The Inheritors (1972) He was a cunning, ruthless opportunist who paid when he had to and stole when he could - but never whan there was the slightest chance of getting caught. That's what had John Grimes worried: here was Kane directly under the watchful eyes - and guns - of a Federation Survey v...
The usual ABC magic! I rate it 4 rather than 5 because I don't find the writing style that neat or transparent - I'm aware of it at all times, although it IS a page turner. What I love about ABC is the depth and breadth of the fictional universe he has created - as seen from the 1970s. Like me he...
Slowly, careful not to break the contact of the magnetized soles of his shoes with the deck, he shuffled backwards and forwards in the narrow confines of the control room. Captain Daintree, commanding officer of the cruiser Aries, was a martinet, and one of the many things that he would not toler...
Grimes did not like Fenella Pruin. Their de jure relationship was that of charterer’s representative and Owner-Master of the vessel under charter. Their de facto relationship was that of employer and servant. Grimes, bound by the terms of the charter party did as he was told and Miss Pruin did th...
Their signaling equipment—both physical and parapsychological—was useless, as were their navigational instruments. There was nobody to talk to, nothing to take a fix on. Presumably they were still falling free (through what?)—still, thanks to the temporal precession fields of the Drive, proceedin...
The scientist was unchanged, as irascible as ever. He demanded, “What is going on here, Commander Grimes? A dawn attack on our world by a Federation warship—” “Our world, Doctor?” “Yes. I’m married now, and I resigned my commission, and applied for citizenship.” “You resigned your commission?” “M...
After the meal and a brief smoke Grimes suggested that they get in a supply of fresh water. There were buckets available; there were some large empty plastic bins that could be filled. Sanchez volunteered to do the actual bucket filling and insisted that it was his duty. While he stooped on the r...