The illustrious Peter Grant, aka the Bayou Renaissance Man, is getting a new volume of The Maxwell Saga ready to publish. I know I had mentioned that I would review his previous works in the series, but for one reason or another I had not had a chance to do so. Now I do and let me tell you, these books remind me a lot of the Heinlein juveniles such as Rocket Ship Galileo, The Rolling Stones, and Time for The Stars, but with a little more occasional coarse language and some titillating paragraphs which would have raised eyebrows and fists in the 1950's but not even bat an eyelash today.
The books tell the adventures of a young man from Earth, Steve Maxwell. He is an orphan who desires very much to get away from the oppressive and regressive society of a future Earth and seek his fortunes among the stars to which the best and brightest of humanity have scattered. Through a series of fortuitous events, he finds himself going from a spacer and shuttle pilot for a freighter, to joining the military of the Lancastran Commonwealth and moving through the ranks from enlisted to officer. Along the way, he tangles with various villains from Chinese Tong to maniacal pirates to elements of fringe societies at the edge of explored space.
I found that there were very few slow points in any of the books, with enough background offered to help you fill in a very good picture of this future world, and enough action to whet the appetite and keeps you looking forward to what will happen next. While this may not be totally appropriate for a pre-teen to read depending on your sensibilities, I think young people as well as older readers will enjoy this series.
The first four books of The Maxwell Saga, Take the Star Road, Ride the Rising Tide, Adapt and Overcome, and Stand Against the Storm, may be found here at Amazon, for a very good price for all four. Please check them out for yourself, and I am sure you'll enjoy them as much as I have!
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