Perry Rhodan

Ladies and gentlemen: we've arrived. After twenty-three books and countless trials and tribulations, including bearing witness to the rise and fall of civilizations, our heroes have finally found the legendary Planet of Eternal Life. But all is not quite as it seems in paradise...

In this volume, Crest and his companions find themselves honored guests on the impossible half-world of Wanderer at last, while Rhodan's crew arrives uninvited with the help of the mysterious scout. An entity known only as It has long awaited their visit, with a particular interest in the famous Terran astronaut, whom It called to Wanderer from across the stars. But now that they've reached their destination, one important question remains: what will immortality actually cost?

This was a fun and somewhat haunting book. Quiniu's deteriorating state continues to unsettle me, and it was only made worse by the "wrongness" of Wanderer, which Tatiana is the first to acknowledge. Rhodan's group encounters another small holdout of Ilts, which is always a treat (I adore the Ilts), although I do miss Gucky and feel like a large portion of the cast has been inexplicably MIA in recent books. We haven't heard about anyone on Earth for a long time, and I'm rather crushed by the lack of Fantan, who are the most entertaining species in the series. I had hoped that Skelir and Jenves would become larger characters after their reappearance in The World-Splitter, but alas, they've been conspicuously absent as well, as the story has been focusing hard on the heroes' journey through time and a strange collection of minor alien characters whose relevance I'm still wondering about. I wouldn't mind seeing more of the insectoid Orgh too, since I found them almost as amusing as the Fantan, but I'm worried we won't be encountering them again, given their appearance was in the past.

That said, the fleshing out of "the scout" and his ship was certainly a highlight. Carfesch has been in and out of the story for several books now, generally remaining a nameless enigma whose purpose and intentions are unclear. But here, we get to know him much better and his character is quite fascinating as his personality grows and evolves. His ship, too, offers a nice payoff as an AI that exhibits unexpected emotions and a sense of loyalty that go well beyond what even its pilot believed possible, and its behavior was shockingly moving.

Overall, Volume 24 feels much smaller in scale when compared to the sweeping journey of the preceding books. It all takes place in the same general area with the same smaller cast. But it was still an entertaining read and feels like a big setup for the next stage of the series. I don't want to spoil the outcome, of course, but I was surprised by the ending. It was something of a twist, and I'm anxious to see where they take the story next, especially when it comes to the elderly Arkonide who was willing to do almost anything to cheat death...