Galactic Warlord

Every author hopes to write the golden novel - that is, a novel that transcends its number of words or the expectations of its author. Galactic Warlord is one such novel. I first picked it up on the off-chance in a high-street bookstore when I was aged fourteen, attracted by its slim profile (it's not a large novel) and easy style, and was hooked before I finished the prologue. Galactic Warlord has all the right elements in all the right places and, to quote the recommendation on its rear-cover, Douglas Hill writes with the clarity of a master of the silver screen. Like all successful sci-fi stories, the story grows in gravity and scale as it unfolds and ends with everything hanging in the balance. I re-read Galactic Warlord more times than I can remember, and was shocked yet delighted to discover the second in the series in a bookstore elsewhere. Once I discovered there was a quartet, purchased the remaining three books and lapped them up within a week, inspired and awe-struck by the thrilling story, scintillating pace and Hill's awesome imagination. But I believe the saying that every writer has one good novel in them is true in Douglas Hill's case, because I tried reading Warriors of the Wasteland and Young Legionary with the same expectant feeling, only to find myself deeply disappointed by the monosyllabic style and embarrassing storylines. Revealing Keill Randor's boyhood right-of-passage in Young Legionary was a mistaken attempt at expanding the series... some things are better left as mysteries. Galactic Warlord and the entire Last Legionary series is an inspiring example of science fiction and space-fantasy at its best. Hill's mistake was continually trying to recapture the same dynamic in other stories, turning them into very pale imitations of this great novel.

I found the Galactic Warlord book by accident in the young adult section in the Quakertown, PA, public library. The year was 1982 and I was a sixth grader at Richland Elementary (Hi Mrs. Beason!). It looked kind of cool, so I took it home. I had finished the book by the next morning. I was hooked from the first page and couldn't put it down. I dreamed of hanging out with Keill and Glr. A few days later (after begging my parents to take me to the library), I found the Planet of the Warlord, which was also read in a day. I discovered the two middle books of the series a few days later - Day of the Starwind and Deathwing over Veyna. Over the next two years, those very same books were repeatedly borrowed from the library by myself and my friends. It's sad that they are now out of print, as I am sure that today's young adults would benefit from a positive role model such as Keill Randor. In addition, the Colsec and Huntsman series are also great reading. I miss being a kid and feeling the sense of awe and wonder that came over me while reading these books.

I first read this book when I was in 5th grade, and I couldn't wait to read the others. There are also other books in the series, and each and every one is a great work of sci-fi. A must read!!!

I read this book about 10 years ago as a child, and for some reason it haunted me enough to remember it enough to read it again as an adult. Lo and behold, I found more books in the series! The story was great fun, full of adventure and derring-do. I think I loved it so much because I'm a big Star Wars fan, and hungered for more stories in the same vein. Here we have the central character, Keill Randor, a highly trained warrior (reminded me of a Jedi Knight-errant without the mystical powers)who is only survivor (so he thinks) of his race. His quest to find the responsible party who destroyed his home planet and any others left of his kind is the core story for the succeeding books. I recommend this series as a jump-start to young readers who like science fiction.