Review: Lively, fast paced space romp
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 11 5, 2013
The title, Means of Escape, apparently refers to the star of the show, the small alien spacecraft that can do anything. It provides the means of escape several times for the small but tight knit group of humans who are it's crew and friends. The conflict is primarily between the good folks, our crew and ship, and the bad guys, the Empire. The tale spans huge amounts of time, but primarily deals with the current iteration of human controlled space and the unprecedented appearance of the first functioning alien artifact, the little ship. The Empire wants it and will do anything to get it, in order to figure out it's technology and rule even more of the galaxy.The story shifts to another group of humans who are shipwrecked following the galaxy wide release of a virus that incapacitate all AI's, setting human space faring back thousands of years. These aliens discover gateways created by aliens a very long time ago and are able to once again explore the galaxy. The two "good" groups of human eventually meet and work together against the seemingly omnipotent Empire.There is lots of action, no internal dialogue ala Weber, and the story develops at a breakneck pace.This is a light, lively sci-fi adventure and a quick read.