Gates of Hell
by Susan Sizemore
Reviewed by: Lisa
Mahon
review: 5 stars
A plague is spreading
like wildfire across the various galaxies in Susan Gilmore's "Gates
of Hell". Known as Sagouran Fever, it is one hundred percent lethal
and the one drug that helps alleviate the symptoms and prolong life,
Rust, is highly addictive, and more frightening to those who suffer
the disease, scarce.
Pyr, a pirate and
Captain of the ship Raptor suffers from the fever himself and is trying
with everything he has to hide this and his increasing weakness from
his crew. On a dual quest, he searches for his son Axylel as well as
the main supplier of the deadly Rust. However, he quickly finds fighting
the disease that eats away at him is easy compared to the various warring
factions he must deal with in order to get information on the whereabouts
of both.
Dr. Roxanne Merkrates
is a physician and wife of the Captain of the ship Tigris. She is also
Koltiri. A telempathic race known for its miraculous healing abilities,
she leaves the ship and a marriage that is crumbling at best, in order
to help heal those with Sagouran Fever. But when she and her brother-in-law,
Dr. Martin Braithwaite get caught up in a raid by those who would kill
for the drug Rust, she finds herself fighting for her own life as well.
When Pyr's men
take over the ship on which Roxanne and Martin have been taken, she
finds herself in the middle of something bigger than any of them could
have ever imagined. In a race against time, Roxanne and Pyr must deal
not only with an attraction towards each other that is stronger than
either has known, but must find who started the spread of the disease,
and stop it before it destroys every living thing.
Fast paced and
incredibly imaginative, Susan Sizemore's "Gates of Hell" is a sci-fi
novel of the highest order. Not only a very intense read, but fun as
well as she throws in bits and pieces of other places in time that make
the characters very true to life. (I won't tell you what they are -
that would ruin it.) A definite must read! Title: Gates of Hell
Lisa Mahon © 2000
Review from: Crescent
Blues
Reviewed by:Jean
Marie Ward
Sit down, buckle-up,
and make sure the life-support systems can operate on automatic, because
once you start your trip through "The Gates of Hell," you won't be able
to stop until the book is done.
Self-described
space pirate Pyr -- captain of the Raptor and, to his chagrin, more
famous for his headgear than his bad-ass attitude -- ran into a problem
on his way to save a major portion of the known universe. Someone kidnapped
Pyr's son. Pyr suspects a major Bucon drug dealer. Unfortunately, Pyr
knows so many.
Equally unfortunate:
Pyr and his crew need most of these dealers alive. Exposed to the deadly
plague ravaging the planets bordering the Rose Nebula, Pyr and his shipmates
can only survive by ingesting regular doses of the highly addictive,
personality altering drug called "Rust." Then, just to make things more
interesting, the high priest of a local death cult arranges to inject
Pyr with a slow acting, irreversible poison.
On a plague-ridden
planet not so far away, empathic healer and trained physician Roxanne
Merkrates struggles to find a cause and cure for the plague. But powerful
factions don't want Roxy or anyone to discover a cure. Even the help
of Martin Braithwaite, the second most dangerous man alive, may not
prove enough to save her. She just might need Pyr as much as he needs
her.
Anyone with a taste
for intelligent space opera, ala Lois McMasters Bujold, will love Gates
of Hell. Strong, appealing central characters with smart mouths and
equally good brains lead the reader through the breathless twists and
turns of a plot within a conspiracy wrapped inside a secret.
Sizemore keeps the
science light but consistent. She never makes any of the boners that
frequently mar science fiction novels that emphasize futuristic adventure
over hard science. At the same time, Sizemore delivers a sizzling romance
made all the more delicious by the lovers' patently futile attempts
to avoid it.
Finally, Sizemore
even finds a way to make basketball metaphors relevant. Speaking as
a founding member of the All Team Sports Avoidance League, that takes
talent. Luckily Sizemore -- like her characters -- has talent to spare.
Review from: SF
Site
Reviewed by: Lisa DuMond
Ask most people
about the Spanish Influenza pandemic of 1918 and you will probably get
a blank stare. Tell them that approximately twenty million people worldwide
died in the epedemic and you may get shock and disbelief. In the era
of Aids, the dangers of other diseases seem to pale in comparison. Imagine
something with the lethality of the 1918 flu, but spread across galaxies.
Suddenly, the astounding loss of twenty million lives becomes a drop
in the bucket.
The killer in Gates
of Hell is the Sagouran plague. Survival rate: zero. Cure: none.
Treatment: lifelong addiction to the drug Rust. It’s a
disaster massive enough to mobilize the forces of every civilization
under the threat of contagion. A medical emergency that merits the involvement
of the koltiri, the god-like telempathic healers of Koltirah and the
most revered race in the known universe.
A koltiri is beyond
price at any time, but never more valuable and sought-after than during
the time of plague. The “possession” of Roxanne, a koltiri
physician, is something people are willing to kill
for. For the time being, she is the captive and property of Pyr, a space
pirate with a nasty reputation. What, exactly, he intends to do with
the healer is difficult to predict. What others will do to obtain her
is limitless.
What develops between
them is inevitable from their first meeting.
Susan Sizemore
is no stranger to the publishing industry; she has written numerous
romances, dabbled in horror, but this is her first science fiction novel.
There is plenty of scifi in Gates of Hell, but make no mistake about
it -- this book still has the sensibilities of a romance. Nothing wrong
with that, just be aware before you jump into the book. It will not
be to everyone’s taste.
Some readers will
be disturbed by the pattern of Pyr and Roxanne’s relationship.
It is impossible to ignore the intimations of Stockholm Syndrome in
the plot. The concept of the irresistible kidnapper is one that is not
exclusive to the romance genre, but recurs with uncomfortable frequency.
A romance that tolerates violence -- no matter how “dashing”
the hero -- is a cause for concern.
And be aware: there
is violence and suffering aplenty in Gates of Hell. Strangely,
there is little portrayal of the symptoms of the plague;
victims are usually considerate enough to die offscreen before
the medicos arrive.
The concept of
a universal pandemic is a frightening, fertile device to build a space
opera around. Sizemore’s characters are strongly drawn and interesting,
if not precisely lovable. Her ear for dialogue makes for some intense
verbal encounters. Her setting, on the boundary of one system and the
vast mystery of another, offers ample opportunities for
further adventures with Roxanne and Pyr, or any number of the characters
in Gates of Hell.
You probably already
know whether Gates of Hell is for you or not. Just use
your best judgement -- you know I trust you.
Review from: BookBrowser
Reviewed by: Harriet Klausner
The Black Plague
that scorched Europe in the Middle Ages seems so minor now when compared
to the Sagouran Plague that is wrecking havoc across the entire galaxy.
The two known cures of the disease are death and Rust, an illegal, very
scarce substance that is extremely addicting.
Pirate Captain
Pyr is slowly dying from the disease. He desperately searches for Rust
before his small crew learns he is dying and prematurely dispatches
him to the afterlife.
United Systems
Military Service Medical Officer Roxanne Shirah
Merkrates is a special physician. She is a Koliri healer who may be
the only person capable of finding a cure for the deadly Sagouran Plague.
However, slavers who care only for a profit have captured her. Pyr rescues
her and they join forces to save a galaxy and stop those groups conspiring
to keep this malignant mess thriving. They also find time to explore
their mutual attraction to one another.
Highly renowned
by romance genre fans, Susan Sizemore proves she has a wider talent
as she writes a fast-paced, exciting science fiction thriller. The story
line is fun, entertaining, and not overwhelmed by scientific vernacular
or technology defying the laws of physics. Like the author's romances,
the cast makes the novel. The lead couple is understandable and heroic,
falling in love despite their own reluctance to do so and the lack of
quality time to explore their feelings. The support characters make
the universe seem real as they add the needed depth. Readers who desire
deep scientific explanations to the wonders of the universe should search
elsewhere. Those fans that gain pleasure from an in your character driven
work of SF will find the GATES OF HELL pure nirvana.
Review from: Midnight
Scribe Reviews
Reviewed by: Jewel Dartt
A deadly plague is sweeping the galaxy, planet by planet. There is no
cure, only a drug that makes a person immune--at the cost of a lifetime
of addiction.
Pyr, a renegade pirate just may be able to find a better solution, if
he can convince, Roxanne Shirah Merkrates, a woman who is his enemy
to save him before he dies of a poison slowly destroying his body. Only
Pry and Roxanne can stop this deadly disease, but they must risk everything
they believe in to end this deadly disease. Will they be able to do
it?
I found Gates Of
Hell to be an enjoyable read. If you like reading Sci-fi Futuristic
with a dash of romance thrown in the mix, then buy this book! Gates
Of Hell deserves 3 ½ stars
Review from: Affaire
de Coeur
Reviewed by: Rickey Mallory
"Susan Sizemore
writes with sweeping, galactic action, while taking her readers inside
the characters' heads. The combination results in supremely satisfying
science fiction in Gates of Hell. Ms. Sizemore proves yet again that
her talent is of galactic proportions. Speculation Press has excellent
taste."
Review from: www.charlotteaustinreview.com
Revieweed by Rachel A Hyde
If you are a romance
reader then Susan Sizemore needs no introduction but if SF is more you
bag - especially the ever-popular space opera - here is a book than
combines the two. Roxanne Shirah Merkrates is something little short
of a goddess; immortal (or something not far off) and possessing a telempathic
ability to heal and even rejuvenate sick people. She is half human and
half Koltiri and works as a medical officer in the United Systems Military
Service; her husband is the captain of the ship she is serving on. Sagouran
plague is devastating its way across the galaxy and the only treatment
is an illegal drug called Rust so Roxy is sent to help in her own unique
way. But she is captured and ends up in the hands of a pirate captain
who needs healing himself after having been poisoned by a fanatical
priestess of a death cult. Captain Pyr of the Raptor is everything her
husband is not - can they save the universe and find the happiness that
they both seek at the same time?
Romance, sex, pirates,
starship crews, strange exotic aliens…it's all here in an admirably
taut book. Fans of Anne McCaffrey will enjoy it as it embodies the same
mixture of space action and fantasy but with the added dimension of
a love story. Parts of the background were rather sketchy in places
and at times I had the feeling that I had jumped into a series at about
book three - some things are never fully explained and this is a pity.
But overall I was gripped and the story rushed along with plenty going
on and if there is going to be another in the series then I would certainly
want to read it.
