World of Water

World of Water is a science fiction tale set on water planet Triton. Dev Harmer is an operative of ISS a security firm that sends its agents into trouble spots to scout and defuse tensions (if possible). Triton is right on the border with Polis space, a rival empire, and something is going on in the depths of Triton- the indigenous population are striking out at the Earth colonists and killing people. Dev's job is to find out what's going on. In order to facilitate this his consciousness has been downloaded into an aquatic form- he's basically half human/ half Tritonian, so he can operate under the water.

Dev Harmer is an interesting guy. He no longer has a physical body and he's now an indentured servant of ISS basically. They send him to trouble spots, downloading him into a body each time, and eventually he will earn the chance to have his original body rebuilt. Once on Triton he begins to investigate, and after securing a military escort (a complement of female Marines)he heads for the tropical areas where the trouble seems to be centered.

Along the way he makes the acquiantance of a native Tritonian who's pretty tough herself- and their relationship is interesting. They start off kind of rough but after she saves his life they slowly form a bond. The other great thing about this is the Marine crew- they're a tough bunch as well. They slowly earn each others' respect as the shit goes down. This is a fast paced story and is definitely plot driven but even though the characterization is not the focus I still got to know the characters. There is of course more going on than is readily apparent, and some nice twists and turns keep things hopping.

 The descriptions and feel of the planet are top notch- from the great storms to the undersea life, the twin moons and the floating colony towns, the great rolling waves- I loved the setting.