Review: Bridgers 3: The Voice of Reason, by Stan C Smith

This is the third instalment of the author’s inter-dimensional tale, and while it slips a little (at least for me), it is still well worth reading.

The plot follows (mostly) Infinity, a former MMA-fighter turned bridger. Having discovered an alien message giving details of a technology that creates “bridges” between parallel Earths, a company by the name of Safetrek jumps on board with the view of monetising it. They provide guided tours of alternate-Earths at different stages in its evolution, some of which are wildly different from our world.

However, it turns out the message was a trick, and the planet begins to destabilise, causing major catastrophes. With the Earth’s future looking bleak, the focus of Safetrek is no longer on providing fun holidays, but to send as many humans as possible to alternate worlds to keep the race alive.

Infinity plays a big role in this, leading the groups to their new world, and trying to give them a fighting chance in 36 hours, before she gets zapped back to take the next group. This time around she leads a group to a world just 150 years behind ours, in the belief that the humans at the time can take them in. Good plan so far. Except…

This Earth has been taken over by an alien race who had also bridged there, and humans were basically pack animals being studied by the aliens. The cities are gone, roads are gone and technology is gone. Heck, even speech is limited. How the hell are a bunch of white collar workers going to learn to fend for themselves?

I’ve liked this series so far. The author writes pacy, clever sci-fi that keeps you engaged throughout. Infinity is a great character. Her harsh history makes you want to root for her,  but it’s her survival instincts and unwillingness to suffer fools gladly that really wins you over. Her bridging (and other) partner Desmond, coming from the “right side” of the tracks, is Infinity’s polar opposite, but somehow you can see their relationship working.

This was my least favourite of the three books, but I’m not quite sure why. Perhaps it was his treatment of the new colonists – they seem a bit whinier than some of the previous types. Also, the parallel humans were a little less interesting than say, vicious humanoid birds from previous books. Also, the aliens were a bit naff too, although there is potential if they show up down the road.

Still, a good read, and I’m looking forward to book four, as there’s some nice surprises building on the evidence of this one. A solid 4/5 stars.