PARAGAEA by Chris Roberson

Hold on to your hats! When you open this book you are in for a rip-roaring, old fashion adventure in the tradition of Edgar Rice Burrough's planet stories. Like John Carter of Mars, Soviet Cosmonaut, Akilina (Leena) Mikhailovna Chirikova finds herself deposited on the strange world of Paragaea after being sent through a worm hole. No sooner does she arrive then she is captured by mutated jaguar men and then just as quickly rescued by an Englishman named Heironymous Bonaventure of the Royal Navy. He served during the Napoleonic Wars and is also a refugee from Earth. He is accompanied by powerful black jaguar man named Balam, a deposed prince seeking to regain his crown. Under Bonaventure's guidance and tutelage, Leena reluctantly accepts her fate but is determined to find another inter-dimensional gateway that will take her back to her own world and time.

The three begin a danger filled journey across Paragaea where they encounter all kinds of creatures, travel in a magnificent aiship and ally themselves with an immortal android named Benu who may have the answers they seek. Their quest is a lively action filled romp that I enjoyed to the max and was sorry to reach the end all too quickly. It does end with several unresolved plots that I hope will be handled in forthcoming sequels. Heironymous, Leena and Balam are three of the best adventure heroes ever created and I'm so happy to have made their acquaintance. It's an experience I'd like to repeat and soon. So will you.