Thomcat
11/5/2020
Published 38 years after the first book, this is a good sequel to a fun space opera. The characters carry over from the first book, written by a new team of writers. Indeed, there are two more sequels, both highly rated and the last published in 2020.
I discovered and enjoyed the first book a few years ago; I'm still searching for other books by James H. Schmitz. Some knowledge of the first book helps, but probably isn't necessary. The story is solid, though there is an aspect of Star Trek's "Q" towards the end. Schmitz wrote the witches as strong and distinct female characters, and that comes through in this book also.
Well known authors Eric Flint and Dave Freer co-authored this book with Mercedes Lackey; they went on to write the 3rd and 4th books without her. I haven't read anything else by them, though I've had an interest in Flint's 1632 universe books. Looking forward to finishing this series soon.