In the future, humans and other aliens achieve interstellar travel through a layer of hyperspace known as the Flux. Skilled navigators called riggers can manipulate the
Flux images, much like in a lucid dream, to move ships along its currents to their destination. Only one area of the Flux is immune to rigger manipulation: the ill-rumored
"mountain route to Lexis." Stories abound not only of the mysterious mountainous images produced here, but of the deadly dragons said to inhabit them. Of course, any sane
rigger knows that nothing can live in hyperspace, not even dragons... can they?
Jael LeBrae, a human rigger desperate to get into space while she can still navigate the Flux, signs into the service of an unsavory master. It is in his employ that she
first crosses the mountain route. During a duel with the dragons - who prove to be all too real - she not only survives, but manages to befriend the dragon known as
Highwing. It seems that fate has thrown them together for a greater purpose: an evil outside force is corrupting the life of the dragon-mountains, threatening the survival
of the dragons. If an ancient prophecy is accurate, then LeBrae may the only one who can stop it.
Review
This book neatly blends the science fiction of spaceships and aliens with the magic of dragons. The Flux is a wondrously described place of changing images and limitless
space. I found myself skimming the parts in "reality" to get back to the dragon realms. Some of the scenes are indescribably vivid (in my mind's eye, at least), such as
Highwing's garden and the death of his mate. A wonderful story, recommended to any dracophile!
The evil in the dragon realms grows stronger, with only a few free dragons left to fight its horrid mutations. Under the leadership of Highwing's son Windrush, they are
slowly losing ground, as well as the lumenis groves on which they feed. Internal conflicts threaten to tear them apart, with traitors and traps abounding. When he can,
Windrush looks for hints to the Enemy's plans in the magical web of the underrealm, the "next level down in the Flux" where gifted dragons work their spells. Meanwhile, the
starship rigger Jael has been called back to the dragon mountains by messengers of uncertain motives. The fate of the dragon world may hang on her actions in the face of
betrayals and confusion.
Review
I loved this book! It was even better than the first one, admittedly because of more dragons and magic. Full of action and intrigue, anybody who likes fantasy and dragons
should enjoy it. Building on the foundation of Dragons in the Stars, Carver makes the dragon realms even bigger and more vivid, building to an action-filled climax that
doesn't disappoint. I keep hoping for a continuation of Jael's adventures and the dragons of the Flux, but thus far haven't seen any signs of them. Don't let the sci-fi
elements scare you off - these are magnificent works of science fantasy!
The Flux is a layer of hyperspace which can be perceived and manipulated by a select group of aliens and humans. These riggers, as they're called, are an invaluable asset
to interstellar navigation, coaxing vessels along the shifting, dreamlike paths of the subjective layers of hyperspace between the stars. It is a job fraught with dangers,
not only from without, in the unpredictable currents of the Flux, but from within. While in the rigger-net, a rigger's own demons can find sudden, deadly life in the mists
of hyperspace, a threat to not only the rigger but to the entire ship and crew.
Gev Carlyle is the last surviving rigger after a horrible accident kills most of the cargo vessel Sedora's crew. As he slowly works his way home, back to the ship and
friends he left behind, he answers a distress call from an alien vessel stranded in hyperspace. The alien is a telepathic catlike cynthian named Cephaen, an amateur rigger
with problems of his own. Both must learn to work together if they are to survive not only their initial stranding in the Flux, but the quest to reunite Gev's old
shipmates.
Review
This book, originally printed in 1975, formed the basis for Carver's later books, Dragons In The Stars and Dragon Rigger. Though I've seen it republished, I
found this copy for a buck at Half-Price Books. I found it fairly entertaining, though, as a confirmed dracophile, I preferred the two other books. Still, I enjoyed it. The
Flux is a fascinating concept, as beautiful and addictive as it is dangerous. I enjoyed the nonhumanoid cythian species, as well. Theoretically, this took place many years -
centuries, perhaps - after the events of the dragon stories. There is only one line in which the dragons and the mountain route to Lexis were mentioned. I have to wonder if
it sat there and nagged Carver until he broke down and told the story of the dragons of the Flux.
The Star Rigger Universe Jeffrey A. Carver Laser Books Fiction, Sci-Fi Themes: Aliens, Dreams, Space Stories ***+
Description
Star pilot Seth Perland arrives at the colony world of Ernathe as part of a two-pronged mission. The native Nale'nids, or "sea people", used to leave the colonists and
their plankton harvesting ships in peace, but lately they've been interfering in strange, potentially deadly ways - and nobody can figure out how to communicate with them.
The disruption has far wider consequences; Ernathe's plankton may hold the key to rediscovering the trick of star-rigging, using a pilot's own mind to navigate the Flux of
hyperspace for faster, more reliable interplanetary travel... and with interstellar war on the horizon, rigging could well mean the difference between survival and
extermination for humanity. What Seth finds is not at all what he expects, but this is a mission he cannot afford to fail.
Review
This was the first novel Carver wrote, though chronologically it occurs centuries after his other Star Rigger novels - he himself notes that this will wreak havoc
with any attempts to organize the series in any meaningful manner. (Considering that there's also a prequel that will further throw things off, I just gave up even trying to
number them, myself; these reviews are arranged in roughly chronological order, near as I can determine.) Being a first, and written so long ago (in 1976), it unfortunately
shows its age. We have the stock characters of the star pilot outsider coming to a somewhat skeptical and insular colony, the "primitive" natives growing restless, a cast of
characters that, despite lip service and occasional token nods being given to women having important jobs, is overwhelmingly male, and the beautiful Nale'nid who bonds with
Seth and only just stops shy of the cliche line of "show me more of this strange Earth thing called kissing" during their inevitable affair. Having read other Star
Rigger books, I guessed at some of the secrets behind the Nale'nids far before the characters clued in, which made for some frustration. Carver excels at creating
detailed scenes and worlds, and his concept of star rigging and the Flux makes for some nice twists. Unfortunately, his characterization suffers somewhat, as does the plot,
which feels a little stretched. It's worth reading if you enjoy Carver's Star Rigger universe, though I'm not sure it holds up otherwise in this day and age.
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