The Only Must Read Trilogy of the Summer - The Quintara Marathon

Ah, the summer is just around the bend. Beaches, cookouts, and good friends - what more could you ask for? I could ask for good book, that's what.

Newspapers and magazines are always recommending their top ten or gazillion favorite books to read at the beach. It always involved a female author and some gal traipsing through Tuscany. Well, those are the last books you will see me reading; lounging by the poolside wearing a big brimmed hat and oversized sunglasses.

The big brimmed hat and oversized sunglasses maybe, but those cheesy romance novels - no way. Because I am a man of many, many talents; one of which is being a true science fiction geek. I could do that Vulcan "V" salute like it was born to me. Give me a big, old space opera any day. And I have one to recommend to you.

It is actually a trilogy called the "Quintara Marathon" by Jack Chaulker. The three books are titled, "Demons at Rainbow," "Run to Chaos Keep," and "90 Trillion Faust."

As an overview, this trilogy is simply grand in scale and Jack Chaulker puts in a magnificent effort in verbally painting three interstellar empires, culture and their interactions.

The key premises of the trilogy are two. First, in all cultures throughout all known galaxy, there is this common description of an upright bipedal humanoid with horns and cloven hooves. Curiously, this description holds true regardless of how non-humanoid the culture might be.

Secondly, the human race reached for the stars; ran smack into three interstellar empires; and was immediately conquered. The human race was divided among the three empires and essentially became the slaves, indentured servants, and poor eking out a living. Among those, a few humans were able to elevate themselves, but they were few and far between.

As a backdrop, one empire was based strictly on commerce and capitalism. The second empire was based on theological purity. The final empire was based on survival of the fittest by any means, but mostly fear and brutal subjugation of one's neighbors.

With this background, a surveyor finds two "demons" encased in crystal at Rainbow planet. And the demons are apparently alive and escape the crystal encasing. Each empire sends a team to investigate. Each team consists of humans and non humans. The rest of the trilogy is about the interaction of the players within each team and the teams against each other as they chase after the demons.

As with any great book, as important as the plot is, it is the characters and their development that means the most. And Jack Chaulker does a great job here. You almost need a trilogy to be able to flesh out all the intricacies of the key characters on this scale.

For a science fiction and fantasy geek, this is a book that demands to be read. With ankle high pants, a calculator hanging off the belt and a pen/pencil pouch in the shirt pocket, this trilogy belongs.

And it is also a lot of fun to read.

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