Crimson Empire II picks up somewhere after the end of Crimson Empire. Many of the characters are back and the circumstances have progressed as you might expect. The problem is, the characters often seem to act completely unlike the people they were in the first book.

While Crimson Empire dealt largely with the conflict between two of the late Emperor's elite guards -- one of whom remained loyal to the Emperor's memory, the other of whom strove for the Emperor's unclaimed power -- this book deals more with squabbles among the Empire's new ruling council and the machinations of yet another Hutt.

I kept waiting to care, but it never clicked. One of the problems of focusing on an anti-hero is that you have to find some level of care for his mission, if nothing else. The guard earned my interest in Crimson Empire, even though his loyalty to the Emperor put his character in question, but he lost it between that book and this. Even the star-crossed romantic angle falls flat.