SOJALS rating:

Good (3/5)

I first read this in 1988 and most recently on the 28th July 2010

Doran Faulkner invented the Faulkner Generator that gave humankind unlimited energy and eventually gave us the stars. In fact, he did not invent the generator but that's how history reports it and Doran would prefer to keep it that way. Medical science has given human near immortality and Doran was lucky enough to be on the first wave of that. He's now seven hundred years old. Doran did his part in encouraging emigration to the new worlds that opened up across the galaxy. As a side effect, he also owns most of planet Earth, and is indulging in a few projects on the mother world that he'd rather keep secret for now. A new race of centaurs is one of those projects. But those new worlds are not flourishing. In fact the colonies are slowly declining. The immense distances have chilled mankind's temper and the spirit is lost.

Now Faulkner's oldest friends prevail on him to pull one more miracle out of his hat. They know of a planet when alien creatures teleport. If he and his friends can find how that is done they'll have a discovery to match that of the Faulkner generator itself. More importantly they'll have a way to reverse the slow decline of civilisation.

Fab stuff. It's derivative of Zelazny's novels, "This Immortal" and others but Walter does a great job in showing respect to those and telling a great story. I would say "Walter, my boy, you'll go far" but this is 2014 and Walter, boy, has he gone far. He's a great writer.

The cover is embarrassing though I now view it with a sneaking affection. I still feel the need, if someone notices it, to protest "That book? Not mine. A kid must have left it there. I don't read books with Centaurs on the cover. Real men don't".