Arrived Books » Cybermage

Hello, there will be a review later today after the last rush to finish before going on holiday. Meaning I will have more time to read and write on my blog soon.

To keep you a bit exited (hopefully) I can tell you what’s been in my mail this week (all payed for by me):

Veteran by Gavin Smith
Retribution Falls by Chris Wooding (Tales of the Ketty Jay 1)
Blood and Iron by Tony Bellantyne (Robot Wars 2)
The Bloodstained Man by Christopher Rowley (Netherworld 2)
Harmony by C. F. Bentley (Harmony 1)
Stealing Light by Gary Gibson (Stealing Light 1)

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New books makes me happy, today brought three packages of joy. I am especially happy I got Necropath since I ordered it 2009.

Necropath by Eric Brown (Bengali Station 1)
Strength and Honor by R. M. Meluch (Tour of the Merrimack 3)
The Sagittarius Command by R. M. Meluch (Tour of the Merrimack 4)

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I could not resist a visit to the Science Fiction Book Store (sfbok.se) in the Old City in Stockholm when I was there on business yesterday. Sometimes I miss living in a major city, directly upon entering the shop I was assaulted by the friendly feeling of shared interests and intelligent discussions about science fiction all around me. Fandom events where flying around in smalltalk among the staff and visitors.

These are the books I got with me in my ecological cloth bag on the flight back north.

Xeelee an Omnibus by Stephen Baxter (Raft, Timelike Infinity, Flux, Ring)
Shadow of the Scorpion by Neal Asher (an agent Cormac novel)
A Thousand Words for Stranger by Julie E. Czerneda (The Trade Pact Universe #1)
Ties of Power by Julie E. Czerneda (The Trade Pact Universe #2)
To Trade the Stars by Julie E. Czerneda (The Trade Pact Universe #3)
Dust by Elizabeth Bear
Chill by Elizabeth Bear (sequel to Dust)
The Myriad by R. M. Meluch (Tour of the Merrimack #1)
Wolf Star by R. M. Meluch (Tour of the Merrimack #2)
Servants of the Underworld by Aliette de Bodard

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It’s a happy day when you got Amazon’s small packages waiting on you when you get home. Today I got two and yesterday one that I finished reading early this morning.

Trade of Queens
by Charles Stross
Merchant Princes 6
Published by Tor

I got great hope for this book, some light hearted good fun action science fiction? hope so.

A dissident faction of the Clan, the alternate universe group of families that has traded covertly with our world for a century or more, have carried nuclear devices between the worlds and exploded them in Washington, DC, killing the President of the United States. Now they will exterminate the rest of the Clan and keep Miriam alive only long enough to bear her child, the heir to the throne of their land in the Gruinmarkt world.

The worst and deepest secret is now revealed: behind the horrifying plot is a faction of the US government itself, preparing for a political takeover in the aftermath of disaster. There is no safe place for Miriam and her Clan except, perhaps, in the third alternate world, New Britain–which has just had a revolution and a nuclear incident of its own.

Gardens of the Sun
by Paul McAuley
The Quiet War 2
Published by Pyr

I just read The Quiet War and would like to know what’s going to happen in this one.

The Quiet War is over. The city states of the moons of Jupiter and Saturn have fallen to the Three Powers Alliance of Greater Brazil, the European Union and the Pacific Community. A century of enlightenment, rational utopianism and exploration of new ways of being human has fallen dark. Outers are herded into prison camps and forced to collaborate in the systematic plundering of their great archives of scientific and technical knowledge, while Earth’s forces loot their cities, settlements and ships, and plan a final solution to the ‘Outer problem’. But Earth’s victory is fragile, and riven by vicious internal politics. While seeking out and trying to anatomise the strange gardens abandoned in place by Avernus, the Outers’ greatest genius, the gene wizard Sri Hong-Owen is embroiled in the plots and counterplots of the family that employs her. The diplomat Loc Ifrahim soon discovers that profiting from victory isn’t as easy as he thought. And in Greater Brazil, the Outers’ democratic traditions have infected a population eager to escape the tyranny of the great families who rule them. After a conflict fought to contain the expansionist, posthuman ambitions of the Outers, the future is as uncertain as ever. Only one thing is clear. No one can escape the consequences of war – especially the victors.

Coyote Destiny
by Allen Steele
Coyote Chronicles 2
Published by ACE

This book arrived yesterday and I finished it in one night’s reading. A review is upcoming, probably this weekend or early next week.

The unexpected arrival of a ship from Earth after their long isolation from their home world leaves the inhabitants of Coyote both hopeful and wary. The lone passenger brings news-both good and bad.

The good news is that there was a survivor of the long-ago explosion of the Robert E. Lee and he is living still on Earth, in the ruined city called Boston. The bad news is that the person responsible for that act of terrorism is also still alive-and somewhere on Coyote…

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Good timing by amazon this time. Two books arrived today.

Oath of Fealty by Elizabeth Moon

Perfectly timed this time by amazon, the parcel arrived on time. I feel a quick read coming up.

Elizabeth Moon’s bestselling science fiction novels featuring Kylara Vatta have earned her rave reviews and comparison to such giants as Robert Heinlein and Lois McMaster Bujold. But as Moon’s devoted fans know, she started her career as a fantasy writer. The superb trilogy known as The Deed of Paksenarrion is widely judged to be one of the great post-Tolkien fantasies, a masterpiece of sustained world-building and realistic military action. Now Moon returns to this thrilling realm for the first time in nearly twenty years. The result: another classic in the making.

Thanks to Paks’s courage and sacrifice, the long-vanished heir to the half-elven kingdom of Lyonya has been revealed as Kieri Phelan, a formidable mercenary captain who earned a title—and enemies—in the neighboring kingdom of Tsaia. Now, as Kieri ascends a throne he never sought, he must come to terms with his own half-elven heritage while protecting his new kingdom from his old enemies—and those he has not yet discovered.

Meanwhile, in Tsaia, Prince Mikeli prepares for his own coronation. But when an assassination attempt nearly succeeds, Mikeli suddenly faces the threat of a coup. Acting swiftly, Mikeli strikes at the powerful family behind the attack: the Verrakaien, magelords possessing ancient sorcery, steeped in death and evil. Mikeli’s survival—and that of Tsaia—depend on the only Verrakai whose magery is not tainted with innocent blood.

Two kings stand at a pivotal point in the history of their worlds. For dark forces are gathering against them, knit in a secret conspiracy more sinister—and far more ancient—than they can imagine. And even Paks may find her gods-given magic and peerless fighting skills stretched to the limit—and beyond.

The Crucible of Empire by Eric Flint & K. D. Wentworth

Also arrived on time, another long awaited book. Loved the first book.

When humans and their Jao overlords joined forces in a desperate battle to save the Earth from the malevolent race called the Ekhat, the relationship between the two species was changed forever. Two years later, humans and Jao are learning to work in an uneasy alliance. Then, in a distant nebula, three Jao ships detect signs of another sentient species during a battle with the Ekhat. Only one of the ships returns, with most of its crew or injured.

Earth’s Preceptor Ronz suspects the unknown species was actually the Lleix, a name out of the Jao’s past, and an ancient shame from the period in their development when they themselves were still ruled by the maniacal Ekhat.

Ronz sends the Lexington, a massive ship built on Earth and crewed by both human and Jao, to investigate. The Lexington dwarfs any ship ever built by the Jao and even outmasses Ekhat ships, which may enable it to survive the attack that destroyed two of the three Jao ships. But if the expedition does find a surviving remnant of the Leleix, will the survivors trust the Jao? And should they?

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