Review of Outlanders; Infinity Breach
By James Axler
The latest book in the Outlanders series, set in the early twenty third century, finds a trio of explorers/adventurers; ex magistrates Kane and Grant and Brigid Baptiste (an archivist with an eidetic memory), who are working for the benevolent Cerberus Organisation in pursuit of an ancient Annunaki artefact, the stone knife `Godkiller'. This mysterious weapon turns out to have been sequestered in "the secret laboratory of Abraham Flag". The fact that this `Laboratory of the Incredible' is hidden deep within the Antarctic circle is the first clue to which well known 1930s pulp hero has been used as the template for the eponymous Abraham Flag. (Similar to `Doc Atlas' in Michael A Black's Melody of Vengeance which I reviewed last year... for those of you who bother to follow my reviews.)
Beware Spoilers follow!
Indeed, like that novel, `Infinity Breach' is a homage, both stylistically and literally, to the pulp era with a good proportion of the novel being told in flashbacks detailing the contretemps between Dr. Flag and exotic Italian femme fatale Signorina Demy Octavo (Geddit?) during which the devastating power of this Star God weapon is first awakened. There are also brief, tantalising glimpses in the back stories of several powerful relics and artefacts in Flag's museum-like fortress. A museum, the team soon discover, that still has the 250 year-old superman in residence, albeit frozen in a state of Cryogenic suspension. Their acquisition of the `Godkiller' artefact is complicated by the unfortunate arrival of a bunch of well armed mercenaries belonging to the rival Millennial Consortium led by another dominant femme fatale whose fine figure Axler once again goes into some detail delineating. Heated competition for the Godknife ensures before the weapon's power is once again accidentally unleashed. The muti-dimensional blade "cutting into the body of God!" creates an injury in the fabric of reality and initiates the arrival of shimmering beatific angels. However, these ethereal beings turn out to be both disconcertingly indestructible and determined to eradicate all humans whose DNA has been corrupted by the alien Annunaki... even if that means exterminating every human being on the planet.. Purely out of love of course.
Towards the end of the novel Flag is hurriedly defrosted in the hope that he can help shed some light on the whole situation. He immediately takes over... figuratively as well as literally by virtue of instantly becoming the most interesting character in the novel (this one of the problems with using these `Doc Savage' type characters; they do tend to hog the limelight and become the main focus of the story.) The unflappable 250 year-old adventurer soon uses fairly basic science to defuse the threat of the annihilating angels in such calm, competent way that you do start to wonder why everybody else seemed to be getting so worried and het up merely by bunch of hovering unstoppable angels who slowly and agonisingly disintegrate you from the feet up.
Axler's style reminds me a great deal of the adventure - si/fi author Phillip José Farmer. Not only in his utilisation of Doc Savage as a character, but also because of his confident grasp of story pace. Not too much dialogue, and just enough descriptive detail to allow you to build up a picture of what the characters look like and what the surrounding scenery is like without slowing down the story. Alxler uses the story to explore some Big concepts, (some similar to recent Dr Who plot developments I notice.) whilst at the same time including various fight scenes, (and there are a lot of action set pieces in this novel.) which become clearer and more kinetic and with every read. (Again something reminiscent of Farmer.) Which makes the novel one you can dip into again and enjoy more the second time around than the first? So, in summation, James Axler; a modern day Phillip José Farmer?... There are worse things to be called.:
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