ISBN: 0-872-16633-3 Order from: Amazon.com Barnes & Noble.com
This space-age western was written by a competent authors, and there are glints of skill and humor in the narrative; however, the lack of originality is pervasive, and the main characters are predictable and uninteresting.
Reviewed by David on October 15, 2000
Genre: Science Fiction (Western)
Synopsis: In the far space, the travel is so expensive and lengthy, that advanced machinery is rare. Forced to use local-grown horses for transport, and defending themsleves from the locals who think hunting humans is a good adult-proving excercise, the small colony on Zikkala seemed to have recreated the Wild West of their terran ancestors.
When an unscrupulous outfit intent on eliminating the natives and mining a nearby planet moves in, Alena, the proprietor of the fanciest bordello in town, recruits Rader, the rough but well-meaning cowboy to spearhead the resistance.
However, it will require organizing the individualistic trappers, prospectors and even the native Kaleen against the numerous and wll-armed invaders to stand even the chance of resisting. And it seems the law has been bought...
Full Review: The author has some fun, justifying this Western in the far future, often to a rather humorously ridiculous extent. However, the plot is pedestrian, the tropes are either standard early-seventies science fiction or borrowed from the Western adventures. Furthermore, the main characters are quite predictable, and the hero (possibly intentionally) is frequently ineffective. In general, the humor is sufficient to overcome these problems; for a much funnier Western in Space, try Uncharted Territory.
Overall: 4; Plot: 4; Characters: 5; Style: 4.5; World-building: 4.5; Originality: 6;
Copyright date 1980, Playboy Press (Playboy), April 1980, Mass-market, 236 pages
ISBN: 0-872-16633-3 Order from: Amazon.com Barnes & Noble.com