The Verindon Conspiracy
Lynne Stringer
Series: The Verindon Series
Publication Date:
26 Aug. 2022
Format:
Paperback / softback
ISBN 9781761110757
Sarah and Keridan have grown up and had children, their youngest being Misilina, and though she shows promising talent, she's bound by the issues of her heritage and soured childhood friendships. When she graduates and receives a privileged position as her first mission, she's excited to prove herself, but what stands in her way is Prince Jolan—once a good friend and now a sleazy bully—and his bride-to-be, a high-class lady that's the opposite Misilina. As Misilina fights her internal questions about her connection to her mother, her inherited talent from her father and her relationship with Jolan, everything on the mission goes wrong, and she finds herself putting her life on the line to protect the prince she's been trying to avoid for so long. Set in the fictional world of the Verindon series, this sci-fi novel is a look into the impact that the previous characters of the Verindon Trilogy have left on their world once the books finished. Dealing with family conflicts, identity and relationships, The Verindon Conspiracy explores what is very much a coming-of-age story set in space. Can Misilina figure out how she really feels so that she can see where she really wants to go?
Information
Book Type: Junior HighAge Group: 12 years +
Traffic Lights: Green/Amber
Class Novel: No
Good Reads Rating: 4/5
Literary Rating: 4/5
Review
The boy who had tormented her during childhood, Lord Jolan, has recently proposed to his latest girlfriend, a woman named Mandine. Misilina expects Mandine to be just like all the other women Jolan has dated–and now Misilina has been tasked with protecting her as the happy couple travel to a nearby mining planet.
The situation spirals out of control when an assassination attempt forces Misilina to hide Jolan and Mandine in a shed to evade capture. Something’s amiss–the attacks are targeting Jolan specifically and using lethal force, implying that there’s more behind this attack than a single disgruntled miner. But Misilina has a bigger problem than discovering the killer’s motivations: alone on a distant planet, without a communicator or weapons, and quickly running out of the sugar reserves she needs to access the safety zone (a state in which agents are stronger and faster than normal), Misilina has no chance of keeping her charges alive.
In a confrontation with the assassin, her identity is revealed: Mandine’s lady-in-waiting Keily. Jolan’s fiance wants him dead. Jolan and Misilina are forced to go undercover in the miners’ rapidly progressing uprising to get the supplies they need and allow Misilina to heal from her confrontation with Keily. To her surprise, Jolan admits that he’s only ever loved Misilina–the only reason he’d gotten into his past relationships, and his current engagement to Mandine, is because he thought he had no chance with Misilina.
In a thrilling final showdown, Misilina almost sacrifices herself to save Jolan–but luckily she doesn’t need to, as reinforcements arrive just in time. Misilina’s parents save her, and she finally gets a chance to see them in action. Back on their home planet, Jolan and Misilina decide to enter a relationship despite their racial and class differences–a decision that is highly popular with the people.
Another pulse-racing entry in the Verindon series, The Verindon Conspiracy is the sequel to the original Verindon trilogy, though it can also be read as a standalone novel.
Integrating political intrigue, class struggle, workers’ rights and a star-crossed, meet-cute romance, this action-packed science fiction story will entertain fans of the series and newcomers alike. Misilina’s fraught relationship with her mother and her heritage introduces an element of complexity and internal conflict. As she realises that she has been holding her mother to the same impossible standards that she has resented being held to her whole life, she realises that neither of them should have to prove anything to anyone. She reconciles with her mother, with a newfound respect for her parents’ abilities.
As Misilina and Jolan learn to trust each other in dangerous situations, they get over the reservations that stopped them from connecting–and ultimately build a relationship based on mutual respect and understanding.
Themes
science fiction, action, assassin, bodyguard, special powers, meet-cute romance, uprising, protests
Content Notes
1. Brief references to violence, but no graphic descriptions: Enyi is shot by a sniper (p. 61), Keily shoots Misilina in the arm with a laser (p. 128). Jolan kills two pursuers in self-defence (p. 159). 2. Misilina and Jolan kiss (p. 138, 145, 154, 176, 192).
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