John Grimes: Rim Runner

John Grimes: Rim Commodore #1-2, 4-5

by A. Bertram Chandler

Science Fiction Book Club - Contains the following four Into the Alternate Universe, Contraband from otherspace, the Rim Gods and the Commodore at Sea. Book is in Fine condition. Boards are clean, not bumped. Not remaindered. Dust Jacket is in Fine condition. Not chipped or crinkled. Not price clipped. Book is covered by Mylar Brodart. All-ways well boxed, All-ways fast service. Thanks.

Genres: Science Fiction

488 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Arthur Bertram Chandler (28 March 1912–6 June 1984) was an Australian science fiction author. He also wrote under the pseudonyms George Whitley, George Whitely, Paul T. Sherman, Andrew Dunstan, and S.H.M.

He was born in Aldershot, England. He was a merchant marine officer, sailing the world in everything from tramp steamers to troopships. He emigrated to Australia in 1956 and became an Australian citizen. He commanded various ships in the Australian and New Zealand merchant navies, and was the last master of the Australian aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne as the law required that it have an officer on board while it was laid up waiting to be towed to China to be broken up.

Reviews

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

This compilation edition includes the books Into the Alternate Universe, Contraband from Otherspace, The Rim Gods, and The Commodore at Sea. The first two books are short novels. The third is a collection of related novellas and the fourth is a collection of related short stories. The first novel tells the story of Grimes on a hunt for "Rim Ghosts," manifestations of people from parallel universes who appear in our universe, but he ends up trapped in a null space between universes. In Contraband from Otherspace, Grimes learns about a parallel universe where rats evolved intelligence and took over from humans. He then travels to that universe to save humankind. The Rim Gods is an exploration of gods and the beings that have power over humans, and literary, characters. The final book could be described as Chandler channeling his own love of Earth's oceans into his famous space opera series.

There's a lot to like here for fans of space opera. Chandler's strong points are his depictions of rollicking action and his wry sense of humor. Sometimes I get a sense of him running up against word count limits or possibly his own time constraints and rushing the endings of some of his stories. Of the four books here, Contraband from Otherspace was my favorite read.

[Bart Hill · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Science Fiction Book Club tome consisting of four books by Chandler. The first two books were fun reads, but the other two were more of a slog. All four will remind readers of the Pulp-style of writing when action was worth more than plot, etc...