Lucy's Lover

Lieutenant Lucy Malone, Chief Medical Officer on the troopship The Federation, is very worried about the gladiator games that the troops are playing on board. Supposedly to keep their aggression and fighting skills up-to-date on long voyages, the hand-to-hand combat is getting out of control and doubling the workload in the infirmary. Dr. Malone takes the problem to Captain Drog, second-in-command in Security. Drog is not concerned about the combat games, but is very concerned about getting to know Dr. Malone better. There’s another problem on board the ship—someone has stolen several doses of a dangerous narcotic. Malone and Drog must track down the perpetrator of this crime.

This is a short story (52 pages), containing elements of science fiction, mystery, and romance. The style is fast-paced and energetic, with no extraneous flights of fancy. The plot is well conceived, with several strands that are all resolved at the end of the story. The science fiction aspects were carefully thought out and skillfully executed. The mystery is woven throughout the story, making the solution surprising. In the area of romance, Malone and Drog are likeable characters, with a steamy sexual chemistry. The man/woman sex is explosive and explicit. My only criticism of the story is that a secondary character, Major McDaniel, the Head of Security, never comes “on stage” as one might expect her to from the number of times she is mentioned by other characters. This was a little confusing for this reader, since I kept expecting to see the Major at some point in the story. However, that is the only quibble I have with this otherwise fine story.

Reviewed by: Jean