Lair of the Cyclops

Rating:
Summary: Rikard Braeth's 3rd Adventure
Review: In Rikards 3rd adventure he returns to the less legal aspects, of among other things, archaeology. Rikard who was the hero of both Jewels of the Dragon, and Crown of the Serpent, now has two new companions...Grayshard, a tathas type (fungal) life form, and Droagn, an Ahmear (a large serpent-like creature) who was 'rescued' by Rikard and Grayshard from the Tschagan, after being in stasis for a few million years (read Crown of the Serpent for the details on that story). In Lair of the Cyclops, Rikard and his crew head out to discover the secrets (and perhaps a few nice artifacts to sell on the black-market) of a race that changed the galaxy for the better, and then was wiped out of existence. Along the way Rikard and his friends run into another Gesta who creates much grief for all who encounter her. Ms. Toerson, cares nothing for anyone or anything, her ego is so great she would destroy acient and irreplaceable artifacts, just so no one else could ever see them. Unwittingly Rikard is her nemisis, even though he is also a gesta, like Ms. Toerson, Rikard has reverence for life and antiquities, and he must stop her rampage of destruction. Ms. Toerson's connections to wealthy and powerful people keep her immune from criminal prosecutions, and even to some degree Rikard. At every turn she is there to thwart and destroy every discovery Rikard and his friends make before they can be recorded for the scholars to study. It is truly a struggle of wills and prowess between the two gesta. Readers should definately check out the first two books in the saga, to get the full background in Rikard and his friends, but this book stands well on it's own which is good because the first two are hard to find. Mr. Wold has an incredibly vivid and fertile concept of of the universe these novels take place in, and I am definately looking forward to more adventures of Rikard Braeth, either in his home stellar region, or another such as the Anarchy of Raas, or the Abogarn Hegemony