This is a 2 in 1 collection of Drake/Stirling's Raj Whitehall series, and is the start of the series. Raj Whitehall is a young hereditary aristocrat in the Civil Government military, until he and a friend encounter Center - a long lost AI that is the only remnant of the long ago hi tech civilization on the planet. After a nuclear war, civilization has barely returned to mid-19th century levels. Center uses Raj (via some kind of undescribed implant) to try and unite the planet as a first step to regaining the stars. I like the characters of Raj and his wife and most of Raj's subordinates. The plot moves along well and is engaging. What I did not like was the lack of technological progress, instead the authors focus on organization, discipline and Center's knowledge of tactics to win every battle. Basically, this could be a Civil War book set on another planet, but I still enjoyed it. ( )

Sample Chapters: http://webscriptions.net/chapters/0743435877/0743435877.htm