













  =-=-=-=-=-=-
  BOOK REVIEWS:
    by Jack Hillman
    ---------------
  
  THE BUCHANAN CAMPAIGN
  Rick Shelley
  Science Fiction Paperback, Ace Science Fiction
  Copyright Dec., 1995  375 pages - Eight Stars!
  -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
  
      (Books are rated on a ten star scale with ten being 
      the highest. Anything in the seven to ten star range is 
      a particularly good suggestion for your reading list.)
  
      
    The planet Buchanan was a peaceful colony planet on the
  fringes of nowhere. Settled for only a hundred and fifty
  years, there was still plenty of open land and room to grow.
  Buchanan had been left on its own by both the Federation, a
  supposedly democratic society run along the lines of a
  dictatorship, and the Commonwealth, an old style monarchy
  complete with a king that believed in letting the worlds in
  his kingdom run themselves, for the most part. Until now.
       
    The Federation has landed a force of soldiers to take
  over what it calls "its sovereign space." The people of
  Buchanan are awakened out of sleep at three in the morning
  to find their world under martial law.
       
    But one man, a member of the planetary commission, the
  only government Buchanan has, manages to get off a message
  rocket to the Commonwealth asking for help, and thereby
  starts a chain of events that will lead to the first war in
  space.
       
    The message rocket takes off and translates into Q-space, 
  the only means of traveling faster than light, only a few 
  feet into the air, without destroying either the rocket or 
  the planet. In accomplishing this, the entire idea about
  Q-space is upset. You weren't supposed to be able to
  translate into Q-space inside the gravity well of a planet!
  
       
    When the Commonwealth receives the rocket, and hears
  not only the message but the details of the trip from the
  instruments on the rocket, they move into action. Peace
  between the Commonwealth and the Federation has been tense
  at best. The Commonwealth sends Admiral Truscott to oversee
  the mission. Truscott, a veteran Naval officer, knows that
  war in space has never happened before; skirmishes between
  individual ships, yes; combat between planetary forces on
  the ground; but never an actual war in space.
       
    Now Truscott must make plans for the first full scale
  battle ever fought between the stars, and he doesn't even
  know if it can be done.
       
    Rick Shelley has written an excellent example of something 
  seen far too seldom these days: the first conflict in space. At 
  a time when mankind has spread out into the stars, space has 
  only been used as a means to get from one place to another. Now, 
  one man must decide how wars will be fought, and he has to make 
  sure he is on the winning side. For readers of hard science 
  fiction, this is a gem that should be part of you reading list.
  
         
                             Happy reading!
                          
  Copyright 1996 Jack Hillman, All Rights Reserved.
  -------------------------------------------------------------------
  John is a freelance writer, who has been published in BLOODREAMS,
  ONCE UPON A WORLD, and GATEWAYS. He writes a bimonthly SF/F column
  published in THE MAGAZINE of SHAREFICTION, and his book reviews
  appear in POPULAR FICTION NEWS. As a contributing editor to ON THE
  RISK, he keeps track of "life." Email: jhillwtr@aol.com
  ==============================={DREAM}=============================
  
