Good, but could be much better. - Rated 
We are fifty years on from the events of `Beholder's Eye' in which the shapeshifter Esen went against all the rules of her race and revealed her true nature to Paul Ragem, the man whose life she saved. Having destroyed the mindless shape-shifting beast from which her race developed, she is now labelled as being the monster itself and, along with Ragem, is in hiding, although still being pursued by the determined and now psychotic Captain Kearn, one of the few people who believes the monster still exists.
Although a satisfying read, there are serious flaws in the novel. Do humans in this future have a greater longevity or is Ragem just a very sprightly seventy-year old?
The novel could also do with some judicious editing. Out of its five hundred pages, it seems as if at least two hundred consist of Esen unburdening her guilt on the hapless reader, whining on about her dead relatives and her relationship with Ragem. The nature of her relationship, despite the hand-wringing, is a little vague, although having given him a sample of her body in an amulet, it appears they are now part of the same `web'.
The plot relies far too much on the extremely unlikely coincidences of people running into each other on the same planet. This is not a safe bet even in a small town, let alone in a galactic civilisation teeming with worlds. Esen remarks early in the novel that `there is no such thing as coincidence' but then fails to explain how these seemingly coincidental events could have been arranged.
On the positive side the novel rattles swiftly along, as did the first, from location to location, providing highs, lows, cliffhangers, a couple of amusing moments and some fairly decent characterisation.
One hopes that Czerneda will allow Esen to grow up and chill out a bit in the next novel.
Stylistically, and this is something I've noticed with some other authors of the last decade or so, it seems to be influenced by TV rather than by an earlier literary tradition, which is a shame. Presumably this is why, as in TV SF, the scientific elements are more-or-less non-existent. The ships do not seem to be subject to any relativistic effects; there seems to be no sign of (for instance) Artificial Intelligence or bioengineering in Czerneda's future. There is nothing here in fact that you wouldn't find in a Nineteen Fifties SF novel, and everything you would find in the back stories of TV shows such as Stargate or Star Trek Voyager.
Czerneda is a good writer, and I hope to see her one day produce intelligent, lasting work rather than the admittedly enjoyable but lightweight fodder she is serving up here.
Worthy sequel - Rated 
The fascinating story of Esen-alit-Quar, introduced in "Beholder's Eye" continues 50 years after the end of book one. Coaxed on a vacation by Paul, Es finds herself embroiled in a species conflict which sees her confronted with the darkest secret of Ersh, the Oldest of her Web. An element of menace is included early on with the re-appearance of Kearn, the shifter hunter, who wants to destroy Esen, and who is now backed by a mysterious and dangerous entity. The main plot, meanwhile, centers on the adventures of the webshifter and her only true friend. The relationship between Paul and Esen is drawn wonderfully, I especially enjoyed the contradiction between both personas' actual and relative ages - a contradiction which contributes nicely to the development of story and characters. After finishing this sequel I am still fascinated by a being capable of changing shape, particularly since the author has created consistent and (in the context of a Science Fiction story) logical rules governing the web shifters' existence. Her universe, populated by numerous intriguing species, is well drawn and provides a satisfying background to the tale.
Deserving of negative comment is only the uneven pacing, evident in my view especially in the slow start. However, this might be a characteristic of Julie Czerneda's style, as I have encountered this also in her Trade Pact series. In all, the story of Esen continues to fascinate me and I am looking forward to read the third book in the series, "Hidden in Sight". This is an enjoyable if not very fast read and the writer's ideas interesting enough that I will seek out her other books.
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