From Publishers Weekly
Benton Hawkes, diplomat-hero of this rumble-tumble start to a new Shatner series, is, like the hero of the author's Tek novels, a cut-from-cardboard macho man. Around the end of the next century, Hawkes is sent to Mars to deal with the human colonists there, on the verge of rebellion because of their slavelike status. The situation is critical, for Earth's population will quickly starve without Martian supplies. The plot and the speculative concepts grounding it are shaky at best, resulting in a novel that distinguishes itself as neither science nor fiction. Hawkes, however, will appeal to those who like their heroes Hollywood-style, a man whose integrity gets him into scrapes that he punches, shoots and slices his way out of. His crises are nearly endless, so fans of hardboiled SF ("And now, he thought, he was going to Mars. Heaven help whoever he found there") could do worse that to join him in his bloody quest.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Star Trek actor and sf author Shatner begins a new series featuring diplomat Benton Hawkes. As punishment for negotiating fairly, he is sent to Mars as its governor to quell unrest among the human colonists who supply all of Earth's food. Tight writing, rather than character development, propels this action/adventure. Fans of his "Tek" series will enjoy.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
