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COVER NOTES
The second NARC book, direct sequel to DEATH'S HEAD.

Angel — a lethal synthetic drug so pervasive and deadly that it has built empires and torn down worlds. Equinox Industries — the commercial monopoly mining the gas giant, Zeus — is challenged by a growing faction for its environmental record, and suspected of manufacturing Angel. Enter Kevin Jarrat and Jerry Stone, joint captains in the paramilitary NARC force which is at war with the Angel syndicates, and lovers whose minds have been bonded together. In their second action-packed adventure, the heroes of DEATH'S HEAD need their empathic powers as well as the [23rd] Century's tchnological wizardry to outwit their corporate enemies

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EQUINOX
reviewed by ARICIA GAVRIEL:
There's so much to comment on and talk about in EQUINOX, I hardly know where to start, so I'll begin with the on-going development of the Jarrat and Stone characters, which gives a whole new insight into these guys, in this book. You had to wonder, in DEATH'S HEAD, if either J or S would suffer any long-term harm from what they'd been through, and it turns out, they did, or at least Jarrat did. Jarrat is a character with a quick-hot, fast-burn temper, so it's not surprising he's the one to start suffering something like post-trauma stress disorder, while Stoney handles the situation better. Watching them work it out was page-turner stuff. In this book we get a bit more backstory on the guys, too, in particular Stoney (you only have to wonder what DEATH'S HEAD would have been like if MK hadn't had to cut it to pieces on account of GMP's book-length limits). The story of EQUINOX is so tight-knit and intricate, it's a close-second to HELLGATE #1. It keeps you guessing to the end. Anyone who likes airplanes and flying will get a big kick out of this book too. One of the best parts is a low-level dogfight, where Jarrat is in the shuttle, in pursuit of a bad guy. Wow. There's also a high-speed car-chase on the freeway, in Twenty-Fourth century muscle-cars ... also wow. MK was getting into his stride with this one, and it's too bad GMP started to wind down soon after. Anyway, 'better late than never,' DreamCraft is going to do a new NARC book next year ('04), and here's hoping the D'sH special edition (full, uncut) goes ahead. I'll be keeping in touch with Dave at DreamCraft and will update my Jarrat and Stone webpage with news when available.

NARC: EQUINOX and DEATH'S HEAD
reviewed by TOSHUA

I'm starting on NARC #3. I blew through the first 2, finishing #2 on the plane back [home]. I'm enjoying the series greatly. My hat's off to Mel. The detail in your universe is astonishing. How much research have you done to come up with all the little details scattered throughout the novels? [MK answers: a lot. Planet-building isn't as simple as thinking up a catchy name and setting the action there! Also, when your characters are drawn from a vast variety of backgrounds, you have to know a little about where people are from, to be able to figure out how they'll speak, perhaps behave. For instance, Stoney is easy: after APHELION you'll know exactly where he's from — which I've known all along, of course! And his background goes a long way towards molding the character. Jarrat, however, is tough to write, and always was. He's from an invented place (Sheckley), so every detail of Sheckley had to be developed ... and Jarrat was 'engineered' to be a product of that background. All is revealed in STOPOVER! And then you get along to the science. How much real science is there in these books? A lot, and in the story set on Earth, Mars and in the Jupiter system, one heck of a lot. Glad you're enjoying the novels ... and thanks for letting me know! - MK]