Review: Old style science fiction story
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 08 5, 2012
This is the first of the Barclay Heath Mysteries that I have read and from the publishers blurb "The Barclay Heath Mysteries are set in a whimsical alternate-1920s" it would have been helpful for this to be explained early in the book. The central character Barclay Heath is a retired agent of the "King's Secret Service" and comes across as a confident Holmes type character bordering on arrogant. The actual story is quite straightforward except for a twist at the end that I was not expecting. The strength of this book which is fairly short, 132 pages is the way characters and locations are described; I particularly liked the descriptions of the various aliens which were diverse and interesting. I don't know what age group this book is for but it is suitable for all ages and can be read either as a science fiction or detective novel. I liked the style which emulated earlier writers but it is not a style that all may like particularly if you like an all action battle style science fiction as this is certainly not one of these. Although a series it works well as a stand alone novel.