Kris Longknife: Furious by Mike Shepherd

Good fun. I noted that the previous book didn't wrap things up. Neither did this one. The title bomb only drops in the last paragraphs of the last chapter - and opens up another whole world of plot possibilities. It still reads like space opera, but there is very little "fly, fight, and kill" in this one. In fact, I don't think anyone got killed.

The previous book, Daring, ended with Princess Kris being hauled off to jail for saving the galaxy as her newly discovered sweetheart, Jack, being hauled off to a different jail. This one opens with a jailbreak and we go from there. BTW, she does get back together with Jack.

I suppose one must categorize this as science fiction, rather than fantasy, but the tech - which to my mind marks the distinction between the two - is definitely "magic" tech. We have self-aware computers small enough to be worn by their users and magic metal that reforms itself into whatever would be convenient at the moment at the touch of a button. Not to mention bullet-stopping body armor that you can wear under your undies. By contrast, in spite of the far future setting, costume and slang are pretty standard for today - jeans and t-shirts, etc.

We also have a touch of not so far future in surveillance systems with cameras everywhere and face recognition software, much as I understand is in place in some European cities - London, for example.