Product Description

A gripping sf adventure from the acclaimed author of The Pliocene Exile series. Two hundred years into the future, the great corporations of Earth dominate all life in our Galaxy. But their endless pursuit of wealth and power is about to open the door to a malevolent alien race, intent on engulfing the commonwealth of Human Worlds. Helly and his companions attempt to capture a crucial witness to the Galapharma conspiracy, who has taken refuge on a hostile planet. Its insanely ambitious boss, Alistair Drummond, will stop at nothing in his quest for power, and Helly is marked for death as the two corporations continue to do battle. Meanwhile, the Haluk follow their own appalling agenda, using human science to mutate their bodies, allowing them to infiltrate human society. Helly must find a way to alert the Human Commonwealth to the Haluk peril, while also saving his family from Drummond's increasingly desperate efforts to annhilate the Rampart worlds.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #249933 in Books
• Published on: 2000-07-17
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 400 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Julian May's "Rampart Worlds" space-opera romps began with Perseus Spur; Orion Arm is volume two. Asahel "Helly" Frost, disgraced scion of the mighty Rampart interstellar family company, again finds himself working for them as a wisecracking, space-faring James Bond against the evil Galapharma corporation, which is selling priceless human know-how and DNA to the alien Haluk--cunning devils who've developed a "demiclone" process for turning reptilian Haluks into human form and vice-versa. The slam-bang action moves through various cinematic set-pieces: assignations in genetically enhanced brothels so lewd than even very bad men puke at the attractions offered; Frost betrayed and not killed outright but left in a deathtrap with one slim chance of escape; a high-tech strike against a secret Haluk base closely resembling the one in Perseus Spur; much blood and mayhem thanks to deep-penetration Galapharma traitors planted within Rampart and indeed Frost's own family; murderous last-minute reversals at the crucial board meeting, followed by a final shoot-out and offing of the arch villain in a way that might just allow his return for book three. Orion Arm offers colourful, tongue- in-cheek violence and drama that pulls you along but refuses to be taken seriously. --David Langford

Review
'You have to admire the scope of her work' SFX 'A certain crowd pleaser' Kirkus Reviews 'Julian May has irrevocably placed herself among the greats' Asimov's SF Magazine 'A writer of exceptional perception and power' Jean Auel, author of The Clan of the Cave Bear

About the Author
Julian May's first story, the sf classic Dune Roller, was published in the early 1950s. She then wrote non-fiction and children's books for many years before bursting onto the fantasy scene with the phenomenally successful Saga of the Pliocene Exile . Recent works include Magnificat, the finale to The Galactic Milieu series, and Sky Trillium. Prolific, thoughtful and ever imaginative, her novels have been published to wide acclaim around the world.

Customer Reviews

Brilliant follow-up to "Perseus Spur"
Ok, so we can all see how this book is full of James Bond-style set pieces, but if you ask me this is what gives both "Orion Arm" and "Perseus Spur" their charm. There is no intention on the part of the author to make these two books 'proper' hard sci-fi. Julian May is offering a refreshing new twist on the sci-fi genre, cleverly blending the sction thriller style of Clive Cussler's Dirk Pitt novels (rather than Fleming's Bond), with the futuristic and realistic setting of a galaxy dominated not by the legislature of the Commonwealth, but by the megacorporations - a situation not too far removed from that of today. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a more light-hearted, slightly tongue-in-cheek piece of sci-fi

Action and intrigue
After spending the best part of my life either reading or looking forward to one of Julian May's superb Pliocene Exile or Galactic Milieu books it feels strange to be reading anything else by the same author. She doesn't disappoint though; Orion Arm is the second part of a sprawling corporate chess match played on a galactic arena that mixes memorable characters with action and intrigue to serve up a supremely palatable science fiction feast.

superb
Great, fast-paced, beautifully written sci-fi/space opera with its slant on (of all things) business politics. I've never encountered an SF story that mixes corporate antics with hard science (specifically genetics), but it works a treat.

Witness several galaxy-straddling corporations' attempts to whip the rug out from under each others' feet, by any means possible, set against a backdrop of threatened alien invasion and the prospect of all-out intergalactic war.

Follow the main character's adventures as he strives to thwart a corporate takeover attempt whilst simultaneously exposing an inter-species conspiracy and numerous plots on his own life.

Often humorous, evocative, three-dimensional and vivid, the galaxy (and its attendant lifeforms) comes to life before your eyes. Julian May's writing style is choppy and light on its feet, keeping you turning the pages, always eager for more, and her liberal use of humour keeps the story sharp and punchy. A delight.