Review: FastPace Sci Fi Excitement
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 01 25, 2013
Book Review:  Asteroid Outpost by John BowersCopyright December, 2012 by John BowersPublished by AKW BooksASIN: B00AR7GG3QAsteroid Outpost is Book I of John Bowers' Nick Walker, U.F. Marshal series.  We are introduced to 24 year-old Nick Walker a United Federation Marshal, who is on his first assignment, stationed on a water mining planet called Ceres.Within the first day of arriving, Nick runs into trouble at a local bar, the Open Airlock, and meets one of Ceres' most feared characters: Turd Murdoch. Who of course puts the word out on the street that he wants to kill Nick.Bowers keeps the action moving by introducing other main players:  Nick's superior, Marshall Milligan, a jaded Marshall who tries to convince Nick that the younger Marshall's ideas of integrity and justice might not work so well in a place like Ceres.Shortly after that, Nick visits the courthouse where he witnesses guards assaulting a prisoner.  After standing up to the guards and threatening them for the brutal attack, the judge calls him into her chambers, where he formally meets prosecuting attorney David Tarpington, defense attorney Misery Allen and Judge Monica Maynard.And is instructed in still more breaches of the law that he learned in the Star Marines when Tarpingon justifies the actions of the guards and, after the attorneys leave, Judge Maynard dangles an offer of seduction.Bowers' clear, colorful descriptions and clear characterization quickly set the stage for a seemingly impossible task: Will U.F. Marshall Walker succeed in bringing fairness and justice to Ceres, or will he succumb to the overwhelming sense of despair and greed.You'll have to read the book for yourself to find out.