Utopian
7/13/2021
This is the first "Buck" Rogers story, recounting the tale of an Anthony Rogers who awakes in twenty-fifth century North America and becomes embroiled in a war with an occupying Chinese army.
If, like me, you have vague memories of the Glen A. Larson TV series, be warned that there is little obvious connection between the two other than couple of the character names and the time in which the adventure is set.
This story seems to be heavily influenced by Edgar Rice Burroughs' John Carter of Mars. Here again we see the protagonist thrown into a unfamiliar situation by poorly defined means. There they find themselves embroiled in a conflict (involving anachronistic use of bladed weapons) and, despite their lack of experience in this new world, they turn out to be vastly better warriors than the people they encounter and are quickly promoted to a position of power. Along the way they fall in love with a marry a local.
Unfortunately, while Burroughs can write a ripping yarn, Nowlan is a much less exciting writer who excels at sucking any excitement out of the situations he describes.
The story is very much a product of its time, with some fairly dubious description of the Chinese (described largely interchangeably as Han/Mongolian).
Not recommended, except a historical artifact.