THE LAST FLIGHT HOME

In Hausler’s SF novel, a human soldier finds unexpected romance with a human-alien doctor after surviving exposure to an alien superweapon.

By the 54th century, humanity has been much altered by contact with the blue-skinned alien Cybrinthians, who arrived as planetary-disaster refugees, bringing advanced technology. This, in turn, triggered the first Inter-Stellar War between human separatists and the human-Cybrinthian alliance,leaving Earth lifeless. Space-based survivors—the Federal Alliance—rebounded across the cosmos. Lately, they’ve endured new hostilities from the ambitious alien Gnorac Confederation, armed with a new neutrino cannon (or “N-cannon”). Human Sgt. John Wayne “JT” Thomas is the sole survivor of cannon devastation that destroyed a fleet, and scientists are amazed at his good health. A part-Cybrinthian medic, Aurelle Gifford, ministers to him, and they discover a strong mutual attraction. JT’s unique physiology makes him a prize research subject for how to counter the N-cannon. Partway through the narrative, an entirely different setting emerges featuring heroic-fantasy elements, such as dragons, elves, knights, and talking trees. In the far future, such mythic stuff is real, with fantasy folk using spaceships to cross over from their spirit realm. When debris from JT’s shattered warship falls onto fae forests, the spirit residents take notice. Readers may find Hausler’s cross-pollination of low-intensity sword-and-sorcery fantasy with military-service SF to be a peculiar brew. In addition, the nasty Gnoracs aren’t very well fleshed out, even though a substantial subplot is devoted to the plight of one; instead they come off like Soviets or East Germans from a Cold War–era thriller. The author’s affection for armed forces comes through loud and clear, however, with stirring troop movements and massive space-battle set pieces. Quite a bit of questing and questioning separates these sections, but overall, the straightforward storyline proceeds with minimal complication.

By-the-book military-SF with a dash of chaste romance and an odd infusion of high fantasy.