There may be no Phule like an old Phule, but this whole premise is pretty darn Phule-ish.

When Beeker and the company's new medic disappear together, a Port-a-Brain security setting forces Phule to go chasing them across multiple planets with little success. Chasing after him, two members of his own company attempt to keep him safe while staying out of sight. Back at home, the company's faced with it's own set of problems in the shape of a surprise inspection by the top, extremely unfriendly, brass.

What should be an entertaining romp still is, if you're blessed with an imagination that lets you envisage something out of Laurell and Hardy or a Marx brothers flick. But the dialogue is uninspired and the "humor" falls a bit flat. ( )

These books seem to me to be going downhill—and this was the worst so far. This book was full of frustrating encounters with short-lived characters and a planet-hopping plot that just couldn’t hold it together. I will probably never re-read this book. ( )

PHULE

1 ( )