Emperor, Swords, Pentacles (which I just realized renders down to ESP--Gotlieb's little joke, no doubt, since ESP is a key element of these stories)...Start again! ESP, while building on A Judgement of Dragons, is uniquely its own. Where AJD is a series of four connected novellas, ESP is a single story. Where AJD is tightly focussed around two main characters, ESP opens up to include a large canvas of characters, primary and secondary, each with its own person and history, each important in some way to the story.

Gotlieb is a clever and humane writer whose subtlety may be lost for some beneath the boldness of her aliens and the intensity of her worlds, but is a pleasure to discover and rediscover. Another very enjoyable book. ( )

I acquired A Judgment of Dragons and Emperor, Swords, Pentacles back when they were first published in 1980 and 1982, respectively. A Judgment of Dragons introduced readers to the Ungrukh: large, red telepathic cats that live on the stark, remote, hardscrabble planet Ungruwarkh. The Galactic Federation offers assistance in exchange for their telepathic services. Thus the adventures of Khreng and Prandra, a young Ungrukh couple, ensue. The main plot driver being a renegade Qumedni--a nigh-omnipotent energy being that bears a strong resemblance to Q of Star Trek fame. Emperor, Swords, Pentacles features Khreng and Prandra's daughter Emerald and her partner Raanung. This time, the story begins on the planet of Qsaprinel, where a crustacean society is threatened by human outlaws, but most of the action takes place on Earth (called Solthree in these books).

These stories are classic space opera--lots of action and not much science. They are fun and serious at the same time, though. Phyllis Gotlieb's style is unique, and her books are like nothing else I've read. She starts with the charismatic hook of intelligent, giant cats, but brings in many other types of intelligent beings. So she's one of the rare authors who creates believable aliens. Moreover, her space operas have a rare depth, anchored in both the complex characters with individual personalities and the array of issues and concepts that are incorporated into the plot. The characters are extremely diverse and representative (whether of real or entirely fictional groups), not just another legion of generic, homogeneous white folks with no particular background or culture beyond a vaguely American feel. These include Native Americans, traditional Jews, blacks, Sikhs and other Indian groups, women with a rare genetic disorder that turns their skin blue, genetically engineered amphibious men and women, homosexuals, heterosexuals, the rare person born with six fingers and toes, the wealthy and privileged as well as the down-trodden outcasts...it goes on and on. And even the most minor secondary characters are given their own personalities and motivations. Then there's the requisite supervillians--crackpot psychopaths, the lot of them. But once again, each with his or her own personality and history leading to the increasingly unhinged evil plots that entangle our Ungrukh protagonists and their allies. The books address questions of prejudice, power, politics, colonialism, etc. And all in such an engrossing style. All of them are keepers, and I'm happy to have all three of this obscure and hard-to-find collection in my library. ( )