The Fortress in Orion

Five-time Hugo Award winner Resnick ("Weird West Tales"; The Cassandra Project, coauthored with Jack McDevitt) begins a new series in his Birthright Universe with more of a whimper than a bang. Col. Nathan Pretorius is the Democracy's go-to officer for impossible missions, and this one is the craziest yet. Pretorius must smuggle a clone of the leading alien general into a fortress deep in enemy space, establish him there, and kill or kidnap the actual general. Rather than use a military force, Pretorius insists on choosing his team, which includes a cyborg, a computer whiz, a contortionist, and a not-quite shapeshifter. Once the team is assembled, everything goes pretty much according to plan, which is the novel's weakness. The characters are provocative enough, as is the mission, but Pretorius, as written, is just too clever. He anticipates and plans for all obstacles. This works out well for the characters but leaves little in the way of excitement or suspense for the reader.