THE HOT BEAT

 

THE HOT BEAT

By Robert Silverberg

Hard Case Crime

227 pgs

 

Though a wee bit dated, this crime thriller pro is still worth a read. Bob McKay is a talented band leader who lets success get the best of him. He becomes an alcoholic and loses his loving girlfriend, Terry, and then his band. Now on the skids, he drifts from one seedy bar to another until, through a series of unfortunate circumstances, he is falsely accused of murdering a local B-girl. Things go from bad to worse when the cops dig up two eyewitnesses who claim he is the killer.  

Considering the time setting, it’s no surprise when the overly eager detectives proceed to beat the crap out Bob trying to get a confession out of him. Silverberg paints a realistic picture of both the good and the bad guys. What turns things around is a nosy reporter name Ned Lowry, who, having previously known the musician, believes him to be innocent. Then Bob’s old flame, Terry, volunteers to help Lowry sharing his feelings. As they start digging into the case, they eventually uncover hidden clues that point to the real killer.

“The Hot Beat” is a masterfully woven tale with an economy of words. Silverberg tells his story clean and neat like a shot of whiskey. And if that wasn’t enough, the good people at Hard Case Crime have added three of his short crime stories to fill out the volume. All in all, a nice package we’re glad we picked up.

JUNCTION WORLD - Book One - Defiance

 

JUNCTION WORLD

Book One – Defiance

By Bear Ross

Aethonbooks

429 pgs

 

This is one of those way over-the-top sci-fi books that has so much action and wonderful alien characters, it’s almost impossible to put down once you start reading. Somewhere out in universe are junctions where galaxies and dimensions converge upon each other in conjunction spheres. Of course the strategic value of such Junction World is apparent to all and wars break out to gain control of them. The winner of these conflicts is an alien race that manufactured powerful body armor in which to live; they are known as the Gate Keepers.  

Having conquered the Junction World, the Gate Lords became bored and devised gladiatorial games in which humans kidnapped from other dimensions are made to fight in order to earn their freedom. The combatants battle each other in powerful cybernetic suits adorned with massive firepower from rockets to lasers. Should any human Tech-Pilot win x number of these contests, he or she is granted their freedom. In the entire history of these games, only one had ever did so, Solomon Kramer. But his victory soon turned bitter when, years later, his only son, Jered was killed in such a battle under mysterious circumstances.

As this book opens, Kramer’s daughter, Jessica, the only remaining member of the family, has followed in the tradition of being a Mech-Warrior-Pilot. What she doesn’t know is that her mere continued existence is an embarrassment to the Gate Overlords and they want her dead, preferably falling in the arena before all of Junction World. Then, much to her surprise, her father’s old, and trusted, chief mechanic, Prath, a mentally augmented orangutan, reappears to both guide and mentor her. Along the way they also gain the alliance for weird little aliens.

Bear Ross has offered up a thrilling action packed sci-fi adventure and wisely left some plot answers open. Hopefully to be resolved in coming sequels. Till then, pick up “Junction World – Defiance.” It’s a blast.

ALPHA OMEGA

 

ALPHA OMEGA

By Van Allen Plexico

White Rocket Books

776 pgs

 

We love space opera. From our earliest childhood days reading Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers in the Sunday cartoon pages to growing up with Star Trek, Deep Space Nine, Babylon 5, Stars Wars and Battle Star Galacta, to discovering the pulp hero Captain Future. All these series mesmerized us with their ray-blasting adventures out among the stars. And now, in the middle of the New Pulp revolution comes the greatest space opera novel of them all, “Alpha Omega” by multi-award-winning writer, Van Allen Plexico. 

Coming in at a whopping 776 pages, this mega book delivers so much action, suspense, thrills and breath-taking space battles, we see it as a space opera “Shogun.” Plexico is such a skilled storyteller, his grasp of pacing is wonderful. When one considers the length of this tale and the challenge of multiple characters, it’s incredible how he pulls it off. He never once allows the narrative to slow down; skillfully moving from one scene to the next. From the conflicts in our own solar systems, where a secret Russian cabal known as Omega is plotting a coup against allied United Nations, to space satellites, colonies on Mars and Alpha Centuri the action whips along. Never mind the spy vs spy manipulations going on behind the scenes. His three main protagonists, American Naval officers, Corrigan, Maguire and Wolfe are classically molded heroes, able to outwit their foes at every turn and then, using ingenious tactics, overcome dead overwhelming odds thrown at them. 

Bottom line, regardless of genre, “Alpha Omega” is one of the greatest books this reviewer has ever had the pleasure of reading. Thank you, Mr. Plexico, you made us feel young again.