Confederation (In Her Name: Redemption, Book 2) by Michael R. Hicks

Book Description: In Book 2 of the In Her Name: Redemption trilogy, Reza Gard has been banished from the Kreelan Empire and is once again a stranger in a strange land as he returns to the human Confederation. Befriended by a marooned Confederation naval officer leading a desperate fight against the Kreelans on a distant colony world, she reunites Reza with Nicole Carré. With their help, he fulfills his childhood dream of becoming a Confederation Marine.

Reza will need all the help he can get, for dark forces are at work at the heart of the Confederation, and Reza becomes a pawn in a lethal power struggle that leads him back to the planet Erlang. There, a heartbreaking reunion awaits him, along with the discovery of an ages-old power that the Kreelan Empire will stop at nothing to control.

Review 4 of 5 Stars

Confederation, Book 2 of the In Her Name: Redemption trilogy has us following Reza Gard as he tries to acclimate to being human.  I enjoyed the book, but didn't find it to be as gripping as Empire, the first book in the trilogy. However, it is a necessary piece in an evolving story. There's a lot of exploration of the human attachments that Reza makes and though he is still the proud and dangerous warrior that we know him to be, he is also out of his element in his dealings with his own kind shall we say. That isn't at all unexpected at this point in the story and though I completely understood the reasoning behind all of that and how it affects the story arc, I just wasn't as drawn in by this volume as I was with Empire and the fascinating Kreelan culture. Book 2 is more about exploring humans at their best and worst and there's a lot of character and relationship building taking place to set up for the third book. As with the other books in this series by Mr. Hicks it was quite enjoyable and I dove into the next one right away. It really picks up after the second half of the book and propels the reader forward toward the third book, but the start of this one was a little slower paced. I'm further ahead in the reading than I am in the reviewing, but can comfortably say that this series will be one I read over in the years to come and will wait expectantly for new stories in the fascinating universe created by the author.