A Diabolic is a personal body guard who is programmed to do anything necessary for the person they are created to protect. Nemesis is a diabolic, created to protect Sidonia, daughter of an influential galactic senator. When, during an political power struggle, the emperor asks that Sidonia travel to the capital, the senator and his family fear that he will use her as a hostage. Instead, the family decides that Nemesis will pose as Sidonia and travel in her place.

Nemesis agrees to do this, as her actions will protect Sidonia. But Nemesis has no idea of how to act in the imperial court’s deadly political dance. As a created killing machine, how can she pose successfully as a human at all? When she meets the emperor’s mad nephew, Tyrus, she begins to realize that she might be more than she knows. And her abilities might be key to saving Sidonia, Tyrus, and the empire itself.

This is a space opera mixed with shades of I Robot, The Terminator, and Romeo and Juliet. It is a book about what it means to be human, and about love and friendship. The Diabolic also contains some very twisty intrigue and action. Well-plotted and fast-paced: this is a book that will appeal to sci-fi fans, no matter their age.

Annette G.