Just Finished: "Akiko: Volume Seven: The Battle of Boach's Keep" by Mark Crilley

Just Finished: Akiko: Volume Seven: The Battle of Boach's Keep by Mark Crilley, 2007, 1579890644.

I was distracted while reading this because the novel is dedicated to the victims of September 11. I kept wondering if a political or moral statement was being made by Crilley on U.S. foreign policy, or the Iraq War, or terrorism, and so on. It's too bad I was distracted because Crilley did a good job. Again.

Spuckler is having a cookout with Beeba, Gax and Poog when he gets a special delivery from the Gothtek company offering to pay 250,000 Gilpots for the old Boach family property on Nostoram. Spuckler immediately leaves the barbecue and travels to Nostoram to accept the money and collect some items from the house.

Spuckler had not been home since his father died 20 years earlier. After getting to Nostoram Spuckler finds out that Gothtek plans to raze the house, along with everything else on the planet, for a beautification project. Spuckler decides his father would never have wanted the house to be destroyed and he decides to defend the property. The fact that he already accepted the money from Gothtek does not phase him.

Lots of shooting ensues between Spuckler and Gothtek attack vehicles. Akiko is pressured by King Froptoppit to act as an ambassador to Gothtek. Akiko finds out that Gothtek is not the evil planet destroying Goliath of the past. Spuckler's true reasons for defending the old house are discovered. Everyone goes home happy.

Crilley has some neat-o methods for chaning scenes and showing elapsed time . I kind of skipped through those sections because I wanted the story to keep moving.