This has been a amazing series! If you haven’t had the pleasure of joining this series at the very beginning, I encourage you to do so. If you are a fan of science fiction at its finest, you will definitely want to read this series in its entirety. It is very rare for an author to extend a series over twenty books, but this is one of those that did it in fantastic style. It is sad to see it go, but I think the time had come and, unfortunately, as the SADEs realized a long time ago, their human counterparts don’t live forever, even though they wished they did.
This book is the culmination of an idea that Alex Racine has had for a long time. As you have read throughout all of these books, ideas and the ability to make them happen are a hallmark of Alex Racine and now his collection of various humans and aliens. Once the discovery of the Alliance was made and he found their ability to travel between worlds using domes, Alex knew that this technology had to be further developed. His own Harakens and now Omnian Ships had overtaken the entire universe with the building of silver ships. Those first encounters with the silver ships set Alex on a road that would wind all through the know universe and then some. He recognized the unique abilities of these silver ships and then found how they were built. With a strong personal alliance with the Swei Swee, Alex found the builders of the silver ships and from that point on he was release to roam the rest of the galaxy with an amazing entourage. Now he wants to use the dome constructs to allow all creatures, humans and aliens the ability to interact with each other at a moments notice. If his brilliant Senior Engineer Mickey can figure out how the domes and the platforms work, then that will be the solution to bringing peace to the galaxy as Alex Racine envisions it.
Yet, there are serious stumbling blocks that have to be overcome. It is known that the Messinants built the domes a long, long time ago and they did not leave “owner manuals”! So, by talking to the current owners and operators of the working domes, Senior Engineer Mickey and his group found out how they operated, but that’s about it. He’ll need to come up with some way of figuring out why the domes and transportation platforms within them work they way they do. If the Omnians can figure out how to a dome on or off that would be a great start. There are domes that are devoid of life and seem to be at the end of a string of domes. Why these were placed here is unknown. If they could be moved to more used full systems, then countless other civilizations would have an tremendous economical benefit right there for their use. But, the one time Mickey and his group did try messing with a dome, the almost blew up an entire moon. So, it’s an understatement that they will have to be very careful.
What Alex wants is for domes to be placed on a suitable moon of a planet with a sufficiently advanced race. That will join the rest of the galaxy in peaceful commerce that will benefit everyone and maintain peace for all. And that’s his dream, a peaceful galaxy where war is unknown. Realistically, he knows that there are a vast number of species that he and his Omnians know nothing about. So, peace can only come with what they know, but if all the known universe stands together, then they could defeat any threats that may arise. So, he needs Senior Engineer Mickey and his collection of very bright engineers to figure out this extremely advanced technology. He’s betting that they will do just that. And to demonstrate his faith in his people, he’s willing to attempt to gather all the leaders of the worlds he has visited into a single meeting or conclave to at least talk among each other. But, getting all of these different species together at a single place is going to be a tremendous task. Even the SADEs understand the logistics nightmare they are facing. Yet, the know Alex wants it done and they understand why. So, it’s going to happen one way or another. Oh, and by the way, Alex and Renée will not significantly participate in the Conclave! So how’s this going to work?
In my reading experience, there aren’t many authors that can write a twenty book series and still retain much of an audience. Yet, S. H. Jucha has done so and magnificently. His story had stay true to it’s beginning when Alex Racine as a young man, found a derelict starship hurling through his neighborhood of space and made a miraculous rescue of the ship and its occupants. Here we find the beginning our story and a hint of how it will go. Alex Racine interacts with an artificial intelligence who is actually controlling the derelict starship and they form a relationship that changed the universe. It also set the tone for this entire series. See, Alex is a very peaceful man, he’s also kind and caring and highly intelligent. He’s great to be around and people, both human and otherwise, come to love him and his way of approaching the world. In a word, Alex Racine is nice and it’s not often that you get to read twenty books about a nice guy that does nice things for the entire universe! Thanks, Mr. Jucha!