Divergence

Above-average space opera set in a particularly interesting galactic milieu. Sheffield's sequel (Summertide, 1990) has noble (by book's end) rogues Atvar H'sial, a Cecropian (these are blind, insectoid sentients; mankind's competition for galactic top-dog), and her partner - crude, slick Louis Nenda, a human augmented to communicate with Cecropians pheromonally - fleeing arrest by human Alliance authorities Hans Rebka and Coucilor Julius Graves (with corpus callosum severed, Graves is splitbrained; one hemisphere manifests a second, computerlike, personality). Their ship has been swallowed by a Builder artifact, one of many bits of super-advanced technology left scattered throughout the galaxy by the mysterious, long-vanished race. Rebka and scientist girlfriend Darya Lang, assisted by J'merlia and Kallik, both members of slave species (they're devoted to Atvar and Louis), pursue them into the artificial planetoid, followed by Graves, embodied computer E.C. Tally, and regular guy Birdie Kelly. Within the planetoid Builder construct, The-One-Who-Waits transports them all out of the galactic plane to confront reanimated Zardalu - huge, carnivorous cephalopods, once evil masters of the galaxy, presumed to be 11,000 years extinct. The epochally slow Builders, concerned with the meaning of life, are ready to act again, and they want one of three species - human, Cecropian or Zardalu - as partners; whoever survives wins. Competent, traditional sf: no real surprises, but no disappointments either. (Kirkus Reviews)