cover image Spider Star

Spider Star

Mike Brotherton. Tor, $26.95 (448pp) ISBN 978-0-7653-1125-2

This hectic tale of ancient aliens on an artificial world orbits the star-sized egos of zealous archeologist Manuel Rusk and altruistic interstellar explorer Frank Klingston. After Rusk accidentally sets off a defense system left on colony world Argo by long-gone aliens, the two must travel to the near-mythical world called Spider Star in hopes of finding someone who can turn it off before it bombs the colony into oblivion. Upon arrival, Klingston and some of the crew are captured by spiderlike aliens and rushed through the corridors of the Star in scenes resembling the disjointed action of a video game, while Rusk takes to the air in a rather improbable balloon. The premise of an artificial environment and multiple alien races has potential, but the realization is incomplete and the characterization stereotypical, so readers will respond primarily to the story’s strong and reliable pacing (though with a rather rushed denouement) and intriguing premise. (Mar.)