In distant parts of a far away galaxy, John David Gabriel King brings to life a cast of
star-fighting warriors, galactic royalty, super-human androids and good
old-fashioned suspense in his novelette titled, The Hunt for the Shalimar Stones.
The Shalimar Stones
are symbols of the peace between two warring factions of the people of Alon, a
part of the Bavarian colonies ruled by the Warlean who inhabited this system
before the colonists settled. As a
symbol of the end to years of war, each side gave the other eight precious
stones, one stone for each planet in their system, and if ever the stones were
lost or stolen then there would be a dreadful war once again. When trickery allowed for the stones to be
stolen, the daughter of the ruler, Princess Diana called upon Captain Morgan
Stone to find the missing Shalimar Stone. Committed to bring the thief to justice
and return them within 72 hours, Morgan set out to preserve the peace in this
part of the galaxy. Armed with a battle
section of Star-Carriers, Captain Stone embarked upon a mission to find the
missing stones at all cost, or die trying.
John David Gabriel King makes no attempt to claim originality to
the myriad of plot machinations, foundation of inter-galactic life forms
co-existing around the universe, nor the fundamental technologies so often
portrayed in the Star Trek series or Star Wars movies. What he does achieve, relying on the reader’s
assumptive experience with these concepts, is he brought forth a new and
exciting mini-plot, suitable for a movie or TV episode. From the beginning, he structured the cast
into military categorizations of troops, platoons, and combat units; each with
an identifiable command and control structure. The chapters play out like scenes in a movie with uniquely clever battle
sequences, allowing the reader to imagine the dark, deep space backdrop behind the
glistening energy forces of technological space ships zapping and exploding in
the vast void of surrounding space. One
technology I found interesting was a form of holographic cloaking device. Instead of making the star-ship invisible, it
rendered it as a space rock, hardly unique and ubiquitous for any strategic
interest of a predatory search and destroy mission underway.
One further mention needs to be made of the “Tiffany girls.” These three android “drop-dead gorgeous women,”
with sculptured bodies and immense innate beauty, capable of seducing any male
military personnel into being “off guard” by having their instinctual
attraction submissive to the Tiffany’s suggestive advances, plays a role in
overpowering the guards of the stolen Shalimar
Stones. I found this to be interesting
in the sense that given all the advances in technology, it’s still the male
pheromones which lead to the downfall of civilizations.
The Hunt for the
Shalimar Stones is written for a young adult audience. It is clear and crisp with action,
explanative with the military backbone of command, and possesses the damsel in
distress and gentleman Samaritan to her rescue; classic to the prince and
princess theme throughout adolescent literature. For those who love “things that go zap in
space,” this novelette offers a nice ride through the vacuum of space into the
hearts of chivalry. We certainly hope
Robert Underwood continues on developing his Captain Morgan Stone character and
carries him once again into the deep regions of far away galaxies to bring his
moral fortitude to distant life forms surrounding us in this busy universe.
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