Book Review: Gates of Hell

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Gates of Hell     Amazon US TPB Amazon Canada TPB
Susan Sizemore
Class/Genre:   Science Fiction   Medical
Speculation, Jan 2000, $11.50, 268 pp.

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.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner