Over the years I've had a lot of fun with Sparta and "The Free Spirit". I just wish I knew how to get my hands on one of those "Snark" attack helicopters. Ellen Troy and Blake Redfield are captivating heros, who like the rest of us, have their flaws. Any Clarke faithful who doesn't enjoy this series might want to think about going one size larger the next time they buy new skivvies.

Anyone who enjoys this and other "Venus Prime" novels should look for "Core", another enjoyable work by Preuss. (For anyone who's curious, the origional names for the Venus Prime books are "The Breaking Strain", "Maelstrom", "Hide and Seek", "The Medusa Encounter", "The Diamond Moon", and "The Shining Ones" respectively.)


**NOT** written by Clarke   June 5, 2000
 2 out of 11 found this review helpful

OK - I am going to vent again... Those books are (badly) written by Paul Preuss - they are not in any way one of Clarke's work. Preuss' idea has been to basically licence 5 **UNRELATED** short stories (one per book in the Venus Prime series) that were among the great short stories written by A.C. Clarke.

Then, Preuss procedes in dissolving the short story in an otherwise tasteless story which main purpose seems to be to link Clarke's 5 pieces of work.

Quite honestly, Preuss' series is not, by all means, the worse one I've read. However, his skill is certainly not even close to Clarke's. I can hardly believe that Clarke would authorize anything like that - both Clarke and Preuss are guilty of prostituting their talent and (for Clarke) fame.

In business, that kind of heavy licensing is typical of badly managed luxury brands (e.g., Pierre Cardin.) In the long run, it destroys the brand...


sustained energetic preuss   June 12, 2000
 2 out of 2 found this review helpful

preuss captures clarke's tone and complexity--a nice entry in a superior series


And we are off to yet another planet.   July 13, 2005
 1 out of 1 found this review helpful

I'm going to skip the plot synopsis, because you can read it elsewhere. What I will say is that by the third book in this series the format seems to get a bit repeatative. Sparta, a.k.a. Ellen Troy, works for the Board of Space Control and is sent to yet another planet/satellite to solve yet another crime that, while on the surface may seem unrelated, are actually connected by a secret group of people who are also connected to her biological enhancements. She's been to Venus and the Moon and now she visits Mars. I'm beginning to think Preuss is simply attempting a tour of the solar system.

Preuss' writing still seems to hold up throughout the book and I was still eager to find out how this one wrapped up. However, the overall mystery of the series is being drawn out a little too much. I think this could have been wrapped up nicely in three rather than six books.