Genre: Alternate History
Setting: During the World War II time frame, on a different version of Earth.
Blood on the Water is the eleventh novel in Anderson's Destroyermen series.
In this novel the author picks up the story where he left off in the previous novels. Captain Reddy, his destroyermen, and their allies are spread across the globe. In the East they are battling the minions of the Holy Dominion. In the West, they fight the lizard-like Grik and the insane Japanese leader Kurokawa.
In this episode of the series, we learn more about the other human factions that inhabit this version of Earth. Some are enemies of the Dominion. Some are enemies of the Grik. And some have nefarious objectives which make them the political enemies of all the sides of the war.
Anderson uses a large cast of characters to tell his story. Keeping track of so many characters must be a challenge for the author. To help the reader, Anderson has included a ten page longest of characters. When the author introduces a new character, or reintroduces a character from past novels, he does an adequate job of providing the exposition needed to identify the character. With so many characters, so much exposition could become tedious. But the author deals with the exposition quickly and gets us back to the action.
I have really enjoyed the Destroyermen series. The plot moves along briskly and there is lots of action.
I strongly advise readers to start at the beginning and read the novels in sequence. It looks like it's going to be a long ride.
Sunday, November 27, 2016
Tuesday, November 1, 2016
Dark Matter, Book One of the Hadron Series by Stephen Arseneault
Genre: Science Fiction
Setting: The eastern U.S. in the near future.
First Sentence: The engines lost thrust as the fuel ran dry.
Dark Matter is the first novel in the author's Hadron series which currently runs to eight books.
Dark Matter is a pretty typical beginning to a post apocalyptic series.
We have some unknown power which is disrupting the world wide power grid.
The author drops a few hints about the source of that power.
Humanity quickly devolves into chaos. There are roaming bands looking for food and looting.
In rural New Jersey a small group of exceedingly wealthy and well prepared survivalists link up in a small local bar.
Together, they decide that a cave in West Virginia would be the perfect place to hunker down, and wait for whatever happens next.
Along the way, they pick up some friends, and battle some evils doers.
Eventually they find themselves cornered in their cave. Will the cavalry come to the rescue before it is too late?
This book was a pleasant read. There are plenty of un answered questions. Although it is listed as a science fiction book, there is little scifi in this book. The author promises to ramp up the scifi in future installments.
If your looking for an enjoyable series to read, check out this one.
Setting: The eastern U.S. in the near future.
First Sentence: The engines lost thrust as the fuel ran dry.
Dark Matter is the first novel in the author's Hadron series which currently runs to eight books.
Dark Matter is a pretty typical beginning to a post apocalyptic series.
We have some unknown power which is disrupting the world wide power grid.
The author drops a few hints about the source of that power.
Humanity quickly devolves into chaos. There are roaming bands looking for food and looting.
In rural New Jersey a small group of exceedingly wealthy and well prepared survivalists link up in a small local bar.
Together, they decide that a cave in West Virginia would be the perfect place to hunker down, and wait for whatever happens next.
Along the way, they pick up some friends, and battle some evils doers.
Eventually they find themselves cornered in their cave. Will the cavalry come to the rescue before it is too late?
This book was a pleasant read. There are plenty of un answered questions. Although it is listed as a science fiction book, there is little scifi in this book. The author promises to ramp up the scifi in future installments.
If your looking for an enjoyable series to read, check out this one.
Thursday, October 6, 2016
Daughter of Sand and Stone by Libbie Hawker
Genre: Historical Fiction
Setting: 260 CE to 271 CE in Palmyra, Egypt, and Rome.
First Sentence: On the last day of spring, the moon is just past full and still visible, pale and round in the late morning sky.
Our main character, Zenobia, is the youngest daughter of a wealthy and well beloved merchant in Palmyra. Girls her age should be looking for a well placed man to marry. Zenobia's mother and sisters urge her to keep to a woman's place.
But Zenobia refuses. She believes the gods have a special plan for her.
So Zenobia sets out to acquire power and prestige.
Along the way she is aided by Zabdas. Once he was a trusted employee of Zenobia's father. He has sworn to protect and support her. He loves her. Yet he knows that , because of her ambition, he will never be good enough for her.
Zenobia follows the path the gods have set out for her. For each increase in power, the gods extract a terrible price.
In the end, Zenobia finds herself in the very place when strove to avoid: the wife of a well placed man.
This was an interesting book to read. By writing in second person present tense, the author adds a sense of immediacy to the telling of the tale. We are not reading a story of the past, but we are watching the tale unfold before our eyes.
Check out this book, as well as some of the author's other novels.
Setting: 260 CE to 271 CE in Palmyra, Egypt, and Rome.
First Sentence: On the last day of spring, the moon is just past full and still visible, pale and round in the late morning sky.
Our main character, Zenobia, is the youngest daughter of a wealthy and well beloved merchant in Palmyra. Girls her age should be looking for a well placed man to marry. Zenobia's mother and sisters urge her to keep to a woman's place.
But Zenobia refuses. She believes the gods have a special plan for her.
So Zenobia sets out to acquire power and prestige.
Along the way she is aided by Zabdas. Once he was a trusted employee of Zenobia's father. He has sworn to protect and support her. He loves her. Yet he knows that , because of her ambition, he will never be good enough for her.
Zenobia follows the path the gods have set out for her. For each increase in power, the gods extract a terrible price.
In the end, Zenobia finds herself in the very place when strove to avoid: the wife of a well placed man.
This was an interesting book to read. By writing in second person present tense, the author adds a sense of immediacy to the telling of the tale. We are not reading a story of the past, but we are watching the tale unfold before our eyes.
Check out this book, as well as some of the author's other novels.
Sunday, September 11, 2016
Code Breakers Book 1: Alpha by Colin F. Barnes
Genre: Science Fiction
Setting: In the future, on earth, after a disastrous planet wide civil war.
First Sentence: In 2153 the lottery didn't just change lives it ended them.
This novel is the first in Barnes's Code Breakers series which currently runs to four books.
It is the twenty-second century. Earth has been blasted by a catastrophic civil war. Orbiting Earth is a space station where technologists experiment with improving the human race. On Earth there is the domed City Earth where citizens believe that they are the only survivors of the war. Outside the dome are humans who struggle to survive on the blasted, radioactive surface of the planet.
At each level humans exist in various combinations of biology and technology.
In City Earth, population control is an algorithm that decides who gets to live, and who must die. Our main character, Gerry Cardle, is the author of the algorithm. So it comes as a surprise to him when the algorithm selects him for elimination.
When his number comes up, Gerry escapes from the dome and heads into the wilder parts of the planet. There he joins a group of part-human, part-computer survivors. They are trying to defeat a malicious malware code which endangers City Earth as well as the survivors themselves .
Along the way Gerry discovers that there is something different about his brain and his coding abilities.
For me this was an OK book. Lots of action. Physical battles and cyber attacks. If you are into hard scifi, you might enjoy this novel.
Setting: In the future, on earth, after a disastrous planet wide civil war.
First Sentence: In 2153 the lottery didn't just change lives it ended them.
This novel is the first in Barnes's Code Breakers series which currently runs to four books.
It is the twenty-second century. Earth has been blasted by a catastrophic civil war. Orbiting Earth is a space station where technologists experiment with improving the human race. On Earth there is the domed City Earth where citizens believe that they are the only survivors of the war. Outside the dome are humans who struggle to survive on the blasted, radioactive surface of the planet.
At each level humans exist in various combinations of biology and technology.
In City Earth, population control is an algorithm that decides who gets to live, and who must die. Our main character, Gerry Cardle, is the author of the algorithm. So it comes as a surprise to him when the algorithm selects him for elimination.
When his number comes up, Gerry escapes from the dome and heads into the wilder parts of the planet. There he joins a group of part-human, part-computer survivors. They are trying to defeat a malicious malware code which endangers City Earth as well as the survivors themselves .
Along the way Gerry discovers that there is something different about his brain and his coding abilities.
For me this was an OK book. Lots of action. Physical battles and cyber attacks. If you are into hard scifi, you might enjoy this novel.
Thursday, August 25, 2016
Life II by Scott Spotson
Genre: Science Fiction, Time Travel
Setting: Earth around the turn of the twenty-first century.
First Sentence: Max Thorning turned over the ancient book in his hand.
This novel is the first in Spotson's Life II Series. He has written a sequel to Life II titled Bridge Through Time.
Time travel is a popular sub-genre of Science Fiction. Authors often have their characters jumping between time streams, avoiding paradoxes, and encountering alternate realities.
Spotson's concept of time travel is quite different. In his version of time travel, one can only travel back in time. No jumping forward. After jumping, the time traveller must live his life forward again. There is only one time line, but the traveler retains the memory of the first timeline.
Our main character, Max, is having a mid-life crisis. He is unhappy with his current life and feels that he could do better if he had a second chance. That chance comes in the form of an ancient tome which provides the directions to a mysterious apartment in Athens, Greece.
On a whim, Max chooses to take the jump into his past.
Almost immediately, he discovers how difficult it is to manage two lives. One of which only exists in his mind. His first life he calls Life I, and his new life he calls Life II.
When things don't turn out as he planned, Max tries to return to return to Life I. Thats when he learns the truth. He can never go back. The pain caused by his decision follows him for the rest of his life.
With the help of some friends and loved ones, Max eventually learns a valuable lesson.
I liked this book. Some parts were better than others. But for me it was an easy read with a unique concept of time travel.
Setting: Earth around the turn of the twenty-first century.
First Sentence: Max Thorning turned over the ancient book in his hand.
This novel is the first in Spotson's Life II Series. He has written a sequel to Life II titled Bridge Through Time.
Time travel is a popular sub-genre of Science Fiction. Authors often have their characters jumping between time streams, avoiding paradoxes, and encountering alternate realities.
Spotson's concept of time travel is quite different. In his version of time travel, one can only travel back in time. No jumping forward. After jumping, the time traveller must live his life forward again. There is only one time line, but the traveler retains the memory of the first timeline.
Our main character, Max, is having a mid-life crisis. He is unhappy with his current life and feels that he could do better if he had a second chance. That chance comes in the form of an ancient tome which provides the directions to a mysterious apartment in Athens, Greece.
On a whim, Max chooses to take the jump into his past.
Almost immediately, he discovers how difficult it is to manage two lives. One of which only exists in his mind. His first life he calls Life I, and his new life he calls Life II.
When things don't turn out as he planned, Max tries to return to return to Life I. Thats when he learns the truth. He can never go back. The pain caused by his decision follows him for the rest of his life.
With the help of some friends and loved ones, Max eventually learns a valuable lesson.
I liked this book. Some parts were better than others. But for me it was an easy read with a unique concept of time travel.
Thursday, August 4, 2016
The Chronothon by Nathan Van Coops
Genre: Science Fiction
Setting: A time when time travel is possible.
First Sentence: I feel very alive considering I haven's been born yet.
This novel is the second in the author's time travel trilogy. The first book is titled "In Times Like These." Although this is the second book of the series, the author intended it as a stand alone novel. To help the reader, Van Coops provided one explanatory information, and a glossary of terms.
Time travel is real.
Our main character, Ben, has just been introduced to the culture of time travel. Time travelers have developed a community of scientists and adventurers who travel and communicate between time lines.
Occasionally the time travelers stage a Chronothon. This is an exciting race/ scavenger hunt through different places in time.
But this year is different. Racers are dying. Some have been murdered. Some have been killed when the race route passes through a very dangerous time line.
Who is killing the racers? Who has planned this dangerous game? And, why?
Time travel has its problems: Avoiding paradoxes (multiple copies of people existing side by side in the same timeline), and creating new timelines (a change in history creating parallel time lines).
The author does a good job of describing his version of time travel and time lines. But it sometimes gets a little confusing.
Over, all. For me. It was an okay book.
Setting: A time when time travel is possible.
First Sentence: I feel very alive considering I haven's been born yet.
This novel is the second in the author's time travel trilogy. The first book is titled "In Times Like These." Although this is the second book of the series, the author intended it as a stand alone novel. To help the reader, Van Coops provided one explanatory information, and a glossary of terms.
Time travel is real.
Our main character, Ben, has just been introduced to the culture of time travel. Time travelers have developed a community of scientists and adventurers who travel and communicate between time lines.
Occasionally the time travelers stage a Chronothon. This is an exciting race/ scavenger hunt through different places in time.
But this year is different. Racers are dying. Some have been murdered. Some have been killed when the race route passes through a very dangerous time line.
Who is killing the racers? Who has planned this dangerous game? And, why?
Time travel has its problems: Avoiding paradoxes (multiple copies of people existing side by side in the same timeline), and creating new timelines (a change in history creating parallel time lines).
The author does a good job of describing his version of time travel and time lines. But it sometimes gets a little confusing.
Over, all. For me. It was an okay book.
Monday, July 11, 2016
Sisterhood of Dune by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson
Genre: Science Fiction
Setting: On different planets in the Dune Universe. It begins about eighty years after the defeat of the thinking machines.
First Sentence: Manford Torondo had lost count of his many missions.
This novel is the eighteenth book in the Dune Universe saga. It is the first in the Great Schools of Dune prequel trilogy.
Humanity has defeated the last of the thinking machines. There is a general distrust of computers and higher technology. Into this climate of fear there begins a Luddite style revolt against technology. There also begins a movement to train humans to due tasks which were once performed.
In this novel we see the development of the political factors which play a great part in the plot of the classic novel Dune: the Sisterhood which eventually becomes the Bene Gesserit, the Mentat human computers, the Suk school of incorruptible doctors, and the development of the Spacing Guild of navigators. We also learn the basis for the Harkonnen-Atreides rivalry.
The authors jump back and forth between the different characters and plot lines. The first half of the book contains a great deal of exposition which slowed the plot down and made the novel hard to read. Towards the end of the book the action picked up and made the reading more enjoyable.
If you are new to the Dune universe, I suggest you read the novels in order of publication starting with the classic original novel Dune.
I struggled with this book because it had been years since I read a Dune novel so for me it was just an okay book.
Setting: On different planets in the Dune Universe. It begins about eighty years after the defeat of the thinking machines.
First Sentence: Manford Torondo had lost count of his many missions.
This novel is the eighteenth book in the Dune Universe saga. It is the first in the Great Schools of Dune prequel trilogy.
Humanity has defeated the last of the thinking machines. There is a general distrust of computers and higher technology. Into this climate of fear there begins a Luddite style revolt against technology. There also begins a movement to train humans to due tasks which were once performed.
In this novel we see the development of the political factors which play a great part in the plot of the classic novel Dune: the Sisterhood which eventually becomes the Bene Gesserit, the Mentat human computers, the Suk school of incorruptible doctors, and the development of the Spacing Guild of navigators. We also learn the basis for the Harkonnen-Atreides rivalry.
The authors jump back and forth between the different characters and plot lines. The first half of the book contains a great deal of exposition which slowed the plot down and made the novel hard to read. Towards the end of the book the action picked up and made the reading more enjoyable.
If you are new to the Dune universe, I suggest you read the novels in order of publication starting with the classic original novel Dune.
I struggled with this book because it had been years since I read a Dune novel so for me it was just an okay book.
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