The Paladin Chronicles
B.W. Philpot
Reviewed by: Tom Beauchamp
“The Zillians are coming!”
Printed largely across the back of the book, this phrase did
nothing to prepare me for what I found inside. Zillians? Does he mean a
lot of
something? Seriously, Zillians?
Luckily, the book goes up from there. As a matter of fact,
it sky rockets! The Paladin Chronicles is a wonderful story that looks
to the
future of mankind. It asks the question: With all of our differences,
prejudices, and downright dislike of each other, can we pull it
together to
protect ourselves from an attack not of this world. And more: can we
bring
salvation to the other races of the universe?
Though a lot of the story is told in the form of histories,
the book does not suffer from this at all. As a matter of fact, it does
a great
job of showing just how long lived the characters at the time are. It
also
shows just how far mankind has risen, just to fall again due to hate,
distrust,
Philpot has done an excellent job of writing. Any given page
of the book is reminiscent of past masters of science fiction. Card,
Heinlein,
Asimov: all of these and many more have definitely left their mark on
the style
of the author. The Paladin Chronicles outlines not just the story of a
war, but
also the lives of the character prior to, during, and slightly after.
Stories
of unrequited love, massive space battles, and galactic history all mix
to make
The Paladin Chronicles a must read book for fans of science fiction. I
for one
will definitely be buying the sequel when it comes out.