Published by Warner Books, 1995.
paperback, 361 pages, $5.50, ISBN: 0-446-60174-8

As a fan of Bill Baldwin's The Helmsman series, I eagerly opened Canby's Legion expecting to find that same rollicking space opera style plot. However, what I found was a somewhat tired tale that never quite delivered the goods, even as it mimicked portions of his other series, and worse, sometimes sprung events that defied the internal logic of the plotline.

In The Helmsman series, Earth was the force of good. In Canby's Legion, a degenerate Imperial Earth of 2681 triumphs over the Volpato Confederation to become the supreme power in the galaxy. And like ancient Rome or Byzantium, Earth has an Emperor, a completely corrupt Nobility and bureaucracy that sells body and soul for political power, and the masses who live a day-to-day existence on "the Dole."

Enter the war hero, Gordo Canby, former commander of the famed 19th Star Legion now adrift in Brooklyn, NY with the other hopeless masses. A paltry Fleet stipend provides poverty-level existence and the ability to help fellow veterans out of minor scrapes with the police. But when he spots a quartet of old attack starships ready to be sold into scrap, he hatches a plan with a fellow veteran to cash in his stipend, refit the ships, and create a mercenary company.

As Baldwin sets up the culture of corruption, he imparts a feel for the behind-the-scenes power struggles of several "bad guys," uses the all-too-common prostitute-with-a-heart-of-gold as a love interest for the hero, and mixes a stream of sexual activity with greed and power. If it is not exactly original, it is at least enough to nudge the plot forward.

And unfortunately, that is about all it does. The first earl of Renaldo is a loathesome fellow devoted to his gluttony, orgies, and power (mostly at the same time), and yet, as the pages turn, he becomes tiresome and predictable in his political scheming. The renegade pirate is suitably clever enough to survive and prosper. The prostitute is a more interesting character as she grows as knowledgeable in the art of doubledealing as she is in bedroom positions. Meanwhile, Canby remains true as all good heroes do, and perseveres as all good heroes should, to a spectacular success as all good heroes deserve.

Of import, logical inconsistencies apparently occur in some of the motivations and actions of the minor characters. While Byzantine plots could certainly evolve into plot twists, it would be nice if the reader was let in on them -- make it appear more mystique than pique. And while I can accept that the captain of a starship can also be its primary helmsman/pilot, I have no idea why starships with warpdrive would include an adaptive propulsion system designed to sail on water. And just how does a starship helmsman who hadn't touched the controls in 10 years navigate a ship and its towed companion through a nor-easter storm, not to mention avoiding treacherous shoals on either side of the ship by seeing the pattern of the waves?

Ah, that must be what good heroes and bad villains are made of. And that, too, is what Canby's Legion is made up of as well--some good plot and some bad plot, good characterizations and bad characterizations, and good reading and bad reading.