Master of Formalities

Rating 3.9

Interesting and different book by Scott Meyer.
I've loved all of his Magic 2.0 books, and what really comes through is the wry humor that is a consistent feature of Meyer's novels. While technically this is a SF book as it is set on a future earth colony planet, the book is almost entirely focused on social structures and the interplay between characters. Honestly, this same fact is true of the Magic 2.0 books.

Master of Formalities tells the story of a royal family and the interactions between their staff as they are all involved in an interstellar conflict between the elegant House Jakabitus (the primary focus) and the less refined Hahn Empire. While you get to know the royal families, the real star of the show is the primary house staff of House Jakabitus, especially their Master of Formalities Wollard.

There is a ton of character development and character interplay, which is really what makes the novel fun and interesting. While there are a few novel ideas that add a tiny touch of futuristic flair (Eutalytics - nano robots that clean and sterilize everything but also serve as security and also create viewing screens on any surface), it's mostly just used for ambient effect.

More interestingly, in this future society, planet-based cultures have diverged widely over time and utilize strict sets of rules to function. The rules keepers -the Masters of Formalities, and trained to advise the rulers and help them make decisions that are within precedent and avoid breaking the societal rules.

The audiobook version was well narrated with no significant issues that would make for an annoying experience.