The Quintara Marathon 1: The Demons at Rainbow Bridge

This novel is the introductory portion of the trilogy called the "Quintara Marathon" and should be read together with "The Run of Chaos Keep" followed by "The Ninety Trillion Fausts." To get the full impact, read all three together in sequence. The primary antagonists are the Quintara, an ancient highly advanced race resembling every human legend of demons. They were defeated a long time ago by three factions of equally advanced empires: fanatics led by giant brains (Mizlaplan), post modern supra-plantetary capitalists led by robots (Exchange), and amoral warlords led by body snatchers (Mychol). Each empire fields a team to investigate Quintara activity. The story follows the human characters on each team. The science fiction makes use of higher-dimensional geometric figures, tieing that into ancient symbols like pentragrams and the Seal of Solomon. Additional tension and conflict is present in the viewpoint conflicts between each empire, and the corruption inherent in each. The characters at times wonder if the Quintara can be worse than their own societies. The books themselves are well paced with interesting characters and lots of action. Don't expect deep philosophy, but do expect a good entertaining story. If the religious angle offends you, why are you reading science fiction in the first place? If you are totally new to Chalker, his Flux & Anchor novels and first two Wellworld Trilogies are better stories. The Quintara Marathon is solid, but not his best work.

As the characters spiral their way down through the depths of hell and toward the ultimate destiny of a fragmented humanity, so we as readers spiral through revelation and enjoyable action sequences in an exciting mix of horror, sci-fi, and myth. It tells the tale of three teams from rival empires. Their quest is one of discovery- to uncover the secrets of a race of Demons. Their only clues along this journey are the myths and beliefs of their own cultures that must have experienced the Demons first hand thousands of years in the past. The twist of this story is it's challenge of religious beliefs by the standards of science fiction. While Chalker strips away shrouds of biblical dogma, he quickly replaces it with sci-fi rationale. While this does have the effect of revealing the wizard as an old man behind a curtain, it validates the underpinnings of religion by giving substance to human myths. Whether you are deeply religious, anti-religious or just plain neutral on the subject like me, I think you'll enjoy the author's attempt to create a fantasy world where the tensions between science and theology can be bridged with rational observation. As we grow up in a society whose cultural beliefs are constantly challenged by the rigor of science, this book gives us a chance to look back to Sunday School and ask, "What if science could validate and explain all that bible mumbo-jumbo?" Such questions are answered with the help of characters representing three distinct viewpoints- Theological fanatics (The Mizlaplan Team), Capitalist businessmen (Exchange), and amoral opportunists (Mychol). Each viewpoint is further enhanced by each team-member who give the extreme, moderate, and even doubter's mindsets to each philosophy. This spectrum of viewpoints gives the reader a whole set of opinions to take with the plotline.Unfortunately, this book cannot survive on ideas alone. His Empires, though intriguing, are one dimensional and thus unbelievable. ...P>All that having been said, the series is a quick read sure to entertain you. If you go into it expecting depth, you'll be disappointed. But if you expect something to keep you turning pages while waiting for your flight to dock, it is right up your alley.

Don't get me wrong...the book was well writen and all... there is alot of story between the different empires of the book and the character had...some life in them. It the only thing wrong was the way some of the story...like timing... could have been way better writen... like the polt twists. Some of them were way to predictable. But this is a very small problem that most people will over look...a very good book.

Mr.Chalker's story is a winner! Demons at Rainbow Bridge is a story about three empires with three different philosophy. Until they meet the Demons at Rainbow bridge and its crash and burn from on in.

This book is one of fantasy's best kept secrets. I've read literally hundreds of science fiction / fantasy books in the last ten years, and I wouldn't hesitate to include The Demons at Rainbow Bridge as one of the most enjoyable and rewarding reads available. The story is exciting and original, and the unconventional characters are truly, truly entertaining... You can't go wrong with this one!