Melchior's Fire

In the first book of the series we followed a religious group as they journeyed to the legendary world of the Three Kings. Possible location of untold riches and paradise it has been near impossible to find. Now we meet a salvage team. On a routine salvage job they encounter something deadly and must utilize their toughness and convictions to survive. This ordeal, while leaving them penniless, makes them the target of a wealthy benefactor who claims to know the way to the Three Kings. With nothing left to lose they accept the new job. While we don't learn what the three kings really are we do see them more closely than we did in the first book. Some of the mystery is solved but not all. What is the significance of the Great Silence? Do the Three Kings have a purpose? How can their riches be claimed? Although the Three Kings aren't really mentioned until the midpoint of the book they quickly become the focus. Unlike in the first volume, much time is actually spent in the Kings' system. Some questions are answered and others are asked. All of it combines to keep the reader going to the end and into the next book. An if you made it this far you will just have to read the next one.

The crew of the salvage ship Stanley is in trouble. They lose their salvage in an alien attack and ripe for a tycoon's offer. He knows the coordinates to the fabulous Three Kings, a system with three human-inhabitable planets, and a treasure-trove of alien and quasi-natural marvels. The Stanley crew is game and the human race could use the help--it is slowly dying after the loss of contact with Earth and the other advanced worlds.What follows is an action-packed adventure as the small crew of salvage experts trigger what just might be the biggest trap in the universe.MELCHIOR'S FIRE is a sequel to the much inferior BALSHAZZAR'S SERPENT (reading the earlier novel is not essential to enjoying MELCHIOR'S FIRE). Author Jack L. Chalker's universe is fascinating and this, together with the non-stop action makes up for a variety of authorly sins (the characters could be better developed, the dialogue is sometimes a little clunky, and the author intrusion is, uh, intrusive).I approached MELCHIOR'S FIRE with some trepidation after my experience with BALSHAZZAR'S SERPENT, but found myself quickly hooked, reading the entire (short) novel in a single sitting.

Jack Chalker is not one of the authors who I usually follow and read. I read Melchior's Fire before I realized that it was a sequel to Balshazzar's Serpent. This is probably a good thing, as I never finished Bashazzar's Serpent. I thought it was a bit dry. All this being said, Melchiors Fire is a good read.The story very much seems like two stories tied together by common characters. The first half of the book deals with the first human contact with an intelligent alien species. This seems a significant event and rightly so. It soon becomes apparent that this first story is included merely to set the tone and events necessary to tell the second story. In the second half the surviving members of the first story are financed by a wealthy businessman to find the mystical Space System of the Three Kings. I don't want to give away too much of the plot but it is enough to say that their adventures are both amazing and exotic. The story was well written and engaging. I would have to agree with at least one of the previous reviewers that the characters are not incredibly developed but then again that is not the strength of this tale. A very action oriented yarn with some original ideas thrown into the mix. I found two things in the way the story was written that were weaknesses in my opinion. The first issue was the fact that two distinct tales were combined into one. This was only negative in the sense that both stories seemed under developed. Not horribly so but noticeably so. The second negative was the ending. I know this is a preference issue but I thought the ending was unsatisfactory, at least compared to the rest of the tale.Overall a very good read with very minor flaws.

The salvagers of the Henry Morton Stanley space ship land on the planet due to the town that looks like a rich find. Randy Queson, known for her ability to decide what has salvage value amidst tons of junk, finds the structure out of synchronization with what should be expected by this planet in which the colonists apparently abruptly left. Randy and crew soon learn why no humans are on site as vicious aliens, who enjoyed snacking on the settlers as part of their lunch, attack the Stanley crew. Randy and most of her mates escape, but the damage is astronomical and their creditors want payment right now. Desperate, the crew excepts a suicide mission offered by wealthy Norman Sanders. He will cover their debts and more if they follow the alleged route to the legendary Three Kings and return with the magi stones. Assuming that Sanders has provided them with the correct coordinates that he allegedly obtained from the lost Woodward venture, Randy wonders what they will find amidst the three planets that they seek, not yet knowing that aliens control their destination. The sequel to BALSHAZZAR'S SERPENT, MELCHIOR'S FIRE is an exciting science fiction tale centering on a piratical crew struggling to survive among aliens and creditors. The story line is fun and filled with action, but is not very deep or loaded with strong characters. Instead, Jack L. Chalker's tale is for those readers who relish a non-stop adventure thriller that rides faster than the speed of light.Harriet Klausner