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Thieves Of Light
It's not just a game. Suddenly transported to an alien spacecraft, Christopher learns the shocking truth. Photon is a recruiting center for the warrior elite. The weaponry and technology are real, the battle between light and dark is real, and the planet Earth faces total destruction at the hands of the evil Arrian Alliance.
215 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published April 1, 1987
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
September 13, 2014
This book has a lot going for it. It was meant to be a YA/Cadet parallel to the series written by David Peters (pseud. for Peter David). Just one problem - it was too intelligent for that, and got left behind. While the Goodreads page has speculation on who Michael Hudson is, a minor amount of research turns out that it is actually a pseudonym for Michael P. Kube-McDowell http://www.alternities.com/html/photo... .
The story explores several of the normal themes, including the obvious one of bigotry, and the whole path of growing up, but it also includes discussion (well hidden) on the nature of war, and why we fight. I loved it, dearly.
The story explores several of the normal themes, including the obvious one of bigotry, and the whole path of growing up, but it also includes discussion (well hidden) on the nature of war, and why we fight. I loved it, dearly.
December 9, 2021
A very mature and well thought out rendition of the vintage 80's Photon television show. It's a very different animal, and thus may not be considered an accurate depiction. Nevertheless it does do a lot to legitimize a kid's live action show and make the concepts from the show make more sense. Photon crystals become mini-terraforming machines. Villains become whole races of soldiers. The weapons have more complexity. Everything is elevated.
This book has zero connection with the other Photon books, so if you are thinking of it complete the David Peters books, you may be disappointed. On its own, however, it's a solid book.
This book has zero connection with the other Photon books, so if you are thinking of it complete the David Peters books, you may be disappointed. On its own, however, it's a solid book.
October 7, 2019
I remember reading this as a kid, and not remembering the author name. Recently I remembered it. This book needs a re-read by me soon. This book had things going on that at that time were not in books like they are today.
April 17, 2023
I absolutely loved this sci-fi adventure! Bhodi, Parcival, Pike, and Nar-Lex-Ko-Li-hon were all super interesting characters and I so wish that Michael Hudson continued this franchise!
Something jumped out at me with this book, the cover art, or the fun idea that everyone playing laser tag on Earth is actually auditioning for an interstellar army fighting a war across the stars! Love it!
Something jumped out at me with this book, the cover art, or the fun idea that everyone playing laser tag on Earth is actually auditioning for an interstellar army fighting a war across the stars! Love it!
March 8, 2026
this was really a great book, this book definitely deserves a sequel
August 21, 2013
Some explanation: Photon was the lesser-known competitor to Lazer Tag in the eighties. Both games involved shooting at other players with light guns, and both created children's shows; Lazer Tag Academy and the bizarre live-action Photon show. This book is based on that show and yet somehow manages to make a decent story and world behind it.
Chris is a rich teen who is heavily into the Photon sport. One day he is summoned by aliens to join in an interstellar war. It appears the Photon centers are actually selection areas for soldiers, and the book is about Chris learning to become a warrior and deciding whether or not to join the fight on the side of the angels.
It works better than you'd expect because the author takes what is a flimsy premise and a rather ridiculous set of characters and runs with it. You can see clips from the original show at http://youtu.be/9PIMquC33X0 if you doubt me. When you add in 80's nostalgia, you get an effect similar to the old Robotech novels by Jack Chalker. You get something which is far better than it should be.
Definitely worth picking up if you remember the show or the light gun game. Surprisingly not that bad if you don't remember either.
Chris is a rich teen who is heavily into the Photon sport. One day he is summoned by aliens to join in an interstellar war. It appears the Photon centers are actually selection areas for soldiers, and the book is about Chris learning to become a warrior and deciding whether or not to join the fight on the side of the angels.
It works better than you'd expect because the author takes what is a flimsy premise and a rather ridiculous set of characters and runs with it. You can see clips from the original show at http://youtu.be/9PIMquC33X0 if you doubt me. When you add in 80's nostalgia, you get an effect similar to the old Robotech novels by Jack Chalker. You get something which is far better than it should be.
Definitely worth picking up if you remember the show or the light gun game. Surprisingly not that bad if you don't remember either.
February 2, 2010
The Good: A surprisingly intelligent piece of young adult science fiction; for being based on a franchise, the author goes to great lengths to explain the physical, mental, and spiritual workings of the universe in which the story takes place. The main character is well realized. A vast improvement over the bizarre Japanese/American television show of the mid-Eighties (though I have fond memories of this program). The four rating is heavily influenced by nostalgia.
The Bad: While the main character is well realized, his attitudes and behavior are dated (especially in the early scenes on Earth). The franchise trappings, when present, are almost always distracting and bad. The book is very obviously designed to be the first in a series, which means that important characters are introduced, only to have them disappear or become irrelevant for large chunks of the narrative.
The Bad: While the main character is well realized, his attitudes and behavior are dated (especially in the early scenes on Earth). The franchise trappings, when present, are almost always distracting and bad. The book is very obviously designed to be the first in a series, which means that important characters are introduced, only to have them disappear or become irrelevant for large chunks of the narrative.
July 29, 2014
Aside from the poor character development of Christopher Jarvis and the stereotypical characterization of the other Photon warriors, this book suffered from shoddy copy editing. Still, I was fascinated by the stories back in the late 80s, and even pretended I was Bhodi Li with my Lazer Tag gun and target, though no one was willing to play with me most of the time. I plan to continue my way through the other four books by David Peter, mostly because he's likely to have written better stories.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews