[Rampart Worlds 02] • De Arm van Orion

Julian May's "Rampart Worlds" space-opera romps began with Perseus Spur; Orion Arm is volume two. Asahel "Helly" Frost, disgraced scion of the mighty Rampart interstellar family company, again finds himself working for them as a wisecracking, space-faring James Bond against the evil Galapharma corporation, which is selling priceless human know-how and DNA to the alien Haluk--cunning devils who've developed a "demiclone" process for turning reptilian Haluks into human form and vice-versa. The slam-bang action moves through various cinematic set-pieces: assignations in genetically enhanced brothels so lewd than even very bad men puke at the attractions offered; Frost betrayed and not killed outright but left in a deathtrap with one slim chance of escape; a high-tech strike against a secret Haluk base closely resembling the one in Perseus Spur; much blood and mayhem thanks to deep-penetration Galapharma traitors planted within Rampart and indeed Frost's own family; murderous last-minute reversals at the crucial board meeting, followed by a final shoot-out and offing of the arch villain in a way that might just allow his return for book three. Orion Arm offers colourful, tongue- in-cheek violence and drama that pulls you along but refuses to be taken seriously. -- David Langford