Bitter Angels

Bitter Angels by C.L. Anderson (a pseudonym for Sarah Zettel) is an intense science fiction novel.

Terese Drajeske is a retired field commander with the Guardians - a special forces branch inside of the United World Government for Earth. When her former mentor is killed in the Erasmus System, she is pulled from retirement and her family and sent light years away to investigate.

The Erasmus system is controlled by the Erasmus family - and anyone who is blood related has power. And others are either slave labor, security guarding the slave labor, or clerks guarding the security. The system keeps people in check by controlling the water - all of which is located on one moon in the system.

When Terese gets to Erasmus she does not even know where to look. The files from her mentor were incomplete and damaged. She must find the answers soon though, because the system is about to implode.

Anderson creates a well thought out world in the future where space travel and colonizing other solar systems is possible. Her characters are well developed and appealing. I would have liked to see the book continue into a trilogy.

Anderson, C.L. (2009). Bitter Angels. New York: Spectra.