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Asgard was not an easy world to leave behind.

Not that Mike Rousseau wanted to get away from it forever - he just wanted to take a vacation back in the home system. But things didn't turn out the way he planned, and he was back again much sooner than he anticipated.

To make things worse, he'd been drafted again, and the job he'd been drafted to do was even dirtier than the last one, and every bit as dangerous. He still had his old enemies, but now he had new ones - billions of them. And his friends hadn't improved at all.

Of course there were compensations - another chance to get close to the ultimate mystery of what lay at the centre of Asgard. But it seemed that the inhabitants of the lower levels were no longer content to wait quietly until they were discovered. They had discovered the universe... and were trying to decide what to do about it....

Published in 1990 by New English Library.
ISBN:0-450-50103-6
Cover art by Danny Flynn

Dedicated to William Ernest Stableford (Brian's father), "from whose example I have learned much more than he probably imagines."

Translated into Polish.
Translated into Russian.

Asgard's not an easy world to get away from. Mike Rousseau only wants to take a vacation in his home system, but he's back before he has time to draw breath, and he's been drafted into the Space Force once again.

His new mission is even more dangerous than the last one, the number of his enemies has increased vastly, and his friends haven't improved at all. By way of compensation, he has another chance to get closer to the mystery at Asgard's heart--but the inhabitants of the megaplanet's core are no longer content to sit quietly and wait to be found.

They've discovered the outside universe, and are trying to decide what to do about it--but they have problems of their own. Only Rousseau can cross the boundaries between species, and offer each of the races a possible solution.

Another great entry into an exciting SF series!

Published in 2012 by Borgo Press
ISBN: 978-1-4344-4513-1

Review by Ian Braidwood

Cast of characters:
Star Force Cpt Mike Rousseau, Dr Mariyo Kimura, Ayub Khan, John Finn (aka Jack Martin), Trooper Blackledge, The Isthomi, Lt Kramin, Valdavia, 673-Nisreen, 74-Scarion, 994-Tulyar, 871-Alpheus, 1125-Camina, Alexander Sovorov, Thalia-7, Calliope-4, Myrlin, 238-Zenatta, 69-Aquila, Jacinthe Siani, Sigor Dyan, Lt Col Susarma Lear, 822-Vela, Cpt Crucero, Sergeant Serne, Vasari.

Remember Mike Rousseau? The universe does, with just the sort of affection which makes grown men cry.

After having scraped through the last lot of trouble, Mike felt he was due a break and headed for home; blissfully unaware that Asgard hadn't finished with him yet. In fact, it had hardly started. Before he knew it, he was headed back to the artificial world at the behest of the Tetrax; those aliens you like to call sir.

From deep inside Asgard, an army had invaded Skychain City, overwhelming its inhabitants and cutting all communications. The invaders seem so like Humans that Mike and some others are hired to infiltrate the city to open a channel for communications between the invaders and the Tetrax. However, the Tetrax are planning a counter attack and it comes from a completely unexpected direction...

Like Journey to the Centre, this is from the lighter side of Brian's character. There is speculation about Asgard's nature and enough revelation to keep you interested, but mainly this is a rollicking adventure without any pretensions.

The Brian Stableford Website