"Well done - Enough Sci-fi while the story remains on the people"
It is the far distant future and mankind has spread from
Earth to settle the rest of the galaxy. The bulk of
humanity lives in the Galactic Core, ignoring the small
blue-green planet they left behind. Being from Earth is...
well, socially embarrassing. Like being a country hick in
the big city. Sophia Audrey McLaren, aka Sam, doesn't think she's a hick.
She loves her home planet and her brother Martin, who she's
always taken care of. But he has a rare and untreatable
disease, Beta-Siwinski. Strong emotions or excitement
causes "attacks" where his mental pathways overload and non-
essential functions cease. He loses the ability to talk,
reason, or move. But then a visitor, Fredd, arrives from
the Core, with information about a cure for Mart's disease
and all they have to do is go to Xaspaar, the center of the
Core government. The idea of leaving Earth frightens Sam,
but her twenty-one year old brother has already decided to
go. Reluctantly, she agrees to go with them. It is a long and harrowing trip but even once on Xaspaar,
things aren't easy. The Xaspaar rules are many and
irritating to Sam. For one thing, it is expected that she
cut her long hair. She refuses and wears a Yankees baseball
cap instead. Then she runs into JorVaal, one of the three
leaders of the GCC government. He has no use for Terrans...
but finds himself oddly attracted to this one. Without
knowing who she is, he invites her to join him for his
next "reinvigoration period" at noon the next day. And no,
we aren't talking lunch. She, of course, is offended once
she figures out what he wanted. This is a very well done science-fiction romance book. The
characters are fun and detailed, the sparks between the
main characters entertaining. There is enough Sci-fi techno-
talk to carry the feel of the future, while the story
remains on the people, just as it should be in this type of
book. The Xaspaarians are a culture that has lost touch with its
roots; Sam is a woman who could never relinquish hers. The
clash makes for an interesting conflict that, like real
life, doesn't ever end. Sam's knowledge of ancient Earth
allows her to point out how much of Xaspaar culture is
based on the ancient Rome, even to the two-headed statues
over the doors to the city. JorVaal finds himself
attracted, repelled, and ultimately infatuated with his
lady from Earth. This would be enough to make the story interesting, but in
addition we have JorVaal's jealous former lover plotting
with aliens to cause harm to Sam. These same aliens are
planning a major "accident" that would cause serious damage
to the galactic core, thus leaving them in charge. And we
have some helpful god-like types buzzing about as well,
setting things in motion for changes in Core society
through the introduction of Sam, Mart, and his pet chickens. ParaNormal Romance © Copyright 2002
Reviewed by Janet Miller
Reviewed by Janet Miller
Posted October 30, 2002
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Year: 2452. Sophia McLaren (Sam) has taken care of her
younger brother Martin, ever since they were orphaned. Mart
suffers from a medical condition that has no cure on planet
Earth. A chance to be healed comes his way when a traveler
from the fabled Galactic Core Coalition (GCC), located in
the Milky Way's center, tells Mart about a remedy for his
disease. The only catch is that he must travel to Xaspaar,
the GCC home planet, to obtain treatment. JorVaal 5 Lanquist, one of the leaders of the GCC on
Xaspaar, has enough on his mind with the latest crisis
facing the GCC: the inexplicable behavior of a rival member
race--the aggressive Uortzks. For some unknown reason, the
Uortzks are sabotaging their own sun, increasing its
chances to go supernova. This explosion, together with
another projected interstellar disaster--an evaporating
black hole-- will in the near future, endanger all life
forms in the galaxy. How is he going to find time to host
this female visitor from primitive Earth and her sickly
brother?
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