author : Ryk E. Spoor

Jason Wood is a forensic IT specialist, working for the local cops on identifying a drug baron, when he gets embroiled in what can only be a vampire killing. He needs all his wits and contacts to help him survive.

This is a fun read, in that it goes off in an unexpected direction, and isn't just yet another urban vampire tale. However, it's a bit of a bumpy ride: it feels, with its occasional recaps, as if it was originally written as a series of short stories. The ever-increasing scope and scale of the problem has an almost Doc-Smithian vibe (although I may be being influenced by having read Grand Central Arena), but feels a bit as if it's being made up as it goes. Enjoyable for the way Wood uses his smarts to resolve various issues.

On one level this is a relatively generic heroic fantasy quest tale: initially naive youngsters band together to collect plot coupons and take down the Big Bad.

But actually, it’s better than that. The youngsters aren’t that naive; they don’t get together until near the end; the plot coupons actually advance the plot; and the world itself is a rich and dense place, chock full of sentient species (toads, T-Rexes, gods) all with their own agendas, rather than being some thin backdrop to the action. There’s a slightly slow start, as everyone has to go through the traumas that lead them into their adventures, but the pace soon picks up and whizzes along – maybe too fast in some places, leaving a few events unexplained.

This is possibly the first of a loose trilogy set in this world. There is clearly much more to come, many plot strands unresolved, but the focus of this story does achieve sufficient closure that I won’t be too devastated if the remaining books stay in the author’s head, rather than getting committed to paper.

All the newly invented FTL drive test probes have failed to return. So the spaceship Holy Grail is sent off with a human crew to discover why. Captain Ariane Austin assumes this will be a routine mission that won't need to call on her piloting skills: the AISages will take care of all that. She couldn't be more wrong, as the ship and crew end up trapped in a mind-bogglingly vast artefact, and have to face several Challenges before they can think about returning home.

This is a Doc Smith homage, but it isn't a Doc Smith pastiche. That is, it has all the ever-increasing sense of scale and scope and wonder and technology and square-jawed heroes (and the lead character is even a fan), but none of the "the Golden Age of SF is 14" prose style (one character does occasionally lapse into Smith-speak, but there's a good reason for that). Okay, some of the characters are a bit cardboard (which one is Steve and which one is Tom, again?), but on the other hand, the various aliens are great. And the sensawunda is mostly well-conveyed.

After a slightly slow start, this is just rollicking good fun, good old-fashioned space opera, without some of the old-fashioned problems. There's closure at the end, but clearly a lot more to be told in this universe. Remember, Doc Smith wrote series...

The crew of the Holy Grail return to mind-bogglingly vast Arena. This time, they are hampered by human politics and human villains. Might Humanity lose all that it so barely won in the previous round?

This is a great continuation of the story. Old friends reappear, new enemies emerge. Ariane Austin and Marc DuQuesne set about the Arena in their usual style, and Doc-Smith-esque adventures abound. I suspect that not having seen or read any Monkey King stories hampered my understanding of parts of the plot, but I enjoyed it anyway. Given the sheer scale of the Arena, it is quite amusing how the characters keep bumping into each other. But, ignoring that minor quibble, this is just great rip-roaring fun, with excellent aliens.

More, please!

Captain Ariane Austin, Leader of Humanity in the vast mysterious Arena, has her work cut out. She has to run Humanity’s spheres, and face Challenges from tricksy aliens. But for now it’s now time to pay off her debt to Orphan. She and Duquesne travel with Orphan to the mysterious Deeps, and discover the secret he has been keeping. But that secret might destroy everything she and her crew have accomplished in the Arena. And that’s not even considering the Molothos secret invasion. Can she save Humanity again?

This volume starts with a very helpful 16 page summary of the previous two. I wouldn’t suggest skipping those first two, but the summary helps highlight the important issues (and refreshed my fading memory).

This series really is an excellent Doc Smith homage. Here we have the ever-growing threats to the protagonists, coupled with their ever-growing powers, and beams of coruscating light. Several different plot lines are neatly resolved, but several new issues are introduced. There are clearly more things to be resolved in this universe: and I am looking forward to seeing how things continue to exponentially unfold.

Just as one problem is solved, another arises. Captain Ariane Austin and her team have made the Faction of Humanity a respected group in the Arena, and have the backing of the humans back home. But now, a new, bigger, bolder enemy (this is a Doc Smith homage, after all) is looming: an escaped Hyperion AI. And just when Ariane and here crew are temporarily unable to use their newly won superpowers without potentially crippling or killing themselves.

Fortunately, this volume starts with a very helpful 22 page summary of the previous three. Gosh, it’s ten years since I read the first one! I needed that summary.

We have three main threads: attempting to find a cure for their damaged powers; attempting to get help from other friendlier Hyperions; and attempting to solve the murder of one of the Arena Champtions. All interlinked, all frenetic, and all good fun, resolving some issues, but introducing new, even bigger issues for later volumes.

I hope there are going to be later volumes!