The Spoils of War by Alan Dean Foster

Title:  The Spoils of War
Author:  Alan Dean Foster
Format:  PB
Pages:  296
Genre:  Science Fiction
Publisher:  Del Rey, 1993
ISBN-13:  978-0345375766
Series:  The Damned, Book 3

Favorite Quote:  He left with a parting wave of one huge hand, an ineloquent but nonetheless affecting gesture...in its crude, primitive fashion.

Synopsis (Amazon):  The Weave was on the verge of winning a decisive victory after a milennia of war, thanks to their new allies from earth. But then the birdlike Wais scholar Lalelelang found evidence that Humans might not adapt well to peace. Researching further, she uncovered a secret group of telepathic Humans called the Core, who were on the verge of starting another war, and then eliminating Lalelang. At the last moment, she was saved by a lone Core commander. He took a chance on her intelligence and compassion, and gambled the fate of Humanity on the possibility that together, they could find an alternative to a galaxy-wide bloodbath....

Review:  This is the final book of this series.  It is a quick read with plenty of intrigue and action.  Lalelelang, a scholar from the avian race Wais, is a brave and humorous character.  She and her human guide, Nevan Straat-ien, make for an interesting combination in what is possibly the best of the books in this series.  They overcome their differences to become friends, which is, of course, what all the rest of the species in the universe need to learn to do.  There were several surprises in the plot that I never saw coming.  This was a really good series and I'm only sorry I procrastinated reading it for as long as I did.

Rating:  4 / 5