I've been jaded for a while now about super-soldiers and super-spies and super-assassins and super-bodyguards kicking ass, usually the asses of people considerably less super than themselves, rendering the achievement of ass-kicking a rather questionable one. They are a staple of comics, however, and when Rucka and Lark do a series with a female lead bred to fight, spy, assassinate, body-guard and generally kick ass in a super fashion, I'm not going to let a certain jaded weariness of the whole trope stop me from picking it up. Because of course it will be good.

Volume 3 sees the series really begin to hit its stride, we've seen Forever Carlyle act as her family's enforcer and tough-guy in a number of ways that are not particularly admirable, we've seen her wrestle with her conscience and the child-like neediness fostered in her to keep her loyal. We've had internal family strife, we've seen life in the mud with the people classed as waste, so we have some sense of the world. But with the Conclave, it all opens up. The world-building solidifies. The stakes and the rivalries and antagonisms become more apparent. We've entered the very highest pinnacle of power, the new feudal fascist aristocracy ruling the world, jockeying for power and influence. We meet the lazari of the various families, curiously neutral and collegial together, yet ready to brutally murder each other at the whim of their families.

So, yes, this is where a series, already highly readable and compelling, becomes genuinely exciting. Perhaps some savvy producer will spot it for the potentially sharper, leaner, smoother sci- fi Game of Thrones, and, if we're lucky, maybe they won't just make it about a kick-ass superwoman kicking ass, because while that's hook, it's also the least interesting part of it.