![]() ![]() Shaw gives the appearance of making it all up as he goes along (which is fine) and of not bothering to tie everything together very smoothly (which is not). This has been a messy series, with a good idea and fun characters, but none of it really as well developed is it could have been. This book doesn’t really show any more planning. I felt that Shaw closed out the prior book in this series, The Ragged Astronauts, without quite knowing where to take it. It works, but the halves of the book are awkwardly married, and I can’t say that Shaw really brings anything new to the pulp feeling of it. In the second half, Shaw unabashedly plunges fully into a Doc Smith-era pulp narrative. The first part of the book – dealing with a trip back to Land from Overland – goes fairly well, though there are some character notes that are never really explained – chiefly the attitude of Toller’s love interest, who initially disdains him. That’s an exaggeration, but there’s no question that, having killed off hero Toller Maraquine in the previous book, Shaw here resurrects him in the nominal form of his grandson – emotionally and characteristically the spitting image of his ancestor. When in doubt, write the same story again. ![]() When a trip to the other planet of his world's binary pair encounters an unexpected obstacle and his love interest is missing, he is in his milieu. Toller Maraquine II, cast in his grandfather's mold, is impatient, eager, and adventurous. ![]()
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