God Emperor of Didcot »

Toby Frost has written film reviews for the book The DVD Stack and articles for Solander magazine.

Tea . . . a beverage brewed from the fermented dried leaves of the shrub Camelli sinensis and imbibed by all the great civilizations in the galaxy's history; a source of refreshment, stimulation, and, above all else, of moral fiber—without which the British Space Empire must surely crumble to leave Earth at the mercy of its enemies. Sixty percent of the Empire's tea is grown on one world—Urn, principal planet of the Didcot system. If Earth is to keep fighting, the tea must flow! When a crazed cult leader overthrows the government of Urn, Isambard Smith and his vaguely competent crew find themselves saddled with new allies—a legion of tea-obsessed nomads, an overly-civilized alien horde. and a commando unit so elite that it has only five members. Only together can they defeat the self-proclaimed God Emperor of Didcot and confront the true power behind the coup—the sinister legions of the Ghast Empire and Smith's old enemy, Commander 462.

Publishers Weekly

Frost follows the characters from 2009's Space Captain Smith as the battle for galactic domination focuses on the planet Urn, which provides the majority of the galaxy's tea, source of the British Space Empire's moral fiber (or fibre) and strength. Isambard Smith and the alien Suruk the Slayer forge an alliance between Suruk's people and the British Empire to reclaim Urn, and more importantly, tea. To free the planet, they must battle the Ghast battle leader 462 and the human religious fundamentalist Johnny Gilead, who have created a messianic figure to rule Urn as a figurehead. Although part of a series, this outing stands on its own. Frost's attempts at comedy often detract from his intriguing story and characters, but aliens and strange societies build a pleasantly old-fashioned space opera atmosphere.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.