Change Of Command (The Serrano Legacy #6) [J0249]

1999 - HCDJ Nice clean condition. The continuing saga of a dictatorial family in space. They are the Familias Regnant and they must handle a riot on a prison planet, a controversy over rejuvenating drugs with nasty side effects, and the murder of one of their members. After the suppression of the New Texas barbarians, Esmay Suiza and Barin Serrano hoped for a respite to develop their relationship. But there is time for neither rest nor pleasure as events around the galaxy push all the great powers towards war. When Speaker Lord Thornbuckle is assassinated, his daughter Brun finds herself trapped in the machinations of politics and power-with the true villain behind her father's death keeping an ever-watchful eye on her every move. Meanwhile, the shadowy criminal empire of the Benignity, having already sabotaged the controversial "rejuvenation drugs" that fuel the Familias' longevity, is now poised to spread its influence and corruption directly into Familias government. On the planet Copper Mountain, the once-hunted Pilar Bacarion has quietly assumed command of a military prison. But she has far greater ambitions in she will carry out Lepescu's plan to gain control of the Fleet and crack the very foundations of the government. But for Esmay and Barin, a long-forgotten betrayal is about to be revealed, a secret that in one moment entangled the fates of both the Suiza and Serrano clans-and made them mortal enemies.

From recent-ish Amazon/GoodReads reviews: "This has an unusual theme for space-opera, it takes up the problem of extended life, youngsters can't get a foot in when us oldies don't die like we should. "; "There were a lot of swirling plotlines going on in this book, but most of them were fairly enjoyable."; "Would NOT advise starting here - while I think the prior book might be safely skipped, there's too much carryover from earlier books in the series to enter this world here without confusion and/or missing a lot of the nuance."