Review by Frank Plowright
As Eye of the Traitor begins Rogue Trooper is still on his quest to root out the General who who sold him and his comrades out during the Quartz Massacre. He’s actually identified who that is, but doesn’t know the traitor has since undergone plastic surgery.
There’s little connection to the previous Fort Neuro in the opening three short stories, exemplifying how Gerry Finley-Day continues to feed in good ideas, but fails to produce anything other than an ordinary result from them. The problem of unconvincing dialogue also remains. ‘Bio Wire’ introduces the interesting concept of AI barbed wire snaking about a battlefield, but it comes to nothing. Also good is the idea behind the five parts of ‘Milli-Com Memories’, different for looking back to Rogue’s training when Bagman, Gunnar and Helm still had bodies, rather than being personality chips affixed to Rogue’s equipment. It introduces Venus Bluegenes, who’d be popular enough to return, but the trailed surprises are damp squibs leading to an abrupt ending.
Cam Kennedy’s magnificent art on Rogue Trooper led to work on other features, so he only draws around half the book, with Brett Ewins illustrating alternate stories, starting with Rogue being discovered by a floating news camera. Ewins supplies detail, but no great finesse, and Kennedy’s stories look so much better. Spanish artist Rafael Boluda Vidal only works on a trio of two-part stories, is credited via his middle name and Rogue Trooper was his final work before switching to a career painting. Some awkwardly posed figures draw attention away from how good the remainder of the art is, detailed and telling the story well.
The title story boldly doesn’t feature Rogue in the opening chapter. Instead we’re shown an armoured officer behaving dangerously and the return of endearing scavengers Brand and Brass. Until the unconvincing ending it’s as good as Finley-Day gets. A fearsome trap is set for Rogue, there’s a good role for a psychoanalytic droid and everyone’s motives are credible.
Venus Bluegenes somewhat unconvincingly returns for ‘From Hell to Eternity’, and it’s another of those stories where a fine idea can’t escape from the pedestrian execution. ‘Gasbah’ reads as if Finley-Day has recently seen Star Wars and is channelling his impressions. It’s the best of the collection for providing variety. Seeing Rogue interact with people without killing them all is novel, the plot twists nicely and Kennedy’s on top form.
However, just when it seems there’s going to be some consistency we’re presented with the bonkers closing strip. It features the return of bio-wire, a three page trip to the past, and a plot that makes little sense. No wonder Boluda took up painting.
These paperbacks have been supplanted by bulkier collections of Rogue’s experiences. The first few stories are found in Tales of Nu-Earth 01, with the remainder in Tales of Nu-Earth 02, while everything can be found in Complete Collection 2 along with most of To the Ends of Nu-Earth.
