I met Van Allen Plexico originally on the Space Opera page on Facebook, or was that the Pulp Magazine Authors and Literature Fans page, both of which he frequents. He has also started another page, Pulp Cosmic. Drop in and get to know him. So his name was familiar to me when I saw him on a panel at Dragon*Con, with his books, many self or small press published, on the table in front of him. After returning from Dragon*Con I purchased his book, Legion I: Lords of Fire (The Shattering) for my kindle. Now, I had read many other self published or small press science fiction books that were really unsatisfying, to say the least. I loved this book from the beginning, in which… Well, no I won’t spoil it, except to say it starts off with intrigue at the highest level of the Empire. I give this book five stars (and in fact I just did on Amazon. Sorry to have taken so long.)
Now, this is not military science fiction. It is more like pulp and fantasy mixed with scifi. It doesn’t go into rich detail about the tech. You know it’s there and that it works, and that’s all it needs. Of more importance is the intrigue going on between the church and the Empire, and the manifestations of the returning gods. Odds are that my readers and fans will like this book too, since they also seem to be fans of Star Wars, Star Trek and others. It’s definitely worth the $3.99 investment, and it proves why this guy has been voted Pulp Author of the Year not once, but twice. Van also appears at many conventions through the year, and will be at the Alabama Phoenix Festival at the end of this month, as well as Dragon*Con at the end of August, and is always willing to sign his books. I will see him at the Alabama Phoenix Festival, and if anyone in the area wants to meet me as well, here’s your chance.
To get Legion I: Lords of Fire click the link. He has two other books in the series, and hopefully more to come.
Many thanks for that great write-up, Doug! Glad you enjoyed the book and I appreciate your review.
Here is the edition with new cover art, in paperback and on Kindle:
http://www.amazon.com/Legion-Lords-Edition-Shattering-Volume/dp/0692021426