Jacob Casell, his astronomer-wife Amy, and their temperamental yet genius silver sphere-shaped AI companion Arcon are back in action. This time, they’re joined by a fresh crew and are out on a NASA-backed training mission with a noble goal: escort a delegation of world leaders through the solar system, offering them a cosmic perspective in hopes of fostering peace between alien nations.
While orbiting Jupiter, the crew is stunned when four alien freighters arrive and begin siphoning vast quantities of the planet’s gas. This sudden loss triggers a gravitational imbalance—and puts their ship, the Aneleyan Starcruiser Dauntless, in mortal peril. But escaping one danger only succeeds in putting them on course for even more trouble.
RETURN TO ANELEYA is the latest volume in David Gittlin’s Silver Sphere series. Though it builds on what has gone before, the author feeds in enough scene-setting and character re-caps for new readers to jump right in without feeling lost. Sometime-novelist, now-adventurer Casell finds himself once more amongst aliens, spaceships, and robots. He’s left wondering, “Why do we have trouble getting along?” Casell—sometimes called Cassell, an example of a few editorial errors that have slipped through the net—is still the very reluctant hero. Some of the self-deprecating humor that featured in the earlier books has been replaced by a weariness that begins to rub off on the reader. Highlighted by the inconsistent spelling of the main character’s name, the novel might have benefited from a tighter final edit. There is noticeable repetition in both descriptions and actions, one example being the inordinate amount of times that Jacob and Amy are said to reach out and hold one another’s hand.
The plot concerns an alien race called the Saurrians, who have developed a deadly virus they intend to use in wiping out the Aneleyan. Casell and his crew, caught in the crossfire (and as de facto universal peace envoys), are eventually drawn in. Arcon, the AI robotic sphere that gives the book series its title, has to shuck its usual peaceful protocols to become protector with his electro-magnetic pulses (not set to stun).
Though Gittlin’s earlier novels are fast-paced and action-packed, it takes some time for RETURN TO ANELAYA to really get going. The first half seems bogged down by explanation and diplomatic reasoning. It’s only when the Saurrians kick off that things begin to really move. By then, Gittlin provides the simple, gung-ho sci-fi thrills that his readers are expecting.
David Gittlin’s RETURN TO ANELEYA is another enjoyable episode in the Silver Sphere series that will make fans excited for the next.
~Kent Lane for IndieReader