Starlight Beacon is still the light of the Republic and one of its "great works". But the Nihil threat still lurks and The Eye will do everything in his power to see that light extinguished. His weapon of choice: three saboteurs, aided by a convenient disturbance in the Force. Stellan Gios is currently in charge of Starlight Beacon. Will he prove worth of this mantle?

I haven't liked any of the adult novels in this series thus far, but I knew Claudia Gray wouldn't let me down - she and Timothy Zahn remain the best Star Wars authors on Disney's payroll. Jedi have been dropping like flies in these books and I just stopped caring. Gray actually made me give a damn. She kept the pacing perfect from page one, all while tightening the tension. And Gray proves that chaos doesn't mean the book containing it has to be chaotic - looking at you, Cavan Scott and Charles Soule.

​Kim Kinnison (often referred to as THE Lensman) just wants to settle down with his lady love, but first he must defeat Boskone through a variety of physical and mental force. Infiltration is his weapon. Getting married is his goal (well, among many things!).

It's hard to rate something like this, especially since this is the only Lensmen book I've managed to read so far. The series' impact on 20th century science fiction is undeniable. Kinnison is, to me, a very recognisable blueprint for many characters that came after him - and his adventures are so familiar as well. I usually have trouble reading older sci-fi titles, but this one was a nice surprise. The writing drew me in immediately, even in that opening recap of the previous goings-on. The part I enjoyed the most was Kinnison masquerading as a criminal with his own racket, in order to take out another racket (a la Britt Reid).

The flaws of this book primarily arise from its episodic nature (it was originally serialised) and the sexism of the time. But I'm honestly still quite impressed with it.

​Ben Reich wants a merger, but it seems he'll have to murder his rival instead. But murder is not so simple when the police are "peepers", telepaths capable of plucking motive and truth from your mind. Reich thinks he has a way around this. He isn't ready for Lincoln Powell, however.

This was a fascinating read, mostly because the world that Bester created is established quickly and sucks you in just as fast. I enjoyed the cat-and-mouse antics between Reich and Powell - it was fun and well-paced. But things got a bit too weird for me in the end and I couldn't help but roll my eyes at the treatment of female characters (yes, I realise this was written in a different time, but it is hard to ignore something like that). Still, it's easy to see why this was the first winner of the Hugo Award.