Empire of the Atom / Space Station # 1

Frank Belknap Long gives us a wordy, overwroght hero fantasy set in the early days of space settlement. The story itself is a mystery centered around a kidnapping and plot to overthrow a burgeoning empire on Mars. In addition, it becomes a love story and heroic quest which requires the writer, and thus the reader, to plod through enourmous amounts of third person narration regarding the hero's inner word. This ends up bogging down the book and making it challenging to read all the way through.

In short, a typical space opera with a hero, bad guys, a woman he loves (though barely knows) and a kidnapping plot for the hero and reader to uncover and foil.