An Old Favorite: A Matter of Profit

A Matter of Profit is a stand-alone YA sci-fi novel by Hilari Bell. A brief summary, lifted directly from the wiki:

Ahvren's people, the Vivitare, have conquered the T'Chin confederacy. After spending two years fighting a brutal war on another world, Ahvren welcomes peace. However, he is suspicious of his people's easy victory, wondering why the T'Chin surrendered. It is rumored that the Vivitare emperor is in danger of being assassinated and Ahvren offers to uncover the plot, in return for the freedom to choose his own path. To do it, he must understand what motivates the T'Chin.

This book has been on my mind a lot recently. It's been a favorite of mine for somewhere close to 20 years. It's got some pretty interesting worldbuilding, a lot of fascinating cultural conflicts, characters I love, and a couple of twists near the end that still delight me. It's been a little while since I read it, but for a while this was a book I read at least once a year.

And there's a bit of a story behind my copy of this book.

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I think I may be due for a reread of this book soon. It's been a while, and as I said, it's been on my mind a lot lately. I'd love to maybe write a piece or two of fic for it at some point, it's got such a great setting to explore. Currently there's only one piece of fic for this book on ao3, and I'd love to add to that.