Web Fed Award-winning Planets

Reviewed on May 28, 2000

Steering my ship into a holding pattern around the blue dwarf star known as Zure, I peered out of the viewscreen to get my first glimpse of the Thorus system. A little adjustment on the controls was required to avoid collision with the gas ring and two gas giants that shared my orbital pattern, but my Galactic Encyclopedia assured me that this system was a safe haven for tourists and explorers, and if Hound had chosen to hide here he had at least taken refuge in a secure system.

After sniffing out an interstellar port and landing, I was delighted to find that instead of stepping out of my ship, I actually did a slow motion upside-down tumble out the hatch. This is a zero gravity system, and that puts a whole new perspective on stick chasing! The landing pad was a bustling hive of activity with cargo moving to and fro from the warehouses, and I quickly clipped my leash to one of the many nearby pull cables and waited to be maneuvered towards the transportation centre, noting the full range of services available nearby for later exploration.

Well, I floated motionless amid the surrounding activity for quite some time. You see, I'm used to having my lead clipped on and then being bodily dragged to Hazed's chosen destination (which usually involved some kind of water and soap). These pull cables took a bit of figuring out on my part; they didn't actually pull you, you had to put some effort into pulling yourself along the cable too. So much for being a lazy hound! I wanted freefall, and being the unsupervised hound I am I unhooked my tether and enjoyed the sight of my paws against the backdrop of blue sky for a while.

It didn't last. Some sort of pnumbtube (for a minute I thought it was called a dumbtube) sucked me up, rather rudely depositing me in the midst of a gawking group of tourists, and I found my lead securely attached to yet another pullwire. This gaggle of visitors seemed to be headed for the shopping district, where dozens of stores offered overpriced wares for those foolish enough to flash their wallets.

I got three pre-wetted T-shirts and charged them all to Hazed. Wait till she sees the logo printed on front.

Thorus hosts several entertaining and delightful areas including a spa, hotel, observatory, amusement park, and restaurants with rather realistic queues where you have to wait for the next available table. In the clothing stores you do actually buy off-the-rack; descriptions are available for the shopper to cut and paste his purchases. The well-developed history of the system is given as part of a tour package; indeed, tourism is themed into nearly every public location.

A puzzle of moderate complexity is also included in the system. The explorer endeavors to help Thulium find a misplaced object from his childhood; unfortunately that item was not the Hound I was seeking! Clues are well placed, and one must correctly maneuver a simple maze to find the solution.

Thorus is a 'feel-good' type of planet, well worth checking out. Even the transportation methods are a grin! The script is humorous and descriptions concise and entertaining - watch for subtle puns in the locations. Congratulations and well done, Thulium; you've received a Carpenter Award!