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Recreational readers can be obsessively stubborn about series books, even books such as this, set in the same universe but not closely related to other books of the same series. Writers should be careful to make each book independently accessible. Readers may wonder if they should read books in the order they were published, or, for instance, in the order of the story chronology, which may differ from the order in which the books were created.

With Carver's monumental, epic Star Rigger universe books, this really doesn't make any difference. The important thing is just to read these books. They are great.

When dealing with stories set in interstellar space, authors have to somehow rationalize faster than light travel. I have no idea how Carver's physics looks to someone who actually knows about this, you know, science stuff. But he makes the reader want to believe, and that is what is important. The starships in Carver's universe move to another realm, where they sail along currents of superspace in ways that allow them to quickly travel the distances between the stars. The technicians who control this process do so with the powers of their imagination; conjuring with analogous images -- like clipper ships or submarines, they sail the currents of the "flux." Much like the writer -- or reader -- of a science fiction story might ride the wave of an imaginative story.

This story combines pirates in flux space, political intrigue, escapes and daring quests, ghost ships and rescues, unlikely romance, courageous exploration; and in all this an affirmation of the human spirit.

A friend asked me once what I thought of Carver's work. I decided that it reminded me of the best of Edmond Hamilton. Hamilton probably isn't as widely read now as he once was, so I should add that this is high praise indeed.

Hank Luttrell has reviewed science fiction for newspapers, magazines and web sites. He was nominated for the Best Fanzine Hugo Award and is currently a bookseller in Madison, Wisconsin.