Tracy Riva has this to say about
Jade Darcy and the Affair of Honor:
It has been awhile since I have read a book I enjoyed as much as Jade Darcy and the Affair of Honor. It is complex and intricately developed. The action is driven by the characters in the story and by Jade Darcy in particular.
The slate of foreign characters is amazing. The story is set on a planet on the edges of developed society. It is comprised of many different species, some of whom are humanoid and others who are insectoid and still others who inhabit more or less dimensions than our simple three dimensions. The characters are rich, interesting, and the different problems that can occur when such varied life forms, with all their intricacies, interact causes situations that range from the comic to the life threatening.
Jade Darcy herself is an enigma. Early in the story we are led to believe Jade Darcy might not be her real name, but other than a clue to part of it at the end of the book we aren’t let in on that particular secret. What we do know is that Jade has had a specialized operation to computer augment her reflexes. She is a carc, a computer-augmented reflex commando, and her existence outside of the military world makes her a rarity. She hides the fact she is a carc for reasons that aren’t clear. It is implied that she may be wanted. She takes what is certain to be a suicide mission rather than face another human being – the first to come to the planet of Cablans where Jade lives in the seven years she has been there. It is apparent she has run from human contact before.
The story and the action in it are wonderful. The science fiction in it feels realistic; it isn’t simply another Earth-like setting with futuristic sounding problems, but a setting on an outpost planet favorable to life that teems with diversity that becomes a driving force for part of the story. The matter of honor the story addresses exists on several different levels and becomes the driving force for the evolution of the main character. And the Greest, why he/she or it will just have you wondering how many dimensions it is possible for a being to exist in and what creatures from all those different dimensions might be like. I know I personally will be puzzling over the Greest and hiss/hers/its manipulativeness for some time.
If you are a fan of science fiction, or even just futuristic literature that doesn’t simply result in some apocalyptic version of our demise, then you should read Jade Darcy and the Affair of Honor. I think you will find it believable on all the levels that count and thoroughly enjoyable. I know I did.