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Space Cops #2
Kill Station
Duane, Diane and Peter Morwood, Kill Space Cops
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1992
69 people want to read
About the author
Diane Duane
167 books2,416 followersDiane Duane has been a writer of science fiction, fantasy, TV and film for more than forty years.
Besides the 1980's creation of the Young Wizards fantasy series for which she's best known, the "Middle Kingdoms" epic fantasy series, and numerous stand-alone fantasy or science fiction novels, her career has included extensive work in the Star Trek TM universe, and many scripts for live-action and animated TV series on both sides of the Atlantic, as well as work in comics and computer games. She has spent a fair amount of time on the New York Times Bestseller List, and has picked up various awards and award nominations here and there.
She lives in County Wicklow, in Ireland, with her husband of more than thirty years, the screenwriter and novelist Peter Morwood.
Her favorite color is blue, her favorite food is a weird kind of Swiss scrambled-potato dish called maluns, she was born in a Year of the Dragon, and her sign is "Runway 24 Left, Hold For Clearance."
(From her official website)
Besides the 1980's creation of the Young Wizards fantasy series for which she's best known, the "Middle Kingdoms" epic fantasy series, and numerous stand-alone fantasy or science fiction novels, her career has included extensive work in the Star Trek TM universe, and many scripts for live-action and animated TV series on both sides of the Atlantic, as well as work in comics and computer games. She has spent a fair amount of time on the New York Times Bestseller List, and has picked up various awards and award nominations here and there.
She lives in County Wicklow, in Ireland, with her husband of more than thirty years, the screenwriter and novelist Peter Morwood.
Her favorite color is blue, her favorite food is a weird kind of Swiss scrambled-potato dish called maluns, she was born in a Year of the Dragon, and her sign is "Runway 24 Left, Hold For Clearance."
(From her official website)
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 14, 2020
Kill Station is what you get when you combine a buddy cop movie and a sci-fi space opera. It's Bad Boys meets The Expanse, and I loved every minute of it! Officers Evan Glyndower and Joss O'Bannion of the Solar Patrol (the law enforcement agency that operates in outer space, or as the book's back cover says, "where atmosphere ends") investigate a suspicious number of ship disappearances out in the asteroid belt, in what I found to be a hilarious and surprisingly captivating story.
At times the plot is a lot more convoluted than it needs to be, and the editing in this book is amongst the worst I have ever seen, but those things can't take away too much from what is otherwise an incredibly fun, action-packed adventure that is every bit as enjoyable as any of the popular sci-fi series currently running (e.g. The Murderbot Diaries, The Expanse). Unfortunately there were only ever three books published in this series, and they are all out of print now. That being said, if you can find a copy at your local used book store, Kill Station is definitely worth checking out.
Highly recommended!
At times the plot is a lot more convoluted than it needs to be, and the editing in this book is amongst the worst I have ever seen, but those things can't take away too much from what is otherwise an incredibly fun, action-packed adventure that is every bit as enjoyable as any of the popular sci-fi series currently running (e.g. The Murderbot Diaries, The Expanse). Unfortunately there were only ever three books published in this series, and they are all out of print now. That being said, if you can find a copy at your local used book store, Kill Station is definitely worth checking out.
Highly recommended!
October 29, 2022
HELL YES.
That could be the whole review, because really, what more needs to be said? Kill Station has all the high points of its predecessor, Mind Blast. It's a high-octane but surprisingly realistic sci-fi procedural/action. It's a great book that deserves a vastly higher profile.
But do I have some quibbles? Sure. Spoilers for the finale :
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1) "the heroes have to take on impossible odds because political considerations have prevented their boss from providing backup" is a classic trope of the genre (heck, of several genres). In this case, however, the odds are extremely and the political considerations seem kinda weak. I have a hard time buying that their boss would really do so little to help.
2) this didn't become apparent to me until after I re-read Space Cops 3, but both books have the same issue - the final bad guy kinda comes out of nowhere. In Kill Station, the book is focused on figuring out what's going on - the "who" and "why" receive virtually no build-up. Space Cops 3 has a very similar problem that I'll discuss in that review.
3) Mind Blast is a fairly timeless book, whereas Kill Station is very much an identifiable product of the late '80s/early '90s. That's when Japan seemed like it would inevitably surpass the West, western culture developed an infatuation with Japanese culture, and some Americans freaked the hell out about it. Kill Station isn't part of that racist backlash, but it does play with some of the tropes. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it does very much pin down the era when this was written.
That could be the whole review, because really, what more needs to be said? Kill Station has all the high points of its predecessor, Mind Blast. It's a high-octane but surprisingly realistic sci-fi procedural/action. It's a great book that deserves a vastly higher profile.
But do I have some quibbles? Sure. Spoilers for the finale :
*
*
*
1) "the heroes have to take on impossible odds because political considerations have prevented their boss from providing backup" is a classic trope of the genre (heck, of several genres). In this case, however, the odds are extremely and the political considerations seem kinda weak. I have a hard time buying that their boss would really do so little to help.
2) this didn't become apparent to me until after I re-read Space Cops 3, but both books have the same issue - the final bad guy kinda comes out of nowhere. In Kill Station, the book is focused on figuring out what's going on - the "who" and "why" receive virtually no build-up. Space Cops 3 has a very similar problem that I'll discuss in that review.
3) Mind Blast is a fairly timeless book, whereas Kill Station is very much an identifiable product of the late '80s/early '90s. That's when Japan seemed like it would inevitably surpass the West, western culture developed an infatuation with Japanese culture, and some Americans freaked the hell out about it. Kill Station isn't part of that racist backlash, but it does play with some of the tropes. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it does very much pin down the era when this was written.
April 14, 2019
A competent and entertaining police procedural...IN SPACE!
July 17, 2023
This time, the Solar Patrol officers Joss and Evan have been assigned a new little ship for transport, investigation, et cetera. It has a brig for prisoners, a sensor suite they had upgraded, and weapons upgrades that they quietly asked for and their boss pointedly ignored. Evan had his suit reworked and is polishing the ablative armor with great care. They will need both of them on this assignment: discover why more than the usual people are going missing the last three months in the asteroid belts. There isn't any help coming from Space Forces as they will be tied up with the preparations for the opening of the new L5. Attempts on their lives ensue promptly. The resolution is surprising and disgusting.
This book is very readable and evenly paced, but you expect that with this pair of authors.
This book is very readable and evenly paced, but you expect that with this pair of authors.
March 19, 2021
Still a favorite bit of SF, in the best sort of fluff violence sort of way.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews