MAINLINE

On planet R'debh, Reva grew up with an unusual psychic talent: She can view, and move among, the various probability-worlds that constitute reality. Since she can appear seemingly out of nowhere, do a deed, and vanish without trace into a nearby timeline, her lucrative adult occupation is that of assassin. As a consequence of her lifestyle, however, Reva has no friends—until, in the course of her work, she meets young, ambitious smuggler Lish, and a bond develops between them. Soon, the mysterious Vask the Fixer attaches himself to the pair by making himself useful in various ways. Like Reva, Vask is a Mutate: His psionic talent enables him to slip out of phase, so he becomes invisible and can even move through solid matter. What Vask never reveals is that he works for Commander Obray of security. Lish gets herself into trouble by triple- crossing a powerful double-crossing criminal associate. Reva's problem, meanwhile, is that she's being pursued by the bodyguard of one of her victims, the seemingly unkillable, huge, red-and-black alien warrior, Yavobo, who's sworn a blood oath of vengeance. Christian's well-articulated, cleverly constructed plot hurtles along at a blistering pace, and those new psi-power wrinkles provide additional gratification: a debut of splendid promise.