What do you think?
Rate this book
5 Star 5 #3
Five Star Five: The Battle for Kestra
THE THE FUTURE
THE THE UNIVERSE
As the Zargons prepare their last, desperate attempt to invade their enemy planet, John Lovell and his gang of misfits stand accused of acts of terror on Kestran soil.
With a new President in place, the ‘Five Star Five’ are forced underground before they can confront the enemy within and thwart the Zargons' plans.
The third release in the Five Star Five series completing the trilogy. A novelisation by Richard James following John Lovell and the Zargon Threat, an original 1978 feature script by Gerry Anderson and Tony Barwick, and The Doomsday Device by Richard James.
THE THE UNIVERSE
As the Zargons prepare their last, desperate attempt to invade their enemy planet, John Lovell and his gang of misfits stand accused of acts of terror on Kestran soil.
With a new President in place, the ‘Five Star Five’ are forced underground before they can confront the enemy within and thwart the Zargons' plans.
The third release in the Five Star Five series completing the trilogy. A novelisation by Richard James following John Lovell and the Zargon Threat, an original 1978 feature script by Gerry Anderson and Tony Barwick, and The Doomsday Device by Richard James.
162 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 7, 2024
1 person want to read
About the author
Richard James
20 books20 followersI've been telling stories all my life. As an actor I've spent a career telling other people's, from Charles Dickens to David Walliams. As I writer, I get to create my own!
I have written almost thirty plays which are produced the world over; from USA to New Zealand and just about everywhere in between. They're mostly comedies and frequently win awards in competitions and festivals.
In 2014 I wrote a memoir, Space Precinct Unmasked, detailing my experiences working as an actor on Gerry Anderson's last live action sci-fi series. This was followed by an adaptation of the unscreened pilot episode, Demeter City, and four new short stories featuring the officers of Precinct 88, Space Precinct: Revisited.
As to my own series, I decided I wanted to write a sequence of books set in a world I would want to spend time in and featuring characters I would want to be with. Most importantly, it would have to feature a grisly murder or two! I love the Victorian era. It seems such a rich period of history, populated by some hugely colourful characters, so that is where we first meet Detective Inspector George Bowman.
The Head In The Ice is the first in the Bowman Of The Yard series and follows Bowman's investigation into the discovery of - well, a head in the ice of the River Thames. Over the course of the book, however, and throughout the series in general, we see he has demons of his own to contend with.
There are four books in the Bowman Of The Yard series in all, together with some short stories from Bowman's Casebook. These have been collected into two volumes and fill in the gaps between the novels, giving the reader the chance to follow Bowman's professional progress and personal battles (he's a troubled man, as you'll see) over twelve months of his life.
'A masterful new Victorian mystery series.' Rosie Amber books
'A genuinely impressive debut.' Andrew Cartmel
'Full of the thrills of Victorian London.' Adam Croft
I really hope you like the books. If you do, you can tweet me your thoughts at @RichardNJames. I hope to hear from you!
Richard James
2019
www.richardjamesonline.com
I have written almost thirty plays which are produced the world over; from USA to New Zealand and just about everywhere in between. They're mostly comedies and frequently win awards in competitions and festivals.
In 2014 I wrote a memoir, Space Precinct Unmasked, detailing my experiences working as an actor on Gerry Anderson's last live action sci-fi series. This was followed by an adaptation of the unscreened pilot episode, Demeter City, and four new short stories featuring the officers of Precinct 88, Space Precinct: Revisited.
As to my own series, I decided I wanted to write a sequence of books set in a world I would want to spend time in and featuring characters I would want to be with. Most importantly, it would have to feature a grisly murder or two! I love the Victorian era. It seems such a rich period of history, populated by some hugely colourful characters, so that is where we first meet Detective Inspector George Bowman.
The Head In The Ice is the first in the Bowman Of The Yard series and follows Bowman's investigation into the discovery of - well, a head in the ice of the River Thames. Over the course of the book, however, and throughout the series in general, we see he has demons of his own to contend with.
There are four books in the Bowman Of The Yard series in all, together with some short stories from Bowman's Casebook. These have been collected into two volumes and fill in the gaps between the novels, giving the reader the chance to follow Bowman's professional progress and personal battles (he's a troubled man, as you'll see) over twelve months of his life.
'A masterful new Victorian mystery series.' Rosie Amber books
'A genuinely impressive debut.' Andrew Cartmel
'Full of the thrills of Victorian London.' Adam Croft
I really hope you like the books. If you do, you can tweet me your thoughts at @RichardNJames. I hope to hear from you!
Richard James
2019
www.richardjamesonline.com
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
April 19, 2025
The Battle For Kestra , is Richard James’s third novel, in his Five Star Five trilogy, based on a long lost , Gerry Anderson script, for a Sy-fi movie , inspired by 1977’s Star Wars , at the time, which almost came to fruition, but fell at the final hurdle
There is also , a slight Guardians Of The Galaxy vibe when it comes to our group of disparate, heroic characters, defending the planet Kestra , against the evil , neighbouring Zargon empire, who have threatened the Kestrians throughout this entertaining series of books
The planetary landscape in which these stories are based, seems very Star Wars ( ish ) as does the artwork on the books dust covers
If this all sounds slightly derivative, it didn’t bother me at all , because in this case , a I’m a big fan of Richard Jame’s other books, from the Anderson universe, as well as his own series of Victorian detective novels, Bowman Of The Yard
Although the bulk of the readers for this book, and the others , will be Gerry Anderson fans , I feel the subject matter, length , and artwork in these books, would be ideal for kids , and young adults, who want to dip their toes into Sy-fi , and reading in general, as the authors writing style, and the exciting subject matter, could hopefully draw in , a new audience , for Richard James , Gerry Anderson, and for the world of books in general
There is also , a slight Guardians Of The Galaxy vibe when it comes to our group of disparate, heroic characters, defending the planet Kestra , against the evil , neighbouring Zargon empire, who have threatened the Kestrians throughout this entertaining series of books
The planetary landscape in which these stories are based, seems very Star Wars ( ish ) as does the artwork on the books dust covers
If this all sounds slightly derivative, it didn’t bother me at all , because in this case , a I’m a big fan of Richard Jame’s other books, from the Anderson universe, as well as his own series of Victorian detective novels, Bowman Of The Yard
Although the bulk of the readers for this book, and the others , will be Gerry Anderson fans , I feel the subject matter, length , and artwork in these books, would be ideal for kids , and young adults, who want to dip their toes into Sy-fi , and reading in general, as the authors writing style, and the exciting subject matter, could hopefully draw in , a new audience , for Richard James , Gerry Anderson, and for the world of books in general
Displaying 1 of 1 review