This is a sequel to a book I summarized earlier called Night Train to Rigel. In that review I mentioned that the characters were interesting enough but nothing memorable enough to deserve a sequel, I guess I was wrong. Not only has Zahn written a sequel but it appears from the upcoming novels list in the front of the book that there may be several upcoming.

Compton and Bayta are investigating a murder on the Quadrail that has suspicious undertones. The Modhri again has its polyps into this case. Some artwork has gone missing and it appears that the Modhri has become a collector. Why is the Modhri collecting an obscure set of artwork from the edge of the galaxy? and why is it important enough for it to kill?

Overall this novel was better than the first, you however would have had to read Night Train for this to make sense. Most of the cast of characters returns from the earliler novel with a few new introductions which will be further integrated into the next offering.

Same characters, same story, inevitable conclusion. Neither of these books has anything remarkable or startling in the storyline, but they are still good reads. I guess the best and worst thing I can say about them is they would make a good Scifi channel miniseries. Knowing how the book is going to end allows you to get lost in the characters and the little details of their existence.

Spoiler Alert: (although it’s not really with the obviousness of the plot)

President Franklin finally comes out of the closet and directly opposses the Saurons, Nick and Sool finally tell each other how they feel about each other, the rebels destroy the two citadels and the Ra ‘Na win their freedom. I’ll leave out the fate of the many minor characters and just say pick it up used and settle in for a long afternoon.

Not sure if I’ve ever review one of the Star Doc novels on this blog, but i didn’t feel like checking and since it’s more a catalog of what I’ve read lately… The Star Doc novels folow the story of Cherijo Torin, a genetically tweaked human being who is nearly impervious to damage and was trained as a surgeon. Yeah, I know it sounds corny and the fact that there are about 9 books in the series would make you think that the series is just more pulp writting of the standard sci-fi fare. However the characters and story really feel like a comfortable pair of old jeans, there is just something about them that makes them impossible to throw out. I also have a hard time putting down these novels and often lose sleep saying just one more chapter before bed.

Omega Games find Cherijo and her husband Duncan going to a planet that is infected by the black crystal to meet a contact. The contact strands Cherijo on the surface hoping her innumerable talents can help solve a mystery that is killing the colonists one at a time. The title and jacket are misleading, this book has very little to do with arena combat (unlike some of the previous novels).

If you like medical sci-fi books these are pretty enetrtaining but even better are the Sector General novels by James White.

After reading Reclamation it shows that it was her first novel, but it’s still better than alot of other novels. The plot is a little confusing and initially the characters are a little confusing until the books starts to pull the seperate story lines together. It’s the story of two genetically constructed humans who have escaped from this ritualistic stratified society out into the big universe only to be slowly draw back to their home planet to solve the mysteries of their orginis and psyhcic powers. Their story of crossing class boundries on the run from two different groups of religious radicals is what drives the characters forward.