The Clouds of Magellan — David F. Nighbert

From Publishers WeeklyThe sequel to Nighbert's Timelapse shares the earlier novel's fast pace and light humor. Dr. Albert Samuels has learned that the gigantic Wheel, a mysterious alien artifact, provides an instantaneous gateway to a world in the distant Magellanic Clouds. Hoping to contact the Wheel's alien Builders and establish friendly relations, Samuels invites Anton Stryker and friends to join him on a trip through the device. Meanwhile, the evil Isaac DeKoven wants to use the Wheel to escape the jaws of intergalactic justice--and the race is on. Stryker and company marvel at the Builders' massive space structures and meet other exotic aliens. As they try to thwart DeKoven's attempts to sway the aliens to his side, they also wonder if the Builders' friendliness is too good to be true. Although the plot and characters, both human and alien, are relentlessly conventional (his tree-spider people are as irritatingly cute as George Lucas's teddy-bear Ewoks), Nighbert's adventure delivers plenty of action on a grand scale.Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.From Library JournalA race through space to reach an alien artifact known as The Wheel pits arch-enemies Anton Stryker and Isaac DeKoven against each other in an all-out battle to control the future of humankind. This sequel to Timelapse ( LJ 8/88) blends time travel, alien races, clone technology, and an impossible romance in a heady mixture of space adventure on a grand scale. Recommended for purchase by most libraries.Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.From Kirkus ReviewsSequel to Nighbert's fine science-fiction debut, Timelapse (1988), featuring reformed cyborg assassin Anton Stryker, his ally Albert the mad scientist, and their foe, the evil doctor DeKoven. While Anton fights off the attack of Nemesis, a Stryker clone controlled by DeKoven, Albert discovers that the huge, mysterious alien artifact, the Wheel, is actually an instantaneous transporter. Eventually, they all journey through the Wheel to meet the pig-centipede-like Builders, a collective intelligence in dire need of Lebensraum. The Builders turn out to be treacherous but not really evil; Anton and Albert escape their clutches using Albert's suitcase-sized time machine; Anton later returns to free his beloved Lisbeth from the unwelcome attentions of DeKoven; and what had developed into a modestly intriguing human-alien confrontation settles into a routine shootout. With little of the inventiveness, exuberance, or wit of the original: a disappointing follow-up, despite the promising aliens. -- Copyright ?1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.