Helpful Score: 2
SLY MONGOOSE is based in the same universe as his previous two novels, CRYSTAL RAIN and RAGAMUFFIN. But don't let that make you worry. Each book is written as a stand-alone based against a larger backdrop.
The story takes place on the planet of Chilo. Pepper, the sly mongoose man from the earlier books, has just returned to the region of space controlled by the human faction based on the planet New Anegada. He had ventured out of the space to witness the execution of what was believed to be the last of the Satraps--a repressive alien species that has subjugated humans and other species for quite a while. Unfortunately, one satrap has escaped the purge of their one-time subjects and is hiding on Chilo. So its former subjects have sent a weapon to destroy their former dark overlord. And it's a virus that turns people into zombies (quite literally).
Pepper finds himself fighting off the zombies, trying to save the inhabitants of Chilo from death. He's assisted by two teens, Timas and Katerina, who are from two very different cultures. Timas is from a group who are very technologically backwards and xenophobic (for good reason), and Katerina is a living avatar of the ultimate democracy. They don't live on the planet, per se, but rather above it. See, Chilo's uninhabitable on the surface due to severe heat, pressure, and a poisonous atmosphere. So its citizens live in scientifically plausible floating cities. The two teens work with Pepper to convince their clashing cultures to work together to defeat the zombie horde. It's a thrill ride filled with sword fights, air ships, pirates, blood, guts, and ichor.
But the neatest thing about SLY MONGOOSE is the fact that it isn't just a top notch action novel. It's also a very thoughtful novel that deals with such topics as gender relationships, the formation of governing bodies, personal freedom, and eating disorders, specifically, bulimia. Buckell strives to deliver a book that is both profoundly entertaining and deeply thought provoking--an ideal more entertainers should work for. And the great thing is he succeeds. It's very easy to read Sly Mongoose on just a pure adventure-novel level and then put down to find yourself thinking about really serious and pertinent topics, which is what great fiction should do.
The story takes place on the planet of Chilo. Pepper, the sly mongoose man from the earlier books, has just returned to the region of space controlled by the human faction based on the planet New Anegada. He had ventured out of the space to witness the execution of what was believed to be the last of the Satraps--a repressive alien species that has subjugated humans and other species for quite a while. Unfortunately, one satrap has escaped the purge of their one-time subjects and is hiding on Chilo. So its former subjects have sent a weapon to destroy their former dark overlord. And it's a virus that turns people into zombies (quite literally).
Pepper finds himself fighting off the zombies, trying to save the inhabitants of Chilo from death. He's assisted by two teens, Timas and Katerina, who are from two very different cultures. Timas is from a group who are very technologically backwards and xenophobic (for good reason), and Katerina is a living avatar of the ultimate democracy. They don't live on the planet, per se, but rather above it. See, Chilo's uninhabitable on the surface due to severe heat, pressure, and a poisonous atmosphere. So its citizens live in scientifically plausible floating cities. The two teens work with Pepper to convince their clashing cultures to work together to defeat the zombie horde. It's a thrill ride filled with sword fights, air ships, pirates, blood, guts, and ichor.
But the neatest thing about SLY MONGOOSE is the fact that it isn't just a top notch action novel. It's also a very thoughtful novel that deals with such topics as gender relationships, the formation of governing bodies, personal freedom, and eating disorders, specifically, bulimia. Buckell strives to deliver a book that is both profoundly entertaining and deeply thought provoking--an ideal more entertainers should work for. And the great thing is he succeeds. It's very easy to read Sly Mongoose on just a pure adventure-novel level and then put down to find yourself thinking about really serious and pertinent topics, which is what great fiction should do.
