The Sagittarius Command

October 8, 2007
Nostalgia-minded readers who yearn for the days of “Doc” Smith's Lensman books will enjoy the third installment (after 2006's Wolf Star
) of Meluch's barely modernized space opera series. When the Palatine Empire's home world of Roma Nova almost falls to the voracious, nigh-invulnerable Hive, which travels between the stars in search of organic matter to consume, Caesar Magnus reluctantly subjugates the empire's forces to Capt. John Farragut and the U.S.S. Merrimack
. This marriage of convenience is strained when the Legate voices suspicions that the Americans are trying to steal technology developed by long-dead Roman genius Constantine. As Farragut and the Roman cyborg Augustus (who plays a combination of Spock and McCoy to Farragut's Kirk) investigate the Hive infestation, they come to suspect Constantine might be not only alive but in possession of the secret to defeat the Hive. Assassinations, the threat of civil war and a canonically evil villain all keep things hopping in this fast-paced space adventure.

October 15, 2007
The third engaging U.S.S. Merrimack yarn begins with Earths apparent victory over the neo-Roman Palatine Empire. Almost immediately, the former enemies must form an uneasy alliance to enter the space of the Hive, aliens possessing a group-mind, and rescue a savant thought long dead. Depending on which allys side he proves to be on, that worthy may shake everything to its foundations. This generates enough action and suspense for three novels. Meanwhile, Meluchs wry, realistic wit finds the ludicrous in the military, sex, sex in the military, and a dozen other matters. A treat for military sf buffs with a sense of humor.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)