If the amount equal to enough Alan Dean Foster is ever reached, this novel could well float to the top of that worthy list. Relic moves smoothly from post-apocalypse, to technical exploration, to Adam and Eve, with the strains of galactic diplomacy and space opera through out. Relic is fun to read. It never settles into well-worn grooves, but knows firmly what story it is telling.
Ruslan’s experience as the Last Man in the World, the relic of the title, is nicely subverted by the spinning planets of galactic civilizations and the likelihood that, given enough people and enough human colony worlds, even events with long odds come to pass.
The writing is brisk, and the worlds well developed. Ruslan and the other characters drive the action by their motivations and choices. A very enjoyable and thought-provoking novel.
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