Book Review – Glory Lane
Author: Alan Dean Foster
Publisher: ACE
Binding: Paperback
Publication Date: 1992
The 1980s were alive with cyberpunk, steampunk, and light science fiction romps. Alan Dean Foster’s Glory Lane takes what could have been a true piece of hard science fiction, adds three one-dimensional but engaging characters, and turns it into a fluffy ride through outer space. Let the hilarity ensue.
Three misfits from Earth—punk rocker Seeth, beauty bimbo Miranda, and nerdstrom Kerwin—get caught up in an interstellar war involving a kidnapped alien. Seeth stumbles upon the kidnapper, a three-eyed alien named Arthwit Rail, who has kidnapped the life form called Izmir from the hands of dangerous space monsters. What Izmir represents is clouded during their adventure, but soon the three companions learn that the matter of the universe is in their Earthly hands.
Glory Lane is a classic example of a fun read with humorous characters and a decent plot to follow. Though the characters never fully develop, they do grow closer to each other during their space rides, and Seeth’s constantly running mouth offers funny quips on every page.
As the cover of the book shows, the aliens that the trio meet are not the “scary-going-to-eat-your-brains-and-live-in-your-stomach” kind, but the colorful and exaggerated life forms that could only be found in outer space. Drama and conflict never soar high enough to truly worry about the fate of the characters even though they are on a mission to save the world. This is due to the unfortunate amount of lightness in Glory Lane, but if you plan to read it you should know what you’re getting into anyways.
Finding a copy of Glory Lane in a bookstore might be hard since it was written in 1987, but online stores could probably have it. A fun read with memorable characters, but not for the serious neurolink transmitter field fanatics.
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