Tor, 1995, $5.95, ISBN 0-812-52394-6, 309 pages, paperback

Dang! I bought a sequel before reading the first book, violating my own rule. Teach me to pay attention. Glory is the first in the series and Glory’s War the second. No wonder the book was in the half-priced discount bin. Now I have to see about getting the first one as well as any others after it.

Glory is a 1700-year-old spaceship that still transits between systems. There used to be many, but losses occur. Still, Glory continues to ply the space lanes crewed by a handful of bio-engineered humans and many androids. Oh, and there are cats.

In any case, two sects of Islam on two different planets are at war with each other--think Shiite and Sunni. Into this war, Glory is coming to deliver mining equipment. Of course, both sides seek to capture the ship as they set up a peace conference. It may not be the most original premise, but it will do.

Of note are the shipboard operations, especially the naval analogies with 18th and 19th century sailing ships. Glory boasts nine masts (eight operational), each with kilometers of tachyon-catching sails. The androids, called “sail monkeys” are run by computer mostly, but the crew jack into the computer in a gel tank. It’s all well thought out and deftly described by Coppel.

Oddly enough, the military aspects of the novel left me a little flat. The planning kicked off well enough, but two enemies at each other’s throats for centuries would, or should, be a little smarter. Well, maybe not.

In any case, Glory’s War shows flashes of brilliance sandwiched between average military action. Coppel tosses in some interdimensional horrors, which falls flat because the evil shadows never re-appear, never amount to much, and never become interesting. Overall, a middling grade tending towards a positive note.