Publishers Weekly
For this rollicking first of an alternate history series, Stirling (Island in the Sea of Time) uses the terrific premise that Mars and Venus are exactly as depicted in pulp-era SF, eerily Earth-like and populated by prehistoric people and creatures. When 1960s space probes find that Venus is habitable, the Americans and Russians scramble to set up colonies and get in good with the natives. In 1988, a Russian rocket crashes in the wilderness and can only be reached by an airship from the U.S. Commonwealth base of Jamestown, crewed by a classic love triangle: Ranger Lt. Marc Vitrac, Harlem-born geologist Cynthia Whitlock and ultra-British anthropologist Christopher Blair. Stirling doesn't stint on old-fashioned elements, most notably the gorgeous native princess with magical powers, but the multiculturalism sidesteps most stereotypes while retaining a broad-brush pulp sensibility; the science is refreshingly realistic; and everyone cusses (sometimes in awkward translation). Readers will eagerly anticipate a trip to Mars in the sequel, In the Halls of the Crimson Kings. (Nov.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
Library Journal
The Cold War still rages in 1988, and the Eastern and Western Blocs compete for colonies on Mars and Venus, both homes to humanlike sentient though primitive races. American Marc Vitrac, assigned to the U.S. base of Jamestown, finds the lands outside the Venusian colony teeming with quasiprehistoric life as well as filled with mysteries that could threaten the human presence on Venus. Stirling's alternate histories have dealt with misplaced islands ("The Island in the Sea of Time" series), asteroid impacts (The Peshawar Lancers), and technological disaster ("Dies the Fire" series). Now he tackles the world of pulp sf popularized by Edgar Rice Burroughs, bringing to the genre his talent for verisimilitude and appealing characters. A good choice for most sf collections, particularly where the author has a following. Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
A fanciful, politically tinged tale from Stirling (The Ship Avenged, 1997, etc.), set on the frontier of Venus circa 1988 as the Eastern Bloc rivals the US Sky People in the great space race. The Sky People have established a stronghold on the Gargarin continent of Venus, at the settlement called Jamestown, directed by Ranger Lieutenant Marc Vitrac, formerly of Louisiana Cajun country. He welcomes the arrival of fresh reserves on the spaceship Carson, including an attractive young geologist, Lieutenant Cynthia Whitlock, and RAF Wing Commander Christopher Blair. Together they comprise "explorers at the cutting edge of the human story." However, there are other settlements entrenched in the strange land habitable by both dinosaurs and mammals: the small community of Kartahown, made up of numerous Earthlings and local tribespeople, traders and pilgrims; rank, savage tribes of marauding Neanderthals of the Wergu tribe; and the blond-haired, ethereal Cloud Mountain People of the Far West, in fur loincloths and bearing blowguns. And all kinds of curious beasts flourish here, such as giant mountable reptiles called ceratopsians and strong, scary raptor-like Quetzas. While the Sky People explore the geography of Venus, Blinkis, captain of the low-hovering Eastern Bloc space shuttle Riga, crashes into Wergu territory and is captured and brainwashed by the hairy brutes, who nonetheless shelter and heal him. Among the superior Cloud Mountain People, young female warrior Teesa has visions of invaders, who turn out to be Marc Vitrac and his gang in pursuit of the Russians. In fact, Blinkis's own pilot wife, Jadviga, arrives with blimp and crew to find her husband, and all of them end up confrontingthe nasty, smelly Wergus. Stirling offers an easygoing, atmospheric tale airbrushed with fuzzy political overtones, along with a good bit of humor and lively characterization. The adventures of these nutty space dudes will surely set off a series of its own. Agent: Russell Galen/Scovil Chichak Galen Literary Agency
