Reading Archive: 2013
December
3 Stars to Metal Boxes by Alan Black
Description
Coming of age can be hard for anyone. But for Blackmon Perry Stone it is life threatening. At 15, he barely manages to graduate from the empire’s cadet training by a talent for unusual problem solving. He has trouble settling into navy life, but life becomes harder when he uncovers a ring of thieves aboard the huge ship. Life becomes difficult when they killed him. Stone is ejected into hyperspace in an escape pod without hyperspace engines. Fully expecting to die, he reconfigures the sub-light engine to escape the inescapable. To his surprise it works, but only well enough to do little more than crash on an uncharted planet. It will surprise him if he can make the engine work again, but not as much as it will surprise everyone else if he can come back from the dead.
Review
"A chorus of amens rang in the room. Jay and Peebee awoke and wonked back. Soon the bridge was shouting amen and wonking with equal abandon." I didn't quite know if this was supposed to be funny, a military pastiche, or read with utter seriousness. It amused me in places and I grokk the nods to Heinlein, but I felt the fun either wasn't pushed far enough or the seriousness lacked gravitas. I can't quite tell which.
5 Stars to The Monstrumologist (The Monstrumologist, #1) by Rick Yancey
Description
These are the secrets I have kept. This is the trust I never betrayed. But he is dead now and has been for more than forty years, the one who gave me his trust, the one for whom I kept these secrets. The one who saved me . . . and the one who cursed me. So starts the diary of Will Henry, orphaned assistant to Dr. Pellinore Warthorpe, a man with a most unusual specialty: monstrumology, the study of monsters. In his time with the doctor, Will has met many a mysterious late-night visitor, and seen things he never imagined were real. But when a grave robber comes calling in the middle of the night with a gruesome find, he brings with him their most deadly case yet. A gothic tour de force that explores the darkest heart of man and monster and asks the question: When does man become the very thing he hunts?
Review
"There are times when fear is not our enemy. There are times when fear is our truest, sometimes only, friend." This is a beautifully pictured manuscript, and no mistake. Yancey seems able to deftly switch from style to style (having read the 5th wave I wouldn't assume the same author by any means), and William James Henry's voice is so authentically Victorian, I am sure you could swap a page of this for Doyle without undue confusion. In fact, I saw some of Holmes in Warthrop, superficial physical similarities (long fingers, a lean frame, piercing or intense eyes), but also a dedication to science with Human fallibility in a mix that makes a great man. "Always speak the truth, all the truth in all things at all times! No man ever rose to greatness on the wings of obsequious deceit. " The story itself is nothing out-of-the-ordinary, but I rate this book so highly for its writing. The descriptions and wording were well chosen and the work positively exudes atmosphere, and of enjoyment were the scenes in the sanatorium and the mausoleum, the spine-tingling desultory milieu of the former of particular gratification to me. "Yes, my dear child, he would undoubtedly tell a terrified toddler tremulously seeking succor, monsters are real. I happen to have one hanging in my basement." There are more books in the series, and how well the wonder of the language will carry me I don't know, but this, certainly, is a title I rate very highly indeed.
5 Stars to A Rose-Red City by Dave Duncan
Description
The city of Mera is a fortress hidden from the rest of humanity, a sanctuary for the diverse group of people rescued from death by the Oracle that rules the city. The Oracle has brought together the citizens of Mera from every land and every time period, protecting them from the ravages of time, death and the evil demon forces that howl outside the city at night. All that the Oracle asks in return is a willingness to aid the rest of humanity, calling the citizens to go forth on various missions of rescue to mortals in need of aid. The Oracle sends Jerry out into the wilderness, accompanied by his ancient Greek friend, Killer, a world-famous lecher and juvenile delinquent with deadly combat skills. There they must rescue a woman named Ariadne, on the run with her children and seeking shelter. But children are not allowed in Mera, and Ariadne will not leave them, while Mera's evil demon enemies move closer and closer to Jerry's and Killer's temporary place of respite.
Review
"their tension was obvious. They didn't know coyotes and they didn't know which side of the border they were on and they could heal teeth?" This is a brilliant little debut, for I do believe it to be Duncan's first publication. It's quite interesting that he returned to a similar motif with King of Sords in 2013, though I enjoyed this one more. The whole night huddled in the cottage was electrifying, those three chapters before the huge demonic intrusion were deliciously tense, and the twelfth, in the maze, was also gripping stuff. Honestly, if you're a Duncan fan there's a lot here for you and, although some of his fantastic tropes develop later on, this is a very respectable entry in his catalogue.
4 Stars to Mitosis (The Reckoners, #1.5) by Brandon Sanderson
Description
Steelheart may be dead, but Epics still plague Newcago and David and the Reckoners have vowed to fight back.
Review
Mitosis is, I think, the shortest work of Sanderson's I have ever read. Not that i'm complaining: it had action and adventure, familiar group dynamism from the Reckoners and a clever idea behind it, but I now want to see more of the series! A very clever way to keep a reader's interest
4 Stars to Prime by Nate Kenyon
Description
William Bellow is an experienced bug hunter who comes as close as any human to the anticipated Transformation that links man to machine. As he digs into the problems surrounding New London's most advanced programming, the nature of his own memories and the events of his past are called into question. Desperate manipulations and complex deceptions take him from the corporate towers to the underground resistance as Bellow's work quickly escalates into a fight for his life in both the physical and virtual worlds.
Review
This was strangely disturbing reading, though a little too complex to grasp in a single sitting, despite its length. Certainly an author to take note of.
3 Stars to Lock & Load (Ryan Lock, #2.5) by Sean Black
Description
A short story featuring private security specialist, Ryan Lock. Fresh from a stint undercover in Pelican Bay Supermax prison in Northern California, Ryan Lock, and his business partner, former US Marine Ty Johnson, are in Los Angeles, tasked with protecting a young Hollywood actress from an abusive movie star boyfriend who refuses to accept that their relationship is over. But as Lock knows only too well, and Ty is about to learn, keeping someone safe from harm can be harder than it looks, and damage can come in unexpected forms.
Review
Divided as to whether or not I'd read a full length novel about these guys. A short story was a great way to get into them, though. Disclosure: I won this book as the result of an astounding giveaway by Graham Storrs publisher, because of my review of his then newly-published novel True Path. True Path is a sequel, but please check out the rest of my reviews of Graham's books and other works published by Momentum, his publisher.
5 Stars to The 5th Wave (The 5th Wave, #1) by Rick Yancey
Description
After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one. Now, it's the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth's last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie's only hope for rescuing her brother—or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up.
Review
"It’s an alien apocalypse! Quick, grab the beer!" Engagingly gripping and rather compelling throughout, it's as much a psychological alien invasion as a physical one. I'm rather glad I picked it up, for although it's not quite aimed at my age bracket, it bit me as much as the Hunger Games ever did. "Trying to keep my cool in this strange and unexpected turn in the minefield. My head is spinning. Gut-shot, doped up, discussing Shakespeare with the commandant of one of the most efficient death camps in the history of the world." The characters are different enough that the POV shifts mean something, and the whole wave idea works surprisingly well. Impressed.
3 Stars to Tales of the Unexpected by Roald Dahl
Description
A wine connoisseur with an infallible palate and a sinister taste in wagers. A decrepit old man with a masterpiece tattooed on his back. A voracious adventuress, a gentle cuckold, and a garden sculpture that becomes an instrument of sadistic vengeance. Social climbers who climb a bit too quickly. Philanderers whose deceptions are a trifle too ornate. Impeccable servants whose bland masks slip for one vertiginous instant. In these deliciously nasty stories an internationally acclaimed practitioner of the short narrative works his own brand of black magic: tantalizing, amusing, and sometimes terrifying readers into a new sense of what lurks beneath the ordinary. Included in Roald Dahl's Tales of the Unexpected are such notorious gems of the bizarre as "The Sound Machine," "Lamb to Slaughter," "Neck," and "The Landlady." Cover illustration by Seth Jaben Cover design by Heidi North Contents: - Taste - Lamb to the Slaughter - Man from the South - My Lady Love, My Dove - Dip in the Pool - Galloping Foxley - Skin - Neck - Nunc Dimittis - The Landlady - William and Mary - The Way Up to Heaven - Parson's Pleasure - Mrs. Bixby and the Colonel's Coat - Royal Jelly - Edward the Conqueror - The Sound Machine - Georgy Porgy - The Hitchhiker - Poison - The Boy Who Talked with Animals - The Umbrella Man - Genesis and Catastrophe - The Butler
Review
Dahl's adult fiction, especially his short stories, always confuse me. Not because I don't understand them, but I think more because Dahl had one of these brains that delights in working in a very peculiar way. Parson's Pleasure, William and Mary, The Way up to Heaven and Lamb to the Slaughter were my highlights.
4 Stars to The Lifecycle of Software Objects by Ted Chiang
Description
What's the best way to create artificial intelligence? In 1950, Alan Turing wrote, "Many people think that a very abstract activity, like the playing of chess, would be best. It can also be maintained that it is best to provide the machine with the best sense organs that money can buy, and then teach it to understand and speak English. This process could follow the normal teaching of a child. Things would be pointed out and named, etc. Again I do not know what the right answer is, but I think both approaches should be tried."
Review
This was compelling. Short, but worthwhile, although without much action.
3 Stars to The Martian Ambassador (Blackwood and Harrington, #1) by Alan K. Baker
Description
London, 1899. It has been six years since the discovery of intelligent life on Mars, and relations between the two worlds are rapidly developing. Three-legged Martian omnibuses stride through the streets and across the landscape, while Queen Victoria has been returned to the vigour of youth by Martian rejuvenation drugs. Victorian computer technology is proceeding apace, thanks to the faeries who power the 'cogitators', while the first Æther zeppelins are nearing completion, with a British expedition to the Moon being planned for the following year. Everything seems to be going swimmingly, until Lunan R'ondd, Martian Ambassador to the Court of Saint James's, dies while attending a banquet at Buckingham Palace. The discovery of strange, microscopic larvae in his breathing apparatus leads Queen Victoria to suspect that he may have been the victim of a bizarre assassination. The Martian Parliament agrees, and they are not pleased. No Martian has ever died in such suspicious circumstances while on Earth. An ultimatum is if Her Majesty's Government cannot solve the crime and bring the perpetrator to justice, the Martians will! Enter Thomas Blackwood, Special Investigator for Her Majesty's Bureau of Clandestine Affairs. Along with Lady Sophia Harrington, Secretary of the Society for Psychical Research, Blackwood is charged with the task of solving the mystery of Ambassador R'ondd's death, before the Martians take matters into their own hands, possibly igniting an interplanetary war in the process!
Review
Steampunk is a genre I've not really been able to sink my teeth into. I find it rather unconvincing, and so it's an area I've let languish. The language of this one made it worth reading, and the roaring adventure of the story and compellingly eighteenth century characterisation kept it going. I'm tempted to say I won't read the next one ... but there was a sample chapter, you see ... and so maybe ...
3 Stars to Conquistador by S.M. Stirling
Description
“In this luscious alternative universe, sidekicks quote the Lone Ranger and Right inevitably triumphs with panache. What more could adventure-loving readers ask for?”— Publishers Weekly Oakland, 1946 . Ex-soldier John Rolfe, newly back from the Pacific, has made a fabulous discovery: A portal to an alternate America where Europeans have never set foot—and the only other humans in sight are a band of very curious Indians. Able to return at will to the modern world, Rolfe summons the only people with whom he is willing to share his discovery: his war buddies. And tells them to bring their families... Los Angeles, twenty-first century . Fish and Game warden Tom Christiansen is involved in the bust of a smuggling operation. What he turns up is something he never anticipated: a photo of authentic Aztec priests decked out in Grateful Dead T-shirts, and a live condor from a gene pool that doesn’t correspond to any known in captivity or the wild. It is a find that will lead him to a woman named Adrienne Rolfe—and a secret that’s been hidden for sixty years…
Review
An impressive idea, but 27 "betcha"s and 22 "yah" irritated me some. The end, also, was a little anticlimactic. Still, enjoyed it to pass the time.
3 Stars to Resurrection by Arwen Elys Dayton
Description
Five thousand years ago, the Kinley built a ship capable of traveling faster than light. It carried a group of scientists to a small, distant planet - a primitive place called Earth. Its mission was peaceful observation. But when the ship was destroyed, the Kinley crew found themselves stranded in ancient Egypt, participants in the pageant of life in the time of the Pharaohs. They buried remnants of their technology deep beneath the desert and sent a last desperate message home…. Five thousand years later, the Kinley homeworld hovers on the brink of extinction. An enemy that nearly obliterated their race has risen again - now with the ability to destroy them for good. A lone Kinley soldier named Pruit is sent on a desperate mission: to follow the ancient beacon back to Earth and recover the secrets to faster-than-light travel. It is their last hope. Technology that once allowed them to cross vast reaches of space might allow them to outrun their enemies and find a safe world to call their own. But Pruit’s mission will be harder than she can imagine. Her quest will draw her enemies after her and will awaken ancient foes on Earth. As she gets closer to what she seeks, she will find each adversary willing to risk everything to stop her, each hoping to steal the knowledge for themselves.The rivals will meet in modern-day Egypt and their struggle will alter the fate of worlds. ©2012 Arwen Elys Dayton (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, Inc.
Review
Though an interesting idea, the forcefulness of spirituality and the bland characters stopped this book excelling for me. Enjoyable for what it was, but not something to make me rave on.
3 Stars to One for the Morning Glory by John Barnes
Description
The Tale began when young Prince Amatus secretly sipped the forbidden Wine of the Gods, leaving him half the lad he'd once been--literally--for his left side suddenly vanished without a trace! But, as is often the case in Tales of this sort, the young Prince's misfortune was also a sort of blessing in disguise. For a year and a day later, four Mysterious Strangers appeared, and, as Amatus grew to manhood, they guided him on a perilous quest to discover his true identity--not to mention adventure, danger, tragedy, triumph, and true love. John Barnes has been heralded as "one of the most able and impressive of SF's rising stars" ( Publishers Weekly) for his widely praised novels including Orbital Resonance and A Million Open Doors. Now, in One for the Morning Glory, John Barnes has crafted an artful and immensely entertaining fable that takes its place as a modern fantasy classic beside such enduring works as William Goldman's The Princess Bride and T.H. White's The Once and Future King.
Review
I enjoyed the first part of this but it confused me the further on it got. Interestingly written, but I'm still baffled.
4 Stars to The Blacksmith's Son (Mageborn, #1) by Michael G. Manning
Description
Alternate cover edition of ASIN B005A1JBB8 Mordecai's simple life as the son of a blacksmith is transformed by the discovery of his magical birthright. As he journeys to understand the power within him he is drawn into a dangerous plot to destroy the Duke of Lancaster and undermine the Kingdom of Lothion. Love and treachery combine to embroil him in events he was never prepared to face. What he uncovers will change his understanding of the past, and alter the future of those around him.
Review
It's been done to death, you know. It was old in Earthsea, and positively exhumed for Rowling. Yet this book was, quite honestly, one of the most enjoyable "teen gets magic" reads to ever have crossed my bookshelf. There's something about Mort, his personality is infectious, his style and whit both quick and memorable and the surrounds were very nicely done too. There's a rather marvelous shift from third to first person narration in chapter 18, one of the most deftly executed and intricately written bits of POV work I've seen, it's only done in a couple of sentences but I really Grokked it. I also really like Manning's pricing structure; each of the books in the series costs a little more than the others. It's almost like he's saying "if you think I'm worth it, pay that bit more to carry on". The most expensive is no more than a decent pot of coffee or a sandwich, which in my opinion is a damn good bargain. This one, book 1, costs less than £1: you can't even take a shopping trolley around a supermarket without a quid, you know! Both sequels are on my wish list and will be the next thing I buy for personal gratification without a doubt.
4 Stars to Memoirs of an Invisible Man by H.F. Saint
Description
When a freak accident leaves stock analyst Nick Halloway completely invisible, he is pursued by intelligence agents, amasses a fortune, and battles against desperate loneliness
Review
"Somehow, unwittingly, incredibly, I had become part of a live sex act performed before a hostile, disapproving audience. I felt exposed, anxious, and ashamed." This, so early in the book, makes you wonder jus where this title is going. But as you look back, seeing that really, it's the last public appearance of our hero in any meaningful way, there's a touch of ... what? Sympathy, I suppose. "I was becoming a sack of vomit and fecal matter. I suppose, on reflection, that that is what I had always been, but nature had not formerly imposed this aspect of the human condition quite so vividly upon me. The nasty facts had been discreetly enveloped in opaque flesh. Now I was to be a transparent sack of vomit and fecal matter. I cannot begin to tell you how distasteful it was." A shade under twenty per cent of the book, about fifty minutes of my reading time, was devoted to the immediate aftermath of Nick's disappearance. This was, for me, perhaps the most electrifying part. The author does explore the implications of invisibility well throughout, and yet that hour of drama was my highlight. IT's wordy, in a strange way; not immediately obvious it's over twenty-five years old, and written in an almost bemusedly whimsical style. For all that, I dug in and really liked it.
5 Stars to Brilliance (Brilliance Saga, #1) by Marcus Sakey
Description
In Wyoming, a little girl reads people’s darkest secrets by the way they fold their arms. In New York, a man sensing patterns in the stock market racks up $300 billion. In Chicago, a woman can go invisible by being where no one is looking. They’re called "brilliants," and since 1980, one percent of people have been born this way. Nick Cooper is among them; a federal agent, Cooper has gifts rendering him exceptional at hunting terrorists. His latest target may be the most dangerous man alive, a brilliant drenched in blood and intent on provoking civil war. But to catch him, Cooper will have to violate everything he believes in - and betray his own kind. From Marcus Sakey, "a modern master of suspense" (Chicago Sun-Times) and "one of our best storytellers" (Michael Connelly), comes an adventure that’s at once breakneck thriller and shrewd social commentary; a gripping tale of a world fundamentally different and yet horrifyingly similar to our own, where being born gifted can be a terrible curse.
Review
"But watching the children play—they’d moved to a new game, where a little girl spun once, then closed her eyes and answered detailed questions about everything in the room, down to the number of buttons on Alice’s dress—Cooper saw a whole generation of abnorms growing up right under the noses of the DAR, unreported, untested, untracked. The implications were enormous." I found this hard to put down, because the action was so well written. I see book after book, touted as the next James Bond or Jason Bourne. This book just breathes, doesn't try and impress you by saying how wonderful it's supposed to be, and comes out the richer for that humility. A friend pointed out the lack of character development. and, yes, there is a predictability to both the book as a whole and Cooper's specific plays. But you don't read this sort of book for detailed psychoanalysis, you read it for a thrill and a dollop of science. Sakey delivers!
3 Stars to The Cestus Concern (Weir Codex, #1) by Mat Nastos
Description
WHO IS MALCOLM WEIR? Waking up in an operating room, much to the surprise of the attending surgeons, Malcolm Weir frantically fights his way out of a secret government installation, located in downtown Los Angeles. Battling through a mass of armed guards and meta-gene operatives, the cyborg warrior realizes he has no memory of how he got there. The past 11 months are gone. With a hole in his mind, Weir must retrace his steps for the past year, fighting his way through the nearly endless horde of super powered mercenaries and assassins the government sends after him. Travel along with Weir, facing some of the most intense action ever put to paper, along with a body count of ridiculous proportions, as he tracks down the secrets trapped in his head. In the end, Weir must stand alone against a former friend and a squad of the deadliest killers ever created, all to learn the terrifying truth behind Project: Hardwired. Fans of films like "Bourne Identity" or "Smoking Aces," or the comics of Deadpool and Wolverine, will love the over-the-top science fiction action of "The Cestus Concern" by Mat Nastos.
Review
The state of publishing is pretty sorry indeed when a supposedly "world-class" thriller is so riddled with transposed and missing letters. I know, it's picky - but if you're going to publish something, selling it to people, surely those little niggles are important? The story was as over-the-top comic book action as you could want, true to form and exactly what I expected.
4 Stars to The Man Who Folded Himself by David Gerrold
Description
This classic work of science fiction is widely considered to be the ultimate time-travel novel. When Daniel Eakins inherits a time machine, he soon realizes that he has enormous power to shape the course of history. He can foil terrorists, prevent assassinations, or just make some fast money at the racetrack. And if he doesn't like the results of the change, he can simply go back in time and talk himself out of making it! But Dan soon finds that there are limits to his powers and forces beyond his control.
Review
This really messed with my head and could doubtless do with a deeper reread. Powerful, emotional, provoking and rather worrying!
3 Stars to Sandstorm (Sigma Force, #1) by James Rollins
Description
An inexplicable explosion rocks the antiquities collection of a London museum, setting off alarms in clandestine organizations around the world. And now the search for answers is leading Lady Kara Kensington; her friend Safia al-Maaz, the gallery's brilliant and beautiful curator; and their guide, the international adventurer Omaha Dunn, into a world they never dreamed existed: a lost city buried beneath the Arabian desert. But others are being drawn there as well, some with dark and sinister purposes. And the many perils of a death-defying trek deep into the savage heart of the Arabian Peninsula pale before the nightmare waiting to be unearthed at journey's end: an ageless and awesome power that could create a utopia... or destroy everything humankind has built over countless millennia.
Review
Though pretty over-the-top in places, this had a strange alure to it. I can't say that it surprised me, but it's certainly a worthy enough entry to the genre. Perhaps only a 3 because I never really liked the mystical nonsense.
4 Stars to The House of Silk (Horowitz's Holmes, #1) by Anthony Horowitz
Description
For the first time in its one-hundred-and-twenty-five-year history, the Arthur Conan Doyle Estate has authorized a new Sherlock Holmes novel. Once again, THE GAME’S AFOOT… London, 1890. 221B Baker St. A fine art dealer named Edmund Carstairs visits Sherlock Holmes and Dr John Watson to beg for their help. He is being menaced by a strange man in a flat cap – a wanted criminal who seems to have followed him all the way from America. In the days that follow, his home is robbed, his family is threatened. And then the first murder takes place. Almost unwillingly, Holmes and Watson find themselves being drawn ever deeper into an international conspiracy connected to the teeming criminal underworld of Boston, the gaslit streets of London, opium dens and much, much more. And as they dig, they begin to hear the whispered phrase-the House of Silk-a mysterious entity that connects the highest levels of government to the deepest depths of criminality. Holmes begins to fear that he has uncovered a conspiracy that threatens to tear apart the very fabric of society. The Arthur Conan Doyle Estate chose the celebrated, #1 New York Times bestselling author Anthony Horowitz to write The House of Silk because of his proven ability to tell a transfixing story and for his passion for all things Holmes. Destined to become an instant classic, The House of Silk brings Sherlock Holmes back with all the nuance, pacing, and almost superhuman powers of analysis and deduction that made him the world’s greatest detective, in a case depicting events too shocking, too monstrous to ever appear in print…until now. (front flap)
Review
“So, Watson ...?” he asked. “Yes, Holmes,” I said. “I am ready.” “And I am very glad to have you once again at my side.” This is rather brilliantly executed. The tone, the style, the very essence of what is so marvelous about the Holmes stories is captured here, and while Holmes Rides Again may put too much of a modern twist on a story which is truly and elegantly bound by a detailed historical atmosphere, that's the idea you get. IT is, of course, not perfect. it's too long for a Holmes work, and some of the detail of the streets, the background of London if you will, is forced through probably because it's so far a representation of a London long, long gone. Still, for all that you realise it isn't Doyle, it's a Doyle attempt actually done very well indeed. You can perhaps look at it less charitably and argue it's fanfiction. I've read many a fanfic in my time which, given the style and quality of the writing, I would have eagerly paid for. I guess that's where being a known author comes into play.
4 Stars to K-Pax (K-Pax, #1) by Gene Brewer
Description
Imagine a time and space traveler from another planet. One that looks human and exemplifies the ideal world he comes from, a world free from human nature's greed and cruelty. That creature would be "prot", as he calls himself, the newest patient at the Manhattan Psychiatric Institute. Prot seems to know more than he should about faster-than-the-speed-of-light-travel. And besides drawing constellations as viewed from K-PAX, the name of his home planet, "prot" can describe its orbit around double suns in unpublished detail. Who is "prot" and where did he really come from? Why does he have the ability to cure severe mental cases? And to disappear at will? And to charm everyone he comes into contact with? Bizarre delusion or reality? Listen in as a psychiatrist who specializes in delusional behavior documents his sessions with the man from K-PAX. (P)2004 Brilliance Audio, Inc.
Review
For reasons not entirely clear to me, this was compelling and gripping. I've never heard about the movie and can't warm to Brewer's written style overmuch, but I was still fascinated to see how the novel ended. c
November
3 Stars to Misspent Youth (Commonwealth Universe #0.5) by Peter F. Hamilton
Description
It is forty years in the future and, following decades of research and trillions of euros spent on genetics, Europe is finally in a position to rejuvenate a human being. The first subjest chosen for treatment is Jeff Baker, the father of the datasphere (whihc replaced the Internet) and philanthropist extraordinaire. After 18 months in a German medical facility, the 78-year-old patient returns home looking like a healthy 20-year-old." Misspent Youth" follows the effect his reappearance has on his friends and family - his young ex-model wife Sue, his teenage son Tim, and his long term pals, themselves all pensioners, who are starting to resent what Jeff has become.
Review
This was slow for me to get into, but built well. as an introduction to the author I can't say it's put me off exploring more, but neither has it caused me to think the writing is something so intriguing as to bump the title up my list. I do have the reality Disfunction, but I started Misspent Youth after the synopsis caught my eye without even being aware of it until then. In short? enjoyed it , interesting enough, but without a wow factor.
2 Stars to The Remigrants by Joseph E. Wright
Description
Just when you thought they were dead and gone, they can come back.
Review
I struggled to see much point in this work. I found the vulgarities, crap, shit etc anachronistic, the speech from whatever the dead guy's name was pointlessly different without cause and the writing, though with a possibility of captivation, was actually unpromising and rather droll.
5 Stars to Terra by Mitch Benn
Description
A science fiction fable for the young-at-heart from stand-up comedian and satirical song-writer Mitch Benn. No-one trusts humanity. No-one can quite understand why we're intent on destroying the only place we have to live in the Universe. No-one thinks we're worth a second thought. And certainly no-one is about to let us get off Rrth. That would be a complete disaster. But one alien thinks Rrth is worth looking at. Not humanity, obviously, we're appalling, but until we manage to kill every other living thing on the planet there are some truly wonderful places on Rrth and some wonderful creatures living in them. Best take a look while they're still there. But on one trip to Rrth our alien biologist causes a horrendous accident. The occupants of a car travelling down a lonely road spot his ship (the sort of massive lemon coloured, lemon shaped starship that really shouldn't be hanging in the sky over a road). Understandably the Bradbury's crash (interrupting the latest in a constant procession of bitter rows). And in the wreckage of their car our alien discovers a baby girl. She needs rescuing. From the car. From Rrth. From her humanity. And now eleven years later a girl called Terra is about to go to school for the first time. It's a very alien experience... TERRA is a charming and hilarious satirical fable. A story about how odd and alien we are. And a story about how human odd aliens are. It tells the story of a girl who grows up in a very different world, who gains a unique perspective on our world and a unique perspective on her new home. A girl who can teach us and them a lot. A girl living in an extraordinary world that is spiralling into a terrible war.
Review
This was brilliant. As a blind reader, names without any vowels are a bit of a mouthful, and not using standard quotes in a text is annoying when you normally have dialogue and narration distinctly rendered in your ebooks. But the content was great, the whole style of writing is just very appealing and easy to get into and the work itself is quite a cleverly put together bit of fun.
4 Stars to The Confessions of Max Tivoli by Andrew Sean Greer
Description
"We are each the love of someone's life." So begins The Confessions of Max Tivoli, a heartbreaking love story with a narrator like no other. Born with the physical appearance of an elderly man, Max grows older mentally like any child, but his body appears to age backwards, growing younger every year. And yet, his physical curse proves to be a blessing, allowing him to try to win the heart of the same woman three times as at each successive encounter she fails to recognize him, taking him for a stranger, so giving Max another chance at love. Set against the historical backdrop of San Francisco at the turn of the twentieth century, Andrew Sean Greer's The Confessions of Max Tivoli is a beautiful and daring feat of the imagination, questioning the very nature of love, time, and what it means to be human.
Review
There's a lot of beauty in the writing here. It's a nostalgic portrayal of a lost time and a rather hard-hitting treatise on Humanity and love. Not my usual haunt, but strangely compelling nonetheless.
2 Stars to The Stainless Steel Rat Returns (Stainless Steel Rat, #11) by Harry Harrison
Description
After a ten-year absence, the return of one of the most enduring series characters in modern SF.
Review
A little disappointing to end the series, really, although I suppose as a last hurrah it does try to recapture some of the rat’s glory. A little too over the top, or perhaps I’ve just been out of the series too long and used to think more of them. Sad, nonetheless.
2 Stars to Spyware by B.V. Larson
Description
What if the entire Internet went down... At once? The world believes Ray Vance released the worst computer virus in history. The virus adapts and evolves like a biological creature in order to survive. Many believe it is a new life form, but one designed with an evil purpose. As the sun sets on our technological world and the entire Internet shuts down, Vance runs from the feds. He must save his family, stop the virus... and stay alive. This Technothriller is a full 71,000 word long novel, by award-winning author B. V. Larson.
Review
This book started out with potential. it had a nice cover. It even had a good synopsis - but that's about where the goodness ended. The author seemed to delight in making up words: "crumped" for instance, appeared 4 times. Furthermore, although a lot of the computer material was accurate, Larson seems happy to drop great clangers to suit his story. For example, a duo of elite hackers are able to bypass a BIOS password by shorting the CMOS battery, but struggle to unpack a password-protected Zip file they have complete file system access to. The story makes large of a countdown, starting at a hundred hours and decreasing throughout the novel. One might expect the heros to foil the plot just in the nick of time, or else for the countdown to reach its end and to have devistating results. One paragraph dedicated to the aftermath of the countdown from a novel this size is not really much to write home about and made the entire book pretty much pointless. And then there's the way the book just ends, one action-packed scene of tension and drama which you expect to lead to a great, exciting ... nothingness. Oh, well. Plenty more fish in the sea.
4 Stars to Dot.Robot by Jason Bradbury
Description
From the Back Cover: "Congratulations, Jackson. Welcome to MeX" Dot.com Billionaire Devlin Lear, founder of the top-secret defence force MeX, has been watching Jackson Farley. He knows he has found a digital genius. Along with three other brilliant gamers from different corners of the world, Lear wants Jackson to join him and stop the criminal heist of the century — using the most highly advanced, state-of-the-art robots ever invented. Can Jackson and the MeX recruits live up to Lear's expections? And how do they know who to trust when they can never meet face-to-face...?
Review
This is a brilliant debut for kids, a rather tremendous take on the whole superhero teen genre. I think the seventh chapter was my favourite, and it's the sort of book I'd have been raving and enthusing about for weeks had I discovered it in my younger years. The next generations Artemis Fowl or Alex Rider for a cert.
5 Stars to The Martian by Andy Weir
Description
Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he’s sure he’ll be the first person to die there. After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive—and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive. Chances are, though, he won’t have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment, or plain-old “human error” are much more likely to kill him first. But Mark isn’t ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills — and a relentless, dogged refusal to quit — he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. Will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?
Review
"It's kind of silly if you think about it. I'm in my space suit on Mars and I'm navigating with 16th century tools. But hey, they work". Now this is the sort of story to get your teeth into. It reminded me of Journey Into Space with a modern twist and rather amusing hero to boot. It's not the sort of work that resounds deeply afterward; there's a lightness to the way it's written that lets you come away having finished it without any baggage. But while in there, you're really feeling it and wondering just how much more this guy can take. "“I could find something sharp in here and poke a hole in the glove of my EVA suit. I could use the escaping air as a thruster and fly my way to you. The source of thrust would be on my arm, so I'd be able to direct it pretty easily.” “How does he come up with this shit?” Martinez interjected. “I can't see you having any control if you did that,” Lewis said. “You'd be eyeballing the intercept and using a thrust vector you can barely control.” “I admit it's fatally dangerous,” Watney said. “But consider this: I'd get to fly around like Iron Man.”" Everything's very contrived, of course, but that's just how this sort of story works. I can't quite finger what's so delightful: it's a bit cheesy in places, really, looking at it objectively. But for some reason, I was pretty hooked. "“The Vehicular Airlock?” Johanssen said. “You want to... open it?” “Plenty of air in the ship,” Lewis said. “It'd give us a good kick.” “Ye-es...” Martinez said as he brought up the software. “And it might blow the nose of the ship off in the process.” “Also, all the air would leave,” Johanssen felt compelled to add." So? TO me, it's properly modernised pulp-era sci-fi for the now. I must admit, the ending didn't exactly surprise, and I must further add that the copy I was sent for free says "Redistribution of this e-book is permitted, so long as it is distributed for free." whereas the author's website now says it's being taken up by a big publisher and so is no longer available. Hey. Whatever the rules and rights of the thing, it was a well-told story and I'm rather glad I read it.
4 Stars to Altered Carbon (Takeshi Kovacs, #1) by Richard K. Morgan
Description
In the twenty-fifth century, humankind has spread throughout the galaxy, monitored by the watchful eye of the U.N. While divisions in race, religion, and class still exist, advances in technology have redefined life itself. Now, assuming one can afford the expensive procedure, a person’s consciousness can be stored in a cortical stack at the base of the brain and easily downloaded into a new body (or “sleeve”) making death nothing more than a minor blip on a screen. Ex-U.N. envoy Takeshi Kovacs has been killed before, but his last death was particularly painful. Dispatched one hundred eighty light-years from home, re-sleeved into a body in Bay City (formerly San Francisco, now with a rusted, dilapidated Golden Gate Bridge), Kovacs is thrown into the dark heart of a shady, far-reaching conspiracy that is vicious even by the standards of a society that treats “existence” as something that can be bought and sold. For Kovacs, the shell that blew a hole in his chest was only the beginning. . . . From the Trade Paperback edition.
Review
A gritty, futuristic but pretty accessible work, this held my interest throughout and added an interesting, unhuman twist to the hard-boiled detective trope. Plenty more of Morgan's work to read, this was a great starter.
3 Stars to I'm Not Sam by Jack Ketchum
Description
Now I'm way beyond confusion. Now I'm scared. I've slid down the rabbit-hole and what's down there is dark and serious. This is not play-acting or some waking bad dream she's having. She's changed, somehow overnight. I don't know how I know this but I sense it as surely as I sense my own skin. This is not Sam, my Sam, wholly sane and firmly balanced. Capable of tying off an artery as neatly as you'd thread a belt through the loops of your jeans. And now I'm shivering too. In some fundamental way she's changed...
Review
Plenty of food for thought here. It's short, but that makes you think about it even more. A title with a peculiar power.
4 Stars to Wasp by Eric Frank Russell
Description
The war has raged for nearly a year and Earth desperately needs an edge to overcome the Sirian Empire's huge advantage in personnel and equipment. That's where James Mowry comes in. Intensively trained, his appearance surgically altered, Mowry secretly lands on one of the Empire's planets. His mission: to sap morale, cause mayhem, tie up resources, and wage a one-man war on a planet of 80 million--in short, to be like the wasp buzzing around a car to distract the driver...and causing him to crash.
Review
I really got into this story. It had a bit of a golden age of sci-fi feel to it, which was great, and was well paced and fun to boot. I haven’t read anything of this author before: an error I must fix!
5 Stars to Eifelheim by Michael Flynn
Description
In 1349, one small town in Germany disappeared and has never been resettled. Tom, a contemporary historian, and his theoretical physicist girlfriend Sharon, become interested. Tom indeed becomes obsessed. By all logic, the town should have survived, but it didn't and that violates everything Tom knows about history. What's was special about Eifelheim that it utterly disappeared more than 600 years ago? Father Dietrich is the village priest of Oberhochwald, the village that will soon gain the name of Teufelheim, in later years corrupted to Eifelheim, in the year 1348, when the Black Death is gathering strength across Europe but is still not nearby. Dietrich is an educated man, knows science and philosophy, and to his astonishment becomes the first contact between humanity and an alien race from a distant star when their interstellar ship crashes in the nearby forest. It is a time of wonders, in the shadow of the plague. Tom and Sharon, and Father Dietrich, have a strange and intertwined destiny of tragedy and triumph in this brilliant SF novel by the winner of the Robert A. Heinlein Award.
Review
"Rescued by them, I take it. How?" "One came in his flying harness and spread a paste around the slit window. There followed a thunderclap and the wall collapsed, whereat my rescuer gathered me up and flew me here." I adored this, and although I see the figure in front of me proving it was only four hours and twenty-eight minutes of reading time, it felt like considerably more. I think I rate it so highly, not for the story or its resolution, but for the setting out of it: the tone and style, indeed, the "milieu of the mid-fourteenth-century Rhineland", to quote - that is captivating. "They used many of the same words as we do—motion, intuition, realism, natural, occult—but their meanings lay often at odd angles to ours." It's truly freshening, to see the perspective of an alien culture filtered through what to us is now an alien time, even with nothing extra-terrestrial about it. There is a lot of forwardness about Dietrich's perception, and indeed one reviewer of this book thought that ruined the book for him because of the speed with which he absorbs new terms and fits them into already established patterns. To me, the biology and methods of the visitors are quite alien enough, without having to entangle newly coined terms by the OBERHOCHWALD folk as well. "Much as I would tend my manor in peace, peace needs the consent of all, while one alone may raise a war." I found the modern parts of the book almost Heinlein in their management of the womenfolk, which appealed to my sense of whimsy more than my male chauvinism. But to be truthful, I didn't focus on them overmuch because the historical detail was so rich and vivid, the action powerful and overwhelming, and so though it's not what I'd call a five star rating for everyone, it's a book that has impacted me deeply and that I enjoyed very much indeed.
3 Stars to Alex (Camille Verhœven, #2) by Pierre Lemaitre
Description
Qui connaît vraiment Alex? Elle est belle. Excitante. Est-ce pour cela qu'on l'a enlevée, séquestrée, livrée à l'inimaginable? Mais quand la police découvre enfin sa prison, Alex a disparu. Alex, plus intelligente que son bourreau. Alex qui ne pardonne rien, qui n'oublie rien, ni personne. Un thriller glaçant qui jongle avec les codes de la folie meurtrière, une mécanique diabolique et imprévisible où l'on retrouve l'extraordinaire talent de l'auteur de Robe de marié.
Review
Though it's clear detective fiction isn't quite my thing, this was interesting and full of little twists and turns, and cleverly handled shifts of viewpoint reveal more aspects to the story as things progress. It's well translated,Camille is an interesting character, and it fits well into the genre of detective fiction with a lead who's troubled and got issues of his own.
4 Stars to Dweller by Jeff Strand
Description
Toby was just a boy the first time he saw the creature in the woods. His parents convinced the terrified child it was only his imagination. The next time Toby saw the creature he was a lonely, unhappy teenager without friends. But the creature would be his friend. It would be there when Toby needed someone to talk to. And it would take care of the bullies who wouldn’t leave Toby alone. After all, the creature needed to eat. And during their macabre, decades-long friendship, there will be other meals...
Review
This, to my surprise, was actually a most enjoyable read. Not that I'm saying that strand can't write of course, but I didn't expect to get as much out of the work as I did, going on genre and synopsis. Don't judge a book by its cover, and all that. There's a lot you could read into Dweller, psychologically speaking, and although Toby is so clearly scarred and wounded and mentally a bit weird, there's a lot going for him, too. I'm finishing this, then clicking through to Amazon to buy Pressure.
4 Stars to Ice by James Follett
Description
The top brass of Western Intelligence are badly rattled when transatlantic cables are inexplicably and provocatively cut, and Russian and American relations reach freezing-point. Only Glyn Sherwood and Julia Hammond, two scientists working in the Antarctic, can guess the identity of the enemy. It is a gargantuan slice of the glacial continent bearing millions of tons of rock on its grasp, which triggers a series of disasters as it drifts inexorably north.
Review
"He bit on his cigar and summed up with a six-word sentence that made up in conciseness what it lacked in finesse: “Those bastards are up to something.”" This is a very good Follett indeed. Obviously, I can't say with any degree of certainty what would happen if a gargantuan iceberg decided to start rolling its way through the ocean, but for your average lay person this is quite an interesting premise to read about. It's at the eighteenth chapter, I think, we start to get a glimpse of our characters spunk and pluckiness; the escape from the doomed cruise liner is thrilling. Then again, it's also interesting how my sympathies lay with Oaf, as the doer of the team; until Sherwood, our wining Welsh geologist, actually starts making himself useful and does more than mess things up for everyone else. This story has it all: tension between the characters, humour where appropriate, but a very real threat to many people which is thought-provoking and intelligently written about.
2 Stars to Demon Dentist by David Walliams
Description
Darkness had come to the town. Strange things were happening in the dead of night. Children would put a tooth under their pillow for the tooth fairy, but in the morning they would wake up to find… a dead slug; a live spider; hundreds of earwigs creeping and crawling beneath their pillow. Evil was at work. But who or what was behind it…?
Review
Not the sort of humour I wish to subject my household to.
4 Stars to The Reluctant Assassin (W.A.R.P., #1) by Eoin Colfer
Description
The reluctant assassin is Riley, a Victorian boy who is suddenly plucked from his own time and whisked into the twenty-first century, accused of murder and on the run. Riley has been pulled into the FBI's covert W.A.R.P. operation (Witness Anonymous Relocation Program). He and young FBI Agent Chevie Savano are forced to flee terrifying assassin-for-hire Albert Garrick, who pursues Riley through time and will not stop until he has hunted him down. Barely staying one step ahead, Riley and Chevie must stay alive and stop Garrick returning to his own time with knowledge and power that could change the world forever.
Review
Brilliantly exciting, Colfer's managed to take much of the goodness out of his former writing into this new series without dragging any of his albatrosses along for the ride. I strongly suspect that, had I encountered this book in place of Artemis Fowl all those years ago, it would've had a similar impact. If your any fan of Colfer or seek a teen read with the timeview of Alex Scarrow but the humour and illusion of a master, read this.
4 Stars to The Sensory Deception by Ransom Stephens
Description
"I can't believe I ate a seal. And really enjoyed it." Moments after venture capitalist Gloria Baradaran experiences what it's like to be a polar bear--really be a polar bear--she knows she's found something revolutionary. Farley Rutherford and his team--migraine-tortured neurologist Chopper Vittori and uber-geek engineer Ringo Hayes--have created sensory saturation, a virtual reality system that drops users into the psyches of endangered animals as they fight for survival, and they believe the profound experience could turn the indifferent masses into avid environmentalists. Ringo's hardware is ready to go, but the pressures to get the system off the ground are immense. The money-men want more bang for their buck, and that includes bigger, more dangerous animals, and--more than anything--the ability to turn the machines into profitable games. But to Farley and his team, this is anything but a game. To some, in fact, this is a cause they'd kill for... The Sensory Deception is a mind-blowing, globe-trotting ride that will take readers from cut-throat Silicon Valley boardrooms to the pirate ships off the Somali coast to the devastated rain forests of the Amazon all to ask the question: What is a human life worth compared to that of an entire planet?
Review
I found the immersion here overwhelming in its intensity. while I couldn't get into Chopper's head, I was still able to appreciate the layered writing and complexity of the task facing the characters. A very well-put-together work and I'm buying his next. Now.
October
2 Stars to David's Sling by Marc Stiegler
Description
Unwilling to risk the use of nuclear weapons, the U.S. and Russia try to develop the ultimate in computer-controlled smart weapons
Review
Parts of this book truly appealed to me, but others had me nodding offf. It was clearly a vehicle for views with storytelling seconded, and that works well sometimes but didn't really do so brilliantly here. Recommended for hardened sF fans or those with a particular cold war interest.
3 Stars to Galactic Dreams by Harry Harrison
Description
Collected here are twelve of Harrison's best, including "Space Rats of the CCC," probably the greatest space opera ever written, slightly tongue-in-cheek; "At Last, the True Story of Frankenstein," in which our favorite monster gets new life - but whose life is it?; "Bill, The Galactic Hero's Happy Holiday," in which our favorite drunkard enlistee is kidnapped by the evil Chingers and hypnotized into believing he's a general; and nine more classics ranging across time and space! 1 I Always Do What Teddy Says 2 Space Rats of the CCC 3 Down to Earth 4 A Criminal Act 5 Famous First Words 6 The Pad - A Story of the Day after the Day after Tomorrow 7 If 8 Mute Milton 9 Simulated Trainer 10 At Last, the True Story of Frankenstein 11 The Robot Who Wanted to Know 12 Bill the Galactic Hero's Happy Holiday
Review
A nice sampling of Harrison's work, though too short. I'm going to have to reread a longer set of his stories at some point. Favourite? HMM.., either At Last, the True Story of Frankenstein or Simulated Trainer
2 Stars to First Activation (Activation, #1) by D.A. Wearmouth
Description
Harry and his brother Jack are on an airline flight, headed for a wild weekend–a ritual they have enjoyed every May since leaving the army. The trip takes a terrifying turn when they land in New York—this year’s destination—to find that JFK airport is almost deserted and that the few ground crew they can spot have all been brutally slaughtered. Is it a terrorist attack? Or something even more menacing? When a security guard appears and offers to help the passengers, but promptly shoots the first person off the plane and then kills himself, Harry realises that there is something very, very wrong in New York City.
Review
There's obviously more to come from this series but the writing wasn't really of a standard to keep my interest, nor the idea particularly well-handled.
5 Stars to Angelica by Arthur Phillips
Description
From the bestselling author of The Egyptologist and Prague comes an even more accomplished and entirely surprising new novel. Angelica is a spellbinding Victorian ghost story, an intriguing literary and psychological puzzle, and a meditation on marriage, childhood, memory, and fear. The novel opens in London, in the 1880s, with the Barton household on the brink of collapse. Mother, father, and daughter provoke one another, consciously and unconsciously, and a horrifying crisis is triggered. As the family's tragedy is told several times from different perspectives, events are recast and sympathies shift. In the dark of night, a chilling sexual spectre is making its way through the house, hovering over the sleeping girl and terrorizing her fragile mother. Are these visions real, or is there something more sinister, and more human, to fear? A spiritualist is summoned to cleanse the place of its terrors, but with her arrival the complexities of motive and desire only multiply. The mother's failing health and the father's many secrets fuel the growing conflicts, while the daughter flirts dangerously with truth and fantasy. While Angelica is reminiscent of such classic horror tales as The Turn of the Screw and The Haunting of Hill House, it is also a thoroughly modern exploration of identity, reality, and love. Set at the dawn of psychoanalysis and the peak of spiritualism's acceptance, Angelica is also an evocative historical novel that explores the timeless human hunger for certainty. BONUS: This edition contains excerpts from Arthur Phillips's The Tragedy of Arthur, The Song Is You, Prague, and The Egyptologist.
Review
"That circumspection was literal: she looked around her as she spoke, as if her lady might somehow be here or crouching near a communicating fireplace elsewhere, as if all London’s hearths were interconnected to spy upon domestics." That is worthy of Rowling. The writing here is potent, nuanced, layered and complex. The examination of the events portrayed is most detailed, and the introspection is deftly-done and solid. "Memories are injected after the fact with subsequent wisdom. Their younger selves, whom we never knew, suddenly appear in our looking glasses, the inconceivable people they were before they conceived us. " There's a beauty to the writing, although it's perhaps a touch more metaphysical than I'm used to. and yet, for all that it's hard going and requires a level of concentration above your average story, it's worth the effort because of the rich story and even richer characters. It's enthralling, haunting, disturbing on a level hard to qualify. A captivating, mesmerizing yarn.
3 Stars to The Adolescence of P-1 by Thomas J. Ryan
Description
Born to a rather beserk, if brilliant, programmer, a computer program has managed to escape its home computer, infiltrate others, and reach adolescence when the Pentagon finally realizes that something is upsetting their secret computer data
Review
This was a really interesting read, as all the technology was so dated it felt like going back in time. Of course, the story itself isn’t spectacular nowadays, but I enjoyed it for the historical angle if nothing else.
3 Stars to The Thirteenth Magician by Patrick Welch
Description
DARK FANTASY: The Gods were at war on Horea. No one was safe, including the young man Daasek, chosen to be a weapon for the battling powers. A tool sent to do battle with the thirteen powerful magicians who reigned on his world. Yet he had to fight them to reclaim the most precious possession of all,his very soul. Could he pay the price necessary to reclaim his freedom? Or was he doomed to remain a plaything of the Gods? Rating: PG 13
Review
This was a pretty intriguing read, although perhaps too short for those of us used to epic worldbuilding. Still, the concepts and foundations were solid and, although the message did come through, the ending was a little flat for my tastes. The authro has other published stories, I'll gladly check any others out that I come across.
2 Stars to Cryo-Man (Cryo-Man, #1) by Kevin George
Description
Nikolas Edwards has a lone memory: he follows his young son around their house, playing and laughing, as any normal father would with his boy. But Nikolas is very sick and the memory ends with his death, though not before he has his son make a very important phone call... When Nikolas awakens next, he is no longer the man he used to be and no longer lives in the world he once knew. He has changed dramatically, more than he imagined a human possiby could. Cryonics has given him a second chance at life, but it has taken away nearly every memory he once knew, leaving only the final moment before his human death. But the thought of his son remains, tethering him to a past he desperately wants to remember. Though the world is no longer controlled by humans, he sets off to learn about his family by any means necessary, even though what he's become makes him an enemy to all.
Review
This had potential and I at least carried on with it. The writing did drag in places, and 22 uses of "hiding spot" didn't sit well with me. Also, the phrase "could care less" has always confused me and it's used frequently. I shouldn't have been disappointed at the ending either, because it's a saga, but I was. Ah, well.
4 Stars to The alchemist's key by Traci Harding
Description
Wade Ashby inherits his grandfatherᱠestate in Oxfordshire, England, becoming 13th Baron of Ashby Manor. He travels from Australia with his friend Hugh to take up his birthright and find out why there is secrecy surrounding certain aspects of the baronage and members of the family. the two are caught up in strange dreams and odd time occurrences. Led back through the Manorᱠsordid and fascinating history, it seems there had once been a circular structure in the gardens, known locally as the temple of Knowledge. One of Wadeᱠforebears dabbled in alchemy and the new sciences - Wade digs up weird, archaic technology, and it becomes a race of repair time before the situation is out of everyoneᱠcontrol!
Review
I can’t say exactly what it was that made me enjoy this book so much. The writing was fluid and the story interesting and, even though the characters were a little cheesy and predictable, the idea works so well and is such a quick, breathtakingly enjoyable story that you don’t mind it. I’ll have to consider reading more Harding.
5 Stars to She Is Not Invisible by Marcus Sedgwick
Description
The feeling that coincidences give us tells us they mean something... But what? What do they mean? LAURETH PEAK'S father has taught her to look for recurring events, patterns, and numbers - a skill at which she's remarkably talented. When he goes missing while researching coincidence for a new book, Laureth and her younger brother fly from London to New York and must unravel a series of cryptic messages to find him. The complication: Laureth is blind. Reliant on her other senses and on her brother to survive, Laureth finds that rescuing her father will take all her skill at spotting the extraordinary, and sometimes dangerous, connections in a world full of darkness.
Review
“I learned to do a thousand things to help sighted people simply talk to me.” This is an extremely powerful book. I finished reading it, and thought to myself that Had my daughter been blind, I would have been very lucky if she’d had half the fortitude, courage and resilience Laureth displays. Sedgwick has depicted a blind teen quite convincingly. I found her a little fragile on occasion, but given what she’s doing during the book that’s to be expected, and it’s not overblown. I do have to remind myself that Laureth is female, and has loving, responsible parents who clearly take an interest in her wellbeing, which of course shapes her outlook. I know that the author spent some time with blind people researching his character, and the benefits of that are manifold: the discussion of being guided, the pervasion of smells and sounds, the whole way the book is written positively resonates with me as a blind person. The one thing I really found interesting was that I didn’t feel that I’d missed out on description, even though Laureth is telling the story and can’t see anything. I enjoy good description – there’s a great visual introduction to Albus Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Philosopher s Stone which is great, really – but here, you don’t feel as if you’re lacking it. There is also, almost inevitably, a scene where the blind person outdoes someone who can see, smashing light bulbs to give herself an advantage. It’s neatly written and cleverly executed, and provides that final adrenaline rush to cap off the story. Not long, but with enough action to keep my interest and a main character who’s expertly written, this is a title certain to push the boundaries of blind people in fiction that bit further, whilst being a cracking story and broaching a subject that young adults would do well to learn more about. I’d read another Laureth story in the future were one to appear without doubt or reservation
4 Stars to The Awakening (Hasea Chronicles #1) by Stuart Meczes
Description
Alexander Eden is one unhappy teenager. A geeky, social pariah, he's the victim of constant bullying at school. His home life isn't much better with a stepfather who resents him and a half brother who is better than him at everything. But that all changes the day the mysterious and beautiful Gabriella De Luca walks into his life. Everyone wants to know her, to be with her. But she is interested in Alex. Because Alex is different. Soon afterwards he is thrown into a world he never thought possible. A world where he and others like him are the last line of defence. A world where an ancient unspeakable evil lurks. Evil which seeks to consume him. DILECTI SURGEMUS - SOCII POLLEMUS (Chosen we rise - Allied we prevail)
Review
Part of me couldn't help thinking of this as a male Twilight, although the writing was actually very good and my interest retained throughout. So despite it appealing to the very teen side of me I'm going to have to buy the next one just to see where it goes next.
2 Stars to Marooned on Mars by Lester del Rey
Description
mass market paperback book
Review
I'm sure this had a lot going for it, but somehow it didn't stir anything in me previous things of a similar nature have (any of the younger Heinlein stuff, Charles Chilton's work etc).
5 Stars to The Universe Versus Alex Woods by Gavin Extence
Description
A rare meteorite struck Alex Woods when he was ten years old, leaving scars and marking him for an extraordinary future. The son of a fortune teller, bookish, and an easy target for bullies, Alex hasn't had the easiest childhood. But when he meets curmudgeonly widower Mr. Peterson, he finds an unlikely friend. Someone who teaches him that you only get one shot at life. That you have to make it count. So when, aged seventeen, Alex is stopped at customs with 113 grams of marijuana, an urn full of ashes on the front seat, and an entire nation in uproar, he's fairly sure he's done the right thing ... Introducing a bright young voice destined to charm the world, The Universe Versus Alex Woods is a celebration of curious incidents, astronomy and astrology, the works of Kurt Vonnegut and the unexpected connections that form our world.
Review
This was a brilliantly written and immaculately produced work. There's just something about Alex, about the way he thinks and writes, which somehow hooks you and keeps you reading and wanting to read. I literally did not want to put it down. I laughed out loud in places, and found others very solemn and thought-provoking. The whole message of the work falls very neatly into the libertarianism view, but there's nothing forceful about it and it's a rather beautiful, innocent novel which is one of the richest I've read this year.
3 Stars to A Voice for Princess (Kedrigern, #1) by John Morressy
Description
If only I could find the right spell! At 160 years old Kedrigern is a relatively young, bachelor wizard of some reputation. He is a master magician, specializing in the performance of counter-spells, that is, magic to counteract the incantations of other spell-casters. Kedrigern is a respected member of the Wizards' Guild, though he cannot see why such an organization needs to exist. It all seems too much like the bureaucracy of the new upstart practice of alchemy. Then to Kedrigern's chagrin the Guild proposes to allow the membership of an alchemist, Professor-Doctor-Master Quintrindus. Kedrigern speaks strongly against the idea, but when it is put to the ballot he is the only person who votes against. Greatly miffed Kedrigern resigns.
Review
I had hoped to enjoy this more, and indeed there were elements which appealed tremendously. Some of the language is nice, the rhyme is rather splendid and it's all-together not too serious a work. it did seemed to end a little flatly though, and it did feel drawn-out and stretched in places. Fun, but not amazing. But there are further stories !
September
4 Stars to The Spartacus File by Lawrence Watt-Evans
Description
Casper Beech is a corporate drone. One day his boss sends him in for neural imprinting but a computer glitch loads the wrong file, and Casper is programmed with something that has nothing to do with his job. Instead of learning a new software package, he learns a new way of thinking -- a mindset designed by a secret government agency for use in enemy nations, and never meant to be unleashed in the United States. Lethal government agents seek to correct the error in a steadily-escalating conflict, while Casper struggles to survive and to find out just what was in the Spartacus File.
Review
Something about this title really appealed to me, and although the ending was predictably unsatisfying, the general idea behind the book was good and actually kept my interest.
3 Stars to Taken by Edward Bloor
Description
By 2035 the rich have gotten richer, the poor have gotten poorer, and kidnapping has become a major growth industry in the United States. The children of privilege live in secure, gated communities and are escorted to and from school by armed guards. But the security around Charity Meyers has broken down... On New Year's morning, she wakes and finds herself alone, strapped to a stretcher, in an ambulance that's not moving. She is amazingly calm - kids in her neighborhood have been well trained in kidnapping protocol. If this were a normal kidnapping, Charity would be fine. But as the hours of her imprisonment tick by, Charity realizes there is nothing normal about what's going on here. No training could prepare her for what her kidnappers really want . . . and worse, for who they turn out to be.
Review
Not too deep for younger readers, this book still manages to depict a future which is both worrying yet with room for hope. Not a title that will stick with me, but interesting for the right audience. I did think the author was female, but the main character is, so perhaps Edward is a good projectionist.
4 Stars to Steelheart (Reckoners, #1) by Brandon Sanderson
Description
Ten years ago, Calamity came. It was a burst in the sky that gave ordinary people extraordinary powers. The awed public started calling them Epics. Epics are no friends of man. With incredible gifts came the desire to rule. And to rule man, you must crush his will. Now, in what was once Chicago, an astonishingly powerful Epic named Steelheart has installed himself as emperor. Steelheart possesses the strength of ten men and can control the elements. It is said that no bullet can harm him, no sword can split his skin, and no fire can burn him. He is invincible. Nobody fights back . . . nobody but the Reckoners. A shadowy group of ordinary humans, the Reckoners spend their lives studying Epics, finding their weaknesses, and then assassinating them. And David wants in. When Steelheart came to Chicago, he killed David’s father. For years, like the Reckoners, David has been studying, and planning, and he has something they need. Not an object, but an experience. He has seen Steelheart bleed. And he wants revenge.
Review
This is Sanderson, superbly distilled for younger or less rapacious readers. A fast plot and a wonderful take on the superhero genre, a little late to the antihero party of course, but a brilliant interpretation from a master all the same and most wonderfully written. I'd buy the next in a moment.
3 Stars to The Human Edge by Gordon R. Dickson
Description
A master of science fiction examines what happens when powerful aliens meet puny humans--with results ranging from chilling to utterly hilarious. Getting along in the Universe can be tricky, but those monkey-boys and girls from Earth can get pretty feisty themselves when the situation calls for it. And if you bet on the side of the mighty alien armadas that have conquered half the galaxy, you might end up losing, as you've overlooked the winning human edge....
Review
I hadn't read any Dickson before so this was pretty interesting a selection. I think On Messenger Mountain was my favourite, though Brother Charlie was also very much to my taste.
5 Stars to King of Morning, Queen of Day by Ian McDonald
Description
Winner of the Philip K. Dick Award and the Prix Imaginales: Three generations of women share a mysterious power—one that threatens to destroy them. In early-twentieth-century Ireland, life for Emily Desmond is that of the average teenage girl: She reads, she's bored with school, and she has a powerful imagination. Then things begin to change. Her imagination is so powerful, in fact, that she wills a faerie into existence—an ability called mythoconsciousness. It's this power that opens a dangerous door that she will never want to close, and whose repercussions will reverberate across time. First to be affected is her daughter, Jessica, who, in the mid-1930s, finds that she must face her mother's power by using the very same gift against her. Then, in the near future, Jessica's granddaughter, Enye, must end the cycle once and for all—but it may prove too powerful to overcome.
Review
"But being an inevitability does not make it a joy. Dying is the inevitable of inevitables, but that does not make it into a thing to be looked forward to." I didn't know what I was going to make of this novel; the synopsis intrigued me and I was hooked and spellbound from the very start. Somehow, Mcdonald's managed to blend three very distinct, very separate, indeed very disjointed women into a masterpiece, a complex and powerful gestalt which, although it didn't quite hold me to the edge of my seat all the way through (Enye took a while for me to warm to) nonetheless compelled, impelled, forced me to keep turning the pages to resolve the story and see how it all came out. Of particular appeal to me was the geography, Bridestone Wood, it being "Not quite haunted, but not quite not", and returned to generations hence by these different, different women. Each of whom see things through the views of their own times and ages, of course. And the language. The poetry, the cadence, the rhythm of things. Phrases like: * "Mr. Caldwell’s expression one of grim resolution in the face of withering revelation, like a member of the Russian royal family on the night of the Revolution" * "after monetary inducement of a proportion that even the piratical proprietor of the Munster Arms Hotel would have baulked at" * "An Operatically flamboyant sunset" * "The pith of her spirit" These pretty, witty, catchy turns of phrase struck chords with me, lodged somewhere in my brain, connected me to the work in a way rare and pleasant and delightful. So, yes. An experience, not just a reading. I loved the language best of all, and I'd reread the entries from Dr. Edward Garret Desmond’s Personal Diary over again, just to marvel at and relish in the language of the period. Most of the phrases that caught my eye, that set themselves a tinkling and twinkling in my head were from the second section, and seeing Mcdonald's handling of a future generation was interesting, even if I didn't click with Enye as I did with the other MacColls. Is it worth you reading it? well, that's not for me to say. But if I could go and tell myself to read it a year ago, during a humdrum book or dry literary spell, I'd do so in a heartbeat - my only reservation being that precluding my own enjoyment of it this week.
2 Stars to Time Spike (Ring of Fire - Assiti Shards #1) by Eric Flint
Description
Captain Mark Stephens was overseeing the change of shifts at the state of Illinois' maximum-security prison when the world outside was suddenly ripped. They thought it was an earthquake until they found that the Mississippi river had disappeared, along with all signs of civilization. Then the sun came up -- in the wrong direction. And a dinosaur came by and scratched its hide against the wall of the prison... Something had thrown the prison back in time millions of years. And they were not alone. Other humans from periods centuries, even millennia apart had also been dropped into the same time. Including a band of murderous conquistadores. But the prison had its own large population of murderers. They couldn't be turned loose, but what else could be done with them? Death walked outside the walls, human savagery was planning to break loose inside, and Stephens and the other men and women of the prison's staff were trapped in the middle.
Review
I would've enjoyed this more if it had actually gone somewhere, but from the time the Spike happens and we learn there's no way of going back, it's sink or swim for certain and there's no gray area. This means the scenes set in the present with the research team are completely redundant. As if that wasn't bad enough (nobody likes a story with a predictable ending), the sheer level of proofing needed to make this work publishable put me off: * Glove Department rather than compartment * Clinched teeth, rather than clenched, Crustaceous rather than cretaceous, and Adolph rather than Adolf (Hitler, you know?) all in the one paragraph! * Pepper spay? What on earth is that? * a "grocery story", rather than a store. Really! * and "the identical sort of look". Grammatical nonsense! These are just a few of the things I angrily highlighted. Sloppy editing, sloppy plot, interesting characters, just, and an idea that could've been worth reading in the hands of a decent writer. These aren't there yet
3 Stars to First Contact (In Her Name: The Last War, #1) by Michael R. Hicks
Description
Young Midshipman Ichiro Sato joined the Terran Navy to escape a tyrannical father and find freedom among the stars. He had no idea when he boarded the survey starship Aurora for his first assignment that he and his crew would make humanity’s first contact with a sentient alien species. Little did he know that this fateful encounter would trigger a catastrophic galactic war...
Review
"“With all due respect,” she said, not sounding very respectful at all, “you’re fucking crazy. Sir. The ship can’t take it. If somebody so much as farts in the forward section, let alone fires the main guns, we lose the forward third of the ship.” Very exciting military sci-fi indeed. I even got a little shiver at the epilogue with John and Elaine Coyle, charged and emotional writing there. I think Hicks writing really echoes his forbears, too; I'm quite versed in Heinlein and there were echoes there. I look forward to reading more by this guy, one to keep an eye on!
2 Stars to Take Two by Stephen Leather
Description
Carolyn Castle is one of the most famous faces in the UK - a soap opera star known to millions. But when she witnesses a gangland killing she has to ask herself if her fame could be the death of her. The killer is charismatic gangster Warwick Richards. A man more than capable of killing again to protect his secret. But does he know that Carolyn saw him commit murder? Take Two is a fast-paced full-length crime thriller and at 92,000 words is the equivalent of about 320 pages. Stephen Leather is one of the UK's most successful thriller writers. He was a journalist for more than ten years on newspapers such as The Times, the Daily Mail and the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong. Before that, he was employed as a biochemist for ICI, shovelled limestone in a quarry, worked as a baker, a petrol pump attendant, a barman, and worked for the Inland Revenue. He began writing full time in 1992. His bestsellers have been translated into more than ten languages. He has also written for television shows such as London's Burning, The Knock and the BBC's Murder in Mind series. Two of his books, The Stretch and The Bombmaker, were made into movies.
Review
Interesting, for what I would guess to be a highly accurate view into the innards of a profession rarely seen, but silly and predictable and not exactly a surprise in the least, so the thrill aspect wasn't there.
4 Stars to King of Swords (The Starfolk, #1) by Dave Duncan
Description
From Book 1:
Review
Clearly, I'm still young at heart. I've been looking forward to this book since I pre-ordered it back in July? June? And the anticipation and the build-up to release day gripped me with the fervour and mania of a Harry Potter release. Not so that I would've prostrated myself at a book shop with a huge sword and contact lenses for white eyes, of course - even a decade ago, my enthusiasm for book releases didn't involve such machinations. And yet, even though I have a child of my own and a respectable job for which I actually have to rise early, I still chortled with glee as I hastened up the stairs after yesterday was done. I whistled to myself as I showered and generally made ready to sleep. But I did not sleep ... I read. Immediately I was engulfed. There's something about the way Dave writes his scenes, as if you're in his head and simply observing thought processes which come hurtling off the page and roll over you with cinematic clarity. His dialogue is often to the point, though characters who meander are plentiful throughout his work and even though the back-and-forth is snappy, the mental work of the lead in most scenes is still miles ahead of the speech and you really have to pay attention to keep up with what is being thought as much as what is being said. Some of his most recognisable (and to me, beloved) tropes are present, a young man struggling against powerful odds and forces, which give the story its distinctive adventure texture. A monarch, often aging, always cantankerous or at least seemingly a little batty, and a unique, flushed-out world full of intrigue, schemes, impossible geography and a plot to throw yourself into and float through. It's a beautifully put-together adventure, and reminded me, on the surface, of Robert A Heinlein's Glory Road. Of course, it wasn't a perfect read. There were a few grammatical issues, which you'd expect the proof-reader to have spotted: two occurrences of "halfing" rather than "halfling", a "taller then himself" rather than a "than" (a common misuse I abhor), and "pour souls" rather than "poor", which is just sloppy. Furthermore, the publisher slacked off on the "also by" information, missing out at least one of his published titles (in a series, no less) and listing a standalone twice. These are niggles, by definition they don't add up to much, but they do all serve to cheapen the book, to downgrade the work in one's mind to that of a lower class publication, especially when competition on the platform is so staggeringly huge from self-publishing. I daresay I missed an error or two myself; I hurtled through the story as a voracious fan, rather than a critic - but if even I can spot those when I'm not even looking for them there's no excuse: the publisher takes a cut and has a duty to therefore make the work the best it can be and I'm sorry to say that, in my opinion, this time they failed. Finally, I come to my issues with the book as a whole. The things Dave himself did that I wasn't keen on. Not to say that I didn't enjoy it, but I didn't give it top marks either, and there's a reason for that. Primarily, which I find mad given that I'm the younger side of thirty and Dave has five decades on me, I found the book too modern. It starts off in our world, which is fine, we've seen it before. But it's a modern world, a world where "the web" and phrases like "Holy Shit" are used (and rightfully so, because they are, today). A real slice of the modern life, mentioning sampling DNA and passport verification and gun laws - all information you wouldn't think out of place in a novel claiming to be a "modern thriller". I think this hit me so hard because Dave's books have always been escapes. The Brothers Magnus series, the Longdirk books, The Great Game, Wildcatter - these have all, if set in our world in whole or in part, been done so a long time ago or in a time yet to come. The Seventh Sword, though arguably featuring a Human of today, was written twenty-five years ago, and there's something about the opening - that obituary, the style and tone of it, and the undeniable juxtaposition between it and the world of the Goddess that says "I’ve a feeling we’re not in Canada anymore, Toto", without needing to bring a dog into the picture. Even when the forth book was added to that series and the style of Dave's writing was so clearly evolved, the world we live in now, with its phones and Internet, didn't intrude. It might've been present in mind, but that never made it to the page, and the pages were richer for the lack of it. The works that have big worlds all their own - The Dodec books, the King's Blades, Pandemia, and a deal of the standalones just to name a few - these all have that famed Duncanness to them, which is present in King of Swords too, you can't deny that. But I think they're immeasurably stronger for not focusing on the here and the now. It’s not something I was comfortable with, it lent a sense of story to the book, made me stop and remember I was actually reading a book, rather than enjoying an adventure. I feel horrible for thinking this way, because there's nothing wrong with a contemporary hero. Rigel's well-written and gifted of that quickness of thought and pervasive perception Dave instils wonderfully in book after book. And yet this huge barrier, this awareness and presence of Today, of the real, tangible world outside, the world I pick up a good yarn to escape from and leave behind for a while, was still there, slapping me in the face for the first five chapters and woven into Rigel's thought processes and phrases and comparisons. It's clever, inasmuch as he's a man of his time and that's well-reflected, but it's a time that should, I felt, have been less central, less present. I hope I've explained that enough. I don't want to come across as having hated the book; the next time there's a new Dave Duncan I'll be pre-ordering and working with a spring in my step on release day with as much enthusiasm and innocent happiness as this time. But it wasn't perfect, and whether that's a reflection of the increasing complications of my own life and awareness or whether I do have a genuine issue with the book is for Dave's other fans to decide. I'm glad I bought it, and will add it to my bookshelf with the solemnity and respect a new title by one of my favourite authors deserves. Indeed, there's a good chance I'll reread it someday, which is something I reserve for an exclusive group of writers indeed.
2 Stars to Starborne by Robert Silverberg
Description
It will be the greatest voyage of exploration in human history. Fifty men and women are chosen to crew the Wotan. Their mission: to travel deep into the unknown galaxy in search of habitable worlds, to rekindle the dying human spirit. Their only contact with Earth is the telepathic link between one of the crew members and her sister back home. But when the mind-link with Earth is abruptly broken the Wotan is lost in the pearl-gray twilight of nospace. Then just as all seems lost, the Wotan encounters a massive alien presence. Suddenly the crew is forced to realise that their every assumption about life and death, humanity and the universe, may be dead wrong.
Review
This was ephemerally weird and, despite reminding me of Piers Anthony, remained unsatisfying throughout. Too deep for me mayhap.
4 Stars to U700 by James Follett
Description
One of the most remarkable stories to come out of W.W.II. Based on the remarkable story of `The U-boat that lost its Nerve'(formerly a radio play by James Follett) , U-700 is an account of the surrender of a U-boat (actually U-570) to an RAF Hudson during World War II and the subsequent illegal court martial of the U-boat's first officer by his fellow officers in a POW camp.
Review
It took a while for me to get into this, but when I did, I really enjoyed it. Kretschmer's a great character and I've really liked the other Eagles works Follett has done, so this was quite interesting. I thought it'd be more of a kangaroo court, but the final chapters were actually thrilling and intense.
3 Stars to Unsoul'd by Barry Lyga
Description
UNSOUL’ A DIRTY LITTLE FABLE Randall Banner is thirty-five years old, a middling mid-list author who yearns for more of More attention. More fame. More money. More fans. Then, one quiet morning, he meets the devil while pounding away at his laptop at his usual coffee shop. Soon, a deal is made, a contract is signed, and Randall is on his way to fame and fortune unlike any he ever imagined. What follows is a bawdy, hilarious, yet harrowing tale of one man, one devil, and a deal that could change the world.
Review
“We're all bad.” “Is that true?” I asked the woman cuckolding her boyfriend with another woman's boyfriend in her roommate's bed. Vulgarity aside, and that's quite an aside because of the way this story works, I enjoyed this. There's a lot of humour beneath the obvious, which is relieving, and indeed some masculine truths attacked head on. It's also a Human success story, which is pretty neat, and amused me in several places in a quick sort of a way. Not a bestseller, but with enough to warrant me having read it.
3 Stars to Freedom! by Martin H. Greenberg
Description
Liberty is a recurring theme in science fiction. This volume explores this theme, combining landmark stories from science fiction's golden age with new stories: Give Me Liberty - (2003) - Martin H. Greenberg and Mark Tier Visions of Liberty - (2004) - Martin H. Greenberg and Mark Tier ...And Then There Were None - (1951) - Eric Frank Russell Committee of the Whole - (1965) - Frank Herbert Gadget vs. Trend - (1962) - Christopher Anvil Historical Note - (1951) - Murray Leinster Monument - (1961) - Lloyd Biggle, Jr. Second Game - (1958) - Katherine MacLean and Charles V. De Vet The Ungoverned - (1985) - Vernor Vinge The Weapon Shop - (1942) - A. E. van Vogt
Review
Some of these were interesting, though the lack of government as a concept in fiction is one I've rarely thought about. I enjoyed Monument, Historical Note and the weapon shop, Second Game and Pakeha.
4 Stars to Reprobate: A Katla Novel (Amsterdam Assassin, #1) by Martyn V. Halm
Description
Alt Cover ASIN: B0094VD7JW Assassin Katla breaks her own rules when confronted with an unusual witness... Blessed with an almost non-existent conscience, freelance assassin and corporate troubleshooter Katla Sieltjes, expert in disguising homicide, regards murder for profit as an intricate and rewarding occupation. Her solitary existence seems more than satisfactory until a blind musician wanders in on her crime scene. Katla only kills for profit or to protect her anonymity, and Bram Merleyn seems harmless and unable to identify her. By sparing his life, she breaks one of her most important rules—never leave a living witness. A decision Katla might not survive to regret... Reprobate is the first novel in the Amsterdam Assassin Series. With authentic details and brisk action against the backdrop of the notorious Dutch capital, featuring a devious heroine and a supporting cast of singular characters, Reprobate gives a rare glimpse into local Dutch culture, the narcotics trade, computer hacking, motorcycle gangs, mehndi bridal tattoos, martial arts, the psychology of social engineering, and the brutal efficacy of disciplined violence. This e-book features a glossary.
Review
This is a hauntingly real worrk, so much that stepping out of my hot steamy bathroom last night having finished a chapter I almost expected a knife to come flying out of the darkness and skewer me between the eyes. Katla, the protagonist, is ruthlessly disciplined, utterly determined, sensuously powerful and potently sexual and, along with the fine level of detail on everything - Amsterdam, Japanese cooking, blades and anatomy - this is a work you won't want to miss. Of interest to me on a more personal level was the depiction of a blind man, and as this is so often done badly in fiction, take heed: Halm's blind character is intelligent, capable and surprisingly cleverly written, for the scenes from Bram's point of view are heavy on sound and scent and everything else you might expect, in a level of detail and with degrees of acumen a lifelong blind person might struggle to convey. Even when a second blind character appears briefly and admits freely that he "still don’t trust my other senses" to the same level as Bram, and even though Halm makes the point that this man "appeared helpless and fragile compared to Bram", that's not necessarily put down to his blindness. indeed, this character performs a most delicate and careful bit of work earlier in the story. It is evident that this is a series to keep reading. The locale is unique and interesting, the characters diverse and intriguing and the idea behind Katla's occupation and her methods are fascinating to contemplate. DISCLOSURE: I read a free copy of this work provided by the author, on condition of a review. It was a good plan because books 2 and 3 are going on my wish list today and may well be ordered (or pre-ordered if possible) before the end of the month.
3 Stars to The Left Hand of God (The Left Hand of God, #1) by Paul Hoffman
Description
“Listen. The Sanctuary of the Redeemers on Shotover Scarp is named after a damned lie for there is no redemption that goes on there and less sanctuary.” The Sanctuary of the Redeemers is a vast and desolate place—a place without joy or hope. Most of its occupants were taken there as boys and for years have endured the brutal regime of the Lord Redeemers whose cruelty and violence have one singular purpose—to serve in the name of the One True Faith. In one of the Sanctuary’s vast and twisting maze of corridors stands a boy. He is perhaps fourteen or fifteen years old—he is not sure and neither is anyone else. He has long-forgotten his real name, but now they call him Thomas Cale. He is strange and secretive, witty and charming, violent and profoundly bloody-minded. He is so used to the cruelty that he seems immune, but soon he will open the wrong door at the wrong time and witness an act so terrible that he will have to leave this place, or die. His only hope of survival is to escape across the arid Scablands to Memphis, a city the opposite of the Sanctuary in every way: breathtakingly beautiful, infinitely Godless, and deeply corrupt. But the Redeemers want Cale back at any price... not because of the secret he now knows but because of a much more terrifying secret he does not.
Review
There was a peculiar ring to the whole atmosphere of this book, which kept me reading and interested. I didn't quite expect it to end the way it did, i.e. without much in the way of a closing, so if you're after a good story with an ending to satisfy you, you'll have to read the rest of the series to see if that happens, as will I!
4 Stars to Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Harry Potter, #5) by J.K. Rowling
Description
The fifth book in the beloved, bestselling Harry Potter series, now illustrated in glorious full color by award-winning artist Jim Kay in a deluxe jacketed hardcover edition with illustrated end papers and a ribbon bookmark. A gift to be treasured by Harry Potter fans and book lovers of all ages! There is a door at the end of a silent corridor. And it's haunting Harry Potter's dreams. Why else would he be waking in the middle of the night, screaming in terror? It's not just the upcoming O.W.L. exams; a new teacher with a personality like poisoned honey; a venomous, disgruntled house-elf; or even the growing threat of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Now Harry Potter is faced with the unreliability of the very government of the magical world and the impotence of the authorities at Hogwarts. Despite this (or perhaps because of it), he finds depth and strength in his friends, beyond what even he knew; boundless loyalty; and unbearable sacrifice. This stunning illustrated edition brings together the talents of award-winning artists Jim Kay and Neil Packer in a visual feast, featuring iconic scenes and much loved characters -- Tonks, Luna Love good, and many more -- as the Order of the Phoenix keeps watch over Harry Potter’s fifth year at Hogwarts. With its oversized format, high-quality paper, ribbon bookmark, and color on nearly every page, this edition is the perfect gift for Harry Potter fans and book lovers of all ages.
Review
Order of the Phoenix was the first Harry I saw on CD. For the last time, I got the Adrenaline rush, which faded as I got older, but sitting there listening to the news report with Harry under the window rekindled that feeling. Interestingly, it was also the first time I actually had a novel from the series in print, and the first time I’d read an original potter at the computer before being able to get the audio version. I say original because of the profusion of fanfiction I’d swallowed. I was first introduced to Harry at the end of 2000, and this one appeared halfway through 2003. I’d of course pounced upon the first four and eaten them quickly and, like many die-hard Potter fans, dived into reading fanfiction because of the huge gap between releases. There’s a whole category of “Post-GOF” fanfic in my archive, none of which I’ve even looked at in over 7 years, but it’s still there, for a day I decide to revisit my youth. I liked Order of the Phoenix. Rereading it now, the blend of Harry’s teenage tantrums, interference at Hogwarts, the stress of Sirius and Dumbledore’s distance make for a powerful cocktail. Reading it for the first time I suppose I didn’t look for reasons for the emotion, just enjoyed the story, so that was different. It’s also huge, of course – the longest by far, and certainly with a wealth of depth and detail. Something was missing – (innocence, the world gets darker, and I think something of the charm of the world Rowling made fades with it, which is sad. Still, it’s a most worthy story, a powerful and compelling book and certainly worthy of more detail and attention than I’ve been able to give it in this brief write-up.
August
3 Stars to Janitors (Janitors, #1) by Tyler Whitesides
Description
Have you ever fallen asleep during math class? Are you easily distracted while listening to your English teacher? Do you find yourself completely uninterested in geography? Well, it may not be your fault. The janitors at Welcher Elementary know a secret, and it's draining all the smarts out of the kids. Twelve-year-old Spencer Zumbro, with the help of his classmate Daisy Gullible Gates, must fight with and against a secret, janitorial society that wields wizard-like powers. Who can Spencer and Daisy trust and how will they protect their school and possibly the world? Janitors is book 1 in a new children s fantasy series by debut novelist Tyler Whitesides. You'll never look at a mop the same way again.
Review
A clever idea for the kids, and part of me wonders if my eight-year-old self would have enjoyed it or found it far too American. Not really on a level of some other stories I've read, but an interesting idea and a fun, younger read.
3 Stars to Broken Symmetry by Dan Rix
Description
Sixteen-year-old Blaire Adams can walk through mirrors. It’s called breaking symmetry. To her, a mirror feels like a film of honey. She can reach through it, grab things…even step inside. On the other side she lives every teenager’s fantasy: a universe all her own, zero consequences. She can kiss the hot guy, break into La Jolla mansions, steal things…even kill. When finished, she just steps back into reality and smashes the mirror—and in an instant erases every stupid thing she did. Gone. It never happened. But breaking symmetry is also dangerous. First there’s the drug-like rush she gets when passing through the glass, like a shot of adrenaline. She suspects it’s degrading her body, making a new copy of her each time. A reflection of a reflection, each one a little hazier. Then, of course, there’s the risk of getting cut off from reality. When she narrowly escapes a military quarantine zone with the San Diego Police Department hot on her heels only to discover her escape mirror littering the floor in shards, her worst fear is realized. Now, trapped in a broken reflection, she must flee through a mind-bending maze of mirrors, going deeper into the nightmare as she struggles to grasp a betrayal, uncover the chilling truth about her ability, and somehow find a way out of a dead-end universe that “never happened.” Somehow, she must find a way home.
Review
Though not targeted at my gender or age-range, there's nonetheless a new approach to the multiverse in this novel. Too teen and female to really resonate with me, but fun and clever for all that.
4 Stars to A Game of Proof (The Trials of Sarah Newby #1) by Tim Vicary
Description
A mother's worst nightmare - can her son be guilty of murder? Sarah Newby, who left school at 15, and was living as a teenage single parent on an inner-city estate, has worked her way up to begin a career as a criminal barrister. But what should she do when her own son, Simon, is arrested and charged with a series of brutal rapes and murders? Has Sarah, in her single-minded determination to create a career for herself, neglected her son so much that she no longer knows him? He has often lied to her in the past, so how can she trust him when he says he is innocent this time? When she herself finds evidence of his guilt, how can she defend him? 'A top class British legal thriller which puts the author up there with his American counterparts, John Grisham, Scott Turow and Michael Connolly.' Tim Kevan, barrister. 'A brilliant British crime thriller that you really should read. Sarah Burns, Kindle Book Review. 'One of the ABSOLUTE BEST legal mystery books I've ever read.' Amazon reader review. Winner of the B.R.A.G Medallion of Excellence, 2016.
Review
I can't say that this book wasn't gripping. My two-year-old daughter had a most peculiar night; awake, but happy to lie abed and be in my presence. I of course would have preferred to be asleep, but as she didn't demand anything other than a hand to hold and a warm body to cuddle up to, I found myself plowing through this with an almost guilty enjoyment. it's not my usual sort of book, I can't remember the last courtroom drama I enjoyed. But something captivated me and kept me reading, and I found the whole experience strangely satisfying and rewarding. Inevitably, there were a few issues that made me stop and think. pyschological is a typo so glaringly obvious that any proofreader actually looking at the text should spot it instantly, and then there were the small plot points and inconsistencies that prevented a five star rating: the use of 1471 to see who last called returning a call hours before we know Sarah called there herself, misquoted dialogue from the automated call return service, the use of the anachronistic DVLC instead of DVLA ... all these things set the British flavour of the work off kilter and throw in fractures that prevent the world from snapping together as it should. Nevertheless, though it's not my usual type of read, I'm interested now: I'll be buying more.
3 Stars to The Walls of the Universe (Universe, #1) by Paul Melko
Description
John Rayburn thought all of his problems were the mundane ones of an Ohio farm boy in his last year in high school. Then his doppelgänger appeared, tempted him with a device that let him travel across worlds, and stole his life from him. John soon finds himself caroming through universes, unable to return home—the device is broken. John settles in a new universe to unravel its secrets and fix it. Meanwhile, his doppelgänger tries to exploit the commercial technology he’s stolen from other Earths: the Rubik’s Cube! John’s attempts to lie low in his new universe backfire when he inadvertently introduces pinball. It becomes a huge success. Both actions draw the notice of other, more dangerous travelers, who are exploiting worlds for ominous purposes. Fast-paced and exciting, this is SF adventure at its best from a rising star.
Review
I thought this had great potential, but although it was fast and a solid teen parallel world story, it lacked a little in depth and consequence. Singletons could have been explored more, and there was very little in the way of science for the reader to enjoy, especially given that a lot of learning has to happen in order for John to progress with the plot of the story. Still, this was neatly done and I have no problem recommending it to someone new to the genre or in it for a quick romp.
2 Stars to Lifeline by David Cody Weiss
Description
Cadet Kathyrn Janeway, the ambitious daughter of Vice Admiral Edward Janeway, is determined to prove herself at Starfleet Academy. Her tough commander, Etienne Mallet, demands perfection, but Kathyrn is ready for the challenge. It isn't easy, especially with two "two" roommates: a pair of identical Diasoman twins named ThrumPol. Kathyrn thinks she can face the pressure alone, but when she and Pol fail their second dorm drill and Mallet assigns them to a holodeck test, Kathyrn panics. Suddenly, she's out of control! It's time to call on her secret weapon to help her through the crisis...until Mallet discovers her weakness and issues the ultimate challenge....
Review
Further stories may appeal more, but hairclipsand teenage tantrums aren't the Janeway I want to read about. I suppose were I younger and female... still. Interesting, but not overly so.
4 Stars to Capture the Flag (Star Trek: The Next Generation - Starfleet Academy, #4) by John Vornholt
Description
It's Geordi La Forge's first year at Starfleet Academy TM, and it isn't going well. He's been all over the galaxy with his Starfleet officer parents, and his blindness has not been a handicap, thanks to his VISOR. But somehow he's always picked last for competitive teams, and deep down he wants to be just like all the other confident students. When he defeats the top-ranked team in an elimination game, Geordi wins the respect of his classmates, and the hatred of the other team's captain, Jack Pettey. Pettey threatens revenge, and his opportunity arrives with training exercises on the planet Saffair. Geordi's team faces Pettey's, and without supervision on the uninhabited world Pettey will stop at nothing to win.
Review
Somehow, I really got into this story. Geordi is a character I liked, and he's handled very well here by a respected Trek author. Also, who hasn't played capture the flag? So as well as memories of great Star Trek episodes, I got memories of my misbegotten childhood as well. This one really hit home, and I loved it.
3 Stars to Survival (Star Trek: The Next Generation - Starfleet Academy, #3) by Peter David
Description
Rescue Overdue Deadly space raiders have destroyed the colony on Dantar. Now stranded on this remote planet, surrounded by the burning fires of the abandoned colony, Worf, his friends from Starfleet Academy, and cadets from the Klingon Empire fight to survive. They face harsh weather, low supplies, and hidden dangers. As suspicion between the Klingon and Starfleet cadets grows, the camp quickly becomes a battleground, with Worf right in the middle. But Worf and the others soon realize they are not alone as they face a mysterious and dangerous alien warrior. Klingons and humans now must unite and work together before their first mission in deep space becomes their last...
Review
Not a surprising end to the story, enjoyable nevertheless. I would appreciate a change of cadet now, though, as too much of one bunch can seem a little taxing.
3 Stars to Line of Fire (Star Trek: The Next Generation - Starfleet Academy, #2) by Peter David
Description
Mission to Dantar Mysterious space raiders are threatening the joint Federation-Klingon colony on the remote planet of Dantar, and pitting the two sides against each other. Worf and his fellow first year cadets -- Zak, Tania, Soleta, and Mark -- have accompanied their teacher to observe the negotiation process, but soon find themselves in the middle of an intergalactic dispute. Just as Worf and the other cadets arrive, they discover the Klingon Empire has sent its own diplomatic team, including Klingon cadets, to investigate the attacks. As the cadets from Starfleet Academy come face to face with their Klingon counterparts, tensions quickly mount as each side accuses the other of staging the raids. While a deadly space battle rages overhead, Worf faces his ultimate test as his Klingon heritage and future in Starfleet collide.
Review
This continues where Worf s First Adventure left off, so in many ways didn’t feel like a separate novel. On the other hand were I reading it to enjoy the illustrations, or reading it to someone else, I suppose I could stop to appreciate it more. The ending was quite interesting, and now of course I have to go to bed with the third one tonight…
3 Stars to Worf's First Adventure (Star Trek: The Next Generation - Starfleet Academy, #1) by Peter David
Description
Before he was an officer aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise... Cadet Worf arrived at Starfleet Academy as the first Klingon to gain entrance since the Federation-Klingon Peace Treaty. Raised on Earth by human parents, Worf wonders if he is still a Klingon, the proud member of an honorable warrior race, or is he more... human? Where does he fit in? Command-level classes fill his schedule, but nothing prepares him for his fellow cadets, among them his human foster brother. Intelligent, ambitious, and confident, the Academy cadets make life difficult for the young warrior. How can he win over his classmates -- including the always logical Vulcans and the fierce Brikar -- if they are still trained to think of him as the enemy? When a routine trip to a training satellite turns into an unexpected disaster, Worf must unite the cadets and risk his life before a terrible accident destroys the entire mission.
Review
If anyone can write for a younger audience it’s David, his amusing style is sure to hold teens and younger captive. I for one will be putting this on the shelf to revisit when my daughter is a bit older and has been subjected to televised Star Trek. Inevitably, there’s a push on the characters David already has worked on so this isn’t as Worf as it might be, but it’s still a short, snappy story which is interesting to any Trek fan and not so dumbed-down as to be meaningless
3 Stars to Expiration Date: A Novel by Duane Swierczynski
Description
In this neighborhood, make a wrong turn and you're history. Mickey Wade is a recently-unemployed journalist who lucked into a rent-free apartment – his sick grandfather's place. The only problem: it's in a lousy neighborhood. The one where Mickey grew up, in fact. The one he was so desperate to escape. But now he's back. Dead broke. And just when he thinks he's reached rock bottom, Mickey wakes up in the past. Literally. At first he thinks it's a dream. All of the stores he remembered from his childhood, the cars, the rumble of the elevated train. But as he digs deeper into the past, searching for answers about the grandfather he hardly knows, Mickey meets the twelve-year-old kid who lives in the apartment below. The kid who will grow up to someday murder Mickey's father.
Review
The writing here was quite different and, although the concept has been done-to-death, it was still refreshingly done and enjoyable to read. Would try more works from the author without hesitation.
4 Stars to Lost Souls (Star Trek: Destiny, #3) by David Mack
Description
The soldiers of Armageddon are on the march, laying waste to worlds in their passage. An audacious plan could stop them forever, but it carries risks that one starship captain is unwilling to take. For Captain Jean-Luc Picard, defending the future has never been so important, or so personal -- and the wrong choice will cost him everything for which he has struggled and suffered. For Captain William Riker, that choice has already been made. Haunted by the memories of those he was forced to leave behind, he must jeopardize all that he has left in a desperate bid to save the Federation. For Captain Ezri Dax, whose impetuous youth is balance by the wisdom of many lifetimes, the choice is a simple one: there is no going back -- only forward to whatever future awaits them. But for those who, millennia ago, had no choice...this is the hour of their final, inescapable destiny.
Review
A pretty good end to the series all things considered, especially given the spread-out nature of the universe the book has to deal with - it reaches out well, and ties in a lot of characters and situations from the shared realm very neatly.
4 Stars to Mere Mortals (Star Trek: Destiny #2) by David Mack
Description
On Earth, Federation President Nanietta Bacco gathers allies and adversaries to form a desperate last line of defense against an impending Borg invasion. In deep space, Captain Jean-Luc Picard and Captain Ezri Dax join together to cut off the Collective's route to the Alpha Quadrant.
Review
“In addition to your broken clavicle, you've got four cracked ribs and multiple deep bruises all over your body.” “It was a very good workout,” he said. I enjoyed this story more than the first. Seeing Hernandez development was interesting, and although I still struggle to enjoy things as much with the old Enterprise D crew displaced throughout the sector it was an enjoyable continuation of the story and one which I'm eager to see finished.
3 Stars to The Lightcap by Dan Marshall
Description
Adaptech made its fortune with the Mind Drive, a product enabling control of electronic devices through thought. Most citizens in the Region adopted Mind Drive technology quickly, welcoming it as a more efficient way to interact with everything from computers to coffee machines. Now Adaptech wants to use its own employees to beta test a new product, an extension of Mind Drive tech known as the Lightcap. After Adam Redmon is promoted to lead the group of programmers tasked with testing this new device, his strange dreams begin to blur into reality. When a member of his team abruptly disappears, Adam uncovers evidence showing his employers didn’t fully disclose the Lightcap’s functions and side effects. What he learns puts him directly in the crosshairs of the most powerful people in the Region, people who will stop at nothing to keep their secret safe.
Review
Though intriguing, the characters seemed a little flat and predictable, using the technology only to further the plot. I may pick up the next one if the author's playing a longer game, but I wasn't really captivated.
4 Stars to Gods of Night (Star Trek: Destiny #1) by David Mack
Description
Half a decade after the Dominion War and more than a year after the rise and fall of Praetor Shinzon, the galaxy's greatest scourge returns to wreak havoc upon the Federation -- and this time its goal is nothing less than total annihilation. Elsewhere, deep in the Gamma Quadrant, an ancient mystery is solved. One of Earth's first generation of starships, lost for centuries, has been found dead and empty on a desolate planet. But its discovery so far from home has raised disturbing questions, and the answers harken back to a struggle for survival that once tested a captain and her crew to the limits of their humanity.From that terrifying flashpoint begins an apocalyptic odyssey that will reach across time and space to reveal the past, define the future, and show three captains -- Jean-Luc Picard of the U.S.S. Enterprise, TM William Riker of the U.S.S. Titan, and Ezri Dax of the U.S.S Aventine -- that some destinies are inescapable.
Review
Quite enjoyable for what it is, although I can't help but feel the influx of new species post-Nemesis detracts from the heart of trek a little sometimes. This story was quite interesting though, and it'll be interesting to see where things go.
4 Stars to Codex Born (Magic Ex Libris, #2) by Jim C. Hines
Description
Isaac Vainio’s life was almost perfect. He should have known it couldn’t last. Living and working as a part-time librarian in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Isaac had finally earned the magical research position he dreamed of with Die Zwelf Portenære, better known as the Porters. He was seeing a smart, fun, gorgeous dryad named Lena Greenwood. He had been cleared by Johannes Gutenberg to do libriomancy once again, to reach into books and create whatever he chose from their pages. Best of all, it had been more than two months since anything tried to kill him. And then Isaac, Lena, and Porter psychiatrist Nidhi Shah are called to the small mining town of Tamarack, Michigan, where a pair of septuagenarian werewolves have discovered the brutally murdered body of a wendigo. What begins as a simple monster-slaying leads to deeper mysteries and the discovery of an organization thought to have been wiped out more than five centuries ago by Gutenberg himself. Their magic rips through Isaac’s with ease, and their next target is Lena Greenwood. They know Lena’s history, her strengths and her weaknesses. Born decades ago from the pages of a pulp fantasy novel, she was created to be the ultimate fantasy woman, shaped by the needs and desires of her companions. Her powers are unique, and Gutenberg’s enemies mean to use her to destroy everything he and the Porters have built. But their plan could unleash a far darker power, an army of entropy and chaos, bent on devouring all it touches. The Upper Peninsula is about to become ground zero in a magical war like nothing the world has seen in more than five hundred years. But the more Isaac learns about Gutenberg and the Porters, the more he questions whether he’s fighting for the right cause. One way or another, Isaac must find a way to stop a power he doesn’t fully understand. And even if he succeeds, the outcome will forever change him, the Porters, and the whole world.
Review
"Outside, the dragon’s head lay in three pieces on the ground. The tail had snapped free, and spasmed like the death throes of a decapitated snake. The rest of the body simply stood there. “Maybe I only needed two grenades.”" You need to be up on the events of the first novel in this series, but this is a rather brilliant carry on and I certainly can't complain about the ending being too happy-ever-after. Very well done indeed and a book I enjoyed a great deal.
3 Stars to The Knife of Never Letting Go (Chaos Walking, #1) by Patrick Ness
Description
Prentisstown isn't like other towns. Everyone can hear everyone else's thoughts in an overwhelming, never-ending stream of Noise. Just a month away from the birthday that will make him a man, Todd and his dog, Manchee—whose thoughts Todd can hear too, whether he wants to or not—stumble upon an area of complete silence. They find that in a town where privacy is impossible, something terrible has been hidden—a secret so awful that Todd and Manchee must run for their lives. But how do you escape when your pursuers can hear your every thought?
Review
"That’s the thing I’m learning about being thrown out on yer own. Nobody does nothing for you. If you don’t change it, it don’t get changed." This was interesting and gripping, and I'm quite interested in the rest of the series. I'll be sure to keep the next one somewhere convenient because Ness may well be one for me to keep an ear on!
3 Stars to Terms of Enlistment by Marko Kloos
Description
The year is 2108, and the North American Commonwealth is bursting at the seams. For welfare rats like Andrew Grayson, there are only two ways out of the crime-ridden and filthy welfare tenements, where you're restricted to 2,000 calories of badly flavored soy every day. You can hope to win the lottery and draw a ticket on a colony ship settling off-world, or you can join the service. Andrew chooses to enlist in the armed forces of the North American Commonwealth, for a shot at real food, a retirement bonus, and maybe a ticket off Earth. But as he starts a career of supposed privilege, he soon learns that the good food and decent health care come at a steep price…and that the settled galaxy holds far greater dangers than military bureaucrats or angry welfare rats with guns.
Review
I quite enjoyed this. Reminded me of Starship Troopers, with a bit more back story and less politics. An author to keep an eye on.
July
3 Stars to No Safety in Numbers (No Safety in Numbers, #1) by Dayna Lorentz
Description
When a strange device is discovered in the air ducts of a busy suburban mall, the entire complex is suddenly locked down. No one can leave. No one knows what is going on. At first, there's the novelty of being stuck in a mega mall with free food and a gift certificate. But with each passing day, it becomes harder to ignore the dwindling supplies, inadequate information, and mounting panic. Then people start getting sick. Told from the point of view of two guys and two girls, this is a harrowing look at what can happen under the most desperate of circumstances, when regular people are faced with impossible choices. Some rise to the occasion. Some don't. And for some - it's too late.
Review
"Ryan could not have felt like a bigger idiot. He’d maybe read one poem. Ever. And he thought maybe it was some kids’ book thing about farts." This was a clever idea, although it took a while to really get going. I suppose it's a series, and so the rapid dehumanisation you tend to see in this sort of novel was, if not absent, slow to build here. It's a clever idea, switching viewpoint, especially as they're all so different. I think Ryan was my favourite just for amusement factor, but there's no telling what will happen when the chips are down in future stories. One to keep an eye on.
4 Stars to Deep Into the Game (GAMELAND, #1) by Saul W. Tanpepper
Description
Zpocalypto gamer Jessica Daniels and her gang of code jackers decide to break into Long Island's Gameland hoping to catch a glimpse of some of the Infected Undead, and in doing so they risk additional years being added to their Life Service Commitment (a civil or military obligation fulfilled after death). But getting past the barriers - the EM field, the wall surrounding the island, the mined waters - requires the assistance of a stranger to their fold. His inclusion raises tensions within the group, particularly between Jessie and her boyfriend. So too do the risks mount. After a terrifying "accident" during preparation nearly takes the life of one of their members, emotions run dangerously high, threatening to abort their plans. But they press on, and what they find when they finally arrive in the abandoned wasteland is like nothing they ever expected. Their excitement, however, quickly turns to dread as the reality of their situation - and the dangers - become all too clear. What they don't know is that one member of their group has a secret agenda, and it doesn't involve the rest of them getting off the island anytime soon. Not alive, anyway. And not dead, either.
Review
The episodic nature of this series promises to keep things going for quite some time. After reading the first i'm keen to get my hands on the next! The future is not so far that we've lost touch with Humanity (no intergalactic aliens etc), but the whole idea of the undead is given something of a twist. I especially liked the way the story kicks off with zombies a matter of course, rather than anything special, and am keen to see how our teens comport themselves in this thrilling and all-too-plausible environment.
3 Stars to The First Immortal: A Novel Of The Future by James L. Halperin
Description
“[James Halperin] plots the book with thoroughness and imagination. . . . Innovative.”— Publishers Weekly In 1988, Benjamin Smith suffers a massive heart attack. But he will not die. A pioneering advocate of the infant science of cryonics, he has arranged to have his body frozen until the day when humanity will possess the knowledge, the technology, and the courage to revive him. Yet when Ben resumes life after a frozen interval of eighty-three years, the world is altered beyond recognition. Thanks to cutting-edge science, eternal youth is universally available and the perfection of cloning gives humanity the godlike power to re-create living beings from a single cell. As Ben and his family are resurrected in the mid-twenty-first century, they experience a complex reunion that reaches through generations—and discover that the deepest ethical dilemmas of humankind remain their greatest challenge. . . . “[A] gripping story.”—United Press International
Review
This was a very interesting book indeed. It seriously made me stop and think that, whatever my previously-held beliefs, it is worth at least considering the future after you die. Some people I've spoken to about a similar topic - organ donation after death - used the phrase "it's for us, not you", when I pointed out that as far as I was concerned when my body no longer functioned for me its various parts could, as far as I was concerned, be used to extend the life and health of someone who was still living, unlike myself. It's interesting I should have had that discussion so close on the heals of this book, which despite its length and tendency to wander I still quite enjoyed. Plenty of food for thought in here and some pretty interesting science as well.
3 Stars to Time Travelers Never Die by Jack McDevitt
Description
When physicist Michael Shelborne mysteriously vanishes, his son Shel discovers that he had constructed a time travel device. Fearing his father may be stranded in time—or worse—Shel enlists the aid of Dave Dryden, a linguist, to accompany him on the rescue mission. Their journey through history takes them from the enlightenment of Renaissance Italy through the American Wild West to the civil-rights upheavals of the 20th century. Along the way, they encounter a diverse cast of historical greats, sometimes in unexpected situations. Yet the elder Shelborne remains elusive. And then Shel violates his agreement with Dave not to visit the future. There he makes a devastating discovery that sends him fleeing back through the ages, and changes his life forever.
Review
Replete with historical nuggets I enjoyed this romp through time. A touch heavy on western greats, but an interesting work.
3 Stars to The Traitor Game by B.R. Collins
Description
Michael and his friend Francis share a secret passion for Evgard, the fantasy world they have created together. But then Michael finds a note in his locker, revealing that their secret is out. He immediately suspects Francis, and tries to get revenge by telling the school bully―known affectionately as Shitley―that Francis is gay, which guarantees Francis is in for a pounding. But did Francis really betray his friend? Or is Michael really the traitor? This gripping account of a troubled friendship unfolds both as a contemporary story and as a compelling glimpse into the world of Evgard. The Traitor Game tackles difficult issues without hesitation and will surely draw in gamer and fantasy fans as well as contemporary fiction readers.
Review
"Is that how you find out you're a coward? Can you go your whole life thinking you're brave - climbing the cliffs for a dare, catching venom-spiders to race, fighting imaginary battles where you conquer all of Evgard single-handed - and find out in one freezing moment that you don't have the courage to defend yourself? Is it only when you give in to cold and exhaustion and hunger that you begin to see how weak you've always been?" This is a powerful, evocative story. Upon a first glimpse it seems that the Evgard storyline is just 'there' because it's part of Michael. But upon reflection you really appreciate the impact this world has and the parallels it portrays to the world we live in. An intriguing story.
2 Stars to Towards Yesterday by Paul Antony Jones
Description
What would you do if you suddenly found yourself twenty-five years in the past? For the nine-billion people of the year 2042 it's no longer a question ... it is a reality. This is a hidden gem that would be a pure shame to miss. Toward Yesterday is an apocalyptic, science fiction thriller, that kept me sneaking away to read my Kindle for the entire Memorial Day weekend. Engrossing, thought-provoking, filled with lasting, vivid imagery...the story gripped me early, and didn't let go. If you like post-apocalyptic books, you will thoroughly enjoy this one. The scenes surrounding the "event" are worth the price of admission alone. Some of the best apocalyptic imagery and action I have ever read. For a first time author, this is an impressive accomplishment, and for a self-published title, it contains few, if any, grammar or typo errors. You will not regret purchasing this book." ~ Steven Konkoly, author of The Jakarta Pandemic ~ Word 74,000 When a seemingly simple experiment goes disastrously wrong, James Baston finds himself stranded alongside the rest of mankind, twenty-five years in the past. A past where the old are once more young, the dead live and the world has been thrust into chaos. Contacted by the scientist responsible for the disaster, James is recruited to help avert an even greater catastrophe. Along with a team of scientists, a reincarnated murder victim and a frustrated genius trapped in her six-year old body, James must stop the certain extinction of humanity. But if the deluded leader of the Church of Second Redemption has his way, humanity will disappear into potentiality, and he is willing to do anything to ensure that happens. A serial killer, a murder victim, a dead priest, and James' lives are all inextricably bound together as they plummet towards an explosive final confrontation, the winner of which will decide the fate of humanity.
Review
A good concept, and I have never seen the word redolent in a fiction novel before. Nonetheless I found it hard to follow this thing in places; it seemed to leap about without much reason behind it. I'd expect something brilliant with this idea, the sort of thing Robert J. Sawyer would give justice to. Sadly, not a brilliant read for me.
5 Stars to England Expects (Empires Lost #1) by Charles S. Jackson
Description
An alternate cover edition can be found here. Wartime England: June, 1940. France has fallen with 300,000 men of the British Expeditionary Force taken prisoner trapped on the beaches of Dunkirk. Edward VIII still reigns and mourns the death of his mistress, Wallis Simpson. Left with almost no troops, guns or tanks, Britain stands alone against the might of a German Wehrmacht armed with assault rifles, main battle tanks, aircraft carriers and a pair of 'superguns' firing seven tonne shells across the English Channel. Day after day, Squadron Leader Alec Trumbull and a fast-dwindling number of broken veterans and inexperienced new-recruits take to the skies against the seemingly endless streams of German aircraft. His Spitfire damaged in the heat of battle and pursued by enemy fighters he can’t outrun, Trumbull is saved at the last moment by a strange jet aircraft that can land and take off vertically. He discovered that the advanced aircraft belongs to the Hindsight Unit: a UN task force from the 21st Century sent to combat a group of Neo-Nazis also returned from the future to aid Nazi Germany wins the Second World War. As technology accelerates and events begin to spiral out of control, Trumbull finds himself drawn into Hindsight’s desperate struggle to prevent a seemingly inevitable invasion of Great Britain and return history to its true course.
Review
"the RAF pilot was quickly becoming desensitised to surprise to the point of simple acceptance...most things he’d seen that day had been unlike anything he’d seen before and he’d basically used up his capacity for amazement to the point that he was willing to hold it in check until some suitable explanations had been provided." There is no doubt in my mind that this is the best alternate history novel I have ever read. Very long, which is great and with only a few minor proofing errors, it's evident that the author loves the subject and knows his topic and period in exquisite detail. This book is clearly a labour of love, and I admire the detail, the reality and the prose to the point where I went out and bought more copies, just to show my support for the author (which I would of course have been less inclined to do if it had cost more). Still, the sequel will be hear soon and I can honestly say that a fivefold increase in price wouldn't put me off in the slightest: the amount you get and the quality of the material is nothing short of astounding. “I badly needed to remember where I’d come from... remember what I’d left behind.” This book also packs emotion. The thirteenth chapter and the date of August 17 1940 haunted me for ages, and the sobriety and solemnity of the post mortems also impacted greatly. Something about the way this book is written somehow captured and held me and, for all that I've been doing other things than reading over the last week, my mind has been at the Orkneys, in German airspace, and savoring each salvo in this war. Trumbull's introduction to Hindsight is extremely exciting of course, but the impact of it from the other side of the fence in chapter 15 is unparalleled. And as if superb and engaging writing in both the aforementioned chapters hadn't utterly captivated me enough, the actual invasion is also spectacular and left me dry-mouthed. "Of course, there was always the occasional possibility of random chance or the unpredictability of others, a perfect case in point being the circumstances of that night ultimately leading to the rather inconvenient fact that he was now quite definitely deceased." The other characters are also quite intriguing; Schiller especially comes into his own as the story develops and I'm almost tempted to reread it, so I can focus more on him in the earlier parts of the book. Brandis somehow didn't quite strike the same chord, so Rupert's future actions will be most interesting to observe now that things have been set in motion there. One reviewer of this book pointed out the "Huge" nuclear revelation. Somehow, I wasn't too surprised by it myself, I think because of the temporal effects on aging which sort of put me on the lookout for changes to ongoing natural processes. Still, there's no doubt it had a massive impact on the story and it was handled brilliantly. Downsides? Well, every book has them. For me, the abbreviations - street, road etc were used inconsistently and I'd have preferred they werent used at all. But that's really a tiny quibble on a work of such scope and length that it's hard to take the issue seriously. "Will there ever be a time now when anyone looks on a German without fear?" The devastation and damage done is certainly huge in this novel and the impact heavily felt. I'm not ashamed to say that I also shed a tear as Eileen performed the requiem for the character I'm deliberately not naming so as not to spoil anything. The writing was - beautiful and heartfelt and painful. Truly, if you'll pardon the excursion in a nod to my regular readers, an Eolian moment. I am eagerly awaiting the sequel and seeing where everything ends up and ties together will hopefully keep me coming back for many more books to come. Thank you, Mr Jackson.
3 Stars to Post-Human (Post-Human, #2) by David Simpson
Description
What happens when the future is better than you could have ever imagined? When the machines can give you anything you want and keep you young for eternity? When the possibilities are endless? What happens when it all goes wrong? Welcome to the post-human era.
Review
This lacked something from the first book, and I Found the ending rather silly. Nanotechnology does tend to do this to authors, which is a shame. Still, it was wel-written, I wouldn't disregard the rest of the series, if only to see how things end up.
4 Stars to Doors by Daniel Brako
Description
David Druas is a successful psychologist, with a thriving practice. When he encounters Hans Werner, a client who sees imaginary doors, life takes a dark and unexpected turn. After trying to unravel the delusion, David also notices mysterious doors. Scattered throughout the city, they lead to beautiful, terrifying and dangerous new worlds. But are they real? When Hans Werner is murdered, the evidence identifies David as the killer. Forced to become a fugitive, he struggles to escape the deepening nightmare that threatens to overwhelm him. As the police close in, it becomes apparent that the doors are concealing a dark and tangled truth. The question is: can David unlock their secrets before his time and sanity run out?
Review
Though short, this book certainly hits hard. I first encountered the concept of language having a direct mental impact in a Robert A. Heinlein story; I think it was If this goes on but I can't recall a textual reference; this was years ago. Then more recently it came up in a Max Barry work, and I find it fascinating how words, written or verbal can change a person's outlook so profoundly, especially when on the surface, the words are meaningless. It's a most fascinating idea. I also particularly liked the way everything happens to a psychologist, it lends authenticity to the work. And we see David has psychological issues of his own: background , which is always good to read about even in shorter works. I'll certainly be checking out Brako's other novels! Disclosure: I won this book as the result of an astounding giveaway by Graham Storrs publisher, because of my review of his then newly-published novel True Path. True Path is a sequel, but please check out the rest of my reviews of Graham's books and other works published by Momentum, his publisher.
4 Stars to The Postmortal by Drew Magary
Description
John Farrell is about to get "The Cure." Old age can never kill him now. The only problem is, everything else still can... Imagine a near future where a cure for aging is discovered and-after much political and moral debate-made available to people worldwide. Immortality, however, comes with its own unique problems-including evil green people, government euthanasia programs, a disturbing new religious cult, and other horrors. Witty, eerie, and full of humanity, The Postmortal is an unforgettable thriller that envisions a pre-apocalyptic world so real that it is completely terrifying.
Review
A brilliant, inventive and chilling story. Perhaps a tad too American for an international audience to be completely engrossed with the minutia , but the overall story and idea behind the work is magnificent and this one executed particularly well. I'd say it's certainly worth a read, because it brings up questions which are very uncomfortable yet strangely alluring.
3 Stars to Ill Wind by Kevin J. Anderson
Description
It's the largest oil spill in a crashed supertanker in San Francisco Bay. Desperate to avert environmental damage―and a PR disaster―the multinational oil company releases an untested "designer microbe" to break up the spill. An "oil-eating" microbe, designed to consume anything made of oil, gasoline, synthetic fabrics, and of course plastic. What the company doesn't realize is that their microbe propagates through the air. But when every car in the Bay Area turns up with an empty gas tank, they begin to suspect something is terribly wrong. And when, in just a few days, every piece of plastic in the world has dissolved, it's too late...
Review
I thought this didn't hold up very well, and came across as quite dated. An interesting story, but a little too slick to hold much emotional impact.
3 Stars to Confessions of a Male Nurse by Michael Alexander
Description
From the people who brought you the bestselling Confessions of a GP. From stampeding nudes to inebriated teenagers, young nurse Michael Alexander never really knew what he was getting himself into. But now, sixteen years since he was first launched into his nursing career – as the only man in a gynaecology ward – he’s pretty much dealt with Body parts that come off in his hands; Teenagers with phantom pregnancies; Doctors unable to tell the difference between their left and right; Violent drunks; Singing relatives; Sexism; . . . and a whole lot of nudity. Confessions of a Male Nurse is a touching, shocking and frequently hilarious account of one man’s life in nursing.
Review
This was amusing in places, but also brings home a lot of realism to what is really a difficult and very worthwhile job.
5 Stars to Beyond Judgment (Brainrush, #3) by Richard Bard
Description
With Publishers Weekly heralding the first book in his Brainrush thriller series as “terrifically entertaining” and “inventive and compelling,” and the sequel consistently near the top of the Amazon “Top Rated” list since its December 2011 release, Richard Bard now unleashes Beyond Judgment, which sees hero Jake Bronson at the mercy of his hidden past. Suffering from coma-induced amnesia, Jake Bronson’s quiet existence in Italy is shattered by the arrival of a kill team doing the bidding of an ancient order. But while the assassins hunt Jake down, they unwittingly awaken fragments of his dormant memories and deadly skills. Now, with enemies stalking his every step, Jake is on a race to piece together his broken past and reconnect with lost allies and loved ones, risking everything to reawaken his true self and stop an ancient order from unleashing humanity's ultimate judgment.
Review
A brilliant way to end the series, the amnesia thing worked well as an opening and the second chapter was very intense, setting the scene for the gripping action scenes that were to follow. I’ve really enjoyed the series and, even though it ends on a pro-religious note found myself cheering for Humanity all the way.
4 Stars to Sub-Human (Post-Human, #1) by David Simpson
Description
When World War III strikes, Dr. Craig Emilson is sent to take out a powerful artificial intelligence. Unexpectedly, he becomes the greatest hope for humanity. He must choose between saving mankind or saving himself as he faces impossible odds and an army of super soldiers on a mission to destroy him. "Sub-Human" is the first book in a new series of page turners that will keep you guessing until the very end. A mix between action thriller and science fiction, this novel will have you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end. First in a new series!
Review
“And here you are, pissing on his memory, exchanging wedding vows with the devil himself.” This was one of the best openings to a series I've come across. The action was intense, the writing brilliant and the whole idea of the work clever and exciting. I eagerly look forward to reading the rest of the series and am very glad I picked this up from Kindle!
3 Stars to Kinesis by Ethan Spier
Description
When two men break into Leonard Samson’s house, beat him unconscious and murder his six-year-old son, the police arrive to a gruesome scene. But they are shocked to find the mutilated bodies of the two intruders in the front room of Leonard’s home, while he waits in the kitchen with the surviving members of his family. Clarissa Chapman is a DCI of Psychokinetic Investigations - a new area of police work - instigated after the first genuine case of psychokinesis was discovered some fifteen years earlier. The Samson case is brought to her attention due to the strange way in which the two intruders were killed. She suspects Leonard Samson is a Kinetic. All Kinetics are blessed with a gift to move objects with only the power of their mind. But it is also a horrific curse. Within a few years of discovering their ability, they gradually develop violent insanity, and for this reason are locked away in specially designed prisons for the benefit of public safety. After discovering that the authorities suspect him of being a Kinetic, Leonard Samson runs, unaware that the police are not the only ones pursuing him. As the days pass by, Clarissa becomes increasingly concerned that certain aspects of the Samson case do not add up... The first two chapters of this book depict a violent home invasion and assault which some readers may find upsetting. THE KINETIC (Kinesis Book 2) NOW AVAILABLE! CORONA (Kinesis Book 3) NOW AVAILABLE!
Review
I quite enjoyed this, although despite being supposedly proofread I still gritted my teeth at grammatical errors and inconsistencies. Par for the course these days sadly. The idea here is terrifying, especially because the whole ethos is quite plausible. There's a rather unconscionable amount of government stupidity though, and the revelation at the end would've been best left to the reader to figure out, rather than handed over. Still, a good read and one I'd enjoy seeing progress in future stories.
5 Stars to True Path (Timesplash, #2) by Graham Storrs
Description
The biggest timesplash ever. An orgy of destruction. A new American revolution. It’s 2066 and Sandra has kept a low profile for 16 years, working as a tech in a quiet British university, hoping her past would never catch up with her. But it has. When Jay hears Sandra has been kidnapped, he drops everything and goes to the U.S. to find her. But Sandra’s kidnapper is not an ordinary criminal. He’s America’s most-wanted terrorist a man driven to to free his country from religious oppression at any cost. Sandra, still suffering from the fallout of earlier timesplashes, refuses to help create the biggest timesplash ever, which would unleash a wave of destruction that the rebels hope will kickstart a new American revolution. When Cara, Sandra’s teenage daughter, is taken by one of the many factions on the ground in Washington D.C., Sandra’s resolve is shaken, and Jay is forced into a race against time to stop the deaths of millions or save Sandra and her daughter. Sandra and Jay must ultimately decide between what is right for them and what is right for all in this thrilling continuation of the Timesplash series.
Review
“There had been good times, innocent times ... Well, maybe not good, or innocent, but better than this.” Superbly written, we are plunged headlong into a jump from the opening pages. I loved the disparity here, the old tech, scrounged parts and dodgy suits cobbled together by desperate people. A world away from splashparties, from those screaming, adoring crowds, the fun and the highs and the music and lights that added a buzz to the trip and made it fun and wild. We’re left instead with the danger, the fanaticism and hopelessness and the splashing for a cause, rather than a thrill. This isn’t exactly new, of course, the parties were dying down before this novel begins. But seeing the technology used still, to do a similar thing for a different reason is a very powerful opener, and firmly propels us back into the future where splashback is a very real threat. “I am a representative of the European Union and I insist on being treated with appropriate respect.” Which Jay thought sounded a lot better than, “I’m just a police officer of no particular status who got sent here against his will and who would very much like to be somewhere else before the Apocalypse starts.” One thing Storrs does superbly is fling us around emotionally. We have this great charged atmosphere with the splash in the opening chapter. We’re learning about what Sandra’s doing at the start of chapter 3 when everything goes mad and before we’re told anything else, we’re back in the calm of jay’s office and his own departmental troubles. “Show, don’t tell” is something you often hear bandied about, and this is incredibly well managed too. Cara is introduced rather breathtakingly, and as the story unfolds her background comes up, usually in passing thoughts, which serve to solidify and cement our understanding of her upbringing and background. It’s very neatly done because, even though we follow her and jay for half the story, we’re still getting this great influx of information about Sandra: how she’s been living, thinking, feeling. It comes through almost by osmosis, feeling incidental to the story and yet enriches everything else too. “I thought you were the Feds,” Sandra said. “What, and you always shoot policemen on sight? I thought you’d got over that.” There’s also plenty of these little amusing nuggets, especially when Jay and Sandra get together. They break the tension, but also bring home the Humanity of the players, reminding us that there are things worth fighting for amongst the danger and terror of massive destruction. It also gives you a sense of achievement, the fact that these characters have been coming to a point of convergence all the way through the book and are now together. The build-up, weaving in and out of their stories, ramps up the tension and when it all meshes and our heroes are trying to make their escape, the barbs and jibes and attitude all serve to clue us into the fact that, although Sandra and jay work well together, there’s also a lot of history there, and much that has been left unsaid. What else? I love Storrs’ realism. The way in which Cara thinks about her mum “doing too many drugs in the ’Forties”, that sort of little detail locks you into her place and time and really convinces you that it’s really her history, although it is of course our future. The technology is great; time travel is of course a big one, but even using the body’s natural electromagnetic field for commplant communication is pretty cool and just thrown in there as if it’s nothing. And finally, because I’m running out of steam, I just want to comment on the fact that things feel so ... so real. Vividly and believably real. Jay and Sandra’s relationship in the final chapter is positively scary, because it’s so utterly Human and so very, very complicated and powerful and confusing. There’s been so much between them and they’ve got their own lives to lead now, but there’s still this great connection. There’s history. There’s Cara. A happy ending? There’s always a string attached. Not everyone can have everything they want, and it is this that makes the climax of this novel stand out. If you have yet to read Timesplash, you’re missing out big time. Both books are reasonably priced and some of the best writing I’ve read this century. Why are you still reading this? GO read Graham Storrs!
June
3 Stars to Noah's Ark by Andrew J. Morgan
Description
Alex Latham had the perfect existence. He had a loving family, a beautiful child and a successful career. Then came the darkness. When the darkness came, there was nowhere to hide. People ran, but they could not escape. The darkness came and the darkness took them away. Except for one. Alex thought that he was all that was left. He was wrong. NOAH'S ARK
Review
“ It is a uniquely powerful and inspiring piece of technology, and one we have abused to obscene proportions.” This was a world away from the bog-standard "apocalyptic event happens and let's see how we survive" motif that's exploding on to the ebook scene at the moment. It hits you quite viscerally, and because the characters have memories that we learn are so easily adjusted and toyed with, you never feel comfortable, never really knowing who's thinking what or what they believe. This is mostly a good thing, although Alex's persona radically changes in the last fifth of the novel which is perhaps a little hard to swallow given his former attitude. There are also a few typos and proofing errors, but on the whole this is an enjoyable and frankly frightning opus.
4 Stars to The Chimera Vector (The Fifth Column, #1) by Nathan M. Farrugia
Description
The Fifth Column: the world's most powerful and secretive organization. They run our militaries. They run our governments. They run our terrorist cells. Recruited as a child, Sophia is a deniable operative for the Fifth Column. Like all operatives, Sophia's DNA has been altered to augment her senses and her mind is splintered into programmed subsets. On a routine mission in Iran something goes catastrophically wrong. Bugs are beginning to appear in Sophia's programming and the mission spins out of control. High-speed chases, gun fights, helicopter battles, immortal psychopaths, super soldiers and mutant abilities are all in the mix in this edge-of-your-seat action-packed techno-thriller. Perfect for fans of Matthew Reilly, The Chimera Vector melds sci-fi with sizzling espionage action.
Review
This was intense. Brutal. Terrifyingly action-packed and for the most part pretty good. The SQL, I liked. Side-channel attacks and the crypto was different, and the personality switching and genetic stuff was fascinating. My only issue was keeping track with who was working for whom, which is in part the idea, but everyone seemed to be playing such a deep game it was kinda hard to judge who was going to come out on top. Will go for the sequel, though, because there's a lot of life in this idea.
5 Stars to Lexicon by Max Barry
Description
At an exclusive school somewhere outside of Arlington, Virginia, students aren't taught history, geography, or mathematics--at least not in the usual ways. Instead, they are taught to persuade. Here the art of coercion has been raised to a science. Students harness the hidden power of language to manipulate the mind and learn to break down individuals by psychographic markers in order to take control of their thoughts. The very best will graduate as "poets", adept wielders of language who belong to a nameless organization that is as influential as it is secretive. Whip-smart orphan Emily Ruff is making a living running a three-card Monte game on the streets of San Francisco when she attracts the attention of the organization's recruiters. She is flown across the country for the school's strange and rigorous entrance exams, where, once admitted, she will be taught the fundamentals of persuasion by Bronte, Eliot, and Lowell--who have adopted the names of famous poets to conceal their true identities. For in the organization, nothing is more dangerous than revealing who you are: Poets must never expose their feelings lest they be manipulated. Emily becomes the school's most talented prodigy until she makes a catastrophic mistake: She falls in love. Meanwhile, a seemingly innocent man named Wil Jamieson is brutally ambushed by two strange men in an airport bathroom. Although he has no recollection of anything they claim he's done, it turns out Wil is the key to a secret war between rival factions of poets and is quickly caught in their increasingly deadly crossfire. Pursued relentlessly by people with powers he can barely comprehend and protected by the very man who first attacked him, Wil discovers that everything he thought he knew about his past was fiction. In order to survive, must journey to the toxically decimated town of Broken Hill, Australia, to discover who he is and why an entire town was blown off the map. As the two narratives converge, the shocking work of the poets is fully revealed, the body count rises, and the world crashes toward a Tower of Babel event which would leave all language meaningless. A brilliant thriller that connects very modern questions of privacy, identity, and the rising obsession of data collection to centuries-old ideas about the power of language and coercion, Lexicon is Max Barry's most ambitious and spellbinding novel yet.
Review
“I’m Australian; I know how to use a shotgun!” This was one of the cleverest of its sort. Hard not to compare with Spellwright and Libriomancer and things of that sort, but this is certainly a most worthy contender in that category. The dialog was sometimes rather abrupt, but that just added to the rather cheeky atmosphere of the whole thing. Not a book for those easily offended, but suited me down to the ground.
4 Stars to The Adjacent by Christopher Priest
Description
Tibor Tarent, a freelance photographer, is recalled to Britain from Anatolia where his wife Melanie has been killed by insurgent militia. IRGB is a nation living in the aftermath of a bizarre and terrifying terrorist atrocity - hundreds of thousands were wiped out when a vast triangle of west London was instantly annihilated. The authorities think the terrorist attack and the death of Tarent's wife are somehow connected. A century earlier, a stage magician is sent to the Western Front on a secret mission to render British reconnaissance aircraft invisible to the enemy. On his journey to the trenches he meets the visionary who believes that this will be the war to end all wars. In 1943, a woman pilot from Poland tells a young RAF technician of her escape from the Nazis, and her desperate need to return home. In the present day, a theoretical physicist stands in his English garden and creates the first adjacency. THE ADJACENT is a novel where nothing is quite as it seems. Where fiction and history intersect, where every version of reality is suspect, where truth and falsehood lie closely adjacent to one another. It shows why Christopher Priest is one of our greatest writers.
Review
The writing was compelling, the worlds painted so beautifully and the whole idea so grand that this was well on track for a five star rating. But the end, perhaps a little too cerebral for me, let it down some. Still, worth reading just for the prose and I’d certainly give Priest another go if a book of his came across my path.
3 Stars to CyberStorm (CyberStorm #1) by Matthew Mather
Description
New York goes dark in the dead of winter…A terrifying mystery begins…But who is the enemy? Sometimes the worst storms aren’t from Mother Nature, and sometimes the worst nightmares aren’t the ones in our heads. Mike Mitchell, an average New Yorker already struggling to keep his family together, suddenly finds himself fighting just to keep them alive when an increasingly bizarre string of disasters starts appearing on the world’s news networks. As both the real world and the cyberworld come crashing down, bending perception and reality, a monster snowstorm cuts New York off from the world, turning it into a wintry tomb where nothing is what it seems. Anyone who enjoys insightful, cutting-edge fiction mixed with action and adventure won’t want to miss CyberStorm.
Review
Distinct from all the others of this sort i've come across lately (and yes, there've been plenty), this actually ends on a positive note. I guess it's therefore a cautionary story rather than the opener to a long series. But it works well, the characters are believable and the technology (mesh networks etc) all cleverly used and written up well.
4 Stars to Proxy (Proxy, #1) by Alex London
Description
Knox was born into one of the City’s wealthiest families. A Patron, he has everything a boy could possibly want—the latest tech, the coolest clothes, and a Proxy to take all his punishments. When Knox breaks a vase, Syd is beaten. When Knox plays a practical joke, Syd is forced to haul rocks. And when Knox crashes a car, killing one of his friends, Syd is branded and sentenced to death. Syd is a Proxy. His life is not his own. Then again, neither is Knox’s. Knox and Syd have more in common than either would guess. So when Knox and Syd realize that the only way to beat the system is to save each other, they flee. Yet Knox’s father is no ordinary Patron, and Syd is no ordinary Proxy. The ensuing cross-country chase will uncover a secret society of rebels, test both boys’ resolve, and shine a blinding light onto a world of those who owe and those who pay. Some debts, it turns out, cannot be repaid.
Review
A sharp, gritty future with characters you really get to feel for. Be utterly fascinating to see the world after the events of this book.
3 Stars to The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick 4: The Minority Report by Philip K. Dick
Description
Review
Another volume in, and this one contains some longer works. The Minority report has fame all its own of course, but there were some others in here I especially enjoyed including Service Call and Captive Market, The Mold of Yancy and Explorers We, Waterspider and What the Dead Men Say. My favourite of the book has to be War Game, though - it still gives me a chil when I read it, even knowing what's coming.
4 Stars to Advent (Advent Trilogy #1) by James Treadwell
Description
For centuries it has been locked away Lost beneath the sea Warded from earth, air, water, fire, spirits, thought and sight. But now magic is rising to the world once more. And a boy called Gavin, who thinks only that he is a city kid with parents who hate him, and knows only that he sees things no one else will believe, is boarding a train, alone, to Cornwall. No one will be there to meet him.
Review
Hard to describe this one, because I came out confused. Linguistically, it was beautiful, with a rich context both historical and mythological and a captivating, almost mournful type of writing that glues you to the page. There's something just over my head about everything though, a fractured, almost disconnected feeling to my read. I can't justify paying RRP for the next volume but would like to think, if it comes down, I'd get it, if only to see what happens next and clarify a few things in my own head.
4 Stars to Scorpio Attack (Blake's 7) by Trevor Hoyle
Description
Seven followers of Blake, an early rebel against the tyranny of the Federation, use their new spaceship, the Scorpio, to continue the fight
Review
Another neatly written set of episodes, with more of Avon shown, especially his increasing manic nature toward the end. Further B7 literature takes us offscreen. It's been greatly nostalgic, especially because everything here draws from material I've already seen, but far from detracting, it just added a layer to what are, though dated and brief, still good books.
3 Stars to Toys by James Patterson
Description
Hays Baker and his wife Lizbeth possess super-human strength, extraordinary intelligence, stunning looks, a sex life to die for, and two beautiful children. Of course, they do--they're Elites, endowed at birth with the very best that the world can offer. The only problem in their perfect world: humans and their toys! The one with the most toys--dies The top operative for the Agency of Change, Hays has just won the fiercest battle of his career. He has been praised by the President, and is a national hero. But before he can savor his triumph, he receives an unbelievable shock that overturns everything he thought was true. Suddenly Hays is on the other side of the gun, forced to leave his perfect family and fight for his life. Now a hunted fugitive, Hays is thrown into a life he never dreamed possible--fighting to save humans everywhere from extinction. He enlists all of his training to uncover the truth that will save millions of lives--maybe even his own.
Review
The blurb gave this as a crossover between Bourne and Bond. While some of the machismo was more the latter, the plot lacks much of the depth and complexity of Bourne. Things aren't ever as they seem, but an over-reliance on clones, a rather-too-obvious ending, and some silliness in a few of the action scenes mean I'm giving it a three.
4 Stars to The Second Ship (The Rho Agenda, #1) by Richard Phillips
Description
For sixty years, the National Laboratory in Los Alamos, New Mexico, has been investigating the powerful technologies of a damaged alien ship, an effort dubbed the "Rho Project." Now, the American government is ready to share the Rho Project discoveries with the world. But as the world scrambles to adopt the alien technologies, three high schoolers make another shocking hidden inside a cave in the New Mexico wilderness lies another alien ship. As the friends explore the second ship, they begin to unravel a decades-long secret involving an extraterrestrial war, government cover-ups, and secret experimentation using alien technology on humans. A battle has begun, and the secrets of the second ship may be the key to humanity's last chance for survival.
Review
This was a crackingly good story. It reminded me of the Animorphs, although for an older audience and with more mature and modern content. It's very American, but that doesn't bother me and I utterly enjoyed it. Book 2 will be consumed within a few weeks, I guarantee!
4 Stars to The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared (Hundred-Year-Old Man, #1) by Jonas Jonasson
Description
Eigentlich hat Allan Karlsson allen Grund zum Feiern: Er wird 100 Jahre alt. Das Problem ist nur, dass er im Altersheim festsitzt, noch alle Fünfe beisammen hat und sein Körper sich bisher standhaft weigert, das Zeitliche zu segnen. Zu allem Überfluss hat sich auch noch der Bürgermeister samt Lokalpresse angekündigt. Allan hat auf den ganzen Zirkus überhaupt keine Lust. So steigt er in seinen Pantoffeln kurzerhand aus dem Fenster und stellt bald ganz Schweden auf den Kopf...
Review
I hesitate to use hilarious, but this was certianly amusing in places. The tone is light, everything vaguely strange but in an easy-going, funny sort of a way. Recommended for lovers of whimsy
3 Stars to The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick 2: We Can Remember it for You Wholesale by Philip K. Dick
Description
Review
A lot of these were quite hsort and to the point, as stated in the introduction. Second variety is a bihit, yet I enjoyed some of the others considerably more. Human Is, I liked. Adjustment team is pretty good although as with Prominent Author there's that religious bit which always gives me a vague unease. I liked the stories with endings that you sea coming with a bit of logic. Imposter is a good example, as is my favourite of the collection, Survey team
4 Stars to Project Avalon (Blake's 7) by Trevor Hoyle
Description
Novelisation of five classic episodes from the much–loved BBC TV series created by Terry Nation, featuring Roj Blake, Kerr Avon, and their cohorts as they do battle with the Galactic Federation and its despotic leader, Servalan. The episodes adapted in the book are Seek–Locate–Destroy, Duel, Project Avalon, Deliverance and Orac.
Review
“You won,” said Travis stolidly, his face hard and brutal. “That's what counted.” But Sinofar shook her head wanly. Her eyes held an infinite reservoir of sadness. “It wasn't a victory. It was only the end of the war...” I enjoyed this a lot more than the first one. I suppose I was already familiar with the characters and, because I approached B7 at an odd angle, I'm an Avon fan and the opening set of episodes pushed Blake, obviously. There's a certain antiquity to these stories; their headlong pace and leaping from one story to the next lends itself to a serial form so you sort of feel a bit strange, buying them as novels. I, for one, would welcome flushed-out write-ups of all 52 original episodes (we have, what: 4, or 6 or so, at the moment). There's money in it too, up on Kindle I reckon they'd go well! Oh and Orac is one of my favourite episodes of the whole show, so it was nice to have more of that in a written form.
3 Stars to The Flying Sorcerers by David Gerrold
Description
This funny and insightful science fiction classic introduces Shoogar, the greatest wizard ever known in his village. His spells can strike terror in the hearts of even his most powerful enemies. But the enemy he faces now is like none he has ever seen before. The stranger has come from nowhere and is ignorant of even the most basic principles of magic. But the stranger has an incredibly powerful magic of his own. There is no room in Shoogar's world for an intruder whose powers match his own, let alone one whose powers might exceed his. So before the blue sun can cross the face of the red sun once more, Shoogar will show this stranger just who is boss.
Review
This was fascinating, as it took the whole Human in another world idea but gave it at us from the other world's POV. Cleverly done really, though not as enjoyable as I'd hoped.
3 Stars to The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick 1: The Short Happy Life of the Brown Oxford by Philip K. Dick
Description
Review
There's always something worthwhile in a Dick reread. In this particular volume, I especially enjoyed The Skull and The Infinites, but for top place I have to say it's a toss-up between Paycheck and The Variable Man. I've got the second volume to flip through between other novels but have deliberately snipped the contents page out of my flow so I don't skip over stories I originally found less than thrilling.
4 Stars to The Testing (The Testing, #1) by Joelle Charbonneau
Description
Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Isn't that what they say? But how close is too close when they may be one and the same? The Seven Stages War left much of the planet a charred wasteland. The future belongs to the next generation's chosen few who must rebuild it. But to enter this elite group, candidates must first pass The Testing—their one chance at a college education and a rewarding career. Cia Vale is honoured to be chosen as a Testing candidate; eager to prove her worthiness as a University student and future leader of the United Commonwealth. But on the eve of her departure, her father's advice hints at a darker side to her upcoming studies—trust no one. But surely she can trust Tomas, her handsome childhood friend who offers an alliance? Tomas, who seems to care more about her with the passing of every gruelling (and deadly) day of the Testing. To survive, Cia must choose: love without truth or life without trust.
Review
This was indeed very Hunger Games, although with perhaps a more plausible, or at least more credible future. One easier to relate to, at least.It certainly kept the tension going very well and was cohesively put together and quite enjoyable indeed. I couldn't put it down!
4 Stars to Blake's 7 (Blake's 7) by Trevor Hoyle
Description
Exiled from Dome City - where a vicious regime wields dictatorial power - Roj Blake swears vengeance on the corrupt leaders who have destroyed his future. Hijacking the Liberator, the most advanced spacecraft ever created, Blake travels to the sinister planet Cygnus Alpha. There, risking the dreaded Curse of Cygnus, he rescues other victims of the regime from the megalomaniac Vargas... And with there allies he forms a fighting force to combat galactic injustice: Blake's Seven! From the latest spectacular television drama series by Terry Nation, creator of Survivors and other smash-hit TV successes, top British science fiction author Trevor Hoyle has written a gripping novel of deep-space action, adventure and intrigue.
Review
I really got into this novel, but probably because of it's nostalgia value for me. I grew up on B7 and finally being able to read it, rather than take in a television series missing a vital component, was a joy to behold. Gender stereotyping is, of course, alive and well (this is the seventies), after all. Cally and Jenna couldn't appear to be more different, and the threat of the assassins was very real and written with a great deal of tension. A cult classic, not to be missed by those in the genre for sure.
4 Stars to The Accidental Time Machine by Joe Haldeman
Description
Joe Haldeman "has quietly become one of the most important science fiction writers of our time" (Rocky Mountain News). Now he delivers a provocative novel of a man who stumbles upon the discovery of a lifetime-or many lifetimes. Grad-school dropout Matt Fuller is toiling as a lowly research assistant at MIT when, while measuring subtle quantum forces that relate to time changes in gravity and electromagnetic force, his calibrator turns into a time machine. With a dead-end job and a girlfriend who has left him for another man, Matt has nothing to lose taking a time machine trip himself-or so he thinks.
Review
"But simply putting yourself in the future, well, you could do that by just standing around. No profit in it unless you could come back." This was quite a fun read, though entropy holds true - i.e. the further forward in time you go, the less time you seem to spend there. Still, for time travel fans, its an interesting one, especially with the depiction of the future mapped out so neatly.
4 Stars to Forgotten History (Star Trek: Department of Temporal Investigations, #2) by Christopher L. Bennett
Description
The agents of the Department of Temporal Investigations are assigned to look into an anomaly that has appeared deep in Federation Territory. It's difficult to get clear readings, but a mysterious inactive vessel lies at the heart of the anomaly, one outfitted with some sort of temporal drive disrupting space-time and subspace. To the agents' shock, the ship bears a striking resemblance to a Constitution-class starship, and its warp signature matches that of the original Federation starship Enterprise NCC-1701 - the ship of James T. Kirk, that infamous bogeyman of temporal investigators, whose record of violations is held up by DTI agents as a cautionary tale for Starfleet recklessness toward history. But the vessel's hull markings identify it as Timeship Two, belonging to none other than the DTI itself. At first, Agents Lucsly and Dulmur assume the ship is from some other timeline... but its quantum signature confirmst that it came from their own past, despite the fact that the DTI never possessed such a timeship. While the anomaly is closely monitored, Lucsly and Dulmur must search for answers in the history of Kirk's Enterprise and its many encounters with time travel - a series of events with direct ties to the origins of the DTI itself...
Review
“Don’t remind me,” Lucsly said. “Let’s get back to the Everett before I throw up.” I was just under half way through this book and considered the notion that it really should have come first, rather than Watching The Clock. Then I found that notion rather amusing, because the sheer fluidity of time in this series of novels renders any sort of chronological assimilation practically meaningless. Still, having read it second, one does gain an appreciation for the characters (who of course we already know, for the most part). As for the story, it's complex, set in more than one time and universe, richly layered and deeply satisfying. I think any TOS fan will appreciate this book more than the first, and I must say Bennett's writing of Spock and the more emotional Vulcan scenes gripped me tremendously. TOS is not an area I am most comfortable in, but I know that should I research something with which I am only vaguely familiar (such as T'Pring) or indeed something I'd never heard mention of (such as the Kir’Shara), I know that Bennett has already been there, exhausting current sources and adding his own flair thereto. The one thing that stuck out as a negative for me in this book was Grey: I can't reveal too much without spoiling things, of course, but I will say that though I didn't place her on Lucsly's pedistal, I had hoped for a little more integrity. It seemed that she was a useful escape valve for exigencies of the plot and I never quite "got" her. A very enjoyable story though, and one I would have reveled in all-the-more had I been as up with the original series as I am with the latter Enterprises. Next time, can we have a bit of Picard, please?
3 Stars to Linkage (Narrows Of Time, #1) by Jay J. Falconer
Description
APOCALYPTIC TIME TRAVEL THRILLER Physicist Lucas Ramsay violates university policy and emails a controversial paper on inter-dimensional travel to an online magazine, hoping to gain notoriety and sell it to the highest bidder. He knows his revolutionary theory is correct. But what he couldn't know was his email would go viral, starting a chain reaction, bringing about the apocalypse. The end of all life on Earth. A swift and merciless extinction by an unknown and unstoppable force.
Review
The idea here had potential but to my mind it was a little too internal, somehow inaccessible to as wide an audience as it might be. The technology all seemed too good to be true and the whole disabled brother thing dragged a little.
4 Stars to Left Neglected by Lisa Genova
Description
Sarah Nickerson is like any other career-driven supermom in Welmont, the affluent Boston suburb where she leads a hectic but charmed life with her husband Bob, faithful nanny, and three children - Lucy, Charlie, and nine-month-old Linus.
Review
I enjoyed this a great deal. An intelligent and cogent exploration of a medical condition I hadn't heard of with enough family content to hit home.
3 Stars to Lethal Circuit (Michael Chase #1) by Lars Guignard
Description
A Chinese satellite is on crash course with Earth. It contains enough plutonium to irradiate a large city. And that's the good news... In the tradition of Tom Clancy, Michael Crichton, and Robert Ludlum, comes a new hero. Michael Chase is a twenty-six year old backpacker, a recent college grad, an amateur. He flew to Hong Kong to find his missing father. Four hours later, he's running for his life. The Chinese Secret Police want him dead. The Conspiracy wants him dead. And the one person who he thinks is on his side, may want him dead too. If Michael is going to live, he'll need to find a hidden piece of Nazi technology lost since World War II. And he'll have to do it before anyone else. Because if he doesn't, a little plutonium is going to be the least of his problems.
Review
Seriously in need of editing - the word through has an R in it and everything was "visceral", the word far too overused. Still, the story was kinda cool if you like Backpackers and the hacker guy was fun. The major downside to the story, apart from the editing issues was the utter reliance on voltafaccia. You sort of got to expect it and so it wasn't a surprise, which is generally the idea in this kind of book.
4 Stars to The Mysterious Benedict Society (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #1) by Trenton Lee Stewart
Description
"ARE YOU A GIFTED CHILD LOOKING FOR SPECIAL OPPORTUNITIES?" When this peculiar ad appears in the newspaper, dozens of children enroll to take a series of mysterious, mind-bending tests. (And you, dear reader, can test your wits right alongside them.) But in the end just four very special children will succeed. Their challenge: to go on a secret mission that only the most intelligent and resourceful children could complete. To accomplish it they will have to go undercover at the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened, where the only rule is that there are no rules. As our heroes face physical and mental trials beyond their wildest imaginations, they have no choice but to turn to each other for support. But with their newfound friendship at stake, will they be able to pass the most important test of all? WELCOME TO THE MYSTERIOUS BENEDICT SOCIETY.
Review
“Please close your eyes and stand still. Why are you flinching?” “I don’t know. I thought maybe you were going to slap me.” “Don’t be ridiculous. I could slap you perfectly well with your eyes open. I’m only going to blindfold you.” I love Stewart's writing style, and indeed the way in which his words flow are most marvelous to behold. There's something magical and wondrous about the world of these books, and I'd have been utterly and completely hooked on them if I were reading them as a kid. Whereas nowadays I'm utterly and completely hooked on them but have to do other things other than read, like pay bills and go to work.
4 Stars to The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #0) by Trenton Lee Stewart
Description
Nine-year-old Nicholas Benedict has more problems than most children his age. Not only is he an orphan with an unfortunate nose, but he also has narcolepsy, a condition that gives him terrible nightmares and makes him fall asleep at the worst possible moments. Now he's being sent to a new orphanage, where he will encounter vicious bullies, selfish adults, strange circumstances – and a mystery that could change his life forever. Luckily, he does have one thing in his favor: He's a a genius. On his quest to solve the mystery, Nicholas finds enemies around every corner, but also friends in unexpected places – and discovers along the way that the greatest puzzle of all is himself.
Review
I loved this. It was super fun, seeing things from Nicholas's perspective, and I was strongly reminded of Lemony Snicket and Dew Pellucid in terms of style. I had no idea there were other books in the series, so I was lucky to have picked this one up first I suppose. Very enjoyably written, and aimed at a young audience but perfectly enjoyable to older folk too.
3 Stars to Internal Threat by Ben Sussman
Description
You have one night to save millions of lives. But your success could take the life of your only child. What would you do? That is the agonizing dilemma faced by Matt Weatherly, Black Ops veteran turned top cyber security expert. A ruthless killer is using his son as a pawn to destroy the state-of-the-art web of security Matt's company has spent the last seven years creating. Racing against the clock, Matt is forced to navigate the deadly, night-cloaked streets of Los Angeles, staying one step ahead of the killer and the dogged pursuit of the police, before the deadline passes and consumes everything he loves.
Review
Though interesting, I did find this stretching credulity a little often. It was a little stereotypical in places, but still quite fun for all this. The prospect of a sequel was very intriguing though and I look forward to seeing where things go next, as the end sort of hits you hard.
May
3 Stars to Unauthorized Access by Andrew McAllister
Description
Young computer programmer Rob Donovan receives an emergency call from his boss at the First Malden Bank in Boston after the first successful cyberattack in American banking history scrambles thousands of account records. First Malden’s survival is on the line as furious customers and voracious reporters descend on the bank. Rob is part of the team trying to fix the damage, until the FBI charges him with the crime and brings his world crashing down. Facing prison time and the loss of his fiancée Lesley, Rob’s only chance of reclaiming his life lies in cutting through a web of mistrust and betrayal to uncover the startling truth behind the attack.
Review
A very solid debut novel, clearly researched and with enough character distinction to keep the story going. Rob was unfortunately far too stupid to be a hero, but I suppose he may well have been realistically painted. Are graduates that naive these days?
3 Stars to Code White: A Novel by Scott Britz-Cunningham
Description
Ali O’Day, a dedicated young neurosurgeon, might have a Nobel Prize in her future—if she can survive the next eleven hours. Under the glare of live television cameras—and with her lover, Dr. Richard Helvelius, and her estranged husband, Kevin, both looking on—Ali is about to implant a revolutionary mini-computer into the brain of a blind boy. If it works, he will see again. But someone wants to stop her triumph. No sooner has she begun to operate than the hospital pagers crackle with the chilling announcement, “CODE WHITE.” A bomb has been found in the medical center. But this is no ordinary bomb—and no ordinary bomber. As minutes tick off toward the deadline, Ali suspects that a vast, inhuman intellect lies behind the plot—and that she herself may be the true ransom demand.
Review
I really got into this to start with: it was gritty, a bottle-show to be sure, but interesting nonetheless. Unfortunately the ending was very obvious and not very satisfying for me. Still, enjoyable enough.
5 Stars to Off to Be the Wizard (Magic 2.0, #1) by Scott Meyer
Description
Martin Banks is just a normal guy who has made an abnormal discovery: he can manipulate reality, thanks to reality being nothing more than a computer program. With every use of this ability, though, Martin finds his little “tweaks” have not escaped notice. Rather than face prosecution, he decides instead to travel back in time to the Middle Ages and pose as a wizard. What could possibly go wrong? An American hacker in King Arthur’s court, Martin must now train to become a full-fledged master of his powers, discover the truth behind the ancient wizard Merlin…and not, y’know, die or anything.
Review
“I haven’t done anything,” he continued. “I especially haven’t done any of the things those men are going to tell you I did.” What an amazingly brilliant idea for a story. It comes across as a little cheesy, but that's all part of the charm and it's really a very funny work. Chapter 3? I howled. First flight and the duck? I almost collapsed with amusement. It may not be original, it may pander to the stereotypes of the genre and completely reinforce the most worrying geekisms of several generations ... but it's a bloody brilliant book.
4 Stars to The Enemy of My Enemy (Brainrush, #2) by Richard Bard
Description
When a freak accident gave Jake Bronson near-superhuman mental powers and landed his loved ones in the crosshairs of an Islamic terrorist, the only way out was with guns blazing. But Jake was unable to put a stop to his nightmares or his murderous nemesis, Luciano Battista, in that ferocious showdown in the mountains of Afghanistan. Now the terror czar and his minions have brought the fight to American soil—along with the most terrifying bioweapon that has ever threatened the free world. They demand vengeance, and Jake's family and friends are caught in the crossfire. From California's beaches and Mexico's deserts to the depths of a raging underground river and the treacherous Venezuelan jungle, Jake and his unlikely alliance of combat veterans and gangsters wage a rolling war of wits, weapons, and indomitable will ? to rescue those they love and to stop a madman's bid for global conquest dead in its tracks.
Review
Although I had flashes where things seemed stretched to be ultimately unbelievable, this was still a very fast and hitting thriller. The scene where Jake says his final farewells is touching, even if you expect him to pull a rabbit out of his hat and not get himself blown up, shot, beaten to death or die of a heart attack. Even the guide dog came in handy, which I thought, at the opener, was just another heartstring to be played. It is, of course - kids in the mix and all that - but the dog was important to the plot, too. One thing that often bothers me is a character that changes his mind halfway through. Here, it worked well; the seeds were planted very early on and all the bases covered so neatly that, when it happened I was impressed in spite of myself. There are limits. I don't think Jake could work in more than another book, or two at the most, not unless the forty year thing holds true and we go to kids. Bard's clearly got an agenda and I can only hope that things won't run away into a series for the sake of it. I'm guessing book three will be a scorcher!
4 Stars to Strings by Dave Duncan
Description
Alya's hunches were never wrong. So the scientists of 4-I were happy to promise her a place in the next offworld colonization team if she agreed to assess the potential of the latest worlds they had discovered. Then she met Cedric, the grandson of 4-I's brilliant and tyrannical director, and for the first time ever she began to doubt her uncanny intuition. Cedric dreamed of becoming a scout and exploring other worlds. When he met the lovely Alya he was more determined than ever to leave Earth -- with her. His grandmother, though, needed him as a pawn in her Machiavellian plot to cover up a murder and protect 4-I itself from being destroyed. She had no intention of letting him go. But the director underestimated her grandson -- and the woman whose destiny seemed linked with his . . .
Review
I love the way Duncan gives you a young character and so expertly hurls them into these breathtaking situations. he's been doing it well for a quarter of a century and I'm hoping he shows no sign of letting up; I read Strings to commemorate the fact that I put in a pre-order for his next work out in September. I think chapter 15 was one of my favourites of the book, it sizzled along brilliantly. I did find that Alya was a bit too quick to change gears, that got me a bit, but that's the only niggle in what was truly a story well up there with some of his best.
1 Stars to Colonisation by Richard Holliday
Description
At the beginning of a new century, Earth stands polluted. Humanity has outgrown the home that brought it to life. As the gears of civilization start to falter and seize, attention is turned to a new world that has been just out of reach but now looks like a prime territory for a new human empire. But before the grandiose strides to intergalactic humanity can be made, the ground has to be broken and the baby-steps toward colonisation of Earth's closest neighbour, Mars, have to be taken. Join the two hundred or so pioneers that are tasked with making history as they prepare to leave their homes forever for a new life on the Red Planet, where adversity from both their own species and their new home tests their will to survive.
Review
This was free, so I can't really say I made a loss on it. But it's seriously in need of editing (I didn't see a chapter with an error in spelling, grammar, continuity etc) and the whole idea of the work is blatant nonsense. Kids, being sent off to Mars, I can sort of swallow. But being lied to, supposedly forging out on their own and then doing the same thing to their peers is a little too thin, even for a teen romp. None of the sections work; the opener is soppy, far too much time is spent on a journey to an academy, training is foreshortened, the landing on Mars is silly (nobody's qualified, after all, we missed a shedload of training), and the decisions made post-landing are the sort of thing even a trigger happy Klingon may abjure. The command structure is laughable, the way "the baddy" takes charge is clearly just done for the author's benefit and the whole work exudes a sense of 1950s space opera inexpertly modernized and rather trashed in the process. Remind me to send Holliday a Heinlein juvenile someday and perhaps I'll check out one of his later works in another life.
4 Stars to Seoul Survivors by Naomi Foyle
Description
A meteor known as Lucifer's Hammer is about to wreak destruction on the earth, and with the end of the world imminent, there is only one safe place to be. In the mountains above Seoul, American-Korean bio-engineer Dr Kim Da Mi thinks she has found the perfect solution to save the human race. But her methods are strange and her business partner, Johnny Sandman, is not exactly the type of person anyone would want to mix with. Drawn in by their smiles and pretty promises, Sydney – a Canadian model trying to escape an unhappy past – is an integral part of their scheme, until she realises that the quest for perfection comes at an impossible price.
Review
This is a vivid, sexually-charged stinger of a novel. Korea was new to me, but the atmosphere is electrifying, the powerful characters engaging and the totality of the work is quite majestic and very boldly written. Everyone has a bit of an agenda, and it's quite a thing to see the powerful characters using everyone else so ruthlessly. The penultimate chapter was a hitter, and there's plenty of material to make it worthy of a reread, too. I'd like to see the fallout of this one explored in future books for sure.
4 Stars to Fair Coin (Coin, #1) by E.C. Myers
Description
Epraim is horrified when he comes home from school one day to find his mother unconscious at the kitchen table, clutching a bottle of pills. Even more disturbing than her suicide attempt is the reason for it: the dead boy she identified at the hospital that afternoon--a boy who looks exactly like him. While examining his dead double's belongings, Ephraim discovers a strange coin that makes his wishes come true each time he flips it. Before long, he's wished his alcoholic mother into a model parent, and the girl he's liked since second grade suddenly notices him. But Ephraim soon realizes that the coin comes with consequences --several wishes go disastrously wrong, his best friend Nathan becomes obsessed with the coin, and the world begins to change in unexpected ways. As Ephraim learns the coin's secrets and how to control its power, he must find a way to keep it from Nathan and return to the world he remembers. (For ages 12 & up)
Review
This is something pretty impressive. It is typical inasmuch as it's young adult and I suppose the relationships and morality are pretty much what you'd come to expect from the genre, but the whole multiple universe thing is pretty nifty. I especially like the way in which the concept is just accepted by the characters, as by the time they discuss it, the proof it's happening is already immutable. As for the story itself, it was pretty cleverly put together and certainly kept me reading. I'll be buying the next one.
4 Stars to The Wrath Of Khan (Star Trek: The Original Series, #7; Movie Novelization, #2) by Vonda N. McIntyre
Description
The Federation starship Reliant is on its surveying mission to find a lifeless planet to serve for the test site for Genesis Project. While surveying Ceti Alpha V they accidentally discover the camp of Khan Noonien Singh, who with his followers, quickly captures the ship. Khan then seizes space station Regula I where the Genesis Project is being developed. Khan lures his nemesis, Kirk and the Enterprise TM crew to the space station. Kirk and the crew must then prevent Khan from destroying the Enterprise and detonating the Genesis device.
Review
This is one of the best Star Trek Movies, as many will agree, and this book actually does the film credit. It expands on things not shown onscreen (adds characters and deepens existing material very well) and is generally an extremely well-written, atmospherically tight and character-driven story. One of the best novel versions of screen events I have come across.
5 Stars to The Rithmatist (Rithmatist, #1) by Brandon Sanderson
Description
More than anything, Joel wants to be a Rithmatist. Rithmatists have the power to infuse life into two-dimensional figures known as Chalklings. Rithmatists are humanity’s only defense against the Wild Chalklings. Having nearly overrun the territory of Nebrask, the Wild Chalklings now threaten all of the American Isles. As the son of a lowly chalkmaker at Armedius Academy, Joel can only watch as Rithmatist students learn the magical art that he would do anything to practice. Then students start disappearing—kidnapped from their rooms at night, leaving trails of blood. Assigned to help the professor who is investigating the crimes, Joel and his friend Melody find themselves on the trail of an unexpected discovery—one that will change Rithmatics—and their world—forever.
Review
“It’s going to be painful.” “It’s a fun tradition.” “So was witch-burning,” Melody said. “Unless you were the witch.” Sanderson's truly on form here. This is a wonderfully executed teen story, with overtones to satisfy adults but primarily (and very successfully I'd wager) aimed at a younger market. There's a lot of room for discussion; religious, political, technological, you name it. And as if that weren't enough, our hero is just a normal person, just like you or me, without any magical powers. The ending was supposedly rushed, according to a reviewer. It did come a little quickly, I'll admit, but only for one used to the scope of Brandon's writing. It's over ten hours in audiobook form, which is pretty respectable for a teen story and it positively crackles along with mystery, intrigue and action. It also has the distinguishing characteristic of having its own story completed but leaving the world wide, wide open for more. This is just the start of something and that something is, I will firmly declare, going to be brilliant.
5 Stars to Now & Again: Parallel Worlds & Happy Endings by E.A. Fournier
Description
When Kendall McCaslin buried his wife on that fall day he was convinced that his own life went into the hole with her. He and his son, Josh, were all that remained, and both felt lost. They were simply two average men standing in an Ohio graveyard dealing with tragedy; but nothing is ever that simple. The truth of who and what they really were would be revealed when a series of fatal car crashes propelled father and son into a deadly romp through parallel worlds. Caught inside new versions of themselves in alternate timelines, but with all their old memories intact, they struggled to make sense of what had happened. Along the way, they discovered that the dark secrets of an old man and their own unsuspected abilities may provide the only path to save a dying multiverse. Oh, and they also learned that they weren’t the only ones who could jump timelines – and those others were not at all pleased.
Review
"A new world every time a squirrel loses a nut?" I utterly enjoyed this book, and will be eagerly awaiting any further work by Fournier. It put parallelism into an easy-to-read and fun context, and although it doesn't linger on the science, the action is really quite fun and the pace and style very good. I particularly liked the incongruence of Everett vis-a-vis Kendall and Josh. The way they play against each other is very neat, and opens the more technical aspects of the story out to everybody. It's a true joy ride of a thriller, with just the level of technical stuff added to keep it interesting.
4 Stars to Alternitech by Kevin J. Anderson
Description
“Alternitech” is a company that sends prospectors into alternate but similar timelines where tiny differences yield significant a world where the Beatles never broke up, or where Lee Harvey Oswald wasn’t gunned down after the Kennedy assassination, where an accidental medical breakthrough offers the cure to a certain disease, where a struggling author really did write the great American novel, or where a freak accident reveals the existence of a serial killer. Alternitech finds those differences—and profits from them.
Review
An interesting collection, though hardly overly worthwhile for those without an interest in the genre. An Innocent Presumption was pretty good, but Rough Draft propelled the collection to 4 stars for its sheer depth of sci-fi writerness and interesting inner reflection. Worth a couple of dollars? Yes, I think so, given my background. Not for everyone, but a thumbs up from me.
3 Stars to Chrysopteron by Michael K. Rose
Description
Captain John Hayden, haunted by memories of war and still grieving the death of his wife, is about to embark on the most important mission of his career: to discover the fate of the Chrysopteron, one of five generation ships which left the Earth centuries earlier. The descendants of the Chrysopteron’s original crew had successfully colonized their planet, but less than a hundred years later, all contact was lost. Hayden knows that a mysterious new religion which was formed aboard the ship may have played a role in determining the fate of the colonists, but there is no way to know what he and his crew will find when they finally arrive. In a story that touches on issues of faith and self-determination, Chrysopteron explores the fundamental elements that define our species. Even though we may leave the Earth, we cannot leave behind that which makes us human.
Review
Though not entirely gripping, this was enjoyable enough. The writing reminded me of Earthsearch for some reason: nothing I can quantify, no phraseology or words I can pin down to say why, but for a reason I can't articulate that's what I came away with. It was an interesting story, and for a trekkie, seeing a team go to a new planet guns firing was weird, but it all made sense in the story arc and I will at least be checking out a sample of some of his other work.
4 Stars to The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling
Description
When Barry Fairbrother dies unexpectedly in his early forties, the little town of Pagford is left in shock. Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty façade is a town at war. Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils…. Pagford is not what it first seems. And the empty seat left by Barry on the town’s council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town has yet seen. Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion, duplicity and unexpected revelations? Blackly comic, thought-provoking and constantly surprising, The Casual Vacancy is J.K. Rowling’s first novel for adults.
Review
It seems unfair that, however I tried to read this novel, I had to keep thinking back to Harry. I avoided reading it for so long because of the puerile, instinctive reactions based around the Potter franchise. And yet, as I look at reviews and commentary in the newspapers after the release, I note that those who liked it, liked it for what it was. Those who didn't, drew some comparison, however tenuous, with Rowling's previous form, generally to point out where this one flops. "We do not come away feeling that we know the back stories of the 'Vacancy' characters in intimate detail the way we did with Harry", is an example of this sort of connection. And I say well of course not, you fool, we had seven books and a whole different world to play in there, didn't we? "fails to conjure Harry Potter's magic", says another. So? It's not about magic. Even magic in the literary sense, which is what one would hope that review was hoping for, is a very subjective term indeed. For me, personally, I was impressed with the novel. I remember reading a review of Philosopher's Stone where Rowling's prose were considered stilted, and a profusion of "he said" "she said" in Goblet of Fire somewhere which allowed the writer to poke through the story. There was none of that here. it's a very adult work and Rowling has clearly turned her focus away from children for this work, which is another thing people have complained about ("my kid wants to read this, it's an adult book, it's full of filth"). You get the picture. I'm fortunate, I suppose, in that I'd have read it and enjoyed it as much if it were written by a complete unknown, though of course, I wouldn't have gone on at length. I was full of ups and downs reading it, some of the characters were more enjoyable than others, that's just natural. I felt the dialectism was a little over the top in spots, but I see that the aim was authenticity and so can forgive it. The final scene, at the funeral! That was quite intense, you know? Not in terms of content, everything had happened. But things all sort of came together there, and I at least came away more contemplative than before, with these issues in my head where they hadn't been before. I do have an issue with the price, which is perhaps unfair to bring into a review about the book per se but it's not specific to this title: big publishers still charge through the roof for ebooks, and this work falls neatly into that category. But the writing was good, the story itself interesting and all I'll say is, if you want to read it, take it for what it is, not for who wrote it. If you want more Harry, more fantasy, more magic, don't look here.
4 Stars to Brainrush (Brainrush, #1) by Richard Bard
Description
Listed in the Wall Street Journal as the #1 Bestselling Action/Adventure in their "Readers Guide to Self-Published Big Sellers" (Dec 9, 2011). When terminally ill combat pilot Jake Bronson emerges from an MRI with extraordinary cognitive powers, everyone wants a piece of his talent--including Battista, one of the world's most dangerous terrorists. To save his love and her autistic child, Jake is thrust into a deadly chase that leads from the canals of Venice through Monte Carlo and finally to an ancient cavern in the Hindu Kush Mountains of Afghanistan--where Jake discovers that his newfound talents carry a hidden price that threatens the entire human race. An original weave of current events bound by colorful locations and cutting-edge technology, Bard's novel is a must-read for fans of Michael Crichton, James Rollins, Clive Cussler, and Brad Thor. A dynamic mix of fast-paced action and thought provoking soul, this book challenges the reader to keep pace with every sharp turn and shocking twist. Acclaimed by fans of action, sci-fi, and political thrillers alike, Brainrush is one of the most innovative and entertaining books of the year. BRAINRUSH was in the top-10 of the Amazon-USA Top-Rated List for over four months straight. The sequel, "BRAINRUSH-II, The Enemy of My Enemy", was released early December to rave reviews. Within a few weeks it became the #1 Top-Rated Action/Adventure AND the #2 Top-Rated Mystery/Thriller on Amazon USA--where it remains today (September 27, 2012): "Brainrush explores the bonds of friendship while pushing the boundaries of science, creating a compelling, action-packed thriller with a climax that's a knock-out!" - CJ Lyons, New York Times Best-Selling Author "A terrifically entertaining thriller with three finely executed set pieces strung together with nice characterization. Especially successful is Bronson, an amiable, low-key tough guy able to rescue his princess, survive brutality, and retain a sense of humor." - Publishers Weekly 2011 "If this startling debut doesn't have you turning pages at breakneck speed, then you're not paying attention. Rich characters, crackling dialogue, and a climactic sequence that is stunning, enervating, and innovative all at once. Richard Bard is a voice to be reckoned with." - Rebecca Forster, USA Today Best-Selling Author "An inventive and compelling hybrid of science fiction, adventure, and political thriller. Rather than end the novel with a simple rescue operation, however, this author provides a far more intriguing and unexpected conclusion. - Publishers Weekly 2010 * As a semifinalist in the 2010 and 2011 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards, the unpublished Brainrush manuscript received two separate reviews from Publishers Weekly This title is also available in audiobook. The sequel, "BRAINRUSH II, The Enemy of My Enemy" is also available.
Review
This was a particularly gripping read, and I’d be very keen to buy the rest in the series. I felt the writing was very similar to Alan McDermott, though the plot is substantively different and the Atlantic gulf shows. Still, a quick, rollicking read, with fast action and characters who, although they can be a littlemelodramatic, nonetheless hold our interest and make it worthwhile. If this sounds like your sort of thing, it may well be worth a look.
3 Stars to Game's End (The Gamearth Trilogy, Gamearth #3) by Kevin J. Anderson
Description
The finale to the Gamearth Trilogy. It’s all-out war between the players and characters in a role-playing game that has taken on a life of its own. The fighter Delrael, the sorcerer Bryl, as well as famed scientists Verne and Frankenstein, use every trick in the Book of Rules to keep the world of Gamearth intact while the outside group of players does everything possible to destroy it.
Review
An ending as expected, although I must say the final paragraphs elevated things somewhat in my eyes. I'm glad I dipped into the series, for although they've hardly been spectacular they have at least been interesting. I was also pleased to find, at the back of my ebook edition, a set of other novels from the publisher, some of which I'm sure I'll enjoy.
3 Stars to Gameplay (The Gamearth Trilogy #2) by Kevin J. Anderson
Description
The Gamearth Trilogy continues. It was written in the Rules—Save the World! Over the past two years, a group of four players had given so much to their role-playing world that it had developed a magic of its own. The creatures, warriors, sorcerers, thieves—all had come alive. And now there is an odd connection between the gamers and their characters, splitting into factions to determine the fate of the Game itself and both the inside and the outside worlds.
Review
The new character was extremely annoying, perhaps it was funnier a quarter of a century ago. Still, the story arc continued well and it'll be interesting to see what happens with the game in the final installment.
3 Stars to Gamearth (The Gamearth Trilogy #1) by Kevin J. Anderson
Description
A fantasy role-playing game has unexpected results when the mythical, magical world created by David, Tyrone, Scott, and Melanie comes to life and its inhabitants refuse to vanish with the end of the game
Review
Though the characters were fairly shallow and the plot predictable, there was something about the idea of the book that kept me reading it. I wouldn't say it stood out for anything in particular, yet there's clearly something there if even the idea of a game world played by kids can hold my interest, which means I'll be carrying on with the series.
4 Stars to Power Hungry by Howard Weinstein
Description
Sent to deliver emergency famine relief to the planet Thiopa -- the Federation's only allies in a critically important sector of space -- the crew finds a brutal dictatorship -- one more concerned with preserving its own powers than protecting its citizens, or the world they all share. Captain Picard is hesitant about turning over the supplies to the corrupt government: he fears they may never reach their intended destination. But can he convince the ruling council to change their ways, before it is too late -- for the government, and Thiopa itself?
Review
For all that this was a fairly typical Trek adventure, I quite enjoyed it. There was a little personal development in there, the planetary politics were fairly interesting and the humour with the ambassador was fairly typical of the genre's lighter moments.
2 Stars to Aurora: Darwin by Amanda Bridgeman
Description
A distress signal on the edge of inhabited space. A mission that is far outside normal parameters. Two very different people with one common goal survival. When a distress signal is received from a black-ops space station on the edge of inhabited space, Captain Saul Harris of the UNF Aurora is called in from leave to respond. But the mission is not what it seems. Female members of the United National Forces have not been allowed to travel into the outer zones before, but Harris is ordered to take three new female recruits. For Corporal Carrie Welles, one of the Aurora‘s new recruits, her first mission in space seems like a dream come true. Determined to achieve the success of her father before her, and suddenly thrust into a terrifying mission, she must work with her new captain and the strained Aurora crew to make it home alive. When the Aurora arrives at the station Harris and Welles soon find themselves caught up in a desperate fight for survival. Station Darwin is not what they expected. The lights are off. But somebody is home.
Review
This sounded good, from the synopsis, and I'm not saying it wouldn't suit some people. For my own taste, 227 uses of the word fuck is a real off-putter, especially when the prospect of a single cigarette causes genuine consternation among the characters. The machismo was worryingly flat, characterisation bland, the plot slow and the UNF organisation seems silly, ineffectual and disturbingly reckless. Space seemed to be incidental to the whole story; which I understand in a not wanting to focus on the SF angle kind of a way. However, there was no description of any technology, simply a reliance on "high-pitched beeps" and "whooshing" noises. Everything seemed a bit slapdash as well; the captain just seemed to decide to have a training exercise, was a nice guy and a complete asshole the next minute because of orders he received, but then proceeded to pretty much shaft his crew in the same way by handing out his own inexplicable orders. There were three female officers, but it was evident only one was of real interest and the rest were just padding. This book tried for several angles; military sci-fi, a bit of spaceship stuff, a little space operatic romance with a small court martial drama added in. It succeeded in a very vague, limp way at all of these, but so pitifully as to not be worth reading it for any of those aspects on their own. To sum, disappointing. Not my sort of thing.
3 Stars to Doorways in the Sand by Roger Zelazny
Description
A mystery involving the disappearance of an artifact and a fast-paced search to find it. It involves rivalry and greed between interstellar communities, cosmic blackmail, alien police disguise and intrigue of galactic foreign policy.
Review
Dry humour for the most part, quite witty in places, and a little too silly in others for me to be overly impressed. Still, I craved a little light reading and it sufficed.
April
2 Stars to Cell 8 (Grens & Sundkvist, #3) by Anders Roslund
Description
Detective Superintendent Ewert Grens of THREE SECONDS returns in a riveting mystery that centers on perhaps the most controversial subject in the modern criminal justice system: the death penalty. In Ohio, seventeen-year-old John Meyer Frey rots on Death Row for the brutal murder of his girlfriend. The victim's father hungers for revenge, while a prison guard is torn by compassion for the young man. When Frey unexpectedly dies of heart disease before he either receives his just punishment or achieves redemption, the wheels of justice grind to a halt. Six years later, on a ferry between Finland and Sweden, a singer named John Schwarz viciously attacks a drunken lout harassing a woman, leaving the man in a coma. The Stockholm police arrest Schwarz for aggravated assault, but when Grens learns that the assailant has been living in Sweden under a false identity, he begins to suspect that something darker and more complex underlies the incident. Following his intuition, Grens launches an investigation that spans from Sweden to the United States and reveals a startling connection between the Frey and Schwarz cases. Featuring a multilayered plot with a killer twist, CELL 8 takes readers on a gripping, page-turning journey that explores the devastating repercussions of the death penalty as well as the fallout from the conflicting desires for public justice and private retribution.
Review
I can't admit to being overly impressed. I never really enjoyed The Killing on television and certainly didn't get into the Millennium trilogy. This was no real exception to the rule.
4 Stars to The Desert Spear (The Demon Cycle, #2) by Peter V. Brett
Description
The sun is setting on humanity. The night now belongs to voracious demons that prey upon a dwindling population forced to cower behind half-forgotten symbols of power. Legends tell of a Deliverer: a general who once bound all mankind into a single force that defeated the demons. But is the return of the Deliverer just another myth? Perhaps not. Out of the desert rides Ahmann Jardir, who has forged the desert tribes into a demon-killing army. He has proclaimed himself Shar'Dama Ka, the Deliverer, and he carries ancient weapons--a spear and a crown--that give credence to his claim. But the Northerners claim their own Deliverer: the Warded Man, a dark, forbidding figure. Once, the Shar'Dama Ka and the Warded Man were friends. Now they are fierce adversaries. Yet as old allegiances are tested and fresh alliances forged, all are unaware of the appearance of a new breed of demon, more intelligent—and deadly—than any that have come before.
Review
I wasn't sure about this book to start with. My least favourite part of the Painted Man was the Krasians, and to have what seemed an interminable history lesson about them right off here didn't go down too well. Nonetheless, the story did pick up, the characters I preferred appeared and fought demons and even people we hadn't seen for a while, from very early in the first book, reappear having aged and matured. You really do get the impression a huge war is coming and it does promise to be a rather brilliant read when it does.
4 Stars to Bedlam by Christopher Brookmyre
Description
HEAVEN IS A PRISON. HELL IS A PLAYGROUND.Ross Baker is an overworked scientist developing medical technology for corporate giant Neurosphere, but he'd rather be playing computer games than dealing with his nightmare boss or slacker co-workers.He volunteers as a test candidate for the new tech - anything to get out of the office for a few hours. But when he emerges from the scanner he discovers he's not only escaped the office, but possibly escaped real life for good. He's trapped in Starfire - a video game he played as a child - with no explanation, no backup and, most terrifyingly, no way out.
Review
I really got into this one. There's a whole class of virtual reality, in-a-sim novels. This was geeky, funny, with a great twist toward the end and not too much weighty philosophy to bog you down.
4 Stars to Ender’s Game (Ender's Saga, #1) by Orson Scott Card
Description
From New York Times bestselling author Orson Scott Card, Ender's Game―adapted to film starring Asa Butterfield and Harrison Ford―is the classic Hugo and Nebula award-winning science fiction novel of a young boy's recruitment into the midst of an interstellar war. In order to develop a secure defense against a hostile alien race's next attack, government agencies breed child geniuses and train them as soldiers. A brilliant young boy, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin lives with his kind but distant parents, his sadistic brother Peter, and the person he loves more than anyone else, his sister Valentine. Peter and Valentine were candidates for the soldier-training program but didn't make the cut―young Ender is the Wiggin drafted to the orbiting Battle School for rigorous military training. Ender's skills make him a leader in school and respected in the Battle Room, where children play at mock battles in zero gravity. Yet growing up in an artificial community of young soldiers Ender suffers greatly from isolation, rivalry from his peers, pressure from the adult teachers, and an unsettling fear of the alien invaders. His psychological battles include loneliness, fear that he is becoming like the cruel brother he remembers, and fanning the flames of devotion to his beloved sister. Is Ender the general Earth needs? But Ender is not the only result of the genetic experiments. The war with the Buggers has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been underway for almost as long. Ender's two older siblings are every bit as unusual as he is, but in very different ways. Between the three of them lie the abilities to remake a world. If, that is, the world survives. Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game is the winner of the 1985 Nebula Award for Best Novel and the 1986 Hugo Award for Best Novel.
Review
This is a novel I've heard mention of several times but never took the liberty to pick up. I'm pleased I did; I found it quite a thrill. Not in the intense way of some of the more modern science fiction, but there was a lot going on beneath the surface and it's evident that this work impacts on an individual level for many, many people.
5 Stars to The Blinding Knife (Lightbringer, #2) by Brent Weeks
Description
Gavin Guile is dying. He’d thought he had five years left—now he has less than one. With fifty thousand refugees, a bastard son, and an ex-fiancée who may have learned his darkest secret, Gavin has problems on every side. All magic in the world is running wild and threatens to destroy the Seven Satrapies. Worst of all, the old gods are being reborn, and their army of color wights is unstoppable. The only salvation may be the brother whose freedom and life Gavin stole sixteen years ago.
Review
I enjoyed this, if possible, more than the first. I often find book 2 of a series is the best, not always, but here at least this holds true for me. I took hit after hit of amazing writing, when Gavin returns to Little Jasper from chapter seventy onward things really began to get into high gear and I couldn't read quickly enough. The seventy-sixth chapter has to be my favourite, for although there's more excitement later on and plenty of action before this political battle and masterful maneuver impacted well. As for the ending, it's hard to judge when I don't know where the series is going. Things seem extremely desperate for our characters and a lot of hope is lost, and yet not everyone is down and out and there is so clearly more to come. I'm going to enjoy finding out what!
5 Stars to The Painted Man (Demon Cycle, #1) by Peter V. Brett
Description
As darkness falls after sunset, the corelings rise—demons who possess supernatural powers and burn with a consuming hatred of humanity. For hundreds of years the demons have terrorized the night, slowly culling the human herd that shelters behind magical wards—symbols of power whose origins are lost in myth and whose protection is terrifyingly fragile. It was not always this way. Once, men and women battled the corelings on equal terms, but those days are gone. Night by night the demons grow stronger, while human numbers dwindle under their relentless assault. Now, with hope for the future fading, three young survivors of vicious demon attacks will dare the impossible, stepping beyond the crumbling safety of the wards to risk everything in a desperate quest to regain the secrets of the past. Together, they will stand against the night.
Review
Friends and acquaintances alike have been on at me to read this for months, and I'm bound to say I'm glad they pushed. It's a true masterpiece, for although it does follow a time-warn path of young people growing up and saving the world, the concepts are sufficiently fresh and the writing so engaging that you forget the trope and simply bask in the words. Each of the major characters have their own flaws and these add to their Humanity greatly and I'll be certain to follow this author very carefully indeed.
5 Stars to Monster Hunter Alpha (Monster Hunter International, #3) by Larry Correia
Description
3 in the break-out, best-selling Monster Hunter series. Earl Harbinger, head of Monster Hunter International, faces down an old nemesis -- a very nasty former KGB werewolf who is working to create a new, unstoppable breed. Dirty Harry meets Twilight. #3 in the break-out series and a follow-up to Monster Hunter International and Monster Hunter Vendetta.
Earl Harbinger may be the leader of Monster Hunter International, but he’s also got a secret. Nearly a century ago, Earl was cursed to be werewolf. When Earl receives word that one of his oldest foes, a legendarily vicious werewolf that worked for the KGB, has mysteriously appeared in the remote woods of Michigan, he decides to take care of some unfinished business. But another force is working to bring about the creation of a whole new species of werewolf. When darkness falls, the final hunt begins, and the only thing standing in their way is a handful of locals, a lot of firepower, and Earl Harbinger’s stubborn refusal to roll over and play dead. Here’s a sample of Larry Correia’s prose punch from series opener, Monster Hunter International “I didn’t wake up that morning and decide that I was going to kill my boss with my bare hands. It was much more complicated than that.”
Review
The change in narrative here really makes the story different from what's gone before. We're already familiar with Earl of course, but this book just piles on layer upon layer of complexity, emotional history and packs a powerful punch both in terms of the action, which is up to Correia's usual standard and is brilliant per usual, and psychologically, because Earl's history is so fascinating. I got the impression that, during the first two books, there was a lot about MHI Owen didn't really know. While that's still true, having shown us a different side of things in this book I'm utterly looking forward to the rest of these books. I'd wondered just how formulaic they'd get, as these series do, nine times out of ten. I wonder no more.
4 Stars to I Know Not (The Legacy of Fox Crow, #1) by James Daniel Ross
Description
Being a bastard is sometimes a survival trait. I am not a bad man. Well, I must be honest with myself: I don’t try to be a bad man. It just seems to… happen. I woke up in a castle populated by corpses. Devoid of past or present, bereft of even a name, so I must be honest with myself. I discovered I am a wizard with a blade, silent as the wind, and as deadly as a forest fire. When other men look and see safety, I can feel the ambush coming. When others see only smiles, I can smell the hidden plots and secreted knives. When others only see walls and guards, I can find a highway to the heart of the most imposing castle. I wish I knew what all these things mean, but I must be honest with myself and say I know not. I must be honest because I am a fantastic liar. If I begin lying to myself I will not be able to survive. And I intend to survive. A virtuoso in the symphonies of death, follow Fox Crow as he begins a journey of self discovery begun in an abattoir, that continues through forbidding lands and the courts of the highest born, and culminates in the coldest darkness filled with temptation and murder. The first fantasy novel of award winning author, James Daniel Ross, I Know Not is a hard hitting, gritty, adventure. Welcome to a world with far more shadows than sunshine. Walk the forest paths where the faeries eat human flesh. Explore a world where the heroes may wear black.
Review
This book took a while for me to get into. There's a fair bit of violence and disturbing imagery, but on reflection, I actually really enjoyed it. I'd be keen to read more of Crow's adventures, i'm sure there's plenty of the world to show and would happily pay similar prices for further novels.
5 Stars to Still Alice by Lisa Genova
Description
Still Alice is a compelling debut novel about a 50-year-old woman's sudden descent into early onset Alzheimer's disease, written by first-time author Lisa Genova, who holds a Ph. D in neuroscience from Harvard University. Alice Howland, happily married with three grown children and a house on the Cape, is a celebrated Harvard professor at the height of her career when she notices a forgetfulness creeping into her life. As confusion starts to cloud her thinking and her memory begins to fail her, she receives a devastating diagnosis: early onset Alzheimer's disease. Fiercely independent, Alice struggles to maintain her lifestyle and live in the moment, even as her sense of self is being stripped away. In turns heartbreaking, inspiring and terrifying, Still Alice captures in remarkable detail what it's like to literally lose your mind...
Review
This was a deeply moving, highly charged and absolutely terrifying story. It's something I fear, as I'm sure many of us do, the loss of our mental faculties. Seeing it here impacts very hard. Some of Alice's conversations with Lydia moved me a great deal and the grandchildren also held a lot of atmosphere. Not a book to read without a tissue to hand, but one anyone should at least think about reading. It covers a spot that could strike any of us and any of ours.
5 Stars to The Black Prism (Lightbringer, #1) by Brent Weeks
Description
Guile is the Prism, the most powerful man in the world. He is high priest and emperor, a man whose power, wit, and charm are all that preserves a tenuous peace. Yet Prisms never last, and Guile knows exactly how long he has left to live. When Guile discovers he has a son, born in a far kingdom after the war that put him in power, he must decide how much he's willing to pay to protect a secret that could tear his world apart.
Review
This is truly the start of something epic to get your teeth into. With particular attention to deviousness and a roundabout approach to the truth from all players, there's some serious magic, action and drama going on in this world. Utterly loved it.
4 Stars to Monster Hunter Vendetta (Monster Hunter International, #2) by Larry Correia
Description
Owen Pitt never met a gun he didn’t like, or a monster he couldn’t shoot. But now, the monsters are shooting back . . . Accountant turned professional monster hunter, Owen Zastava Pitt, managed to stop the nefarious Old One’s invasion plans last year, but as a result made an enemy out of one of the most powerful beings in the universe. Now an evil death cult known as the Church of the Temporary Mortal Condition wants to capture Owen in order to gain the favor of the great Old Ones. The Condition is led by a fanatical necromancer known as the Shadow Man. The government wants to capture the Shadow Man and has assigned the enigmatic Agent Franks to be Owen’s full time bodyguard, which is a polite way of saying that Owen is monster bait. With supernatural assassins targeting his family, a spy in their midst, and horrific beasties lurking around every corner, Owen and the staff of Monster Hunter International don’t need to go hunting, because this time the monsters are hunting them. Fortunately, this bait is armed and very dangerous . . .
Review
There were parts of this one where things really seemed stretched beyond belief, yet the book as a whole is strangely satisfying despite that. They're action packed butt-kicking supernatural fun!
2 Stars to Blessings of a Curse - USA Edition (Nexus of Kellaran, #1) by Wayne Edward Clarke
Description
Book One of The Nexus of Kellaran Series. A mighty world of magic and wonder approaches a global turning point, and a global war. Young Mark finds himself at the center of an intense whirlwind of adventure, romance, and action that will transform the world of Kellaran in only seven days! A passionately acclaimed High Fantasy Epic! Uses American Imperial (Standard) measurement units. New Professionally Published Edition! Features greatly improved cover art and graphics, better maps, new appendices including a recurring character list with descriptions and first appearance notes, proofreading by six editors to eliminate every typo, and professional editing including chapter breaks. Kellaran is a mighty world many times larger than the Earth, its technology is almost entirely magical, and it is home to many modern and advanced societies. The humans, unicorns, dragons, elves, dwarves, giants, gnomes, selkies, and gargoyles each have their own powerful nations, and the precarious peace is about to be shattered yet again. Many fantasy novels have central events that are supposed to affect the entire world, yet they are only described as affecting a part of one continent. Blessings Of A Curse is a story with true global scope; an epic of world-changing events, all interacting in a frantic global crisis. It's a book that is cheering and emotionally uplifting. It seldom seems emotionally dark, though it sometimes deals with tragic events. The magic in the story is self-consistent, and is as consistent as possible with real physics and physical constants. This novel contains adult themes, and deals with issues of sexuality. It is not recommended for those under 14 years of age. Many of the readers of this fantasy series also loved this author's science fiction series. Even many who had never read or enjoyed science fiction before were so impressed with The Nexus Of Kellaran Series that they then tried The Rational Future Series, and loved it just as much. The Rational Future Series; People Of The Tiger, Hunters In The Sky, and Victory Or Extinction are available now. Wayne Edward Clarke has been a professional musician, an inventor, a bio-sociological engineer, a gardener, and an author of fantasy, science fiction, erotica, and non-fiction books. He recently formed a fully staffed publishing company; Wayne Edward Clarke Publishing, which will soon be publishing other new and talented authors. 5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing book, May 28, 2012 By Paulsub63 - See all my reviews This review is Blessings Of A Curse - Metric Pro. Edition (The Nexus Of Kellaran Series) (Kindle Edition) This book was incredible. A I read it, I was immersed in another world. The main character's evolution from a total neophyte to an accomplished master kept me riveted, and I was hooked. I have also read the second book in the series and I am anxiously awaiting the final book. This book, series and author will expand your horizons. Please give the book a try and you too will come to know what makes his writing so addictive. 5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best i've had the pleasure of reading, April 16, 2012 By HjÃrtur Þorgeirsson - See all my reviews This review is Blessings Of A Curse - USA Pro Edition This is my first review I've done on Amazon and it's mainly because I haven't felt compelled to until now. Grave unjustice would be done to this incredible author if someone doesn't comment on how f-ing awesome this book truly is. Let me put it this way, only two books have I read that I enjoyed more than this book! Truly a modern masterpiece. 5.
Review
The only thing about this work that impressed me was its length. There was a James Galloway feel about it, and although the language was far less strident, the whole thing had that teenager saves the world motif. A rags to riches story just far too over the top to even hold a shred of plausibility and a world far too concerned with measurements and metrics than good storytelling.
4 Stars to Monster Hunter International (Monster Hunter International, #1) by Larry Correia
Description
Five days after Owen Zastava Pitt pushed his insufferable boss out of a fourteenth story window, he woke up in the hospital with a scarred face, an unbelievable memory, and a job offer. It turns out that monsters are real. All the things from myth, legend, and B-movies are out there, waiting in the shadows. Officially secret, some of them are evil, and some are just hungry. On the other side are the people who kill monsters for a living. Monster Hunter International is the premier eradication company in the business. And now Owen is their newest recruit. It’s actually a pretty sweet gig, except for one little problem. An ancient entity known as the Cursed One has returned to settle a centuries old vendetta. Should the Cursed One succeed, it means the end of the world, and MHI is the only thing standing in his way. With the clock ticking towards Armageddon, Owen finds himself trapped between legions of undead minions, belligerent federal agents, a cryptic ghost who has taken up residence inside his head, and the cursed family of the woman he loves. Business is good... Welcome to Monster Hunter International.
Review
Woow. an epic recommendation from Monica and no mistake! When I learned that Jim Butcher was supposed to be the king of supernatural hunting series, I felt a bit flat because they were good, but hardly brilliant. This book takes it to another level, and although our hero mayn't be a traditional, athletic and gorgeous specimen he's certainly fun to read about and the action was cool.
March
3 Stars to Extinction Point (Extinction Point, #1) by Paul Antony Jones
Description
Reporter Emily Baxter has a great job, an apartment in Manhattan, and a boyfriend she loves. All that changes the day the red rain falls from a cloudless sky. Just hours after the first reports from Europe, humanity is on the brink of extinction, wiped from the face of the earth in a few bloody moments, leaving Emily alone in an empty city. As she struggles to grasp the magnitude of her situation, Emily becomes the final witness to the end of our world… and the birth of a terrifying new one. The world she knew and loved is dead and gone. Now Emily must try to find a way out of New York as the truth behind the red rain is revealed: the earth no longer belongs to humanity.
Review
We're seeing a lot of this sort of thing lately, world end, very few survivers. This one does have a female lead, which is different, although peeing yourself with fear seems a relatively common denominator. Quick and relatively well written, might pick up the second when it comes out if it's not too expensive.
3 Stars to The Hitler Scoop : Hunt for Fuhrers Body by Revel Barker
Description
Alternative History. Tackling the myths, mystery and confusion concerning reports of the death of Hitler and a newspaper reporter's quest to uncover the truth. The Northern Echo described it as "the most thought-provoking book of the year" and the Daily Mail said it was "full of Arthur Daley-type characters". This edition is a historically revised version of the best-selling original.
Review
The journalism was quite fun to read about, a very frenetic novel. Not quite sure what I make of the whole idea, but the writing was good.
3 Stars to Beyond This Horizon by Robert A. Heinlein
Description
Utopia has been achieved. For centuries, disease, hunger, poverty and war have been things found only in the history tapes. And applied genetics has given men and women the bodies of athletes and a lifespan of over a century. They should all have been very happy.... But Hamilton Felix is bored. And he is the culmination of a star line; each of his last thirty ancestors chosen for superior genes. Hamilton is, as far as genetics can produce one, the ultimate man. And this ultimate man can see no reason why the human race should survive, and has no intention of continuing the pointless comedy. However, Hamilton's life is about to become less boring. A secret cabal of revolutionaries who find utopia not just boring, but desperately in need of leaders who know just What Needs to be Done, are planning to revolt and put themselves in charge. Knowing of Hamilton's disenchantment with the modern world, they have recruited him to join their Glorious Revolution. Big mistake! The revolutionaries are about to find out that recruiting a superman was definitely not a good idea....
Review
As one of Heinlein's earliest works this is quite interesting, there's a lot of content here he later revisits, or flushes out more deeply. As a story it works, but isn't really accessible enough unless you're very interested.
3 Stars to Paths to Otherwhere by James P. Hogan
Description
Attempting to save humankind from a genocidal threat, the scientists of the twenty-first century discover a vast alternative universe in which the wars of the twentieth century had different outcomes. Reprint.
Review
This story had a lot of potential, started out quite interestingly indeed. Sadly, it suffers from what I call Sawyerism - taken from Robert J. Sawyer's tendency to end cracking scientific novels with transhumanic or Utopian Nirvana-like happy ever afters. Not that I can say Sawyer did it first, of course, but I encountered it first with him. On the other hand, there were some very good bits: the science was fun, the Human observation good too, especially at the end of chapter twenty-four, and the single word slip that gives the game away in chapter forty-two was also very, very clever. Shame about the end.
3 Stars to The Human Blend (The Tipping Point Trilogy, 1) by Alan Dean Foster
Description
Criminals are punished through genetic engineering and bodily manipulation - which poses profound questions about what it means to be human. Given his name because radical surgery and implants have reduced him to preternatural thinness, Whispr is a thug. His partner in crime, Jiminy Cricket, has also been physically altered with nanocarbonic prosthetic legs and high-strength fast-twitch muscle fibers that give him great jumping abilities. In a dark alley in Savannah, Whispr and Jiminy murder what they take to be a random tourist in order to amputate and then fence his sophisticated artificial hand. But the hapless victim also happens to be carrying an unusual silver thread that appears to be some kind of storage medium. Ever quick to scent potential profit, Whispr and Jiminy grab the thread as well. Chance later deposits a wounded Whispr at the clinic of Dr. Ingrid Seastrom. Things have not gone smoothly for Whispr since he acquired the mysterious thread. Powerful forces are searching for him, and Jiminy has vanished. All Whispr wants to do is sell the thread as quickly as he can. When he offers to split the profits with Ingrid in exchange for her medical services, she makes an astonishing discovery. So begins a unique partnership. Unlike Whispr, Ingrid is a natural, with no genetic or bodily alteration. She is also a Harvard-educated physician, while Whispr's smarts are strictly of the street variety. Yet together they make a formidable team -”as long as they can elude the enhanced assassins that are tracking them.
Review
An interesting future to be sure, but if the second book is expensive I'll probably not be carrying on. Things didn't seem to go very far, but the game board is set up now so progress may be better later in the series.
1 Stars to The Unsuspecting Mage (The Morcyth Saga, #1) by Brian S. Pratt
Description
“Want to be a mage? Then do we have the job for you…” Sounded great for a veteran role-player. When on-the-job training entailed battling demons, learning magic through trial and error, and living in a world without toilet paper, things could get rough. But to be dropped in the middle of a forest and having to do it on your own with no instruction…welcome to James’ world. It all gets started when his grandfather suggested to James, a young man on the verge of graduating high school, that he check out the following advertisement for a job. “Magic! Real Magic! Ever wanted to learn? We require someone with intelligence and a disciplined mind. Those well versed in fantasy novels and role playing games a plus. May need to travel.” Sounded like the perfect job for a veteran role-player and avid fantasy reader. James had no idea he’d be whisked to another world, completely cut off from friends and family. Arriving in a meadow in the middle of a forest, he’s greeted by a creature not entirely human. He was then told three things: Magic works here… Don’t try to go home… Get to the village of Trendle… Then the creature vanished. Which way was Trendle? Where was he? What might inhabit the forest that will seek his ruination? These were but a few of the questions needing to be unraveled. Alone with only his wits and knowledge gleaned from hundreds of books and dungeon campaigns, he started out just trying to survive. He soon learned that one mistake, one lapse in judgment could mean his death. Not long after arriving, he made the acquaintance of Miko, a street-wise kid who quickly became his friend and companion. Little did he know that the strength within this child from the streets of Bearn, a strength that would be tested again and again as they waded through battle after battle, delved in hidden passages deep beneath the earth, and faced off against an the might of an Empire, would be invaluable in the trials ahead. The Unsuspecting Mage is the first book of The Morcyth Saga, a seven book epic fantasy adventure. It follows James as he seeks first to master the art of magic then to uncover the reason why he had been brought to this strange new world where armies are on the move and gods meddle in the affairs of men.
Review
I can see why this book is free; surely nobody would pay for this sort of writing? The story is unoriginal, the characters thin, the plot meandering and as for the writing ... well: not many authors use the present tense, and if I were to write, reading this would put me off for life. It's a stream of almost drivel in places! Characters are given names out of the blue, our hero is a goody goody yet glaringly deficient in some moral areas and there's a miasma of condescension about him that manifests itself whenever he comes across something that stretches his perceptions of how things "should" be. The plot holds about as much water as a leaky bucket, the creature directing things seems to be playing a long game where he's going to resolve things in later books (which I can't stomach) and the magic system is a juvenile dream which basically consists, at the beginning, of making up silly poems which don't even always rhyme and later on, because the author's clearly incapable of consulting a thesaurus, of simply "wishing" for something to happen. I so nearly thought this was intended to be a satirical take on the fantasy tropes, but you can't even read that into it. It's supposed to be taken seriously. Well, I'm serious. it's rubbish.
4 Stars to Bandwidth: The Ghost of Devlin Mallard by N.S. Cooke
Description
(First Edition, no longer available: See 'BANDWIDTH - The Ghost of Devlin Mallard' now published by Accent Press.) Inspired to rediscover his roots and family history, computer programmer Michael, soon learns that the past is sometimes best left undisturbed: lurking in the history of his bloodline is a twisted killer, Devlin Mallard. A man dispatched from this earth in 1929 at the end of a hangman’s noose. In the 21st Century, spirits have moved on from Ouija boards and séances. The dead now travel by broadband – hidden in the Bandwidth. They inhabit the chat rooms, plying their trade online, ever hungry for contact with the living. Now freed from the darkness and roaming cyberspace, this ghost is hell-bent on exacting revenge and unleashing mayhem. Fighting for his life, and that of his family, Michael joins forces with murder investigator, Detective Sergeant Woods, and rides a roller-coaster of global killings to the final confrontation. He must face his demon and return Devlin Mallard to the darkness.
Review
I wasn't sure about this one to start with. It seemed to be plodding on, spooky but not overly so. And then, about halfway through chapter sixteen, I took the book upstairs and finished it while the rest of the house slept... This is why the book catapults itself up to a four star read. Put aside the distraction of the day and goings on in a busy household, have nothing to focus on other than the utterly terrifying prospect of Devlin Mallard coming and killing you and the atmosphere really kicks in! For a debut, this is very good. It starts off - not slowly, but it took me a while to get into things. But when I did, it was all worthwhile and I'd recommend it to anyone wanting to try out a new author with a bit of horror.
3 Stars to The Prime Minister's Brain (Demon Headmaster, #2) by Gillian Cross
Description
general wear to edges
Review
I'd never actually read this one before. I would have enjoyed it if I had though, and given the time of release I can see how the modernity would have captured kid's minds.
4 Stars to Pirate Cinema by Cory Doctorow
Description
Trent McCauley is sixteen, brilliant, and obsessed with one thing: making movies on his computer by reassembling footage from popular films he downloads from the net. In near-future Britain, this is more illegal than ever. The punishment for being caught three times is to cut off your entire household from the internet for a year - no work, school, health or money benefits. Trent thinks he is too clever for that to happen, but it does, and nearly destroys his family. Shamed and shattered, Trent runs away to London, where slowly he learns the ways of staying alive on the streets. He joins artists and activists fighting a new bill that will jail too many, especially minors, at one stroke. Jem introduces him to the Jammie Dodgers, beautiful brilliant "26" to love and cemetery parties. Things look bad. Parliament is in power of a few wealthy media conglomerates. But the powers-that-be haven’t entirely reckoned with the power of a gripping movie to change people’s minds ...
Review
This was an inspired novel. The idea of the UK with a Great Firewall of such scope and power is very scary indeed, and I liked Trent, for all his bad points. The sixth chapter really hit home (it's not just me who goes home and feels small, after all), and the whole ethos of the story just truly rocks. The ending was a bit of a rush, giving the story a summer holiday, now it's over and back to it kind of a feel. But I can't complain because while it hit, what a hit.
4 Stars to The Knot by Mark Watson
Description
Dominic Kitchen is a wedding photographer. Every Saturday since his career began in the sixties he has photographed a bride and groom on the happiest day of their lives, captured the moment they tied the knot forever, and then faded away into the background. But throughout his life, Dominic has felt a knot inside him tighten, threatening his own chance of a happy ever after. And as the years go by, it becomes more difficult to ignore, until the ties that bind threaten to tear him apart...
Review
Worth the money, but not quite as hard-hitting for me as Eleven. Still, a very enjoyable, conflicted, appealing read, you still manage to really get into Dom's head and live there for a while.
4 Stars to The Unincorporated Man (Unincorporated Man, #1) by Dani Kollin
Description
Review
“The Swiss disappeared,” he sighed, “but Star Trek lives on. Go figure.” This was a crackingly enjoyable story, with a pretty cool idea behind it. The whole concept of Incorporation is a little tricky to get your head around, but the social degradation due to the VR onslaught totally provides an ironclad reason for a tectonic shift in society. There are even some compelling arguments put forth for the whole system to actually work. But, of course, there's a spanner in the works of this postmodern, seemingly successful civilization, and that's a cryogenically frozen hot shot from the twenty-first century, discovered buried in an abandoned mine, revived into a world very different from his. This clicks together very nicely. The technology is cleverly thought out, emphasis is placed, not just on the tech, but the Humanity and psychology gets as much of a look in. There's a load of politics and power, and also some very real thoughts about where government's going and the consequences of encroaching on freedom. I did feel that the end sort of walks up and bashes you over the head rather suddenly, but that is only a very slight minus in a story so otherwise full of good things.
4 Stars to Nexus (Nexus, #1) by Ramez Naam
Description
Mankind gets an upgrade In the near future, the experimental nano-drug Nexus can link humans together, mind to mind. There are some who want to improve it. There are some who want to eradicate it. And there are others who just want to exploit it. When a young scientist is caught improving Nexus, he’s thrust over his head into a world of danger and international espionage – for there is far more at stake than anyone realizes. From the halls of academe to the halls of power, from the headquarters of an elite US agency in Washington DC to a secret lab beneath a top university in Shanghai, from the underground parties of San Francisco to the illegal biotech markets of Bangkok, from an international neuroscience conference to a remote monastery in the mountains of Thailand – Nexus is a thrill ride through a future on the brink of explosion.
Review
This was a pretty kickass title. The idea of an OS in your head is cool, and the whole political goings on and governmental machinations were all quite exciting. My one issue with this book is similar to what I had with Control Point, a little too much back and forth on behalf of the lead. Still, it was handled more convincingly here and I really can't wait to read more.
4 Stars to Bitter Seeds (The Milkweed Triptych, #1) by Ian Tregillis
Description
It's 1939. The Nazis have supermen, the British have demons, and one perfectly normal man gets caught in between Raybould Marsh is a British secret agent in the early days of the Second World War, haunted by something strange he saw on a mission during the Spanish Civil War: a German woman with wires going into her head who looked at him as if she knew him. When the Nazis start running missions with people who have unnatural abilities--a woman who can turn invisible, a man who can walk through walls, and the woman Marsh saw in Spain who can use her knowledge of the future to twist the present--Marsh is the man who has to face them. He rallies the secret warlocks of Britain to hold the impending invasion at bay. But magic always exacts a price. Eventually, the sacrifice necessary to defeat the enemy will be as terrible as outright loss would be. Alan Furst meets Alan Moore in the opening of an epic of supernatural alternate history, the tale of a twentieth century like ours and also profoundly different.
Review
This was a gripping, atmospheric work which really got the milieu of Britain on a war footing down very well. From shelters and pubs to the corridors of power, it was all drawn in a tight, slightly grim fashion which really added to the atmosphere. As for the magic and the special people, they were in but not played up; credulity stretches but not so far that it snaps. I wished the book was bigger, but will just have to read the rest!
3 Stars to Gates of Rome (TimeRiders, #5) by Alex Scarrow
Description
Liam O’Connor should have died at sea in 1912. Maddy Carter should have died on a plane in 2010. Sal Vikram should have died in a fire in 2026. But all three have been given a second chance—to work for an agency that no one knows exists. Its purpose: to prevent time travel destroying history... Project Exodus—a mission to transport 300 Americans from 2070 to AD 54 to overthrow the Roman Empire—has gone catastrophically wrong. Half have arrived seventeen years earlier, during the reign of Caligula. Liam goes to investigate, but when Maddy and Sal attempt to flee a kill-squad sent to hunt down their field office, all of the TimeRiders become trapped in the Roman past. Armed with knowledge of the future, Caligula is now more powerful than ever. But with the office unmanned—and under threat—how will the TimeRiders make it back to 2001 and put history right?
Review
I didn't enjoy this one as much as the rest, but mainly because Rome has never been a fictionalised setting I like. It's still very clear that there are plans afoot, though, and that this series isn't going to dry up or suffer from its own success too soon.
4 Stars to The Eternal War (TimeRiders, #4) by Alex Scarrow
Description
Liam O’Connor should have died at sea in 1912. Maddy Carter should have died on a plane in 2010. Sal Vikram should have died in a fire in 2026. But all three have been given a second chance—to work for an agency that no one knows exists. Its purpose: to prevent time travel destroying history... A time wave has struck that alters the entire history of the American Civil War. Abraham Lincoln has followed Liam into the present from 1831and now the world is in a dangerous state of limbo... If the TimeRiders can’t return Lincoln to the past, the Civil War will never end. Can Maddy persuade two colonels on either side of no man’s land to cease fire long enough to save the future?
Review
These books continue to impress. I suppose because Scarrow has things planned out already, they aren't suffering from the degradation common to many ya series, but manage to keep the pace, story and revelations all coming at light speed.
4 Stars to The Doomsday Code (TimeRiders, #3) by Alex Scarrow
Description
Liam O’Connor should have died at sea in 1912. Maddy Carter should have died on a plane in 2010. Sal Vikram should have died in a fire in 2026. But all three have been given a second chance—to work for an agency that no one knows exists. Its purpose: to prevent time travel destroying history... In 1993 British computer hacker Adam Lewis finds his name in a coded manuscript that is almost one thousand years old. How did Adam’s name get in there... and why? Confronted by Adam in 2001, the TimeRiders travel back to Sherwood Forest in 1193 to discover the origins of the ancient message. But when a strange hooded man appears interested in the same thing, they begin to wonder what terrible threat this cryptic link from the past holds for the future...
Review
These are very good, I just wish I was a little younger so I could enjoy them even more. A lot of history to absorb if you like that sort of thing, and even if you don't, you can't really but help live it a little as the stories unfold. This one was done very nicely as are all of them so far, and I can certainly see why this series was picked up by a big publisher.
February
3 Stars to Day of the Predator (TimeRiders, #2) by Alex Scarrow
Description
ISBN 9780141326931 moved to the most recent edition here Liam O’Connor should have died at sea in 1912. Maddy Carter should have died on a plane in 2010. Sal Vikram should have died in a fire in 2026. But all three have been given a second chance—to work for an agency that no-one knows exists. Its purpose—to prevent time travel destroying history . . . When Maddy mistakenly opens a time window where and when she shouldn’t have, Liam is marooned sixty-five million years ago in the hunting ground of a deadly—and until now—undiscovered species of predator. Can Liam make contact with Maddy and Sal before he’s torn to pieces by dinosaurs—and without endangering history so much that the world is overtaken by a terrifying new reality?
Review
I enjoyed this story a great deal, and almost lived it vicariously through some imagined early or preteen version of myself. I had, of course, worked out what appears so out-of-the-blue right at the end of the book: but would I have, when I was ten? Eleven? Twelve? probably not. The impact that might have been, as it were. I still got a lot out of reading it and am enjoying the series, although they cannot, of course, compete on an intellectual level with material aimed at older people they are exciting and just sheer good fun all the same.
4 Stars to TimeRiders (TimeRiders, #1) by Alex Scarrow
Description
Liam O’Connor should have died at sea in 1912. Maddy Carter should have died on a plane in 2010. Sal Vikram should have died in a fire in 2026. Yet moments before death, someone mysteriously appeared and said, ‘Take my hand ...’ But Liam, Maddy and Sal aren’t rescued. They are recruited by an agency that no one knows exists, with only one purpose—to fix broken history. Because time travel is here, and there are those who would go back in time and change the past. That’s why the TimeRiders exist: to protect us. To stop time travel from destroying the world...
Review
This rather gripped me from the outset, and is a very enjoyable opener to what's promising to be a fascinating YA series. I almost found the British writing too anachronistic in spots (lamp post at the start of chapter 89 seemed out of place), but these are indeed British works, even if the UK doesn't get much of a look in. The tension was great, especially the climax of chapter 71, and for anyone who hasn't seen the Terminator Bob will be rather cool. For anyone who has ... well: I'm surprised James Cameron's not asking Scarrow for a cheque. I can see me sitting down to read this to my son one day and him being as hooked on this series as I've been on others. I'll just get working on producing him while I read the rest!
3 Stars to The Shattering by Karen Healey
Description
"If you want to find out who murdered your brother, follow me." Keri, Janna, and Sione have one thing in common: Their older brothers are dead. Each death was ruled a suicide, but there were no notes, no warnings, and no explanations. So they've worked out a theory: Their brothers were murdered - and weren't the only victims. As the search for the serial killer goes on, mysterious forces are unearthed and suspicion is cast on the those the three trust most. When secrets shatter around them, can they save the next victim? Or will they become victims themselves? This supernatural thriller from award-winning author Karen Healey (Guardian of the Dead) teems with suspense, loss, revenge, and magic.
Review
I new this was YA going in, but only twigged to the LGBTQ stuff as the first chapter unfolded. It didn't put me off, and in fact, toward the end of the book ... "And I survived being outed. I managed to tell Mum and Dad before they could hear it from anyone else. Janna sat beside me on the couch. Mum cried. Dad went quiet. Then they both hugged me and told me how much they loved me and that they would never stop." I'd never really considered things like this before but now, when I read this paragraph (I trimmed the original a little) I can't help but see my own daughter sitting there, terrified but with the resolve you gain from deciding to reveal something like this to your parents. How would I feel? How would I react? As a parent, it's something I might have to consider. And, do you know, the answer is "just fine." I'd grill my daughter's boyfriend to within an inch of his sanity were he long term and steady and have no qualms about treating a girlfriend (in the romantic sense) in exactly the same way. I hope I can hold to that. I hope that fifteen, twenty years down the road, if it ever comes to that point, I'll remember that paragraph of text, remember my thoughts back then, remember my own resolve, too. As a story, this works very well, it's quite good. The narrative structure is great,especially with the magic working our three friends so they hate each other, you really get into each of their heads as things develop. The shattering (no pun intended) climax at the end of chapter twenty-nine made me catch my breath, and if even I, heterosexual and solidly male enjoyed this story for what it was and how it was written, I see no reason why it can't apeal to such a wide audience, even if the arrow it flings is aimed at a more focused target.
4 Stars to Disappear by I.E. Henn
Description
On a rain-drenched night, a young husband runs to the corner shop - and never returns. Eighteen years later, his body reappears. -Reappears, wearing the same clothes, and on the same street from which he went missing. -Reappears, and is the victim of a hit/run driver. He looks exactly the same now as when he vanished. His widow, Jennifer Parkes, is determined to solve this enigma once and for all. Other bodies are found, all missing eighteen years. None seem to have aged. On the trail of a vicious killer, Jennifer and homicide detective Neil Lachlan are drawn into a human minefield of deception and terror; into the depths of a mystery that baffles the police and defies logic. Investigating at the forefront of scientific and medical technologies, they confront a threat that is closer than either of them could ever have imagined.
Review
I really enjoyed this one: no one thing stood out, the romance was formulaic, police procedural with a curve but otherwise unremarkable. And yet something, be it the strength of characterisation or even the setting meant that I was kept interested and reading. I'd certainly enjoy more in a series, even if I can't quite detail why!
3 Stars to The Adept (Adept #1) by Katherine Kurtz
Description
Sir Adam Sinclair, an aristocratic scholar, physician, and adept, whose mission is to protect the Light from the evil that threatens it, braves an unholy cult of black magicians who have unleashed the dark forces of the undead on Scotland
Review
Another pickup of a recommendation from a friend. I quite got into this one, although Lovat's wide-eyed fascination at every turn grated a little after a while. The characters were quite interesting, and even if there's nothing in your heart for all the magic and so forth, you can at least enjoy the story and excellent geography and historical detail
4 Stars to Libriomancer (Magic Ex Libris, #1) by Jim C. Hines
Description
Isaac Vainio is a Libriomancer, a member of the secret organization founded five centuries ago by Johannes Gutenberg. Libriomancers are gifted with the ability to magically reach into books and draw forth objects. When Isaac is attacked by vampires that leaked from the pages of books into our world, he barely manages to escape. To his horror he discovers that vampires have been attacking other magic-users as well, and Gutenberg has been kidnapped. With the help of a motorcycle-riding dryad who packs a pair of oak cudgels, Isaac finds himself hunting the unknown dark power that has been manipulating humans and vampires alike. And his search will uncover dangerous secrets about Libriomancy, Gutenberg, and the history of magic. . . .
Review
"“Normal?” she repeated. “Yesterday you fed me cake from Wonderland so we could ride your spider into a magical basement and fight a vampire...”" Wow. Badass! This is a really cool book. It was May 2010 when I read the only other Hines title I've come across, which was the first in his Jig the Goblin series. I heard about Libriomancer what must have been a couple months back but had sort of shelved Hines in the "tryes-to-be-too-funny" department of my mental bookshelf. From the synopsis, I'd expected Libriomancer to be on the intelligence level of something by Blake Charlton and so had sort of put off reading it in case I was disappointed. Thanks to Michael, per usual, I cracked it open... and didn't look back. “You should not have pissed off the fire-spider!” This book worked so well that I was pretty well hooked from the outset. I did feel a little as if things were going a shade over my head at the beginning, but looking at the length of the novel in retrospect things were paced and explained quite well. You often find, in novels with a magical component, a foil, depicted in such a way that the magic system is at least partially explained, and this usually through dialog. This was the case here, but there was the great added twist of Lena being a magical construct herself, which far-and-away surpasses the typical "I'm a helpless mundane along for the magical ride so explain things to me" concept more normally employed. I'm not normally a fan of vampires, but they work here, and of course the literary angle, the entire ethos of the novel is done most superbly indeed. I grew up on heinlein, Wells and Doyle, and literally seeing parts of those works come to life on the page is an experience most wondrous. For any fantasy fan, for any reader, for any connoisseur of science fiction or fan of kickass weapons ( “Best. Sword. Ever!”), read this. If I have one complaint it's the ending, which I wont go into detail on because it might spoil things a little, and which is why this book isn't quite a five. But it probably aught to be, for all that. It certainly kept me reading late into the night and kept me singing the next morning. Good books do that to me...
4 Stars to Recidivist by Alan McDermott
Description
When young offenders David, Mark and Steven spend an evening at Broughton Hall they get an insight into what they can achieve if they choose a life without crime. Will they grab the once in a lifetime opportunity or learn the hard way?
Review
A cracker of a short story. The end is of course clear, if you've read other books by the author you get a feel for it, but nonetheless it's cleverly done and a great introduction to his writing if you haven't.
4 Stars to Fall of Giants (The Century Trilogy, #1) by Ken Follett
Description
This is an epic of love, hatred, war and revolution. This is a huge novel that follows five families through the world-shaking dramas of the First World War, the Russian Revolution, and the struggle for votes for women. It is 1911. The Coronation Day of King George V. The Williams, a Welsh coal-mining family is linked by romance and enmity to the Fitzherberts, aristocratic coal-mine owners. Lady Maud Fitzherbert falls in love with Walter von Ulrich, a spy at the German Embassy in London. Their destiny is entangled with that of an ambitious young aide to U.S. President Woodrow Wilson and to two orphaned Russian brothers, whose plans to emigrate to America fall foul of war, conscription and revolution. In a plot of unfolding drama and intriguing complexity, "Fall Of Giants" moves seamlessly from Washington to St Petersburg, from the dirt and danger of a coal mine to the glittering chandeliers of a palace, from the corridors of power to the bedrooms of the mighty.
Review
This isn't my usual sort of story, but I'm very glad I read it (Thanks to Becky). The opening hit home, of course; the Williams family could've been my forebears, after all. From that, I got sucked in, enjoying Billy's exploits, feeling proud of both him and his sister, as well as Grigori Peshkov, who I also liked. Then, there's the history - the sheer and overwhelming scope of the First World War, and as events move on you really do get into these people's heads and feel for them. It's an excellently written character work, with the tone set by the period and the real historical events serving only to enhance the drama.
5 Stars to Gray Redemption (Tom Gray, #3) by Alan McDermott
Description
After a year living under an assumed name, Tom Gray wants his life back. The only thing standing in his way is James Farrar, a man whose sole aim is to kill Gray and his loyal friends before they can expose the governments deadly secret. In the tense conclusion to the trilogy, Tom Gray’s only hope is to seek the help of an old adversary and pray he still believes in justice. Before buying this book, please note: Gray Redemption is the final part of a trilogy, and cannot be read as a standalone novel. To get the best out of the story, please read Gray Justice followed by Gray Resurrection. If you choose to read the books in a different order, don't say you weren't warned.
Review
This has truly been an incredible set of books, and I could so easily have justified paying at least a fiver per book. I consider that sort of price fair, for although big names with big houses behind them set prices higher than this,getting your name out there at such a high cost isn't always doable. I'd certainly advise McDermott to think about an escalating pricing structure, like Michael G. Manning has done with his series. I got the first book on a free offer, which is a great thing and perhaps should be taken up more often, then would have happily paid, as I said, at least £5 for the next and maybe even a little more for the final installment. The story is written so well, that I'd fear to use any of his code (the author is a software developer), just in case it's got any sort of biological weapons of mass destruction or hidden terrorists in it! The depth of things covered, from combat, ordinance and tactics through to anonymous websites and political power plays make the reading electrifying: believable but exciting, with characters we grow to care about and find interesting, all backed up by a sweeping story with a punch behind it. I've seen hype for authors, just because of who they are. I'm being so effusive here because if you just give these a go, the books, not the marketing department, will speak for themselves.
4 Stars to Gray Resurrection (Tom Gray, #2) by Alan McDermott
Description
A year after suffering horrific injuries, ex-soldier Sam Grant is trying to come to terms with his new life in the Philippines when tragedy strikes. The death of his girlfriend’s brother takes him to the southern islands where he becomes a target for local terrorists, and the one man he can turn to is the last person he should trust. Old friends are called in to help but the rescue mission soon becomes their own battle for survival. Before buying this book, please note that Gray Resurrection is the second in the Tom Gray series of action thrillers and follows on from the highly-rated Gray Justice. If you haven’t read Gray Justice, please get a copy before purchasing this sequel as it will maximise the reading experience. If you decide to dive straight into the sequel, don’t say you weren’t warned!
Review
Though action packed and certainly fun, I didn't quite enjoy this as much as the opener. I didn't have Gray down as the sort to fall in with both feet with any woman that happens to appear, although in fairness it is handled a little more sensitively than my bald statement implies. One also has to remember that we've moved on almost a year since Justice and Gray is a man of intense and deadly action, so I suppose a woman or two in the mix shouldn't come as too much of a surprise. The one thing I did like about the continuation was the fact that our bad guys remained consistent too. Mansour remains prominent and between his boss and Farrar hounding Gray, I think we're all set for a massterful, pump-action climax at the end of this superb series.
3 Stars to Silicon Succession by Jason Hoult
Description
'Silicon Succession' centres around one man’s thrilling journey of discovery into true identity in a world where nothing is what it seems. Iain has woken up to find the sky has turned red and does not know the meaning behind it. This marks the beginning of a series of bizarre events in the modern world that seem to draw him deeper into a web of intrigue that has global consequences. Unseen forces are making a play to reshape the structure of society. It seems Iain has a definite role to play in this. Does he have a choice and can he influence the outcome?
Review
Though some of the combat scenes were written so as to make me think I was in the Matrix, things were just a touch too ineffable for this book to really hit home. I enjoyed it, without fully grasping either the rationale or reason behind it, and would probably read more set in the same universe if only to help me get a bit of a better handle on things, because the bits I understood I quite enjoyed. Everything did seem hurried and all confrontation forced, with a little to much of the superhero motif for me to be entirely comfortable.
5 Stars to Gray Justice (Tom Gray, #1) by Alan McDermott
Description
Gray Justice is the fast-paced debut thriller from Alan McDermott. It tells the story of Tom Gray, an ex-soldier running a successful business until his world falls apart. His young son is killed by a joy rider and his wife, overcome with grief, takes her own life months later. When his son’s killer walks free from court, Gray decides that the current justice system needs an overhaul, and kidnaps five serial offenders. Parading them on the internet, he lets the people of Britain decide if they should live or die, and the government are powerless to stop him. Gray believes he has the perfect plan, right down to the last detail, but one man travels four thousand miles to prove him wrong in an explosive climax.
Review
As a debut novel, this was impeccable. The spelling and grammar issues you almost always see from self-published authors were absent, there were no major plot holes and the story was electrifying, with vivid characters and an absolutely riveting plot. It reminded me a little of The Doomsday Ultimatum by James Follett, in that the military aspects are present, but not penned with the conceited arrogance you find in some author's who've seen service and like you to know about it. Nor, refreshingly, was it dumbed down for a teen audience, yet it wasn't so complicated that you had to invest hours of thought into unraveling the story. I think it struck a pretty good balance and, even if one may have seen the revelation near the end coming, the style and execution, the sheer quality of the storytelling and the very neatly melded SAS combat action with the audacious efforts of Gray's plan wove together to form something I found very hard to put down. Of note to blind readers is that the whole trilogy is available DRM Free on Kindle and in a variety of other formats on Smashwords as well. If one of the big publishers hasn't picked this guy up yet, they really need to give him a bloody big advance for his next work.
2 Stars to Man in the Empty Suit by Sean Ferrell
Description
Say you're a time traveler and you've already toured the entirety of human history. After a while, the outside world might lose a little of its luster. That's why this time traveler celebrates his birthday partying with himself. Every year, he travels to an abandoned hotel in New York City in 2071, the hundredth anniversary of his birth, and drinks twelve-year-old Scotch (lots of it) with all the other versions of who he has been and who he will be. Sure, the party is the same year after year, but at least it's one party where he can really, well, be himself. The year he turns 39, though, the party takes a stressful turn for the worse. Before he even makes it into the grand ballroom for a drink he encounters the body of his forty-year-old self, dead of a gunshot wound to the head. As the older versions of himself at the party point out, the onus is on him to figure out what went wrong--he has one year to stop himself from being murdered, or they're all goners. As he follows clues that he may or may not have willingly left for himself, he discovers rampant paranoia and suspicion among his younger selves, and a frightening conspiracy among the Elders. Most complicated of all is a haunting woman possibly named Lily who turns up at the party this year, the first person besides himself he's ever seen at the party. For the first time, he has something to lose. Here's hoping he can save some version of his own life.
Review
The idea behind this book sounds great, the synopsis, when I sent it to two people, got an instant "I want to read that" response from both. Add my own desire to dive in and you've got a pretty convincing book jacket... Unfortunately, the way the description paints the picture is rather different from the story. You go in expecting humour, expecting paradox and interesting time conflicts, and a damn good party - and things fail on all those counts and several others to boot. There is an interesting sense of a future world, but none of it is explained satisfactorily. There's potential in the time travel, but any guessing games about what must happen because it already has or what needs to happen to make something else happen that needs to because it already did; the lifeblood of this sort of thing, is conveniently avoided by the concept of untethering - i.e. that the current "him" of the work does something to divorce himself from the other "Hims", rendering any actions he may or may not choose to pursue moot. It's cerebral, to a point. Interesting, perhaps requiring a degree of cognitive capacity I was unprepared to invest. But By any measure, it's way overpriced for its size and even more so for its potential. Sorry, Sean.
4 Stars to Season Of The Harvest (Harvest Trilogy, #1) by Michael R. Hicks
Description
What if the genetically modified crops that we’re being forced to depend on for food weren’t really created by man? What if they had a far more sinister purpose? FBI Special Agent Jack Dawson investigates the gruesome murder of his best friend and fellow agent who had been pursuing a group of eco-terrorists. The group’s leader, Naomi Perrault, is a beautiful geneticist who Jack believes conspired to kill his friend, and is claiming that a major international conglomerate developing genetically engineered crops is plotting a sinister transformation of our world that will lead humanity to extinction. As Jack is drawn into a quietly raging war that suddenly explodes onto the front pages of the news, he discovers that her claims may not be so outrageous after all. Together, the two of them must battle a horror Jack could never have imagined, with the fate of all life on Earth hanging in the balance…
Review
It was last August when I first read, and quite enjoyed, a book by Michael R. Hicks. There was something about his sci-fi that didn't quite click with me, not in the way some others have, so I was pleasantly surprised to be utterly captivated by this thriller. There's still aliens, but there's also a great pump action feel blasting its way through the pages. Micro-military action, you might say; there's no real squads or units in primary focus, but they do appear sometimes and even without them the action is explosive enough by itself. As with First Contact, Hicks plays the international stage very well, and with the focus more earthbound and the bullets flying, I am impressed and will certainly buy book two in the series. This one, being the first, was
2 Stars to Zero Day (Jeff Aiken, #1) by Mark E. Russinovich
Description
An airliner's controls abruptly fail mid-flight over the Atlantic. An oil tanker runs aground in Japan when its navigational system suddenly stops dead. Hospitals everywhere have to abandon their computer databases when patients die after being administered incorrect dosages of their medicine. In the Midwest, a nuclear power plant nearly becomes the next Chernobyl when its cooling systems malfunction. At first, these random computer failures seem like unrelated events. But Jeff Aiken, a former government analyst who quit in disgust after witnessing the gross errors that led to 9/11, thinks otherwise. Jeff fears a more serious attack targeting the U.S. computer infrastructure is already under way. And as other menacing computer malfunctions pop up around the world, some with deadly results, he realizes that there isn't much time if he hopes to prevent an international catastrophe. Written by a global authority on cyber security, Zero Day presents a chilling "what if" scenario that, in a world completely reliant on technology, is more than possible today -- it's a cataclysmic disaster just waiting to happen.
Review
This could've been good, but I didn't really enjoy it. The chatroom speak just got too much from supposed adult professionals and the fact that Aiken is so, so obviously based on the author let it down for me. A shame, but it takes all sorts.
5 Stars to Eleven by Mark Watson
Description
Book by Mark Watson
Review
I'd never heard of Mark Watson in any context other than stand-up comedy before, even less had I actually ever scene him perform. This book cost me £0.99 and is now back up to a fiver on Kindle. The synopsis sounded interesting, no more than that, so it really was a bit of a whim purchase. Seeing an endorsement for the man by Stephen Fry as soon as you open the book certainly impacts, but the writing is powerful enough to drag you in all by itself. From that opening, that cold, still, snowy Febuary London night, you're drawn? Pulled? Positively set to spiraling through these people's lives and I'm surely not the only person to begrudge intrusions from the outside world preventing me from wanting to read more. I can't claim it was a particularly thrilling story. There wasn't much action or intrigue, little mystery or mayhem. And yet... there was empathy. I cared, somehow - cared for Xavier, so obviously sufferring, so clearly torn asunder from a life he had to leave behind, so evidently intelligent and so securely secluded. A man full of history, with a story to tell which is extraordinarily sad and deeply moving - I was almost crying in chapter seven, really. Me! Crying! Then, of course, there's this - I haven't got the word for it. This chain of humanity, the way in which one action (or, in this case, one inaction) sends out ripples like a stone thrown into water. TO see these ripples as consequences that actually have a real, deterministic impact on people is... deep. You sort of pull back at the end of chapter three and get beaten about the head with the results of this one, tiny, seemingly inconsequential event which nonetheless has a massive impact on a whole group of people, and that is frightning, and things just keep on going, moving along, on paths that may not have even existed if one little thing had gone differently. I'm sort of lost, not for words, but for ways of putting them together properly. I can say the writing was good, the characters were very well painted, the scenery was contemporary and the atmosphere believable. All that is true - in fact, Watson is only seven years older than me, yet his worldview, his ability to see things and perceive seems somehow ineffably deeper and more cohesive than anything my brain could possibly aspire to. It is this, this sense or quality of the writing that gives this story such an impact. I - and this is odd, because I'm an actiony, fantasy, science fiction sort of bloke - but I couldn't put it down. I was hooked and fascinated, curious and spellbound all at the same time. I don't think I can share why. You'll either feel it or you won't, I suspect, but I certainly did and can really say little more than that.
3 Stars to Avempartha (The Riyria Revelations, #2) by Michael J. Sullivan
Description
THE SECRET IS IN THE TOWER. THE PROBLEM IS THE BEAST. THE ANSWER IS TWO THIEVES. When a destitute young woman hires two thieves to help save her remote village from nocturnal attacks, they are drawn into the schemes of the wizard Esrahaddon. While Royce struggles to breech the secrets of an ancient elven tower, Hadrian attempts to rally the villagers to defend themselves against the unseen killer. What begins with the simple theft of a sword places the two thieves at the center of a firestorm — that could change the future of Elan.
Review
I enjoyed this more than the first in some ways, because we already have familiarity with the characters. Not to say we don't learn more about them, of course! Sadly, it's not, to my mind, fantasy you can believe in. I get the way it's written is supposed to be light and easy and all that, but sprinkling character's speech with colloquialisms lends the whole thing a sense of being told about this fantasy setting by an American in a bar somewhere, rather than being involved in the story. If that weren't enough, the author's supreme fixation on the United States and the American reader in the interview at the end of my edition of books 1 and 2 was almost sickening in its utter disregard for readers who don't live in the land of the free. I might well read more, but then again... I might not.
3 Stars to Uncommon Sense by Thomas Payne
Description
‘I was born in Britain, and when I was growing up I sincerely believed I was fortunate to be able to call this rain-lashed rock my home. That warm, cosy feeling of innate superiority vanished some time ago, and I now look towards my birthplace from a distance, and with something approaching despair.’ So begins Thomas Payne, in the introduction to ‘Uncommon Sense: The Zero-Tolerance Guide to Political Correctness.’ Written by a best-selling thriller writer, working under a pseudonym, ‘Uncommon Sense’ is a double-barrelled, sawn-off shotgun assault on the state of Britain, Europe, and the world. In blunt, uncompromising language, Thomas Payne takes apart the political correct shibboleths of our time with a surgical fury. From Afghanistan to Bankers, and from Speed Cameras to Vitamins, an A-Z of muddled thinking is systematically blown apart. This is a book that will open your eyes to the absurdities of the world the political class have created – and make you laugh out loud at the same time. Nothing and nobody comes out of this book unscathed. This is a book for the young and old, men and women, fans of Jeremy Clarkson and Thomas Paine alike.
Review
I didn't pay for this book, as it was a free Kindle promotion. I might've bought it for under a pound, but I don't usually go for nonfiction. One reviewer on Goodreads only gave it a single star because, and I quote,"This was just one man laying out his opinions on things." That is rather evident from the synopsis, so quite what she expected I don't know. Another person gave it five, but didn't comment as to whether or not she found herself agreeing with everything the author has to say, which one would imply from such effusive praise. For my part, I enjoyed some of the humour. There are some very good points, I'm in complete agreement on the matters of Afghanistan, art, censorship and pornography, the Compensation Culture, Drug use, education and the Euro, just to name a few. There's clearly a lot of thought been put into the sections on dieting and the health service. On the other hand, the author suffers from that common to anyone seemingly with a history: the fact that "it was better in my day". In a recent interview, Cory Doctorow said "I think people who insist that their personal recollection of things means that it was always better in the old times show a remarkable lack of self-awareness and are just generally giant spoil sports." Some of his attitudes are unorthodox and some of his writing is weird, but he's got a valid point here. That's the problem with any sort of condemnation of modern society, the angle you hit it with is always one comparing it to how it used to be. That never works. So an enjoyable read, light, fun, certainly opinionated and not to take too seriously overall but with bits that are quite thought-provoking. The full interview on Doctorow's Novel Homeland is here.
3 Stars to The Crown Conspiracy (The Riyria Revelations, #1) by Michael J. Sullivan
Description
They killed the king. They pinned it on two men. They chose poorly. There is no ancient evil to defeat, no orphan destined for greatness, just two guys in the wrong place at the wrong time. Royce Melborn, a skilled thief, and his mercenary partner, Hadrian Blackwater make a profitable living carrying out dangerous assignments for conspiring nobles until they become the unwitting scapegoats in a plot to murder the king. Sentenced to death, they have only one way out...and so begins this tale of treachery and adventure, sword fighting and magic, myth and legend.
Review
I was hooked by the synopsis, as the traditional child-goes-magical formula can get tiresome. Still, it was a little dry in places. It's only the start of a series, of course, so I'm going to carry on with book 2, as it's in my republished omnibus edition.
4 Stars to The Archmage Unbound (Mageborn, #3) by Michael G. Manning
Description
Alternate cover edition of ASIN B00843Y4DY Mordecai’s growing power and success have made him a threat, not just to the gods and their minions, but also to the king of Lothion. An unholy bargain has been struck to bring him to heel and increasingly it seems that victory may not be worth the price, not if the cost is measured in the blood of his family. Wizard, lord, husband, father, and now archmage... no man can balance so many roles without sacrificing something. Will the world be worth saving if it costs him the very reasons he has for living in it?
Review
I enjoyed this more than the second, some of the fun was back in the world, and though things were more dangerous and deadly for our hero there was also a lightening of things, after the great battle ending book 2. The power behind the king is very nicely done, although one does wonder at the convenience of mysterious wizards surviving as well as Mort. I suppose they spice things up considerably and "our" wizard still leads the pack on balls. And stupidity... I still like Manning's pricing structure and now I know there are more coming I'm waiting willingly for the next!
5 Stars to Placid Point: Tales from the History of Transhumanity by Graham Storrs
Description
A collection of short stories based in the future world of Placid Point. These are stories of humanity in transition. A young man finds himself in charge of a box full of human minds, a maintenance crew hears screaming from inside an unmanned space station, at the end of time, the last transhuman enjoys mince pies and sherry. Whatever form our future takes, death, betrayal, sex, and Christmas will always be with us.
Review
This is the second of Storr's published works I have read and with it, he has established a place on my very exclusive A-List of authors. This means that, whenever a new title of his appears in a format I can read (i.e. an ebook), I will buy it without even looking at the price. I'm that confident I'll enjoy it, he may safely publish his next work knowing with one hundred per cent certainty he will, if nothing else, sell a single copy. To me. Jim'sWorld was really cool, as it not only sets the scene for the rest of the stories in the book but sort of hit me a little too. I, like Jim, am a bit of a geek; I, also like Jim, often think about turning to writing. My problem is finding a satisfactory end to any number of the stories that start themselves in my head ... but that's neither here nor there. In any case, this story popped me in the geek complex, as well as being very well written and showcasing a fascinating start to what could grow to be a very powerful and complex world. All The Way is perhaps my favourite story of the series. I've of course come across the "it's a copy, not you" concept before - more often in teleportation stories, rather than uploading, but the idea remains the same. For all my familiarity though, Penny hit me hard and drove the point home, which is why this story secures my top spot. The Whispering Dead put me in mind of a 1942 short story by Heinlein called Goldfish Bowl, though the emphasis differs, there were similarities and Bowl chilled me enough fifteen years ago. In The Dark of Secondsleep is perhaps the most sad, yet strangely also perhaps the most uplifting story of the whole collection. On one hand, the ennui of millennia, on the other, a younger, more child-like race. Such a contrast is beautiful. Murathera's Orgy gave me pause for thought, because it all seemed a little risque up until you see what Ceera's up to. I think I'd have enjoyed it more if the approach were made in a less sexually-charged way, in fact that whole angle would've made a cracking novel, but this story was commissioned for a specific publication and still manages to maintain the Point ethos. Last Christmas ends the stories and left me feeling rather forlorn. It seems a bit of a shame to put a story out there that shows the death of something so majestic, with so much potential, because not knowing how something will end is sort of what keeps you going through it. Would I, for instance, have wanted to watch all one hundred and seventy-two episodes of Star Trek's Voyager if I saw they got home at the beginning? yes, you can argue, because what comes between holds as much value as what happens at the end, but it seems to have more of a hold over one, psychologically speaking, if you don't know how it is all going to fall out. Of course, the story didn't answer all the questions about the end of Placid Point, or indeed the reason for the end in the first place, so I'm sure there'll be considerably more material to get my teeth into. A friend of mine questioned my decision to spend almost £2 on a very short collection of short stories. You can, the argument went, get a full-length novel for less than half the price. But, was my rejoinder, I know this author. The ebook era has engendered in me a strange sort of pricing structure, whereby I refuse to pay more than a certain amount for a book unless it has some specific call to me, or it is published by an A-lister. In Mr Storrs case, the synopsis of Timesplash fell into the former category, and now he is in the latter. I can only assume that the stuff coming next will be of similar quality and I eagerly await it.
4 Stars to Public Enemy Zero by Andrew Mayne
Description
The world is out to kill Mitchell Roberts. A strange virus is on the loose sending everyone he comes in contact with into a homicidal rage. From narrowly avoiding getting murdered at his ex-girlfriend's front door, to a crowded shopping mall turned one-man zombie apocalypse, he's got to stay a step ahead of everyone around him if he doesn't want to get ripped apart alive.He'll need to use every resource he has, from the advice of a paranoid late night radio host, to his Twitter account and find out why he's become Public Enemy Zero.A full-length 90,000 word novel.
Review
This was a very good book. I Don't know the author's history, but you often go into smaller, self-published works expecting grammatical nonsense on occasion. That was missing here; it had the feel of a professionally-published novel. The story line, of course, is a little contrived, a little farfetched, but rollicking good fun. I particularly liked the idea of crowdsourcing an escape attempt, and the way Mitch mentions "old people", using printed calendars and maps as if they were things out of the stone age. I found the whole "Earth Mother" thing a bit of a stretch, but that's my only real complaint in what is otherwise an enjoyable bit of escapism.
January
4 Stars to Cowl by Neal Asher
Description
In the far future, the Heliothane Dominion is triumphant in the solar system, after a bitter war with their Umbrathane progenitors. But some of the Umbrathane have escaped into the distant past, where they can position themselves to wreak havoc across time and undo their defeat. The most fanatical of them is the superhuman Cowl, more monstrous than any of the creatures outside his prehistoric redoubt. Cowl sends his terrifying hyperdimensional pet, the torbeast, hunting through all the timelines for human specimens. It sheds its scales -- each one an organic time machine -- where its master orders. Anyone who picks one up is dragged back to the dawn of time, where Cowl awaits. Then the beast can feed, growing ever larger . . . In our own near-future, Tack is one of U-gov's programmable killers. When a scale latches onto him, his doom seems inevitable, but the Heliothane have other they can use Tack against Cowl. Tack is no stranger to violence, but the Heliothane, hardened in their struggle for humanity's very existence, have much to teach him. He will need it all for his encounter with Cowl. Once one of Tack's targets, Polly escaped with her life when a torbeast scale snatched her. Now, like Tack, she must learn fast as she is dragged back to Day Zero. To cheat death again, she will have to help him save the human race. With Cowl , Neal Asher, acclaimed author of Gridlinked and The Skinner , has created his most powerful novel yet.
Review
“Andrewsarchus. You've just evaded the largest carnivorous mammal ever to roam the Earth. Don't you feel privileged?” Though Asher seems to have a thing for siblings, I enjoyed this work far more than the first book of the Owner series. Maybe because everything happens in one book here and I'll come to like Owner more later on, I don't know. One thing that I also liked with this book vis-a-vis Owner was that you got to know the characters, together, before they go splitting off into their own parts. Because of that, you sort of care a little more about what happens to them and don't have that disparate sensation of them not mattering to each other. The twists and turns of who's betraying whom and who's on what side are of course wild fun, the technology is different; positively organic, and the whole ethos of a time war, though not new, works well here. I felt the ending was a little limp, but then it's hard to tie everything up neatly when you've got so many different points in time and powered forces to put together into a cohesive whole.
3 Stars to The Devil and His Boy by Anthony Horowitz
Description
From the # 1 New York Times bestselling author of the Alex Rider series. Tom Falconer is in trouble. Pursued by the notorious criminal Ratsey, Tom soon finds himself alone and hungry on the streets of London. Luckily enough, the mysterious Dr. Mobius soon recruits Tom to play an important role in a play to be performed in front of Queen Elizabeth. Tom knows there’s something not right about Mobius, but he’s willing to take a risk in order to keep his neck out of Ratsey’s murderous hands. Little does Tom realize that Mobius’s dark secret will trap him in the middle of an international conspiracy, holding the fate of the English empire in his hands.
Review
This was pretty neat for a kids story, the sort of thing I'd read to my own child were she a bit older, and were she a he, perhaps. I don't like the complete silliness of parts, but maybe I'm getting old.
5 Stars to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Harry Potter, #4) by J.K. Rowling
Description
Harry Potter wants to get away from the pernicious Dursleys and go to the Quidditch World Cup with Hermione, Ron, and the Weasleys. He wants to dream about Cho Chang, his crush (and maybe do more than dream). He wants to find out about the mysterious event involving two other rival schools of magic, and a competition that hasn't happened for hundreds of years. He wants to be a normal, fourteen-year-old wizard. Unfortunately for Harry Potter, he's not normal; he’s different -- even by wizarding standards. And in this case, different can be deadly.
Review
Though I remain unshakable in my conviction that the third is my favourite of the series, I really enjoyed Goblet of Fire the first time around and it still hits hard today. I remember very well the thrill of walking out of the library with the rather bulky box of tapes in my hand, marvelling at the fact that the tapes were in a double layer inside the box because there were 14 of them, which is a nine hour increase on the last book and made me all the more desperate to actually go and listen to it. I also recall very vividly being polite and sociable, sat on the sofa explaining the appeal of the series to my grandfather over a cup of tea before I was to vanish for almost a whole day of audio. He remained convinced that the "thing" on the cover was more of a lizard than a dragon: unfortunately, his dementia progressed quickly such that by the time the movie was available to watch at home the image on the cover no longer held any significance, which is sad. He died a few months ago, and sitting there on that sofa with the box and talking about the lizard-like dragon is a memory I shall always cherish. As with the Philosopher's Stone, I have specific memories of flashes of this book. The first chapter is a departure from narrative style in that we peek at Little Hangleton for a bit, the first time we start seeing "through" Harry's scar. The next thing I really remember is Stephen Fry's "so...", when Uncle Vernon is about to read Molly Weasley's letter, for some reason the inflection and intonation has stuck with me. The fireplace incident is of course very fun, and I have a great memory of almost cackling with glee when Arthur uses a previously unseen spell to light the fire. Back in those days, I didn't read whole books at a single sitting and it would have taken me well over a week to get through this one. It transpires that my parents and brothers were going on holiday during the reading and, rather than take me but leave me in a hotel room for the week, they decided to leave me with an aunt "for the duration". I remember feeling slightly disappointed that I'd miss out on the sun and the swimming on the Costa del Maresme, but this was soon overtaken by the enthusiasm of the Quidditch World Cup. "I like a healthy breeze round my privates, thanks!" is a line that my teenage self found very, very amusing indeed. I noticed, twice, during this reread, the way in which rowling shows how clever her characters can be, which I completely missed as a kid. First, in chapter 9, when Winky is discovered with the wand, Barty's obviously very shocked and of course we know that he's got more to be shocked about than is obvious at this stage. Nonetheless in a short space of time he composes himself and takes control of things. Similarly, the Weasley twins are worrying about blackmail all the way over in chapter 29: that whole scene in the owlery is such a perfect blend of the comic and the serious that the twins subtle cleverness flew by me to start with. For some reason, the emotional stuff hit me harder this time around as well. When Harry and Ron make up after the first task I couldn't stop smiling, and when Harry is telling everyone how he's solved the clue for the second task in chapter 24, especially Hagrid, I felt a great swell of... something then, too. The Egg and the Eye, chapter 25, is perhaps my favourite of the whole book. I don't quite know why, but the scene on the stairs is superb, knowing all the subtext enriches it even more if that's possible.. And then, there's the graveyard. Listening late at night, in my bed, the house quiet and still and the rain lashing the windows despite it being summer... I was afraid to reach out my arm to turn the tape over, never mind physically getting out of bed to get the next one out of the box. Flesh, Blood and Bone is the second shortest chapter in the book, yet Fry's performance is astoundingly scary and even reading it now I still have to keep an eye out, just in case Lord Voldemort is hiding behind a curtain. And we end on a war footing, be it a quiet one. The ways have parted, The Beginning has begun, Dumbledore is calling for unity whilst the world at large is still unaware. "Remember, if the time should come when you have to make a choice between what is right, and what is easy, remember what happened to a boy who was good, and kind, and brave, because he strayed across the path of Lord Voldemort. Remember Cedric Diggory." He really is quite enspiring, isn't he? This is the book where things get darker, of course. We glimpse the cruelty of the Death Eaters at the world cup and have the rest of the novel before we're hit with a death, but there's no denying that the simplicity of good and bad guys and Albus in complete control with Harry's safety assured is slipping away and the wizarding world is in for a very rough time indeed.
1 Stars to The Cerberus Protocol (HELLstalkers, #1) by Joseph Nassise
Description
From bestselling authors Joseph Nassise and Jon F. Merz comes a new series of short novels full of action, suspense, and all-out high octane excitement - HELLstalkers! On December 5th, scientists at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland ran a short test on the newly completed Large Hadron Collider. For that brief period, protons swarmed back and forth along the seventeen miles of carefully constructed tunnel and slammed into each other with devastating force, generating power the likes of which had not been seen since the moment of the Big Bang. Just a few short hours. That was all it took for our world to be invaded by hideous creatures from someone's nightmare. My name is Captain Memphis Stone, commander of the HELLstalkers, the armed response unit hastily assembled to face this growing threat. This is the story of the men and women under my command, those who stand in the gap and shed their blood to protect the rest of humanity from creatures that we never imagined we'd ever face, not even in our darkest dreams. Welcome to the front lines.
Review
I must confess to being disappointed by this one. Between them, the authors are quite prolific in their output and yet some basic grammatical editing would've been nice. The phrase "each time" appears no less than three times, twice in the same sentence and at the beginning of the next, for instance. Then there's the complete idiocy of the plot, the rather gargantuan assumption that 66 years elapse without need for anything like the team being assembled in this book coupled with the team leader's incompetence and a shadowy, string-pulling figure far too remote to be of any interest and I came away wishing I'd read something else. The effort is there, but it's the sort of writing I'd expect from a teen with an adult copyeditor putting in a bit of work. The military stuff is bland, the action cheap, consequences short-lived and time compressed to give the story more. If you like your military and mythology to mingle, you can find better mixes. If you like your commanders with a complete set of dimensions, there'll be plenty elsewhere. If you like your writing grown-up rather than just peppered with a few expletives you can find that almost anywhere else and if you have interest in covert ops or military hardware this will only be of interest if you want to get your little toe in.
3 Stars to The Departure (Owner Trilogy, #1) by Neal Asher
Description
Visible in the night sky the Argus Station, its twin smelting plants like glowing eyes, looks down on nightmare Earth. From Argus the Committee keep an oppressive citizens are watched by cams systems and political officers, it's a world inhabited by shepherds, reader guns, razor birds and the brutal Inspectorate with its white tiled cells and pain inducers. Soon the Committee will have the power to edit human minds, but not yet, twelve billion human being need to die before Earth can be stabilized, but by turning large portions of Earth into concentration camps this is achievable, especially when the Argus satellite laser network comes fully online...This is the world Alan Saul wakes to in his crate on the conveyor to the Calais incinerator. How he got there he does not know, but he does remember the pain and the face of his interrogator. Informed by Janus, through the hardware implanted in his skull, about the world as it is now Saul is determined to destroy it, just as soon as he has found out who he was, and killed his interrogator...
Review
I can certainly see what the reviewers say when they talk about Asher's propensity for violent conflict. The combat is quick and very often extremely deadly for most of those involved. The world presented here was also grim, which gave things a bit of an unreal feeling, but the depiction is internally consistent and very brutal all the same. As for the people, it's hard to judge when the main character is part machine, or becoming that way. It was quite a thrilling read, although I felt a little bombarded by governmental machines and had to struggle to accept things could have developed in quite so Orwellian a fashion even out as far as Mars. The narrative system was great, up until we stop getting nuggets of Saul's history. The shifts between earth and Antares were as jarring as those between Saul's Now and Then but almost too abrupt sometimes, which is at least in keeping with the uber aggressive combat motif. Finally, what's with the profusion of fatly? People say things fatly no less than eight times throughout the book, which just strikes me as a stretch. A docking pillar and a mining shaft are both also described as being "like a redwood", which makes me wonder just where Asher's supply of adverbs and metaphors comes from and quite why it was so depleted at certain points in the writing process... For all that, I got into the story and especially enjoyed as it drew to a close. I'll be reading the second in time for the third I'm sure.
3 Stars to Mission to Minerva (Giants #5) by James P. Hogan
Description
TRANSPORTED ACROSS THE MUILTIVERSE. Over light-years of space and 50,000 years back in time, to create a new history.... Only to find there was no way back. Earth is adapting to a future of amicable coexistence with the advanced aliens from Thurien, descended from ancestors who once inhabited Minerva, a vanished planet of the Solar System. The plans of the distantly related humans on the rogue world Jevlen to eliminate their ancient Terran rivals and take over the Thurien system of worlds have been thwarted, but the mystery remains of how it was possible for the fleeing Jevlenese leaders to have been flung back across space and time to reappear at Minerva before the time of its destruction. Victor Hunt and a group of his colleagues travel to Thurien to conduct a joint investigation with the alien scientists into the strange physics of interconnectedness between the countless alternate universes that constitute ultimate reality. When their discoveries lead first to bizarre communication with bewildered counterparts in other universes, and thence to the possibility of physical travel, the notion is conceived of sending a mission back to the former world of Minerva with the startling objective of creating a new family of realities in which its destruction is avoided. But Imares Broghuilio, the deposed Jevlenese leader, along with several thousand dedicated followers with five heavily armed starships, are already there. And they have a score to settle.
Review
A rather open-ended way to close the series down, I suppose Hogan never quite new when he would be done with it. I enjoyed it though, it answered a few questions from earlier, although without quite capturing some of the initial enjoyment of the series.
3 Stars to Entoverse by James P. Hogan
Description
Human society on Jevlen was falling apart -- and it looked as if JEVEX, the immense super-computer that managed all Jevlenese affairs, was at the heart of the matter. Except that the problems didn't stop when JEVEX was shut down. People were changing -- or being changed. It was almost as if the Jevlenese were being possessed... Meanwhile, in a very different universe, where magic worked and nothing physical was predictable, holy men caught glimpses of another place, a place where the shape of objects remained unchanged by motion, and cause led directly and logically to effect. And the best part was that when the heart was pure, the mind was focused, and circumstances were right, some lucky souls could actually make the transition to that other universe. If only they all could...
Review
This one was a little harder to swallow, though still quite enjoyable. I certainly see why there's only one left, they are getting to the stage where the law of similarity becomes a bit of a drag more than anything else!
4 Stars to Giants' Star by James P. Hogan
Description
A PROBLEM IN RELATIVITY ONE: Eons ago, a gentle race of giant aliens fled the planet Minerva, leaving the ancestors of Man to fend for themselves. TWO: 50 thousand years ago, Minerva exploded, hurling its moon into an orbit about the Earth. THREE: In the 21st century, scientists Victor Hunt and Chris Danchekker, doing research on Ganymede, attract a small band of friendly aliens lost in time, who begin to reveal something of the origin of Mankind. Finally, Man thought he comprehended his place in the Universe...until he learned of the Watchers in the stars!
Review
These just get better, don't they? A bit more fantastical with every story, to be sure, something always seems to be spinning off in a new direction, or era, or there's always something not quite as it seems. But I really enjoyed this one, the politics was quite fascinating and the whole military stuff really good fun.
4 Stars to The Gentle Giants of Ganymede by James P. Hogan
Description
THE END OF EXILE Long before the world of the Ganymeans blew apart, millennia ago, the strange race of giants had vanished. No one could discover their fate, nor where they had gone, nor why. There was only a wrecked ship abandoned on a frozen satellite of Jupiter. And now Earth's code and scientists were there, determined to ferret out the secret of the lost race. And suddenly, spinning out of the vastness of space and immensity of time, the ship of the strange, humanoid giants returned. They brought with them answers that would alter all Mankind's knowledge of human origins in startling revelations from the past that would have biologic reverberations to be at this time. . .
Review
Though there was little surprising for the majority of the novel, it was still very good - and in fact better than the first, I thought, familiarity with the characters allowing things to progress a little quicker. Two revelations at the end, as well, which spiced things up nicely and as with book one, made me want to go get the next.
4 Stars to Inherit the Stars by James P. Hogan
Description
THE MAN ON THE MOON WAS DEAD. They called him Charlie. He had big eyes, abundant body hair and fairly long nostrils. His skeletal body was found clad in a bright red spacesuit, hidden in a rocky grave. They didn't know who he was, how he got there, or what had killed him. All they knew was that his corpse was 50,000 years old; and that meant that this man had somehow lived long before he ever could have existed!
Review
I was quite enjoying this, one of Hogan's more interesting, if slightly gradual works I thought, then the last chapter hit me. Danchekker's speech in the final chapter was electrifying and rockets my interest in the next one. I saw it coming when he began his questions, of course, but hogan intended that and the punch he delivers isn't diluted for it. Brilliantly conceived, well-written, with a touch of period style to his writing yet optimism for the future. The sort of story I can get my teeth into!
3 Stars to The Line of Illeniel (Mageborn, #2) by Michael G. Manning
Description
Alternate cover edition of ASIN B005TVVS2E Mordecai has discovered his heritage and must take up the mantle of a lord of the realm, while figuring out what it really means to be a mage of the line of Illeniel. He is beset on both sides by allies and enemies trying to control or destroy his future. Gods and kings both seek to manipulate him for their own ends, and no matter what he chooses his loved ones will suffer. Will he risk destroying his love with a bond that might be her death, or face the madness that comes to wizards who embrace power without restraint?
Review
Mort's personality is forced to undergo a rapid growing up. Some of the choices he makes seem a little cold, and some of the tantrums he throws are far too adolescent to be genuine - he seemed to have moved beyond that point earlier, somehow. Still, I enjoyed it, love the world he's built and will be buying book 3 without hesitation.
1 Stars to Forever After (Forever After, #1) by David Jester
Description
Forever After follows Michael Holland, a grim reaper in a grim town. An embittered and melancholic man who struggles to grasp the purpose of his own existence, or lack thereof. He is a minuscule cog in a monumental machine and knows less of his role than those surrounding him -- from his boss, the mighty Angel of Death, to his friend and flatmate Chip: a grubby midget tooth fairy with an addiction to pot and procrastination. Brittleside is a dank, dark and decrepit town, and Michael Holland is its reluctant reaper. From dealing with the drunks, the druggies and the wasters, to tracking an escaped demon who believes he is Santa Claus; Forever After follows his escapades over four dark and humorous tales. A paranormal and comic romp through a fantasy world where the mythical, the fantastical, the insane and the typical combine. A mix of dystopia and comedy, if the works of Philip K. Dick and Terry Pratchett were to ever procreate, Forever After would be the bastard child of their creative communion.
Review
I found this painfully British in its slang and tone, depressing to read and pretty pointless to boot. "Dark and funny" is obviously a very subjective term and given the excerpts of the author's other work at the end of the book I think I'll keep clear. Not my cup of tea.
4 Stars to Ironbark by Stephen Leonard Venables
Description
A damp funeral in the heart of industrial South Wales in 1972, leads to unexpected discoveries that spring from an old biscuit tin full of memories. A tin left as a life by the buried man, its contents spark a quest for his history; his world, his loves, his crimes, his treasures. A hidden friend they knew nothing of. Unexpected discoveries usher them through worlds of hardship, crime, intrigue, brutality, and racial tensions. Worlds where life is cheap. Two brothers, one woman, a tin box full of tantalising truths, secret truths which drive their search from 1919, across four continents, and beyond 1972 to the present day. The truths are uncomfortable, shocking and dangerous. 'The Elephant', Banjo, Dykka, Malakye, Eloise; each have their stories, each have their horrors, each have their lies. All are connected. The tin box releases the people they touched, the people they destroyed. The legacy of men from worlds apart and the woman who scarred them all. A story of desperate measures in desperate times, of need and desire, of lives lost and lives stolen. A story that spans a century. A story of the sea, of war, of passion. Your story. Everyone's story.
Review
Wow. An emotionally powerful read and no mistake, evoking memories so crisp and clear, yet different to those in the book. Historical like. " “Where does this train go?” asked Jo of the windswept Station Master. “Up the Rhymney Valley”, the man said, his lantern swinging in his hand, “Stopping at Cardiff Central, Queen Street, Heath Park, Cefn Onn, Llanishen, Caerphilly, Aber Junction, and Abertridwr”." It's not such a far cry from "Tir-Phil, Bargoed, Pengam, Ystrad Mynach, Llanbradach, Aber, Caerphilly, Lisvane & Thornhill, Llanishen, Heath High Level, Cardiff Queen Street and Cardiff Central", is it? Names, stops, the smells and sounds and minute stopovers sometimes at places etched indelibly into my head as I sat, counting stops, always at least marginally concerned that I'd miss my stop and have to suffer the embarrassment of a taxi (or heaven forbid, the family). The railways changing, of course - Abertridwr closed in 1964, Cefn Onn in 1986, and as of 2012 there are plans to electrify the line. How times move! This book also had two of my very very favourite things in the whole world: Bourbon biscuits and Ginger Nuts. With those, and surrounded by the outpourings of “Jimmy bach!” and “Dew, dew, I’ll tell you what” I truly felt at home in the pages of a book. It's - I was going to say rare, but reflecting on it, it is actually unique - to read any sort of literary composition penned by someone with more than a passing familiarity with my home region that actually stirs feelings in me. Not a homesickness, for I'm quite content where I am; but a sense of affirmation, of "yes, this is mine." Of the fact that the history of these people is in some small way, tied up in geography and heritage and culture and language, yet a part of my history too. I was too young, and in a literal sense too blind, to appreciate the "slag heaps of the South Wales Valleys" for what they were. Yet despite that, I connected with the characters, and found the story all the richer for it. The Australian angle seems so natural - if you're going to mention the South Wales valleys, Australia can't be far away - like thousands, I have relatives who emigrated. The whole book was a work of art, a snapshot of lives, a collection of experiences fit together into some meaningful gestalt the significance of which eludes my naming of it but which resonates inside me somehow nonetheless. I don't know to whom I can recommend it. My friends, who read science fiction and fantasy? My fiancee, a fan of lighter romance and family sagas? My mother, who reads nonfiction or magazines? Only one of those is Welsh, and our relationship isn't deep enough for me to judge how, or even if, there would be any influence, any impact on her. Needless to say the relationship with the fiancee is very deep indeed and you can feel free to draw your own conclusion. Family's such an oddment, isn't it? Not, then, a book I'll be passing around my circle, nor even a book I'll be able to talk about with many people - with anyone, really. It didn't feel intimate, not in the sense of "don't share this", but I find, upon prolonged cogitation, that I am locked into solitudinous memory of the work by the simple expedient of being the only person I know with the literary interest to bother and the cultural background to grasp. Others will of course read it for the story, as I intended to: I didn't choose to come away with such an abiding sense of Cymru in my blood, with perhaps a little more appreciation for what I considered, some years ago, my rustic origins. And as I put the book down to sleep, as if the tape was winding its way through the old stereo system in my grandmothers living room once again, words came to me... "From Sengenydd, in that deep mine, more than 400 died. To Aberfan in 66,when the whole world cried , on a mountainside, a generation died. And they all paid. they all paid the real price of coal. It was too high, God bless them, God bless them and god bless their souls, it'll make you cry when you realize..."
4 Stars to Partials (Partials Sequence, #1) by Dan Wells
Description
Humanity is all but extinguished after a war with Partials—engineered organic beings identical to humans—has decimated the population. Reduced to only tens of thousands by a weaponized virus to which only a fraction of humanity is immune, the survivors in North America have huddled together on Long Island. But sixteen-year-old Kira is determined to find a solution. As she tries desperately to save what is left of her race, she discovers that that the survival of both humans and Partials rests in her attempts to answer questions about the war's origin that she never knew to ask. Playing on our curiosity of and fascination with the complete collapse of civilization, Partials is, at its heart, a story of survival, one that explores the individual narratives and complex relationships of those left behind, both humans and Partials alike—and of the way in which the concept of what is right and wrong in this world is greatly dependent on one's own point of view.
Review
Wow. This was a superb opener and one of the best YA series I've started in a long, long time. It trumps The Hunger Games, though it reminded me of them in some ways, so I'd certainly recommend people give it a try if they liked them. Different authors and ideas, of course, but there's something stylistically similar, even if our heroin isn't, in this case, quite so able to shuck off her Humanity to start trashing her fellow Human beings. There were several emotional points, a few thrills, an occasional chuckle and I came away with a greater appreciation of Wells' ability. If this one doesn't give him the status he deserves in the YA scene, I don't know what will.
3 Stars to Enterprises of Great Pitch and Moment by Keith R.A. DeCandido
Description
A new Federation President has been elected, and his first order of business is to attempt to restore the alliance with the Klingon Empire. To that end, he sends Captain Picard to Deep Space 9, in the hopes that Picard's relationship with Chancellor Gowron might lead to a normalization of relations. At first, things go well, as Gowron agrees to meet with Picard and Captain Sisko of DS9 on a neutral planet -- but when their runabout is shot down, it's up to Commanders Worf and Data to find out the truth before their captains are killed!
Review
Although yet again the English was spotty in places, which really goes to show Pocket's lack of consideration to their ebook line at this period, the story itself was engaging and the psychology very good indeed. I especially liked how the last two story dovetailed and the interplay between both captains was pretty nice as well.
4 Stars to A Weary Life by Robert Greenberger
Description
A new six-part epic covering the first year of service of the U.S.S. Enterprise- E, leading up to the events of the hit movie Star First Contact. A WEARY LIFE BOOK V A team from the Enterprise -- Riker, La Forge, and Daniels -- is sent to deal with the latest threat from the Maquis. For La Forge and Daniels, it's just another mission, but Riker must face the specter of his transporter twin, Tom Riker, who left Starfleet to join the Maquis. When the Enterprise team is caught between the Maquis and the Cardassians, Riker finds himself with an important decision to make -- one that may affect his future in Starfleet....
Review
For some reason, the writing occasionally made me think this novel was penned by a teen who played a lot of trek computer games. Some of the English seemed questionable at best, and yet the depth with which the emotions were captured, Riker in particular, speaks a much more adult language and one I found hard to ignore. I therefore really liked this novel; a welcome aside from the dominating dominion. Also, I did notice the publisher putting "novels" and "e-Books" on differing levels, which is also fascinating, historically speaking.
3 Stars to Amped by Daniel H. Wilson
Description
In a near-future where the Neural-Autofocus and other neural implants made formerly mentally challenged individuals into equals or superiors to those with normal brain functionality, Owen is a high school teacher whose surgeon father helped develop the implants to control his epilepsy. When the United States Supreme Court rules that implanted individuals are no longer a protected class, Owen's life is changed forever, as he discovers that his implant has a very dangerous secret.
Review
"Turns out, the beast says, you can hurt somebody with your brain. In fact, you can fuck a person up pretty severely and steal supplies and sneak out of a perfectly secure detention facility-if you’ve got an okay grasp on the physics of it. And I most certainly do." This book wasn't quite what I expected, though now I've read it I didn't know what I was expecting in the first place. I found it difficult to engage with Owen, and even harder to qualify his dad's "advice", which seemed scant little and tailor made for plot advancement. The narrative structure was interesting and the viewpoints quite cool (are the BBC really that patronizing, for instance?) The combat was good, the Zenith scenes very vivid, but I didn't get as hooked as I'd hoped.
1 Stars to That Sleep of Death (Star Trek The Next Generation: Slings and Arrows, #4) by Terri Osborne
Description
A new six-part epic covering the first year of service of the U.S.S. Enterprise-E, leading up to the events of the hit movie Star Trek: First Contact. THAT SLEEP OF DEATH BOOK IV In the wake of increased concern over the Dominion threat, Dr. Beverly Crusher has attempted to improve morale on the Enterprise by starting up her theater company -- beginning with a production of A Christmas Carol. But before opening night, a devastating malady starts striking down the crew. Forced to rely on a piece of technology she despises -- the Emergency Medical Hologram -- Dr. Crusher must find a cure before it's too late!
Review
I thought this book was far too quickly executed to be credible. The ratio of Dickens to reality was just silly, and having a main plot line that doesn't actually get solved in any meaningful way, a threat to the crew that is at once cleared up but is also left unresolved and an alien who seems to have been just fine for three centuries but is now "trapped by his flesh" is just bad writing. The author seems to have just run out of steam at the end, and although this is a miniseries and short works can work well, this one i'm afraid to say not only failed to make the cut but was pretty far off the mark to boot.
3 Stars to The Oppressor's Wrong (Star Trek The Next Generation: Slings and Arrows, Book 2) by Phaedra Weldon
Description
The Enterprise is assigned to ferry demolition experts from Deep Space 9 to Starbase 375, but just as they arrive. Admiral Leyton declares martial law on Earth and the Federation is put in a state of emergency. On the starbase, Admiral Hahn has gone missing, and there are several unexplained events -- and one of the demolition experts, Lieutenant Daniels, isn't convinced that it's necessarily Dominion treachery. Picard and the Enterprise crew must learn the truth -- about the martial law declaration and what happened to Admiral Hahn -- before the Enterprise itself becomes the next casualty...
Review
I found some of the technical writing a little rushed, it seemed as if the author was on a page or platform a little off kilter from mine. My own fault for not being up with SCE, of course. The Daniels introduction was very good, being in his head for a swathe of the book was quite enjoyable and a most worthy part of this intriguing miniseries.
3 Stars to The Insolence of Office by William Leisner
Description
A new six-part epic covering the first year of service of the U.S.S. Enterprise-E , leading up to the events of the hit movie Star First Contact .A major turning point in the lives of two of the Enterprise crew! Newly promoted Admiral Hayes gives La Forge a shocking his VISOR is a security risk, and he must either have it replaced with ocular implants or be transferred to a less-sensitive post.Meanwhile, Troi has some issues of her own. Though she knows that her mother, Lwaxana, recently remarried to the Tavnian named Jeyal, she was unaware of the subsequent pregnancy -- and now Lwaxana's about to give birth. To make matters worse, the Tevnian government has decided that, even though Lwaxana and Jeyal have since divorced, the child still belongs to them.
Review
With this novel seeming shorter than either of the previous two, I expected to be disappointed. But although there's not a great deal of action, there's a lot of development, in terms of both character and crew integration. This is also a novel you can't read without knowing your Trek, and as it focuses on Lwaxana, of prime import are the TNG episode Dark Page and from DS9 The Muse. It did seem as if The Muse concluded things fairly comprehensively, per Tavnian law, but then without stretching things a little bit you never get any novels out of the onscreen setups, I suppose. Also, I really digged Geordi's"You use 'normal' like it's this huge selling point" - very relevant to me indeed. So far, this is a very nice little series.
4 Stars to A Sea of Troubles (Star Trek: The Next Generation: Slings and Arrows, #1) by J. Steven York
Description
A new six-part epic covering the first year of service of the "U.S.S. Enterprise-E, " leading up to the events of the hit movie "Star Trek: First Contact." The "U.S.S. Enterprise-E" has launched, with Captain Jean-Luc Picard in command. In addition to many familiar faces, the new ship also has some new crew members -- among them, conn officer Sean Hawk and security chief Linda Addison. But soon Picard is devastated to learn that there's a saboteur on board -- in the form of a changeling infiltrator from the Dominion Picard and his crew must learn who the changeling replaced and stop it before it destroys the fleet's finest ship... A new eBook from the authors of "Enigma Ship" and "Spin "
Review
I really managed to get into this book, for although it's short, it very much had an episodic TNG feel about it. A bottle show, to be sure, but cleverly executed in such a way that all the action stays aboard the Enterprise and the Enterprise stays in one place for a plot-relevant reason. There were a few grammatical hiccups, and one wonders if an editor was out to lunch given that they can slip through the cracks considering the length of the book. There were also a couple of inconsistencies; i.e. the way the Changeling professed to like sampling life yet the duration of its stay as one officer, similarly, Picard having Hawke at their first arranged meeting yet relying on video monitoring afterwards. Arguably, these are all points of contention: the changeling, though primarily in one form, did change shape to suit its ends (as shown in the data recorder of the Samson), and Picard was playing mind games with the Changeling all the way through. Overall, this was a very enjoyable novel; would've made a superb episode onscreen and provides an excellent, emotionally-charged precursor to the dominion conflict
4 Stars to Mutiny on the Bounty by John Boyne
Description
Fourteen-year-old John Jacob Turnstile has gotten into trouble with the police on one too many occasions and is on his way to prison when an offer is put to him - a ship has been refitted over the last few months and is about to set sail with an important mission. The boy who was expected to serve as the captain’s personal valet has been injured and a replacement must be found immediately. The deal is struck and Turnstile finds himself onboard, meeting the captain, just as the ship sets sail. The ship is the HMS Bounty, the captain is William Bligh, and their destination is Tahiti. Mutiny on the Bounty is the first novel to explore all the events relating to the Bounty’s voyage, from their long journey across the ocean to their adventures on the island of Tahiti and the subsequent forty-eight-day expedition towards Timor. A vivid recreation of the famous mutiny, the story is packed with humour, violence, and historical detail, presenting a very different portrait of Captain Bligh and Mr. Christian than has been shown before.
Review
I checked this out of the library with only a passing familiarity with the Bounty and was pleasantly surprised. John's narrative is very easy to read and most expert at pulling you in; you really get a sense of the times in the text, which is important for any sort of historical frame of reference. I could easily see it appealing to younger readers, and it seems to serve as a relatively accurate account of things with a healthy dollop of hero-worship for Bligh included.