Solar Warden: Book Two - Requiem by Peter FullerMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
An action-packed gripping sci-fi series!
Forty-some years ago my uncle gave me a science fiction anthology. It was a thick red hardback that I read from cover to cover. It inspired a lifelong love of the genre. The stories in that book made me think outside the box. They filled me with awe for the imagination it took to write them. That book still remains in my collection today. The title is OMNIBUS OF SCIENCE FICTION, edited by Groff Conklin, a well-known and prolific editor of the genre. It was published in 1952, the Golden Age of Science Fiction. It’s a substantial volume, 562 pages, with 43 stories divided into sections relating to a common theme. Some stories are fun, some are thought-provoking, and some are adventurous. I love them all.
Author Peter Fuller worked in the Military History Department of the Glenbow Museum in Calgary, Alberta, Canada for eight years. He has studied military history for decades. He has also written numerous articles and lectured at major museums and universities on the subject of military history. He is a regular panelist at NORWESCON - the Pacific Northwest’s Premier Science Fiction and Fantasy Convention. He's a student of the UFO phenomenon since grade school, a member of the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON), and legend has it, he's had a few “close encounters” of his own! Having recently interviewed the son of a US military officer about his late father’s work on several special access projects for the secret space program, it’s no wonder this book series had to be written!
Requiem by Peter Fuller is the second instalment in the Solar Warden series. It’s a wonderfully written and richly descriptive novel with brilliantly drawn settings and characters. The author weaves a well-crafted Military Science Fiction that will captivate the reader’s attention from the start. Skillfully constructed, this exciting and suspenseful sci-fi will have you turning the pages from beginning to end. There’s plenty of imagery in the writing style that makes you feel you are right there in the story, and that’s something I look for in a good book.
The book description gives a sneak preview: ‘Earth is in peril. The reptilians and grays, led by their Blue Nordic overlords, have suffered a series of humiliating defeats at the hands of the humans–a species they deem inferior. Retaliation is inevitable… Expecting a divide-and-conquer strategy by the aliens, Solar Warden begins reinforcing its Mars Base–the enemy's expected target. And the final steppingstone to earth… In the midst of the impending invasion, Steve "Scarecrow" Richardson and his new love, Major Sandy Cooper, are marked for death by both human and alien threats… Book Two of the Solar Warden series finds the humans faced with an overwhelming force that will not stop until they've eliminated the human race. All that stands in their way is the determination and fierce will of the Earth Defense Force combatants who are willing to lay down their lives to save humanity.’
This for me was another phenomenal read. The vivid descriptions of the settings, situations, and the people were stunning. The author’s use of genuine dialogue further added to the overall atmosphere of authenticity. The contrast between tone and content is a characteristic talent of only a few authors. Fuller pays as much attention to his sentences as he does to his plots, shifting or consolidating meaning with the use of a single word. His writing is impeccably honed, full of juxtapositions and qualifications that help to create a genuine and realistic contemporary sci-fi novel.
For science fiction fans looking for an interesting, three-dimensional, and stimulating read, this would be a great find. I’m giving nothing further away here. And this, I hope, will only add to the mystery and enjoyment for the reader. Highly recommended and a well-deserved five stars from me.
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