- Paperback: 368 pages
- Publisher: Voyager; New edition edition (17 Jan 2000)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0002247143
- ISBN-13: 978-0002247146
- Product Dimensions: 23 x 15.4 x 3.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,517,983 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Julian May's "Rampart Worlds" space-opera romps began with Perseus Spur; Orion Arms is volume two. Asahel "Helly" Frost, disgraced scion of the mighty Rampart interstellar family company, again finds himself working for them as a wise-cracking, 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 that even very bad men puke at the attractions offered; Frost betrayed and not killed outright but left in a death trap 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 the 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
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
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.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
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.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
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
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