Book completed

[eve_prime]

Assassin's Price, by L.E. Modesitt, Jr. Imager Portfolio #11, story order #8. This is one of my favorites in the entire series, because Modesitt makes some good creative choices. The most creative is that for once, the point-of-view character doesn't have any magic powers! Charyn is the heir to the throne of Solidar, and his temperamental father isn't exactly training his son in what he needs to know to become a good rex (king). Alastar and the imagers from the past two books are still around, and several are prominent characters, but it's really Charyn's story. Naturally, since this is Modesitt, we get deep into the economic and legal policies of Solidar, and quite early in the book Charyn is learning about the local commodities exchange (which makes me laugh - this is a fantasy novel?). It's also fun when a character from the previous book shows up to spend some time with Charyn and his family in the royal castle (that is, "regial chateau"). We all know she's an imager (a rare person with magic creative and destructive powers), but Charyn does not. He's intelligent, though, and patient, and reasonably kind, and when unexpected challenges arise, he's qualified to take them on.