"Mutineer's
Moon" was one of Dave's earliest books (i here
insert my usual disclaimer that i am his
brother), and one of his better premises. ("Path of the
Fury" (q.v.), from the same period, is,
i think a better book, but "Moon" is
excellent.)
We grew up on a diet of classic SF that has
certainly shaped David's writing --
perticularly, in reading this book, i am
reminded that we had access to the complete
works of Edward E. ("Doc") Smith. "Doc" would
begin with a relatively basic premise (Dick
Seaton discovers a way to produce all sorts of
energy from ordinary copper; the Arisians and
the Eddoreans work to thwart each other in
shaping the Universe), and then, from book to
book, both the super-scientific wonders and
the stakes would grow and grow. It is in the
"Dahak" books that this influence on David
most clearly shows, with entire moons used as
weapons, ships the size of small planets, huge
orbiting space defence fortresses, entire
mountains resculpted to provide weapons mounts
and weapons so powerful that a single bomb can
destroy an entire world
David's opening premise here, that the Earth's
Moon... isn't, so to speak ... is grandiose
enough, and would serve as the basis for an
excellent novel without much added material
But it's just the beginning.
From the moment when astronaut Colin
MacIntyre's spacecraft is snatched over Luna's
Farside by "impossible" means and he is
conveyed into what appears to be a huge
complex of caverns inside the Moon, the action
begins accelerating and doesn't stop, as we
learn that much of what we "know" of our
world, our ancestors and our history is either
false or the result of the conflicts of hidden
forces of which we know nothing.
And then we discover that those forces are
merely the result of panic reactions to the
REAL coming menace. And the race is on.
As in Smith, the stakes and the action
constantly escalate; at one point the entire
Earth is essentially one huge incredibly-armed
fortress, energised by a powersource which may
well break its controls and ravage the planet
almost as badly as the attackers whose coming
has necessitated it.
At the same time that Colin and his cohorts
are fighting off the menace of the Achu'ultan,
they are struggling to rebuild a huge stellar
Empire which apprantly perished mysteriously,
leaving hardware and technology behind, but no
living worlds.
Much of David's strength as a writer lies in
the sweeping concepts of his works; a lot also
is the fact that his characters (while not
necessarily "real") are fun to know, and do it
is here -- particularly the character of
Dahak, the computer controlling the huge
warship of the same name who, over many
thousands of years, has gradually become
self-aware, and is definitely a "character".
Book One -- "Mutineers' Moon" -- chronicles
Dahak and Colin's first meeting, as a result
of which Colin finds himself in command of the
huge ship and (nominally) Imperial Governor of
Earth (which, of course, has no inkling that
the Empire exists, much less than an Imperial
Governor has just been appointed). Warned of
the menace of the oncoming Achu'ultanii, Colin
has to organise Earth's defence -- but first
he has to defeat the leaders of the ancient
mutiny that sets the whole story in motion.
"The Armegeddon Inheritance" is the story of
Colin's further adventures and of the
beginnings of the rebuilding of the ancient
Imperium, as Colin accidentally grants himself
a rather large promotion.
"Heirs of Empire" jumps twenty or so years
forward from the end of "Inheritance", to a
time when Colin and Jiltanith's son and
daughter and a couple of their friends
suddenly find themselves stranded on a
backward world where change or advance is
literally heresy -- burn-at-the-stake type
heresy -- and where the enclave of Imperial
Technology they need to reach to get
themselves rescued is the Sanctum Sanctorum of
the oppressive religion.
Meanwhile, back on Earth and Birhat, a truly
nasty plot is going forth, which Colin and
friends have to discover and thwart, with the
aid of some of the more endearing enhanced
dogs written in a while.
(Tinkerbell, the Labraweiler -- or is that
Rottador? -- who is the mother of the first of
the superdogs, seems to be based on a huge
lovely and loving dog of David's, who
apparently never realised her true size and
would literally leap into your arms with the
slightest perceived encouragement.)
Now if he'd just write a fourth or even a
fifth... |
