Synopsis
An aggressive, conquering race thought to be long-dead after an insurrection by their slaves, the Zardalu suddenly return, and it soon becomes apparent that the Zardalu fate is linked to the plans of an alien race known as the Builders.
Reviews
Sheffield's "The Heritage Universe," which also includes Summertide and Divergence , reads as one continuous narrative, with each book ending at a good place to take a pause in the overall story. By this third volume, the group of humans and aliens we have followed throughout are now tracking the Zardalu. Thought extinct for thousands of years, a small number of these creatures--who are so deadly that they have become bogeymen in this future history--were preserved by the mysterious Builders, whom our heroes have been trying to learn more about from the beginning of their adventures, to little avail. One of the most interesting aspects of this series is the evolution of professor Darya Lang from the nervous academic on her first trip off her home planet in Summertide to a woman as or more capable of handling herself in a stressful situation as any of her companions in Transcendence . But, except for Lang and the android E.C. Tally, the characters are one-dimensional. Still, Sheffield's narrative is smooth, and the joys, pitfalls and dangers of exploration are conveyed well.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
The latest (and certainly not the last) in Sheffield's far- future space-adventure series (Summertide, Divergence). Here, scholarly Darya Lang--just back from an encounter with the few remaining Zardalu (an especially horrid race of squid-like aliens that once ruled much of the galaxy) inside the Builder artifact called Serenity (one of many bits of mysterious super-tech left behind by a long-vanished race)--is swept up again into adventure by Hans Rebka and now ex-Councilor Julian Graves. It seems the Alliance Council will not believe their report of living Zardalu, and so, along with alien servants J'merlian and Kallik and the reluctant rogues Louis Nenda and Atvar H'sial, they set out after the Zardalu to get proof. The search leads into the dreaded Torvil Anfract, where physical laws are bent beyond recognition, and thence on to Genizee, where our heroes confront more Builder leavings (they litter the galaxy like old tin cans) and, of course, the fearsome Zardalu. Aside from the Builder wonders, there's little here for the mind but action-adventure bubble gum. Despite the vast passage of time, this future society is hardly changed from our present, and the plot (consisting mainly of inept chases by the Zardalu and comical exchanges between the characters) wears thin. Sheffield ought to have wound up this fading series with this book. -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
The search for the legendary Builders results in the reemergence of an ancient race of galactic marauders who must be stopped before they reconquer the world in this sequel to Summertide ( LJ 2/15/90) and Divergence ( LJ 2/15/91).
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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