Chris Roberson, Paragaea

Paragaea

Chris Roberson

PYR, May 2006, $15.00

ISBN: 1591024447

In the 1960s Soviet cosmonaut Akilena "Leena" Chirikova orbits the Earth in her Vostok 7 rocket ship when a hole suddenly opens up in her path. Her ship goes through the portal and when she exits on the other side she crashes on an orb she later learns is called Paragaea. Leena leaves the vessel, but rather quickly jaguar men attack and capture her. Before she can figure out how to escape, another jaguar man Balam and his human companion Heironymous "Hero" Bonaventure rescue her.

Hero explains to Leena that he was a British naval lieutenant during the Napoleonic Wars before falling through an opening and ending up on Paragaea. He further explains that the planet includes several sentient species including humans and "metamankind" such as the jaguar-men called Sinaa. Balam is a royal who hopes to reclaim the Sinaa throne from his traitorous cousins Finally Hero explains no one knows how to return to earth because almost everyone believes earth is a myth. Still Leena wants to go home so Hero and Balam escort her on a quest to find the portal back to earth.

Combining an old fashion series of cliffhangers within modern astrophysical theories, Chris Roberson fashions a terrific science fiction thriller that hooks readers from the moment Leena realizes this isn't earth anymore. The action-packed story line never slows down as the displaced heroine gets in and out of one predicament after another with the help of her two comrades and several additional members of a variety of sentient species that join her quest. With humor and a strong cast that make Paragaea and its residences seem real, thriller fans who appreciate the offbeat will want to join Leena's trek to find a way back home.

Harriet Klausner