BUCK ROGERS MATRIX CUBED BY BRITTON BLOOM

Copyright 1991.

Dalton Gavilon the son and heir apparent of the Sun King has decided to take power. First, he has his uncle assassinated. Kemal his cousin finds this out and wants to expose this crime, but Dalton’s father the Sun King manages to cover it up. For a thank you, Dalton poisons his father and blames Kemal. Now Kemal is on the run as Dalton starts his tyrannical rule. Kemal manages to kill his cousin but no sooner than this is done, the forces of RAM launch an invasion of Mercury. It is up to Kemal to unite the various factions on Mercury to resist the invasion.

The final book in the Inner Planets trilogy is the best. The story really picks up with Dalton the psychotic son of the Sun King making his grab at power. We find out that it was him as a young boy who accidentally killed Kemal’s father. This was covered up but gave the young Dalton a sense he was immune to anything. I loved this book, and it is the best of the trilogy. Britton Bloom wrote a very exciting book. This is his first and to my knowledge only novel he ever wrote. That is a shame since he has a knack for writing. This trilogy was written by three different authors and yet managed to stay fairly consistent story wise. There was an awkward part where Kemal’s mother is mentioned to still be alive but has no part in the book. It was mentioned in another that she died when Kemal was very young, and he never knew her. A bit of sloppy editing but otherwise the three books were consistent. Ends with Kemal being crowned the king. Once again, we have a Buck Rogers trilogy without Buck appearing at all. Which is fine since this series was about the universe that was created by TSR. An enjoyable trilogy in the series.

BUCK ROGERS PRIME SQUARED BY M.S. MURDOCK

Copyright 1990.

Kemal Gavilan has rejoined his family on Mercury to find out about the new laser weapon his uncle is developing. He has to deal with Ardala Valmar who managed to steal a prototype. He finds an artificial program left by his father that helps him in his investigation in the mysterious death of his father. Killer Kane gets hired to steal the crystals on Mercury. All this while Gavilan has to deal with the Dancers who think that he betrayed them and his paranoid uncle and nephew.

The second in the Inner Planets trilogy. This one written by Murdock who wrote the first trilogy. A competent job from someone who has experience writing for this series. This one continues the various intrigues with this new laser and the various parties that vie for its control. While nothing really special happens, it is clearly a filler book to the big conclusion. It does keep the story moving along and made for an interesting read.

BUCK ROGERS FIRST POWER PLAY BY JOHN MILLER

Copyright 1990.

A ship is found floating in space with proof of a deadly new laser weapon that has been developed in the asteroid belt. Kemal Gavilan is sent with Black Barney by NEO to investigate. Black Barney has an interest because whoever is developing this laser may be linked to the Dracolysk Corporation. This corporation was the one that developed Black Barney and other cyborg gennies like him. They thought the revolt destroyed this corporation, but it is still around. Along with its evil director. Kemal with other Barneys launch a raid that destroys the research facility. Only Kemal discovers that his uncle the Sun King of Mercury may be behind this. So, he goes back to rejoin the royal court and all its intrigues.

The first in the Inner Planets trilogy the second trilogy in the series. Obviously, the central character is Kemal Gavilian and not Buck Rogers. In fact, Rogers never appears in this trilogy. He is out exploring deep space. This second trilogy is more focused on intrigue and subterfuge instead of interstellar space battles. I like the change of pace. We find out more about the origins of Black Barney and his clone brothers. We also see more of Mercury. Kemal is an interesting character who starts to realize that maybe his father was murdered and starts to investigate. Sets up a good mystery.

BUCK ROGERS ARMAGEDDON OFF VESTA BY M.S. MURDOCK

Copyright 1989.

The Martian Wars heat up with Venus largest state Ishtar getting in on the side of Earth. Mercury joins with Mars. Kemal Gavilan goes to Mercury to sabotage their war effort. Both the Venusian and Martian fleets meet and are evenly matched. The Krait fighters of both RAM and NEO hold the key to victory. Killer Kane leads the RAM squadron while Buck Rogers the NEO. A final battle off the asteroid belt will decide the war.

The final book in the Martian Wars Trilogy comes to a satisfying conclusion. We get plenty of space action along with intrigue by all sides. Ends with Earth gaining its independence and the good guys winning. Murdock wrote a good consistent trilogy. It had its ups and downs in the conflict. A good start to this series.