Radiant

Rating:
Summary: What to Make of Gardner?
Review: By my count, this is the 6th book in Gardner's "League of Peoples" universe. In no particular order, earlier books are "Expendable," "Hunted," "Vigilant," "Trapped," and "Ascending." Technically, I suppose, the lamentable "Commitment Hour" should be included, but let's not.

Not all of those books have focused on Explorers, so-called Expendable Crew Members, but they figure in most. ECMs, in Gardner's universe, have physical flaws. Youn Su, the protagonist of this novel, has an ulcer on her cheek; Festina Ramos, the character who links many of these six novels, has a portwine stain. In Gardner's universe, casualties among Explorers are less harmful to the morale of the rest of the crew because of those physical flaws. That's the premise, anyway.

Another premise of Gardner's universe is that earth folk are very junior members of the League of Peoples. The senior members are omniscicent, omnipotent and omnipresent. As an example, the League defines "non-sentient" as someone who kills another. The senior members of the League punish "non-sentience" by killing non-sentients who venture into space.

Other premises include human pheromones, glass-like, transparent humans, an utterly corrupt and incompetent earth government, evolution to higher levels by chemistry and mystic radiation, morbid and pathological fear of evolution to higher levels, and semi-intelligent nanotechnology.

If you just lay it out like that, the premises read like a checklist of science fiction's silliest ideas. Shades of Kilgore Trout. Whatever else, you have to check your disbelief at the door when you read one of these books.

But despite all of those silly premises and silly science, these books are a lot of fun to read. And in the last few, at least, there is something more than mere entertainment involved. In "Radiant," for example, there is an interesting clash between Eastern - well, quasi-Buddhist - and Western action heros. Gardner does an effective job of contrast, although I could wish he had added Tut as a more fully-developed character; Tut is an semi-sane, trickster hero, a non-malevolent Loki. But Tut is mostly overshadowed.

But what is most striking about Gardner across these six novels is how much his writing has improved. If you read or re-read "Expendable," his first book, with "Radiant," his most recent, the improvement is palpable. Language, dialog, description, characterization; all show very substantial improvement. Even the level of silly science is down a bit.

So yes, I like this book, and I like Gardner. Good yarns, well told. I'd even recommend it. But it may be that Gardner as an increasingly sophisticated writer, is outgrowing the very unsophisticated premises that underpin this series.

Rating:
Summary: exhilarating outer space thriller
Review: EXPENDABLE Explorer Third Class Youn Sue is trained to handle the most difficult, dangerous and deadly assignments as expected of a member of the Explorer Corps. She and her Explorer peers are disposables enabling a detached mankind to rationalize their deaths without any emotional attachment, remorse or guilt for who cares that an "Ugly Screaming Stink Girl" like Youn dies.

The Pistachio space ship Captain Cohen sends Third Class Youn and her partner Second Class Tut to Zoonau on Cashling to save innocent lives from the highly intelligent (much more than humans) Balrog. The duo are assigned to work with legendary Admiral Festina Ramos as the Balrog has just begun a chess game in which this sentient knows the opponents' plans while other beings have started their own cat and mouse deadly diversions with genocide as a possibility unless the disposable trio finds away to stop two devastating threats..

The latest expendable Explorer Corps tale is an exhilarating outer space thriller that takes off the moment Youn receives the assignment and never lets up until the final altercation. The action is faster than the speed of light, but the key characters make the story line more than just another adventure tale. Youn is a wonderful star as she is filled with psychological woes from her youth (this time you can blame the mom); Tut is a likable nut; finally the renowned admiral is real and different from the mythical legend. Even Balrog comes across as alien, but a complete ET. SF readers will appreciate this tale that shows one must honorably take responsibility (not just lip service) for one's actions.

Harriet Klausner



Rating:
Summary: The EMCs return.
Review: Explorer Third Class Youn Sue is a member of the highly skilled and disposable Explorer Corps. Most know the Explorer people as ECMs, Expendable Crew Members. ECMs are trained to undertake hazardous missions so that the rest of humanity would not be upset by their (almost-certain) deaths. ECMs are the humans who have some sort of disability. Since they are not one of the beautiful people, their deaths do not seem to mean as much.

Youn Sue's partner is Tut. Sane, he is not. They are sent to rescue a planet from the Balrog, an extremely dangerous sentient creature that looked like harmless, red spores. (Think red snow.) The Balrog, singular even though the spores look like several thousands, is an alien intelligence so advanced that it literally knows what you will do before you do. The Balrog has its own little plan and uses Youn Sue in such a way that she has no choice but to go along.

They join forces with Admiral Festina Ramos (from the book "Expendable"). They end up on what appears to be a beautiful planet. Problem is that all the people - everywhere - vanished ... all at once. The planet is not the paradise it seems. It is something far more deadly.

**** This story is not as good, in my opinion, as the previous novel "Expendable" is. (Action wise any way.) However, the author did not expect to ever write another book like the first. Fans and his publisher talked him into it. Yet even so, he did an excellent job in extending the plot line. In fact, if he so desires, the author could easily write another novel or more on the ECMs. If you enjoyed the first ECM book, I have no doubt that you will enjoy this one also. But you do not HAVE to read the first novel to understand this one. This time, Youn Sue is the main character. If you do/did read the first though, the Admiral will seem even more realistic to you. The character, Tut, is a wild card. You just never know what that man is going to do or say. He makes for some very interesting reading, needless-to-say. Very entertaining and recommended. ****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding story
Review: I have been facinated by the Expendable universe from the very first book, and have read all that James Alan Gardner has published. This story is a fast read and filled with surprises. More facts are revealed about the upper level aliens and best of all there is a reason for their sticking their nose in Human business. Striving and the journey are more important than actual conclusions. And being sentient is more than just being able to think.