, and Roc Books is already publishing the sequel. That’s a good thing; because Beyond Varallan ($6.99 paperback) features an engaging lead character and a story that’s even better than the first book.
Dr. Cherijo Grey Veil is both a talented doctor and a genetic construct on the run from her creators. At the end of Stardoc, she had found a home among the alien Jorenians, who have offered her a place aboard their gigantic wandering starship, the Starlace.
Beyond Varallan picks up from there, following Cherijo as she settles into her new life among a race of seven-foot-tall blue-skinned aliens. Her hands are already full learning the Jorenians’ customs and defining her relationships with the other doctors aboard the Starlace, but Viehl throws in some complications to keep her busy.
For example, the League of Worlds has put a bounty on Cherijo’s head, and the Starlace is constantly running from
attacks. There's also a killer on board the ship, using a weapon that nobody can identify.
Everything but the Star Wars cantina band
As is typical for novels about journeys, the plot is fairly loose. As the Starlace returns to its homeworld, Cherijo faces a variety of medical crises, visits several planets and encounters plenty of unusual aliens.
Viehl’s spaceways are teeming with life, and she’s got a talent for presenting strange but reasonable aliens. In this book, we get closer looks at the more interesting races of Stardoc and meet several new species, including the squid-like Dr. Squilyp, who steals most of the scenes he is in.
The individual alien characters are also getting more entertaining. The characters in Stardoc weren’t bad, but the ones in Beyond Varallan are more varied, less stereotypical, and more likely to change over the course of the novel.
The plot is also more carefully planned than it seems to be. It may be episodic, but Viehl skillfully weaves in the clues to build a murder mystery with several surprising ramifications.
The only element worth complaining about is the ending. Like Stardoc , Beyond Varallan ends in a cliffhanger -- the last two chapters exist primarily to put Cherijo is a dire situation and set up the next book.
Hopefully Roc will bring the third volume out soon -- Cherijo Grey Veil’s adventures are worth following.
