I have just finished Grail the concluding volume of Elizabeth Bear’s generation ship epos Jacob’s Ladder. I have a hard time distilling the story down to review size but here goes.

Jacob’s Ladder is getting close to journey’s end and the planet Grail. Perceval became the captain after her beloved Rien scarified herself and merged with the ship’s ai and vanquished the dragon Dust, the ship library that ruled ship for centuries turning it into something from Literature. That is why the story reads as a medieval saga with transhuman technologies, knights and angels (most so in the first book). They survived the alien encounter and the acceleration that followed. Perceval and her companions have started to repair the ship again and are working towards uniting the different tribes that has been separated for so long. But the ship is far from well and not everyone agree on a course of action. Some even want to turn around not to infect another world. A theft turned murder reveals powerful old enemies. In a transhuman world death is seldom permanent.

It became something of a different story when we dive into the culture of the ‘rightminded’ humans that already lives on Grail, the planet they call Fortune. Jacob’s Ladder left earth to escape the Kleptomancy and forge their own solution to human development while humanity back on the devastated earth forged their own – rightminding. It raises all kind of interesting questions and most of them get their answers here. Elizabeth delivers civilization critique wrapped in velvet. For the people on Fortune it is a legend come alive but it also raises fear. Are the Jacobeans even human anymore?  The fear of the uncorrected ‘normal’ humans also surfaces and it is quite entertaining at times how they portrait that. There are forces on both sides that are willing to go to war to take or protect what they think is right. Premiere Danilaw has to walk a tight rope as he becomes the emissary to the Jacobeans.

It is a complex story with many aspects and participants and I am in awe how tight Elizabeth still succeeds in keeping it, this could easily have swelled to a kilo pages. I enjoyed the different points of view and the characters are distinct and well developed. Perceval is in many respects the main character everything revolves around, she is also by far the most human in all her Exalted transhumanism.  Danilaw is the other character that stands out rightminded as he is he plays old tunes on his guitar and are used to manage the planet by nudging or tweaking. I like the characters here, they don’t bicker as much as I like but it is not that kind of story.

Two different paths of human evolution meet and clash. Will they be able to forge a new future together? You have to read the book to find out.

I love this series. It is like blending LOTR with The Diamond Age and Matrix with a crust of Ghost in the Machine. Grail is a satisfying conclusion to Jacob’s Ladder loaded with tension, intrigue, treason, revelations and humanity. Singularity has become something of a Holy Grail in current science fiction but here Grail is a planet and trans-humanism a gateway to becoming human which is refreshing. I recommend this as one of the more significant science fiction trilogies in later years. You should really read it, I enjoyed it immensly.

Information

My reviews of the previous novels: Dust and Chill.

Title: Grail
Series: Jacob’s Ladder Trilogy book 3
Author: Elizabeth Bear
Genre: Science Fiction with a flair of Medieval saga
Paperback: 331 pages
Publisher: Spectra (2011)
Copy: Bought it from Amazon
Order from: Amazon US | UK

Rife with intrigue and betrayal, heroism and sacrifice, Grail brings Elizabeth Bear’s brilliant space opera to a triumphant conclusion.

At last the generation ship Jacob’s Ladder has arrived at its destination: the planet they have come to call Grail. But this habitable jewel just happens to be populated already: by humans who call their home Fortune. And they are wary of sharing Fortune—especially with people who have genetically engineered themselves to such an extent that it is a matter of debate whether they are even human anymore. To make matters worse, a shocking murder aboard the Jacob’s Ladder has alerted Captain Perceval and the angel Nova that formidable enemies remain hidden somewhere among the crew.

On Grail—or Fortune, rather—Premier Danilaw views the approach of the Jacob’s Ladder with dread. Behind the diplomatic niceties of first-contact protocol, he knows that the deadly game being played is likely to erupt into full-blown war—even civil war. For as he strives to chart a peaceful and prosperous path forward for his people, internal threats emerge to take control by any means necessary.

Elizabeth Bear have written some intriguing and fantastic science fiction lately. I hear her fantasy  is good too but I have only read a short story or two of that. Jacob’s Ladder is pure science fiction with a lot of fantasy references. I enjoyed the previous books Dust and Chill so this is very likely one of my books for next year.

Title: Grail
Series: Jacob’s Ladder
Author: Elizabeth Bear
Genre: Generation Ship Space Opera
Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Spectra Books (February 22, 2011)

Order from: RandomHouse | Amazon US | UK | B&N

No blurb yet but Elizabeth has an Epigraph:

And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.

And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.

You Might also want to check out the Jenny Casey Series by Elizabeth Bear.
1. Hammered
2. Scardown
3. Worldwired

This week’s Formidable Female Protagonists contain one of my favorite protagonists, Nimisha. Its fun researching the list; I pick up new books to read all the time. I got 47 more protagonists to go, got six more last week. The females are carefully selected by me, their names written on paper, folded and put in one of two bowls, one for new-to-me and one for read-by-me. I then select four read and one new-to-me and write about them. I am open to suggestions for more females to include.

1. Margaret Bain – Seven of One (Sheri S. Tepper)
2. Jenny Casey – Cyborg Pilot (Elizabeth Bear)
3. Nimisha Boynton-Rondymnse – First Family Castaway (Anne McCaffrey)
4. Freya Nakamachi-47 – Soulful Machine (Charles Stross)
5. Nausicaä – Ecological Princess (Hayao Miyazaki)

Margaret Bain – Seven of One

Books: The Margarets (2007)
Author: Sheri S. Tepper
Publisher: Eos (Harper Collins) 2007
Genre: Science Fiction | Fantasy | Space Opera

Margaret Bain grows up a lonely child on Martian moon Phobos and as many such kids she has make-believe friends. The friends include a healer, a telepath, a warrior, a linguist, a queen and a spy who had different names and lived on different worlds. The difference is that her friends come alive as extensions of her personality at different times in her life.

1. When Margaret is nine Wilvia is the first to split off when she meets her future husband Prince Jozire.
2. At twelve, she is on earth and is granted a water ration while another one of her imaginary splits off is not granted a water ration. She becomes the foster daughter of the being known as the Gardener on another planet.
3. At twenty-two another split occurs and one Margaret is sold as a bond slave.
4. Another Margaret marries the man who loves her and goes to the colony world Bright.
5. One Margaret is a shaman
6. The lone male of the split becomes a warrior.

Full of fascinating characters and beautifully detailed settings, Tepper’s complex and multifaceted far-future SF novel follows the many selves of Mars colonist Margaret Bain on a mission to save the human race from annihilation.

Humanity got the eternal hatred of tha foul-tempered Quaatar a long time ago when some pre-humans stowed away on one of their survey ship. Now humankind is at the brink of self-destruction through overpopulation and ecological collapse. The farsighted Gentherans have taken up the human cause within the Interstellar Trade Organization, but as Earthgov struggles to conform to ISTO’s enforced sterilization laws while trading excess children for offworld water, the Quaatar continue plotting to destroy humanity.

Only Margaret, a secret organization called the Third Order of the Siblinghood and the truth behind an old Gentheran folktale can stop the genocide and give humanity a future.

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Jenny Casey – Cyborg Pilot

Books: Hammered (2004), Scaredown (2004), Worldwired (2005)
Series: Jenny Casey Trilogy
Author: Elizabeth Bear
Publisher: Random House
Genre: Military Science Fiction | First Contact | Space Opera

Jenny Casey used to be a former retired Canadian special forces living in the hellish streets of Hartford, Connecticut. Earth is in shambles from environmental disasters. Jenny becomes a pawn in game of world dominance between Canada and China over being the first to reach the stars. In Hammered Jenny tries to survive, in Scardown she has to fly and in Worldwired she has to teach the aliens to talk with each other. The world is a bit noir and gritty as Elizabeth Bear likes to write.

Hammered

Jenny Casey is hiding from herself and the Canadian authorities in former USA. She is half metal since a war accident, now her metal half is acting up. And now her former handler wants her back so he sends her whacked out sister. Mix in an escaped AI and new technologies derived from alien space ships found on Mars and you have a very down to earth Space Opera. Jenny might be the only one that has the reaction time and the wiring to handle the new tech. But she will have to work for people she hates again and suffer another set of operations to replace her failing prophesies.

Scardown

For being about the world’s first FTL ship it’s a lot about earth and staying in orbit. More about the interesting alien tech is revealed in this novel. International tension rises as Canada and China race to be the first to fly faster than light. There are many aspects to this book. I like the ecological aspect and the aliens that comes to visit. I would hate to live in the world she paints, but it is very realistic.

Worldwired

The second book in the Jenny Casey Trilogy, Scaredown left the world on the brink of war just as the aliens arrived. World ecology is in scrambles after centuries of misuse and the PanChinese dropped a meteorite on Montreal, center of the Commonwealth since England sunk under the sea, causing further damage to an already fragile system. The world face a few years of darkness and cold before global warming kicks in with a vengeance. As a last resort Casey and company crashes one of the starships into the sea infecting the world with hacked alien nanites under the command of Richard, the AI.

Elizabeth Bear has an annoying habit of building up to a decisive point and then spending twenty pages talking about other stuff until you get any resolution. Otherwise it is good. It’s all good, it’s just frustrating sometimes. I think she does it just to tease us readers.

Wordwired is the final book in the Jenny Casey Trilogy, but I hope she will write more books in this universe and the people in it. The contact team tries to establish communication with the birdcage aliens and the shiptree aliens. Elizabeth has made up some really original aliens; I haven’t heard anything like the birdcage people before.

The AI’s Richard and his alter ego Andre try to save the planet from catastrophe while the sleazy political intrigue continues unabated. PanChina is responsible for the meteor hit on Canada and the Commonwealth wants them to pay. At the same time both countries are suffering from internal political conflicts. The Unitek Corporation play commonwealth against PanChina and uses the opposition in both countries to help. Unitek wants control of the alien nanotechnology.

Exellent series. Pity it’s over. Hmm, I need more books

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Nimisha Boynton-Rondymnse – First Family Castaway

Book: Nimsha’s Ship (1998)
Author: Anne McCaffrey
Publishers: Del Ray | Corgi Adult| Bantam Pres | Random Houses (UK) | Ballantine
Genre: Science Fiction | First Contact

This is one of my favorite Anne McCaffre books, mainly because of Nimisha’s charming personality, her competence and the emphasis on friendship and romance. The first contact situation and how it is resolved is also quite attractive. If you are new to Anne and into gritty fast paced adventure you should maybe start with her Pern stories.

On Vega III, Lady Nimisha Boynton-Rondymense loves the challenging world of her father, Lord Tionel, owner and principal starship designer of the famous Rondymense Ship Yards. Precociously gifted, Nimisha becomes his secret assistant–and, in the aftermath of a shocking tragedy, his chosen successor at the helm of the Ship Yards.

When Nimisha takes an experimental ship on a solo test flight, something goes horribly awry, marooning her light-years from home on a planet as deadly as it is beautiful. Now the ruthless members of a rival branch of the Rondymense family are given the chance they’ve been waiting for: to reclaim the Ship Yards by any means necessary.

Only Nimisha’s ingenious child, Cuiva, stands in their way. But for how long? For just when her daughter needs her most, Nimisha is in a precarious situation herself–and unable to help. But Nimisha has never given up in her life–and she’s not about to start now . . .

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Freya Nakamachi-47 – Soulful Machine

Book: Saturn’s Children
Author: Charles Stross
Publisher: Penguin
Genre: Science Fiction | Space Opera | Post human

Drunk on battery acid Freya consider jumping from the balcony of the pleasure palace floating in the stratosphere of Venus. It is the 200th anniversary of the extinction of her One True Love, the human race. Some bored Aristos stumbles on her there and take enough interest to start a fight. Annoyed and drunk Freya ripes the head off one of them. That particular Aristo take offence and promise to pay her back. Aristos is the name of the cruel slave owning class. Most of the robots are slaves and called arbeiters.

Freya is of a line of pleasure robots, the Rhea line that help each other out, they buy out indentured siblings and they also share memories of each other’s lives with memory chips. Freya has just put in Juliett’s chip and now she has to get off Venus before the aristo or his henchmen can find her. She is offered a job on Mercury that includes the travel there, she jumps on the opportunity.

After she lands on Venus and make the acquaintance of the sentient hotel she has a run in with some siblings of the offended aristo. Her new job turn out to be to work for the Jeeves Corporation as a courier carrying some organic matter in her womb, avoid the pink police (nice name), and deliver it to the recipient on Mars.

This is when it starts to heat up for her. She learns more about Julietta during her trip. There are enemy operators on the ship but she succeeds in avoiding them and the pink police. She is also more or less force-seduced by Aristo Granita Ford who turns out to be in league with the police.

The rest you have to read yourself.

This is another story about Freedom and self governance. It is thought provoking, action packed, seedy (at least some) and in an imaginative original world. I love it!

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Nausicaä – Ecological Princess

Comics: Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind 1-7 (2004)
Author: Hayao Miyazaki
Publisher: VIZ Media
Genre: Manga

Manga isn’t exactly new to me but it’s not something I usually reads, Nausicaä comes well recommended so I think I can include one as a teaser.

Nausicaä (ナウシカ Naushika?, pronounced [na.uɕika]) is a fictional character from the science fiction manga and anime film Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind created by Hayao Miyazaki. Nausicaä is the princess of the Valley of the Wind, a very small nation with fewer than 500 inhabitants (and steadily declining in population). She is the eleventh child of King Jihl, and the only one to live to maturity. She is rarely seen without her Mehve or her companion, Teto the fox-squirrel. In the legends of Dorok, she is also called “The Blue Clad One”.

Nausicaa is the gifted teenaged princess of a small valley on a devastated far-future Earth, where a growing poisonous forest is threatening the last human settlements. As an excellent gunship pilot, she is drawn by an old alliance into a war between neighboring kingdoms. But the pacifistic Nausicaa is much more interested in exploring the secrets of the forest. This complex ecological adventure epic – a true comics classic – is the only extended manga work by renowned anime director Miyazaki (Spirited Away). His lush, detailed art, reproduced here in sepia ink, is more reminiscent of European artists such as Moebius than of most manga, but manga fans will be drawn into the story nonetheless. Highly recommended for teens and adults alike, this tremendous series belongs in every library.

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Read Part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | index | afterword

I want to interest new people to Science Fiction, this vibrant genre of new ideas and wow moments, thus the 10010 Top Military Science Fiction Series and the new Formidable Female Protagonists in Science Fiction part 1, part 2 and part 3 in April.

I read 16 books in April, helped by the weather and  Easter holidays. As I am writing this, I see the brown grass, even some green grass coming out of the snow, there are still piles of snow lying around and our two weeks of spring is just around the corner.

Writing is fun, doing research for the articles is also fun as I had to go back to many of my favorites and recap a little of the adventures we had together. As a ‘punishment’  for that I got a long list of rereads to do, 20 something novels or series, sweet joy.

I am a bit backlogged when it comes to reviews but the unpublished ones are halfway finished or better, I dream of having a pile of 20 or so reviews ready for when ever I need them.

These are the most popular posts in April according to Google Analytics. I am a bit sad flickering pictures of SciFi is more popular than novels but I see where it is coming from.

1. Amazing New SF Short Film: The Raven
2. The Gates – an update on ABC’s New Supernatural Summer Show
3. Spielberg’s Untitled Alien Invasion Project – Pilot Review
4. Formidable Female Protagonists in Science Fiction part 2
5. Interesting TV Pilots Round Up
6. 10010 Top Military Science Fiction Series
7. Formidable Female Protagonists in Science Fiction Part 1
8. New Science Fiction Books in May 2010 there is a revised list up now
9. Trends in Current Science Fiction part 4
10. Casts for upcoming CW fantasy drama Betwixt

My backlog of reviews finished in April:

1. The Crucible of Empire by Eric Flint & K. D. Wentworth (Jao Empire 2)
2. Coyote Destiny by Allen Steele (Coyote Chronicles 2)
3. Trade of Queens by Charles Stross (Merchant Princes 6)
4. Gardens of the Sun by Paul McAuley (The Quiet War 2) review on Temple Library Review
5. The Myriad by R. M. Meluch (Tour of the Merrimack 1)
6. Wolf  Star by R. M. Meluch (Tour of the Merrimack 2)
7. Pleasure Model by Chrisopher Rowley (Netherworld 1) review on Temple Library Review

Books read this month:

1. Dust by Elizabeth Bear (Jacob’s Ladder 1)
2. Chill by Elizabeth Bear (Jacob’s Ladder 2)
3. Shadow of the Scorpion by Neal Asher (an Agent Cormac novel)
4. Grindlinked by Neal Asher (Agent Cormac 1)
5. The Line of the Polity by Neal Asher (Agent Cormac 2)
6. Brass Man by Neal Asher (Agent Cormac 3)
7. Quarter Share by Nathan Lowell (Golden Age of the Solar Clipper 1) – audio book
8. Half Share by Nathan Lowell (Golden Age of the Solar Clipper 2) – audio book
9. Full Share by Nathan Lowell (Golden Age of the Solar Clipper 3) – audio book
10. Double Share by Nathan Lowell (Golden Age of the Solar Clipper 4) – audio book
11. Captain’s Share by Nathan Lowell (Golden Age of the Solar Clipper 5) – audio book
12. The Sagittarius Command by R. M. Meluch (Tour of the Merrimack 3)
13. Strength and Honor by R. M. Meluch (Tour of the Merrimack 4)
14. A Mighty Fortress by David Weber (Safehold 4)
15. South Coast by Nathan Lowell (A Shaman’s Tale in the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper) – audiobook
16. Primary Inversion Catherine Asaro (Saga of the Skolian Empire 1)

I listen to a number of short stories mainly from my list of Science Fiction Podcasts and one stood out:

• His Master’s Voice By Hannu Rajaniemi on Escape Pod 227 a Review

I curse the postal services in multiple countries as the books I ordered takes forever to arrive. How is it possible that a single book in an ‘envelope’ can takes 30 days from the US or in some cases even from UK to Sweden at this age? These books arrived this month (bought by me) some even on time, that’s what makes it so hard to understand why some doesn’t.

1. Necromancer by Eric Brown (Bengali Station 1)
2. Strength and Honor by R. M. Meluch (Tour of the Merrimack 3)
3. The Sagittarius Command by R. M. Meluch (Tour of the Merrimack 4)
4. A Mighty Fortress by David Weber (Safehold 4)
5. The Orphaned Worlds by Michael Cobley (Humanity’s Fire)
6. Deliverer by C. J. Cherryh (Foreigner 9)

Don’t miss my series of

This is my totally biased list of the top military science fiction series of our time. These are the ones I found entertaining to read and reread. My focus is as always the characters and the wow moments. Thats why there is lots of space opera here. I have followed some of the authors here for decades others for just a few years. They are all good, the focus in there books lies on different things though.

I like binary counting it seems. Counting down from 10001 in seventeen steps.

Edit: I added RCN, which I love but forgot.

10010. RCN is about Captain Daniel Leary and his friend the formidable Adele Mundy and their military adventures aboard the Heavy Cruiser RCS Milton. David Drake rewrite historical battles and wars and make beautiful military science fiction out of it.The next Royal Cinnabar Navy book to come out is What Distant Deeps that will be out in September 2010. I read RCN 7: In the Stormy Red Sky about a year ago before I started doing reviews.

10001. Starfire Series – is built on a board strategy wargame about interstellar conquest. A survey fleet travels trough a previously uncharted wormhole and run into a hive-like speice called the Bugs, all communications attempts fail and the Bugs ambush the fleet and launch an invasion against the Terran federation and nearby powers. In the center of the series is the arms race with the bugs. Later in the series there are other opponents. Solid political and military technology world building if somewhat weaker in character building by David Weber and Steve White. The fifth book Exodus is written by Steve White and Shirley Meier.

10000. Confederation of Valor – is about the futuristic career of a non commissioned officer fighting aliens for the elder races in the alliance. There is a secret behind the scenes that are gradually revealed. The Protagonist Staff Sergeant Torin Kerr keep her space marines and and superiors alive. Tanya Huff writes good characters and the dialog is to die for. My reviews of the first four books, there is a fifth book The Truth of Valor coming out in september 2010.

01111. Jenny Casey - used to be a former retired Canadian special forces living in the hellish streets of Hartford, Connecticut. Earth is in shambles from environmental disasters. Jenny becomes a pawn in game of world dominance between Canada and China over being the first to reach the stars. In Hammered Jenny tries to survive, in Scardown she has to fly and in Worldwired she has to teach the aliens to talk with each other. The world is a bit noir and gritty as Elizabeth Bear likes to write.

01110. Major Ariadne Kedros – is a woman with a dark military past working as a surveyor. Her past catches up with her, both from old enemies and old friends. The world is built on Greek culture with the dominating race being the Minoans called so because they share symbols with the Greek. Temporal buoy’s play a significant part in the story as well as their weaponization. Laura E. Reeve is the creator of this resourceful and guilt ridden heroine. The third book Pathfinder is out this summer.

01101. Aldenata universe – Posleen War | Cally’s War | Hedren War – takes place in a world where an ancient race, the Aldenata uplifted a number of races, screwing them up at the same time. The only race not uplifted is the humans. When the galactic society is attacked by the ferocious Posleen there is a need for someone that can fight so they turn to the humans, who they fear almost as much as the Posleen. The O’Neal clan unite the different series. The redheaded feisty warrior princess Cally stands out together with her war hero father Mike. It’s John Ringo’s universe and he cooperate with Tom Kratman, Mikael Z. Wiliamson and Julie Cochrane there. This is also another example of a series where other races taking advantage of the human race’s ability to fight.

01100. Stellar Marines Universe – Heritage Trilogy | Legacy Trilogy | Inheritage Trilogy – is Ian Douglas Stellar Marines family saga. The Garroways fight in the sands of Mars to the Magellanic Cloud. Humanity is on the brink of extinction time after time as they fight the Xul, a galaxy spanning race of xenophobics. Built on ‘Hard science’. Ian Douglas is really a pseudonym for William H.Keith.

01011. Tour of the Merrimack – is about the  finest battleship in Earth’s fleet and its crew.The series’ arc about how to deal with the ravenous Hive, a race of space traveling insects that devour all life they come across. In The Myriad the Mack was out looking for the Hive’s Home world when they stumbled on the time traveling aliens who eventually caused the universe to throw them into an alternative reality to avoid paradox. In Wolf Star the war between Earth and the New Roman Empire is going at full blast and Merrimack is in a deep strike mission behind enemy lines when they meet the Hive again and the Romans have to bow down and admit they need help. In the Sagittarius Command they go after the cause. I love Rebeca M. Meluch’s characters.

01010. Dahak Series – Earths Moon is in reality a gigantic camouflaged battleship who’s crew become the human race. This is discovered by a lone human astronaut that has to face the ancient ship’s computer Dahak. It’s not enough that he has to deal with mutineers that survived in Antarctica, he also has to do with an onslaught of hordes of genocidal aliens and traitors. David Weber is at his best in this awesome space opera

01001. Empire of Man – Prince Roger is a failure and a brat when his starship is sabotaged and he and his company of marine bodyguards has to land on the other side of an hostile planet and walk all the way to the star port on the other side. Wonderful four armed aliens, an epic journey and a prince that becomes a man and the soldiers that fights with him. Nice technological progression from stone age to space age. Written by John Ringo and David Weber.

01000. Lost Fleet - The Alliance has been fighting the Syndics for a century – and losing badly. Now its fleet is crippled and stranded in enemy territory. Their only hope is a man who’s emerged from a century-long hibernation to find he had been heroically idealized beyond belief . Captain John ‘Black Jack’ Geary’s legendary exploits are known to every schoolchild. Appalled by the hero-worship around him, Geary is nevertheless a man who will do his duty. And he knows that bringing the stolen Syndic hypernet key safely home is the Alliance’s one chance to win the war. But to do that, Geary will have to live up to the impossibly heroic ‘Black Jack’ legend. Victorious the final book in the series is out now in April. Written by Jack Campbell

00111. Seafort Saga - is built on C. S. Forester’s novels about Horatio Hornblower and written by David Feintush. The books are set in a future human society that is largely dominated by unified Christianity. The main protagonist is a naval officer who strives always to do his duty, both to the navy and to his God, at great personal cost. Beside the personal story there is an interesting race of fish like aliens central to the story.

00110. Kris Longknife – is about a formidable woman with a knack for getting in trouble and getting out. She is one of them Longknifes and if life wasn’t enough complicated being an officer in the navy, the society of humanity dissolve and her grandpa is named King making her a reluctant princess. The Peterwald family with their long standing grudge with the Longknife set up their own little pocket empire and starts to make life for Kris and her family difficult. Lots of humor, fantastic characters by Mike Shepherd. The next book Redoubtable will be out in November this year.

00101. The Vorkosigan Saga - is about Miles and his mother Cordelia Naismith. It begins with Cordelia’s military career and the unlikely love story between her and Miles father. Miles is crippled in vitro by an assassination attempt but grows up to a crippled formidable interstellar spy and mercenary admiral. Lois has modeled the series after Hortio Hornblower with a taste of Lord Peter Wimsey. The novels stand alone pretty well but benefit from each other. Another Miles novel, CryoBurn is coming later this year. Written by Lois McMaster Bujold.

00100. Safehold – is the world where humanity hides from extermination from the Gbaba, something went wrong thou, the leaders of the colony reprogrammed the colonists in cold sleep creating a medieval world ruled by the church and themselves as Angles. When a fraction tries to revive advanced technology they are ruthlessly exterminated by orbital strikes. 800 years later their second line of defense wakes up. Nimue Alban is an android with the mind and memories of a long dead starship captain. Her mission is to restore civilization and prepare Man for the inevitable re-encounter with the Gbaba. David Weber’s knowledge in history comes to life in this beautiful military saga. The latest novel A Mighty Fortress is out this April (it arrived April 20 for me).

00011. Family’s Regnant universe – Heris Serrano Trilogy | Esmay Suiza continuation | Suiza and Serrano - is about two formidable females Heris Serrano of an old navy family and Esmay Suiza of an old army family. Characters easy to love and formidable old ladies. Much of the driving force for conflict in this universe comes from longevity treatments. Those who get it and will live long life, those who fear the consequences or those who wont wait their turn. Elizabeth Moon is an amazing crafter of characters and worlds.

00010. Honor Harrington is about a competent man kind of military woman with an empath treecat called Nimitz that becomes the foremost military commander of her time battling expansionist empires and human slavers. She is called the Salamander because she thrives in the heat of battle. There are so far eleven books in the series that starts with On Basilisk Station and the next book Mission of Honor will be out this summer. The series is written by David Weber and the success so far have lead to two sub series Saganami and Wages of Sin. The first written together with Eric Flint.

00001. Old Man’s War start with protagonist John Perry joining the army on his seventy-fifth birthday and goes off to fight in The Colonial Defence Force where he meets the love of his life, fight aliens, become leader of a colony and in general make himself useful. I am afraid to tell you much about this series because I so enjoyed the surprise  I got as piece after piece fell in place. John Scalzi is one of my favorite authors, I love his characters and his humor.

And before you say how could he miss Hammer Slammers, I didn’t. I tried to read them a couple of times but never really fell for it. Bolo is another ‘series’ that I considered but I feel its less a series and more of a loose concept even if i love them. I have probably missed some, because I haven’t read them, so as usual give me a comment, I love to get to know more military science fiction series.

Title: Chill
Author: Elizabeth Bear
Series: Jacob’s Ladder
Cover art: Philip Lee Harvey
Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Spectra Feb 2010
Order: Spectra | Amazon US | UK | B&N

Sometimes the greatest sin is survival.

The generation ship Jacob’s Ladder has barely survived cataclysms from without and within. Now, riding the shock wave of a nova blast toward an uncertain destiny, the damaged ship—the only world its inhabitants have ever known—remains a war zone. Even as Perceval, the new captain, struggles to come to terms with the traumas of her recent past, the remnants of rebellion aboard the ship still threaten the crew’s survival.

Yet as Perceval’s relatives Tristen and Benedick play a deadly game of cat and mouse in pursuit of a traitor through a vast ship that is renewing itself in strange and dangerous ways, an even more insidious threat is building in a place no one ever thought to look. And this implacable enemy could change the face of the ship forever if a ragtag band of heroes cannot stop it.

I went into Chill with somewhat less expectations than Dust. The ship AI were reintegrated by Rien, one of the characters i rooted for in Dust, making her sister Percival the new captain. I am always unhappy when a main character I root for is removed, but to my surprise it worked quite well here. Perceval is distraught by grief and shrink back from what is needed to do and it is up to the reintegrated angel to bring her out again.

The ship is about 43% operational after surviving the Nova blast. They start to restore the Dead. Original ship crew who where frozen eons ago are restored in mind but in new bodies. Seeing how they react to what have happened to the ship is interesting and I would have liked to see more of that. The restoration doesn’t go all well, there is blind areas Perceval can’t connect to and they start to grow.

The plot centers around Tristen and Benedick. Tristen is one of the reawakened Dead. He woke to a broken body and ship to become the new 1st Mate. We glimpsed Benedick Conn, the father of Perceval and Rien in Dust, here we get to know him better. The story is basically a long hunt for their old enemy Arianrhod where they discover new areas on the ship, meet some of the result of the forced evolution and devolution that has taken place.

Gavin and Mallory start to rebuild the tree library is an interesting side story that greatly helps building the lore.

Some of the medieval Saga feeling of Dust is gone in Chill and it becomes more of a traditional adventure in my mind even if there is a ‘dragon’ at the end of the quest. Chill is a good read but feels a bit short, Tristen and Benedick tracking Arianhod could have benefited from a bit of faster pace while the end happens very fast. But this could also be me getting down from the High of Dust, second books in a great series have a tendency to do that to me. I don’t know when the third book, Grail will be out, my guess is 2011 and I can’t wait to get it.

The generation ship that looses it’s purpose have been done before but Elizabeth Bear’s take on it feels different and new. There are still many secrets about the Builders, the ship and the world around them to lay bare, some are revealed in Chill but we have to wait for Grail before we hopefully learn the whole truth.

Chill is a good read inside the bigger lore of the Jacob’s Ladder’s Trilogy but you should read Dust first. I do recommend the series, it got great ideas and the blend of medieval saga and trans human technology gives a flair of LOTR meets The Diamond Age.

Title: Dust
Author: Elizabeth Bear
Series: Jakob’s Ladder 1
Genre: Science Fiction
Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Spectra (December 26, 2007)
Order: Amazon US | UK | B&N

On a broken ship orbiting a doomed sun, dwellers have grown complacent with their aging metal world. But when a serving girl frees a captive noblewoman, the old order is about to change….

Ariane, Princess of the House of Rule, was known to be fiercely cold-blooded. But severing an angel’s wings on the battlefield—even after she had surrendered—proved her completely without honor. Captive, the angel Perceval waits for Ariane not only to finish her off—but to devour her very memories and mind. Surely her gruesome death will cause war between the houses—exactly as Ariane desires. But Ariane’s plan may yet be opposed, for Perceval at once recognizes the young servant charged with her care.

Rien is the lost child: her sister. Soon they will escape, hoping to stop the impending war and save both their houses. But it is a perilous journey through the crumbling hulk of a dying ship, and they do not pass unnoticed. Because at the hub of their turning world waits Jacob Dust, all that remains of God, following the vapor wisp of the angel. And he knows they will meet very soon.

Worldbuilding is one of Elizabeth Bears strong traits, this is completly different from Hammered her first novel. But it is a fantastic believable futuristic world she places this story in too.

The world is a generation ship sent out for something of a breeding program to achieve something better than human. Something went wrong a long time ago, there is hints of some kind of battle that left the ship in ruin. I hope we will learn more of the Builders in the next two books in this trilogy.

The society on the ship have become very stratified with means being more or less slaves to the Exalts. The Exalts power depend on their nano enhancements giving them superhuman power, ability to survive the Enemy (vacuum), and long life. While the means live short and miserable life under medieval conditions.

The story start out in a primitive medieval society with Rien, a servant girl bringing food to a prisoner but soon change to something trans human. The prisoner is an Exalted about to be absorbed by Ariane in the morning. Nano technology takes a large part in the world of this story.

The plot is complex with many players but the main objective is to save the ship when the sun  is about to explode. The question is rather who will take charge. But we don’t know much about that in the beginning.

The main power fractions among the humans are The House of Rule, what’s left of the Bridge and they fight Engine. The two sisters set out to stop the war between them. But there are more players than that. The ship systems broke down at some stage and fractured into autonomous subsystems that most of the time is so advanced that they become individuals by their own power. As catastrophe loom the fight among the subsystems about who is going to absorb the others and control the ship becomes vicious. This is what the sisters are drawn into.

This might sound very technological but Elizabeth Bear blend in medieval mythology,  sword wielding knights, magical swords, mythical creatures and angels all built on hard science, to enhance the story to in my opinion great success.

The characters are well developed and easy to like especially Perceval and Rien.

Dust is a medieval saga about Jacob’s Ladder, the one described in Genesis that leads to Heaven, played out on a doomed generation ship in the far future. It is a thrilling blend of myths and technology and in general a good read. I would read it only for the inventive use of technology, but the story and the characters are intriguing too.

I was on holiday since Wednesday with a lot of reading getting done and I have finished a couple of really good books and written a review of Elizabeth Moon’s Oath of Fealty and one of The Crucible of Empire by Eric Dlint and K. D. Wentworth.

I also did the usual end of/start of month posts:

• New Science Fiction Books in April 2010 Revisited
• Ove’s Monthly Journal March 2010

To make life easier for others to find good and especially new science fiction books I also made my previous private Links page public, use it to make your own favorite new books lists.

Upcoming Reviews:

• The Trade of Queens by Charles Stross (Merchant Princes 6) read last week
• Gardens of the Sun by Paul McAuley (The Quiet War 2) read last week, review on Temple Library Reviews Tuesday April 6.
• The Myriad by R. M. Meluch (Tour of the Merrimack 1) read last week
• Wolf Star by R. M. Meluch (Tour of the Merrimack 2) read last week
• Coyote Destiny by Allen Steele (Coyote Chronicles 2)
• Dust by Elizabeth Bear (Jakob’s Ladder 1)
• Chill by Elizabeth Bear (Jakob’s Ladder 2)
• Shadow of the Scorpion by Neal Asher (an agent Cormac novel)
• Gridlocked by Neal Asher (Agent Cormac 1)

I usually update the TV Pilot Roundup every day and make a post of it if it’s news worthy.

There will be micro recaps from David Weber’s upcoming books A Mighty Fortress and Mission of Honor on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I try to keep them spoiler free. A Mighty Fortress is soon to be published so there is only a few days left on it.

I will try to finish a new posts for Trends in Current Science Fiction this week. Last week I wrote about Reality TV.

And a review of Caprica’s spring finale (it will be back September 17) is still around the corner, I just have to watch it first.

A Review of Fringe and Stargate Universe’s returns from hiatus is also expected during the week.

Monday you will get What’s New or Returning on TV This Week .

Tuesday I will guest blog on Temple Library Reviews with a review of Gardens of the Sun by Paul McAuley.

Don’t forget Walker of Worlds Sci-Fi Appreciation Month during April.

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

2. Environmental Disaster Earth

With all talks about global warming it’s not surprising that many current science fiction writers have taken that idea and run with it all the way to disasters that threatens life as we know it. This is a contrast to the world spanning cities of technological marvels or interstellar empires of old.

Some goes the way of the ultimate disaster that wipes out all life on earth. Ben Eaton might be a Comedian but his novel Stark is an excellent example of  such a book. Most writers stop short of killing off the human race though, it makes for a better story if there is a few left to tell it.

Karen Travis has a different twist in her Wess’har Wars Series (City of Pearl, Crossing the Line, The World Before, Matriarch, Ally, Judge) . Here we meet aliens that are making a eco-jihad on the universe. It is interesting how they approach the restoration of earth.

The Windup Girl is another resent novel that has environmental disasters, this time its caused by calorie companies that releases plagues to destroy non patented seeds and to achieve monopoly on food. It doesn’t work out as intended instead it plunges the world into an even worse recession when the diseases mutate and start to affect animals and humans.

In many stories it is just a convenient backdrop to the story telling like in Elizabeth Bears Hammered or David J. Williams’ Mirrored Heaven and in others it’s a major part of the plot as in The Quiet War by Paul McAuley. Allen Steele’s Coyote Series also comes to mind somewhere in between.

There are fewer examples from television here, and usually the disasters portrayed here are more direct a nuclear strike, a virus or poison that kills off most of the human race and we get to follow the Survivors like in the tv series with the same name.

Blade Runner with its acid rain is maybe one of the lighter ones in this genre, Waterworld and the Mad Max Trilogy are other examples of earth after an environmental disaster, in the movie about the cute little robot Wall-E, earth is covered in garbage. The road is another example where an unexplained disaster kills most of the humans and plants don’t grow any more.

What do you think? There are many more examples out there, why don’t you add yours as a comment?

Index:

1. Nanotechnology
2. Enviromental disaster
3. Singularity
4. Reality TV

Sources:

• Liz Jensen’s top 10 environmental disaster stories (the Guardian)
• 9 Best Echo Apocalyptic Films of All Time

These are the best books i have read for the very first time in 2009. There was quit a few authors I discovered 2009, and many of them are already favorites. To mention some of them John Scalzi of course he is my favorite of the year, Jaine Fenn is another strong new author, Elisabeth Bear is much better than the covers of her books, Laura E. Reeve with her strong Greek influence and Tony Bellantyne with his robot series is novel to say the least. I don’t doubt for a second I have missed some of this years greatest new authors and books. I would love to read them if you tell me about them.

1. Old Man’s War Series by John Scalzi (Old Man’s War, The Ghost Brigade The Last Colony, Zoe’s Tale)
2. The Graveyard Book by Niel Gaiman
3. Storm from the Shadows by David Weber (Saganami 2)
4. The Anderoid’s Dream by John Scalzi
5. Mote in God’s Eye by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
6. By Heresies Distressed by David Weber (Safehold 3)
7. Torch of Freedom by Eric Flint & David Weber (Wages of Sin 2)
8. Saturn’s Children by Charles Stross 
9. The Dispossessed by Ursula Le Guin(Eukmen 5) 
10. The Magicans’ Guild by Trudi Canavan (The Black Magician 1)
11. The Sidhe Series by Jaine Fenn (Principles of Angels, Consorts of Heaven)
12. Mothership by John Brosnan(Mothership 1)
13. Undaunted by Mike Shepherd (Kris Longknife 7)
14. The Coyote Series by Allen Steel
15. 1632 by Eric Flint (Ring of fire 1)
16. Empire Series by Richard Allen Stotts (Midshipman, Heir to the Throne, Majesty, Acheon, Citizen of the Empire) – All are Free Online Books
17. Relentless by Jack Campell (The Lost Fleet 5)
18. Southern Vampires Series (1-9) by Charlene Harris the inspirationt to True Blood the TV Series 
19. Seeds of Earth by Michael Cobley (Humanity’s Fire 1)
20.  The Jenny Casey Series by Elizabet Bear (Hammered, Scaredown, Worldwired) 

The Best Re-Read Books of 2009

1. Remnant Polulation by Elizabeth Moon - This is the best First Contact book I ever read. It might be the best book.
2. Honor Harrington Series (1-11) by David Weber
3. Kris Longknife Series (1-7) by Mike Shepherd

Interesting and Notable Books not on the list 2009

• The Wess’har Wars Series by Karen Travis
• The Merchant Princes Series by Charles Stross
• Contact With Chaos by Michael Z. Williamsson
• The Lost Xuyan Bride by Aliette de Bodard
• Twisted Metal by Tony Ballantyne
• Pushing Ice by Alastair Reynolds
• Jennifer Government by Max Barry
• Major Ariane Kedros Series by Laura E Reeve

WorldWiredby Elizabeth Bear (Jenny Casey 3), the two previous books where much better than the cover implies (the cover art is awful)

The Wess’har Wars Series by Karen Travis

1. City of Pearl
2. Crossing the Line
3. World Before
4. Matriarch
5. Ally
6. Judge

I so hope I’m gonna like Karen. I haven’t read anything by her before, but she comes with good recommendations.

I leave to read City of Pearl now.

For being about the worlds first FTL ship its a lot about earth and staying in orbit.

More about the interesting alien tech is revealed in this novel. International tension rises as Canada and China race to be the first.

There are many aspects to this book, I like the ecological aspect and the aliens that comes to visit. I would hate to live in the world she paints, but it is very realistic.

Jenny Casey is hiding from herself and the Canadian authorities in former USA. She is half metal since a war accident, now her metal half is acting up. And now her former handler wants her back so he sends her whacked out sister.

Mix in an escaped AI and new technologies derived from alien space ships found on Mars and you have a very down to earth Space Opera.

Jenny might be the only one that has the reaction time and the wiring to handle the new tech. But she will have to work for people she hates again and suffer another set of operations to replace her failing prophesies.

It is much better than the cover.