Paperback: 256 pages
Publisher: PulpWork Press; 1ST edition
(September 15, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0979732921
ISBN-13: 978-0979732928
When last we saw Garvey Dire, he was
doing pretty well for himself. Oh sure,
his mission to Mars had gone wrong, leaving him near death. But then he was miraculously transported
47,000 years into the past. And in that
past, Mars is not a dying planet.
Indeed, it thrives with life including the Muvari tribe which is mostly
populated by warrior women. The males of
the tribe are few and are guarded as they assure the continued survival of the
tribe.
Garvey survives a number of
harrowing adventures to rise to a level of prominence in the Muvari tribe as
well as marrying the gorgeous and deadly Ntashia, the finest swordswoman of
Mars. Garvey even managed to prevent
World War III back on Earth in his native time period and save the life of his
best friend. Salt-N-Pepa could very well
have been talking about Garvey in their song “Whatta Man”
When we catch up again with Garvey
Dire he’s facing an army of Galbran.
They’re a rival tribe of cannibals who have an old score to settle with
Garvey and an older one to settle with the Muvari. And while he’s trying to hold off this army
in a remote outpost with but a handful of Muvari warrior women, he’s also trying
to figure out how to handle the Muvari custom of a man having more than one
wife. It’s not as hard one might think
since his first wife Ntashia has made the arraignments for the marriage and is
actively encouraging it. It’s custom,
y’know and when on Mars, do as the Martians do.
It’s almost a relief for Garvey to
discover that his old rival and fellow Earthman Arnold Stechter survived the
events of “Dire Planet” and is alive and well.
He’s lost his memory of his life on Earth and doesn’t recall that he and
Garvey are bitter enemies. But Stechter
hasn’t forgotten his ambition and desire for power. He has gathered together outcast warrior
women from a dozen different tribes and forged them into a savage, bloodthirsty
army. And with these EXILES OF THE DIRE
PLANET he intends to conquer and rule Mars.
But it’s a plan that has to begin with the overthrow of Ledgrim, the
hidden Muvari capital city. And it’s
Garvey Dire who will unwittingly help Stechter achieve that goal…
If you’ve read and enjoyed “Dire
Planet” then you’ll certainly want to read the sequel. Not only does Joel continue to explore and
reveal new layers of his Martian culture but he also gives us new layers of his
protagonist. Garvey’s naturally hesitant
about entering into another marriage when he’s already got a wife he’s
perfectly happy with. Garvey Dire
exhibits more maturity in this multiple marriage thing than you would expect
from a hero in this genre. Garvey’s
still learning his role and place in this world and he sometimes wishes things
would go a little slower.
One thing he’s not slow at is facing
down the hoards of enemies thirsting for his blood in this one. If this book doesn’t have the highest body
count of any of Joel’s books, its right up there in the top three. Just the first fifty pages of the book has a
higher death rate than most complete novels.
And this is before Garvey finds out about Stechter and his army of
exiles.
EXILES OF THE DIRE PLANET is an
enjoyable book but a demanding one. Joel
seems determined to give readers more bang for their buck and while he
certainly does that it also means that there’s a lot more you to pay attention
to attention to and keep track of. The
only complaint I have with the book is that in order to get in as much
information as he can, Joel will occasionally have characters explain some
aspect of Martian life and culture to Garvey, even during scenes where it
seemed to me that concerning themselves with surviving whatever is trying to
kill them should be of paramount importance.
Also there’s the character of Naegrik the Galbran. While he provides Garvey with a sidekick
who’s just as much of an outsider as he is, Garvey’s acceptance of his
conversion from full-blown cannibalism to bosom buddy and lifelong pal is a bit
too quick for my taste. But I liked how the other characters kept an eye on
Naegrik when he was around and constantly reminded Garvey that hey, this guy
grew up eating people.
But the main thing here is the
adventure and Joel delivers it with great style and tight control over the half
dozen subplots he’s got going. And
EXILES OF THE DIRE PLANET ends with a cliffhanger that will demand that you get
the third book in the series; “Into The Dire Planet” to find out what happens
next. And for my money that’s exactly
what Pulp, whether Classic or New is supposed to do. Enjoy.
For more information about Joel
Jenkins please visit:
The Vaults of Caladrex http://www.joeljenkins.com/
Pulpwork Press http://www.pulpwork.com/
And Joel has kindly provided a Dire
Planet Compendium that you can find at The Vaults of Caladrex if you go to the
right side of the blog and scroll down until you hit the keyword ‘Dire Planet
Compendium’
And if you buy EXILES OF THE DIRE
PLANET direct from PulpWork Press you get a 20% discount by entering the
following code: 5YRZ6A8W
Also, this same code is good for a
20% discount on all of Joel Jenkins’ titles and most of the other Pulp Work
Press titles!
