Every once in awhile a book leaps out and grabs you from the first page and just won't let go. Few novels out there can successfully blend genres into a flawless story with twisting plots and a good old fashioned mystery but Timothy Zahn has managed this difficult task with NIGHT TRAIN TO RIGEL.

Mixing elements of old-time private eye mysteries with a fascinating look at humanity's possible future, Zahn has created a universe filled with bizarre alien civilizations, tense political intrigue, a multitude of intricate conspiracies and an intergalactic transportation system that links it all together.

The Quadrail System, built and maintained by a mysterious race known simply as the Spiders, has been providing intergalactic travel between important worlds for centuries but…despite much study, nobody really knows how it works. Enter Frank Compton, former Western Alliance Intelligence Operative, who suddenly finds himself recruited by the Spiders themselves to help stop an overwhelming threat to the Quadrail System…or is that the whole story? As Compton learns, things are not as they seem, and traversing the universe along with Bayta, a human agent of the Spiders, he soon finds the horrifying truth of the real conspiracy threatening every living being in the entire universe.

Filled with likable characters, strong dialogue, plenty of action and a great plot, NIGHT TRAIN TO RIGEL was a ride worth taking. I've read a good amount of Zahn's fiction in the past, including his historic Star Wars trilogy of more than a decade ago, but from a pure story-telling aspect, I believe that this book is one of Zahn's best.

I can only hope that RIGEL isn't Frank Compton's only tale to be told – this character has the qualities it takes to create a winning series: smarts, charm, a knack for being in the middle of the action and a pre-existing host of allies and enemies that allow for colorful plot twists and turns.

If you've been meaning to check out some recent fiction by Timothy Zahn, why not start with NIGHT TRAIN TO RIGEL? If you like your fiction told fast and with a punch, this is the book for you.

Synopsis
It all starts when a man comes to deliver a message to Frank Compton - only to fall dead at his feet. What follows is a suspenseful thriller that only Timothy Zahn, a master of hard science fiction adventure, could have written. More than two hundred years from now, the Ouadrail transportation system run by the enigmatic Spiders connects civilizations throughout the galaxy. Someone is threatening the entire system and the worlds it serves with a military force that could wreak interstellar havoc. Worse yet, a more subtle and sinister threat lurks: the Modhri, whose unique coral is prized throughout the galaxy, but which has properties that may create addiction - or worse. Compton, a sharp investigator, lost his job with Earth's security forces when he exposed a corrupt scheme that had roots in high places. Enlisted by the Spiders to find out who's trying to take over the Ouadrail, he's got his hands full. Beings of many races are gunning for him, trying to keep him from discovering a far-flung conspiracy that could destroy every civilization in the galaxy.