Stars has led to many ships being decommissioned. One of those ships is the Princess Cecile, the legendary warship involved in many of Leary's past heroics. A couple of snobbish nobles purchase the ship, turn it into a private yacht, and hire Leary and his crew -- which includes information specialist Mundy -- to guide them on a tour throughout the largely unexplored Galactic North. While the aristocrats search for wild alien creatures to hunt down and kill as trophies, Leary manages to discover a priceless long-lost artifact, become one with a primitive deity, and spark another war!

Fans of Simon R. Green's Deathstalker novels and David Feintuch's Seafort saga should give Drake's RCN series a try if they haven't already. It's space opera the way it's supposed to be: breakneck-paced, overflowing with action, populated with larger-than-life characters, more than a little irreverent, and just plain entertaining. Paul Goat Allen

FROM THE PUBLISHER

While the Republic of Cinnabar is at peace with the Alliance, warriors like Lt. Daniel Leary and Signals Officer Adele Mundy must find other work - like escorting a pair of wealthy nobles on an expedition to the back of beyond! The Princess Cecile, the corvette in which they carved their reputations in letters of fire, has been sold as a private yacht, but she still has her guns, her missiles, and her veteran crew.

Daniel and Adele will need all of those things as they face winged dragons, an Alliance auxiliary cruiser, jealous lovers, and a mysterious oracle which really does foresee the future. That won't be enough, though, when they penetrate a secret Alliance base and find a hostile fleet ready for a war that will sweep Cinnabar out of a strategically crucial arm of the galaxy. Preventing that will involve skill, courage, and more luck than a sane man could even pray for; and it will require a space battle on a scale that a tiny corvette like the Princess Cecile has no business being involved in.