THE QUADRAIL SERIES, by Timothy Zahn
Murder on a train…IN SPACE!
It’s a little more complex than that, though. THE QUADRAIL SERIES has 5 books:
I started reading the series ten years ago, and just finished it, so it’s time for a review!
In the world of the QUADRAIL series, interstellar travel is only possible via the Quadrail system, a train that is somehow able to travel between worlds. No one knows how it works. The Quadrail system itself is managed by a mysterious group of aliens known as the “Spiders”, and the Spiders enforce a strict rule against using the Quadrail for military purposes. Because of this, and because the Quadrail is the only way of traveling between solar systems, the Spiders have imposed a de facto peace between the Twelve Empires of the galaxy – including the humans, the newest and the youngest race to stumble across the Quadrail system.
But underneath this placid surface, danger stirs. The Spiders have some ancient enemies with long memories and grudges to settle.
Into this situation stumbles Frank Compton, a washed-up former intelligence agent hired by a Terran trillionaire to find the secret of the Quadrail. The Spiders recruit Compton to fight their enemies, aided by the mysterious Bayta, another human agent of the Spiders who has an agenda of her own.
The series is an excellent combination of murder mystery, spy thriller, and speculative reading. Careful reading is required since several of the plots turn upon obscure details, but highly recommended!
-JM