Yuletide Pimping (Or, why everyone needs to read the Quadrail Series)
In a nutshell: it’s film noir space opera centered around a space train with a boatload of cool alien species, conspiracies, mysteries, and enemies forced to work together who form a deep friendship.
In less of a nutshell: The Quadrail Series follows Frank Compton, a disgraced government agent, who is hired by the aliens who run the Quadrail allowing transportation around the galaxy to investigate a threat known as the Modhri. The Modhri, it turns out, is a parasitic hive mind coral out to infect everyone he can get his metaphorical hands on-and the Quadrail is the perfect way to do it. With the help of Bayta, the mysterious woman his employers assigned to him, Compton fights the Modhri and slowly discovers an even larger threat.
If you’re a fan of Timothy Zahn from his Star Wars books, you know that he’s great at writing interesting, competent characters; here, he’s created a really cool universe. It actually feels a lot like Mass Effect with the variety of species that feel really alien, the mysterious galactic transportation central to the series, and the whole unironic space opera atmosphere. The addition of film noir makes for some really, really fun plots-there’s a train mystery! In space! With alien biologies and sci-fi weaponry and a hive mind all playing a part!
And if you’re as big a fan of the Enemy Mine trope (enemies forced to work together for a common goal) as I am, then you need to read this series right now. In fine tradition of Zahn villains, the Modhri is awesome-a hive mind that can be anyone, or everyone, makes for a creepily effective villain. But in the fourth book, said train mystery, the Modhri approaches Compton to say he didn’t murder this guy and he does not appreciate someone else murdering people without his knowing about it so will you solve this already? So they end up working together, and it looks to be turning into a tentative friendship-but then plot happens and it looks like their alliance may be off. And then there’s the fifth book. The one where it becomes clear the Modhri is lonely with only himself to talk to, where Compton’s opinion on the Modhri’s method of infection starts to matter to him, where they begin to deeply trust each other, when they friggin’ quote Casablanca at each other.
So everyone needs to read this series because I ship it so hard and you should too.
The series consists of five books: Night Train to Rigel, The Third Lynx, Odd Girl Out, The Domino Pattern, and Judgment at Proteus. I actually started with the second book and read the first one later, which was fine because I found the first one to be the weakest. The Enemy Mine relationship doesn’t start in earnest until The Domino Pattern, but you really should read the other books first to watch the story unfold.
Casablanca, man.
In less of a nutshell: The Quadrail Series follows Frank Compton, a disgraced government agent, who is hired by the aliens who run the Quadrail allowing transportation around the galaxy to investigate a threat known as the Modhri. The Modhri, it turns out, is a parasitic hive mind coral out to infect everyone he can get his metaphorical hands on-and the Quadrail is the perfect way to do it. With the help of Bayta, the mysterious woman his employers assigned to him, Compton fights the Modhri and slowly discovers an even larger threat.
If you’re a fan of Timothy Zahn from his Star Wars books, you know that he’s great at writing interesting, competent characters; here, he’s created a really cool universe. It actually feels a lot like Mass Effect with the variety of species that feel really alien, the mysterious galactic transportation central to the series, and the whole unironic space opera atmosphere. The addition of film noir makes for some really, really fun plots-there’s a train mystery! In space! With alien biologies and sci-fi weaponry and a hive mind all playing a part!
And if you’re as big a fan of the Enemy Mine trope (enemies forced to work together for a common goal) as I am, then you need to read this series right now. In fine tradition of Zahn villains, the Modhri is awesome-a hive mind that can be anyone, or everyone, makes for a creepily effective villain. But in the fourth book, said train mystery, the Modhri approaches Compton to say he didn’t murder this guy and he does not appreciate someone else murdering people without his knowing about it so will you solve this already? So they end up working together, and it looks to be turning into a tentative friendship-but then plot happens and it looks like their alliance may be off. And then there’s the fifth book. The one where it becomes clear the Modhri is lonely with only himself to talk to, where Compton’s opinion on the Modhri’s method of infection starts to matter to him, where they begin to deeply trust each other, when they friggin’ quote Casablanca at each other.
So everyone needs to read this series because I ship it so hard and you should too.
The series consists of five books: Night Train to Rigel, The Third Lynx, Odd Girl Out, The Domino Pattern, and Judgment at Proteus. I actually started with the second book and read the first one later, which was fine because I found the first one to be the weakest. The Enemy Mine relationship doesn’t start in earnest until The Domino Pattern, but you really should read the other books first to watch the story unfold.
Casablanca, man.