Harry Redwine was an old and valued employee of the Vainmill Syndicate, one of the huge corporations that existed - and controlled - the galaxy. Harry was a "fixer" and his boss, Victor Bonhomme, would send him in to take perfectly healthy, well run businesses and turn them into shaky ruins that would quickly go under. Harry's latest assignment would take him to the Velvet Comet, a galatically famous brothel that orbits around the planet Charlemagne. The Leader Madonna, the madam of the Velvet Comet, didn't seem to like him very much and Harry was suspicious of Suma, a beautiful young prostitute who seemed to be a little too accomodating. But as Harry spent more time on the Velvet Comet, he came to realize that it was much more than a brothel - it was a place where you could literally have your fantasies brought to life, sexually and otherwise. For the first time, Harry does not want to be a fixer, he wants to leave the Leather Madonna her empire and he wants the Leather Madonna herself...
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This was an entertaining science fiction/mystery book. Harry is a character who is definitely torn between doing his job and doing what he knows is right. Even if he chooses the high ground, he may still lose because of the powerful conglomerate and he has to make the choice as to whether it is worth it to struggle at all. The secondary characters in this book were also fascinating: the rundown old boxer, the beautiful young prostitutes, the honorable security agent, the syndicate owners, all were real people who worked in that shades of grey area with nary a sign of white or black anywhere. The setting was also quite interesting, being a huge orbiting brothel in outer space, and this lent to some interesting subplots, as you can well imagine. The mystery was subtle, but it was there and quite fun to try and second guess what the characters would do and whose side they were on. If you have the opportunity to read this book, I recommend that you do, it is a good, solid read.
The review of this Book prepared by Debbie
