GENE RODDENBERRY’S ANDROMEDA: PARADISE DRIFT
by Sherwood Smith
Tie-in novel based on the television show Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda.
Captain Dylan Hunt, Tyr, Beka, Harper, Trance and the rest of the crew of the Andromeda Ascendant travel to a recreational asteroid called Paradise Drift so that the captain can evaluate the Drift's proposal to join the Systems Commonwealth. Once there, Hunt gets mired in the slog of interplanetary political affairs, takes a romantic interest in the woman who is director of the Drift and gets in trouble gambling. Meanwhile, Tyr guards the ship as the rest of the crew sample the Drift's entertainments, then get involved in side-trip adventures: Harper is captured by an old acquaintance with thoughts of revenge, Beka is trailed by a bounty hunter, Trance investigates the Drift's mysterious “nanobot bees.” Harper is just as annoying as ever, and one can practically hear Kevin Sorbo's voice when reading Hunt's dialogue. However, the novel cannot escape its humble and derivative origins—it will likely please fans of the series, but it's not going to attract any new ones.
Smith (Inda, 2005, etc.) delivers a mindless-but-fun TV episode in book form.