By Mezieres & Christin
Publisher: Cinebook
ISBN: 9781849181525
Valerian and Laureline have crash landed on a planetoid and although they've survived they are in dire straits and making the best of it in an inflatable raft. What's quickly apparent is that they are far from the first to have crashed here as they stumble upon a spaceship cemetery before falling foul of a huge waterfall. Fortunately they're rescued by the crew of a boat trawling for algae but are soon put to work beneath skies filled with flying creatures that the crew describe as the Birds of Madness. Valerian and Laureline learn that the birds serve the Master and keep his will, which appears to be the constant production of foodstuffs to sate his appetite. This enormous hunger leaves little for the workers that the Master tricks into his service by forcing their craft to ditch on the world.
There is little desire for an uprising because to defy the Master means a terrible visit from the Birds of Madness, but one inhabitant Valerian and Laureline befriend does have the passion to rise up, and when he does they back him up but only for them all to be cast into a pit with others considered to be trouble. From here Valerian and Laureline organise an escape, taking many from the pit with them, where they are pursued into the Master's private domain. It's from here they must confront the Master and secure freedom for themselves and the planetoid's populace.
It's easy to see why these stories were so popular when first published and why the series has stood the test of time. Mezieres and Christin think big and use the potential possibilities of a rich and plentiful galaxy to place Valerian and Laureline in strange and exotic locations. This is a very different approach to sci-fi than Cinebook's Aldebaran series which is much more about exploration, discovery and wonder, while this is about action, adventure and scale.
It's also got a sense of humour, albeit a gentle one, and doesn't take itself too seriously, so you'll have a few wry smiles while reading it, particularly when it comes to the ending. I wasn't initially convinced I'd like these books, but they're solid adventure tales well told and each one has been a welcome surprise – roll on the next one.
And if you liked that: Volume 6 is out soon.
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