Stargate Universe 1.18 – Subversion

May 222010

Stargate Universe is one of my favorites and this episode proved me right. It’s setting the scene for the season finale. This episode goes back to the first episode and what happens here explains a lot of what we saw then. It is about treason/mind control and the Lucian Alliance (read about it on stargate.wikia.com). The Incursion Part One starts next week.

Worldbuilding

We learn something about the Lucian Alliance, they knew about Icarus and Destiny beforehand. Now they are trying to take it over again. According to Rush they are a human coalition made up of various Milky Way planets formed in the power vacuum left behind by the Goa’uld. They’re criminals, mostly… Street gangs with spaceships. But it seems that they might be something more, and they might even have some right in their complains that the Terrans take it all for themselves and don’t share, at least that is what Kiva says.

Plot

Dr Rush is disturbed by haunting dreams of handing secrets over to Lucian Alliance spies on Earth then he sees himself reflected in a window, he is Colonel Telford. He tells Young and convinces him to let him take the next stone to Earth to find out the truth. Young doesn’t trust Rush so he goes after and tells General O’Neal who sends Dr Jackson another old SG-1 member to follow him.

Rush sets up a meeting but is exposed almost immediately, captured and taken off Earth on a Lucian cargo ship and tortured by Commander Kira until he reveal his identity. He is then taken to a gate world similar to Icarus where they have setup operations to dial Destiny. Everyone on the Lucian side might not be on the same side, one guy behaves suspiciously. Rush is forced to help them.

While Rush is being tortured Telford goes straight to Camile Wray, Is she a Lucian spy too? That would explain a lot. Eventually Young confronts him, interrogate him and even fight him but he doesn’t get him to tell the truth until he brings General O’Neal aboard.

All this not knowing gets the civilians nervous and without information they seem to assume the worst and rumors fly around. The failed revolution is not forgotten. I wonder if there are more Lucian spies on Destiny? They knew about Icarus on forehand thanks to Colonel Telford, they might have slipped in a group of infiltrators. That would help to explain why they in my opinion overreact and try to take over the ship.

Characterization

TJ’s baby shower unites the crew. It is heart breaking how they craft little gifts for her child.TJ is still worried and Chloe tries to comfort her. Alaina Huffman continues to convince as pregnant medical officer.

Commander Kiva played by Rhona Mitra would be a wonderful addition to Destiny. She is hot and interesting and she believes she is doing the right thing. I am a reasonable person that only tries to do the best for my people she tells Rush while he is being tortured. You make a terrible first impression he replies. I am afraid it is most likely that she will only be on for a few episodes and then as the enemy but a man can always wish ( I know she has a role on The Gates this summer as a vampire housewife so she might not have the time anyway).

Master Sergeant Greer had some anger issues this episode too, when he almost beat Telford to death. That is a man about to explode.

Young continues to fight with his demons. The way he orders the others to stay out of it when he tortures Rush shows leadership. He doesn’t want to do it but he can’t see any other way. It is especially clear when he in the end tries to force the truth out of Telford by opening his cabin to space while he forces himself to watch.

I am starting to like more and more of the crew, Greer, Young and TJ especially. I can’t say I like Rush as a character but he is interesting and more understandable now and well played.

Trivia

They showed one of the best science fiction books ever as a tribute to the author John Scalzi there when Rush asked the escort if he was okay staying in the car and he showed him The Old Man’s War (read my review) . John Scalzi is a Creative consultant for the show. He also has an impressive blog with SGU discussions called whatever.

My View

Good episode with lots of interesting stuff happening that ties back even before the series started and it all starts to come together. We are getting more and more of the big picture. The Lucian Alliance are about to try to take over the Destiny. This can go in many ways, they might succeed (at least for a while) or they might fail or Stargate Command might even be able to use the gate to keep contact with Destiny. I love SGU and it keeps getting better and better.

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10010 Top Military Science Fiction Series

Books 6 Responses »

Apr 212010

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.

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Formidable Female Protagonists in Science Fiction Part 1

Books 1 Response »

Apr 162010

Welcome to my new Friday series on Formidable Female Protagonists in Science Fiction. One thing I enjoy reading about in science fiction is strong female protagonists and I would like to present some of them so you might get to know them too. I like lists, and I have assembled a long list to pick from so you can expect five new examples of the ’stronger’ sex every Friday for the next ten weeks.

This week they are:

Alicia DeVries – Cadre and Fury (David Weber)
Terese Drajeske – Ex Field Commander & Mother (C. L. Andersen)
Mackensie Elizabeth Winifred Wright Connor Sol (Julie E. Czerneda)
Zoe Boutin Perry – Teenager & Holy Icon (John Scalzi)
Parrish Plessis - Postapocalyptic Bodyguard (Marianne de Pierres)

There is also undiscovered Formidable Female Protagonists out there that you can recommend to me in comments to this post, please.

Alicia DeVries – Cadre and Fury

Book: Path of the Fury (1992), In Fury Born (extended version, 2006)
Author: David Weber
Publisher: Baen

Path of the Fury starts when her family is killed while In Fury Born is an extended version that starts with her being recruited as a potential Cadre trainee. Alicia DeVries is a good example of a formidable female protagonist in a Military setting. She is very talented, bound by her honor and quickly rises through the ranks while putting her life on the line for her Empire. I would recommend that you go for the extended version with the background story to why she becomes one of the Furies. The books are really entertaining and funny.

Imperial Intelligence couldn’t find them, the Imperial Fleet couldn’t catch them, and local defenses couldn’t stop them. It seemed the planet-wrecking pirates were invincible. But they made a big mistake when they raided ex-commando leader Alicia DeVries’ quiet home, tortured and murdered her family, and then left her for dead. Alicia decided to turn ‘pirate’ herself, and stole a cutting-edge AI ship from the Empire to start her vendetta. Her fellow veterans think she’s gone crazy, the Imperial Fleet has shoot-on-sight orders. And of course the pirates want her dead, too. But Alicia DeVries has two allies nobody knows about, allies as implacable as she is: a self-aware computer, and a creature from the mists of Old Earth’s most ancient legends. And this trio of furies won’t rest until vengeance is served.

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Terese Drajeske – Ex Field Commander & Mother

Novel: Bitter Angels (2009)
Author: C. L. Anderson (Sarah Zettel)
Publisher: Random House

Terese Drajeske is a different kind of formidable, she is competent, reluctant to enter service again and more than a little bit cynical about it. But she also have a talent for it. Read my review

An Imploding Star System.
A Murdered Galactic Spy.
A Woman Seeking the Truth—and Finding the Unbelievable…

The Erasmus System is a sprawling realm of slavery, smugglers, spies—and constant, creeping decrepitude. Here everyone who is not part of the ruling Four Families is a slave of one kind or another. But the Guardians, a special-forces branch inside the United World Government for Earth, have deemed Erasmus a “hot spot.” Somehow, it is believed, this failing colony intends to launch a war upon the solar system.

Ex-Field Commander Terese Drajeske, now a mother of three, has been called back to active duty and sent to Erasmus, ostensibly to investigate the murder of her colleague—and friend—Bianca Fayette. At first blush, the death defies explanation: Bianca was immortal. But beneath that single murder lies a twisted foundation of deceptions. Suddenly Terese is plunged into a vortex of shattered lives, endemic deceit, and one dreadful secret. In this society without hope, someone has put into motion a plan that will cast humanity into chaos. And Terese, who has given up her family and her sanity to prevent war, may be asked to make the ultimate sacrifice….

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Mackensie Elizabeth Winifred Wright Connor Sol

Books: Survival (2005), Migration (2006), Regeneration (2007)
Series: Species Imperative Trilogy
Author: Julie E. Czerneda
Publisher: DAW

Mack is one of my favorite characters. She is down to earth, a researcher thrown into an alien situation that just handle the situation as any problem she is used to. Humor and suspense also helps. The Species Imperative trilogy forms a circle and the Sinzi (a leading alien race) have a thing for circles. It’s a great story with a successfully told Big Idea, the characters are to love, and the science is beautifully and skillfully presented by Julie E. Czerneda. Read my reviews: Survival, Migration and Regeneration

Survival: When her Field Base is mysteriously attacked, Dr. Mackenzie Connor must flee for her life. Joining forces with an alien archaeologist, she escapes to his planet on a quest to find a defense against the unknown agressor-before they launch a full-scale invasion of Earth.

Migration: Dr. Mackenzie Connor races against time to help the Interspecies Union devise a plan to prevent an interstellar enemy from conquering world after world.

Regeneration: With the alien Dhryn cutting a pathway through the inhabited spaceways-bringing about the annihilation of many of the races who have the misfortune to lie along the star trail they are following-time is running out for all sentient life-forms. Can biologists Mackenzie Connor and Emily Mamami solve the riddle of the Dhryn before their part of the galaxy becomes as dead as the mysterious region known as the Chasm?

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Zoe Boutin Perry – Teenager & Holy Icon

Book: Zoe’s Tale
Series: Old Man’s War Universe
Author: John Scalzi
Publisher: Tor Books

Zoë Boutin Perryis the 17-year old adopted daughter of John Perry and Jane Sagan, two former-soldiers-turned-colonists. Her biological father, Charles Boutin, created a device capable of giving a race of creatures, called the Obin, consciousness. The Obin worshipped him, but he was killed for being a traitor to mankind and wanting to overthrow the colonial Union, and so his daughter, Zoë, became a demigod to them. A strong YA novel.

How do you tell your part in the biggest tale in history?

I ask because it’s what I have to do. I’m Zoe Boutin Perry: A colonist stranded on a deadly pioneer world. Holy icon to a race of aliens. A player (and a pawn) in an interstellar chess match to save humanity, or to see it fall. Witness to history. Friend. Daughter. Human. Seventeen years old.

Everyone on Earth knows the tale I am part of. But you don’t know my tale: How I did what I did — how I did what I had to do — not just to stay alive but to keep you alive, too. All of you. I’m going to tell it to you now, the only way I know how: not straight but true, the whole thing, to try make you feel what I felt: the joy and terror and uncertainty, panic and wonder, despair and hope. Everything that happened, bringing us to Earth, and Earth out of its captivity. All through my eyes.

It’s a story you know. But you don’t know it all.

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Parrish Plessis - Post Apocalyptic Bodyguard

Every week I intend to introduce a new-to-me heroine, that both you and me might be tempted to try. Parrish Plessis comes highly recommended as a kick-ass cyberpunk heroine. The Parrish Plessis series is a SF action adventure set in future Australia. According to the author it is multi layered text, offering a combination of thrills and spills and social satire.

Marianne de Pierres is also known for her Sentients of Orion series.

Book: Nylon Angel (2005), Code Noir (2006), Crash Deluxe (2007)
Series: Parrish Plessis
Author: Marianne de Pierres, Marianne Pierres
Publisher: Roc books (US) | Orbit books (UK)
Cover art: Larry Rostant

Nylon Angel: Nylon Angel introduces a startling new femme fatale and all-around bad girl.

While trying to send her sadistic boss to death row, she finds herself sheltering a suspect in the murder of newsgirl Razz Retribution. In a world run by the media, the truth isn’t relevant-it’s bad for ratings. Which is why Parrish finds herself tagged for the murder-and up to her tricked-out leather tank top in trouble.

Code Noir: The Tert war is over, and bodyguard Parrish Plessis has gotten a piece of the toxic pie-and the responsibilities that go along with it. To pay off a blood debt to the Cabal Coomera tribe, she must enter the heart of tekno-darkness-the slum town of Dis-to find their missing shamans and to kill her ex-lover Daac. But Parrish still has feelings for Daac-feelings that run as deep as the high-tech parasite he infected her with. Bad blood never boiled like this.

Crash Deluxe: After inheriting a less-than-glorious empire within the Tert, Parrish Plessis-coup leader, bodyguard, and overall dangerous vixen-has her hands full, and her head even fuller. She’s still under a blood debt to the Cabal Coomera. She’s trying to take care of the growing population of stray social castoffs who have come to her for protection. And the nasty high-tech parasite her treacherous ex-lover hit her with is about to turn her into something much less than human…

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Read Part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | afterword

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Whatever – Fuzzy Nations Sold

Books No Responses »

Apr 132010

John Scalzi announced Fuzzy Nations just sold to Tor on Whatever.

Congratulations!

I love that one of my favorite authors sold another book so I can read it. That’s me being selfish.

Love the cover. Read more about it on Whatever.

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February 2010 in Reading v2

Books No Responses »

Mar 022010

February has been a hectic month. I usually read more books than this but work has intruded much on my leazure time this month, we are about to hatch a new product soon. It has not been easy to rank these fine books. I am trying a new format with a concentration of my reviews, better? worse? Read the reviews if you want to know more.

I made mistake with the feed earlier this month so I have to make 2 similar posts to get it right, sorry ignore the other

The God Engines by John Scalzi

John Scalzi treads new domains with this dark Gothic Opera of star travel, faith, living gods, sex, violence and space battles which channels the spirit of H.P. Lovecraft…

… The God Engines is a chilling horror story set in a world with living manifested gods, so it has to be fantasy? Well, maybe, there is a lot of Space Opera and science fiction in this fantasy story. I think it’s magnificent and I love the inventiveness of the story, using gods as engines! I am just sorry it is so short, the plot could easily have been made into a full length novel. I say convinced that it would be easy for John Scalzi, him being such a fantastic writer (nudge, nudge).

The Course of Empire by Eric Flint & K. D. Wenthworth (Empire Series 1)

The reason I am reviewing The Course of Empire now is that the second part The Cruible of Empire will be out next month (March 16, 2010). This is the first book in a series about an alien invasion of earth by the Jao that changes into something else under the pressure of yet another more menacing alien race, the Ekhat bent on exterminating all non Ekhat life from the universe. It holds interesting alien point-of-views (pov), alternatives to violence and an unusual positive treatment of collaborateurs…

… This is one of the best alien point of view stories I have read in a long time, the world is vivid and the characters are easy to love. I got very emotional here and there in the story, especially at the end. I would recommend The Course of Empire to anyone intrested in a good alien point of view story or if you are just looking for good science fiction.

Semper Human by Ian Douglas (William H. Keith) (Inheritance Trilogy 3)

This is the last book in a Marine Corps Saga spanning thousands of years and three trilogies. The Trilogies are first Heritage, then Legacy and finally The Inheritance Trilogy. It is an epic military saga about the Marine Corps and the Garroway family that serves in it…

… The whole series is a great homage to the Marines, where every man is a rifleman first. It is a strong moral story about standing up for your team and your ideals. It also have great world-building and believable science within the fiction. You should read the other books in the Inheritance Trilogy before Semper Human, there is lots of references. I strongly recommend the whole series to any lover of military science fiction and space opera.

The Shockwave Rider by John Brunner

It’s been said that John Brunner invented the term “worm” for a program that replicates itself on a network in this proto-cyberpunk novel from 1975.

The first half of the novel had me wondering if this was way to intelligent for me, then the fog lifted, the wow feelings started to hit me. This is a great novel! It involves the Brain Race, a development from the previous Arms Race. Every superpower collect their own brain resources and develop them at great cost in institutions like Tarnover to handle the out of control speed of change in society. The novel addresses many of the problems with the ever faster changing world that are still valid today. Especially in the area of mental health…

… The Shockwave Rider impressed me with its content and how the pieces fell into place in the story and it became great. It is a few years old but much of what it tells are still valid. Read it if you can get hold of it.

Coyote Horizon by Allen Steele (Coyote 6)

Humanity meets aliens in Spindrift (4) where the Hjadd saves the day and we learns to know them better in Galaxy Blues (5) when we go and trade with them. Contact with another technologically more advanced civilization always leads to change. This time the contact is with an interstellar multi-specie civilization whose very existence challenge many of our traditional belief systems. The planet Coyote become much more than a safety vault for the overpopulated and ecologically devastated home planet. It becomes a focal point of the whole human civilization when the Hjadd sets up there embassy there and not on Earth.

This book is concurrent in parts with Galaxy Blues (5). It is a two book story the last part Coyote Destiny (7) is published in March 2010…

… I like the characterization in the beginning of the book. The world building is good, it’s one of Allen’s strengths. The storyline was clear and easy to follow. I am not so hot on this many protagonists and switching back and forth between them. It works but I personally would have preferred a more central protagonist, but that’s just me. I liked the book in general and it is a good read you don’t want to put it down…

… The book ends with a cliffhanger but you don’t have to wait long to read the last part of this story. Publication is next month. You can start reading about Coyote with this book but you you misses a lot of the backstory if you haven’t read volume 1-3.

Pleasure Model by Christopher Rowley (Netherworld Trilogy 1)

Rook Venner bring the evidence home, said evidence being Plesur, a pleasure model with long golden hair, deep blue eyes, a pert little nose and large mouth loaded with heavy lips that works like triggers on the heterosexual male mind all packed into a gorgeous young body, to protect her from rape. Only to wake up in the middle of the night by a phone call telling him to get out NOW!

Presenting Heavy Metal Pulp, a new line of novels combining noir fiction with fantastic art featuring the themes, story lines, and graphic styles of Heavy Metal magazine…

… The book doesn’t end with a Cliff hanger but leaves enough unresolved that I long for the next volume. I enjoyed the fast paced illustrated action packed spicy Pleasure Model immensely. It is a good read. It lacks somewhat in depth that can be remedied by checking out Rowley’s homepage. I would recommend it to any adult science fiction fan. I myself can’t wait until I have read the next two Netherworld books. I wonder when they will be out?

Live Free or Die by John Ringo (Troy Rising 1)

This is the first book in a new series called Troy Rising. It is an alien invasion Space Opera with an unlikely hero…

… Live Free or Die is an amusing Space Opera with a bit sketchy characters and world building but quite enjoyable. I would recommend it to readers of military science fiction with a sense of humor. I will definitely buy the rest of the series as soon as it is available.

Mirrored Heavens by David J. Williams (Autumn Rain 1)

This is the action packed first book in a new cyber-thriller series, Autumn Rain.

It starts out as one of those super action packed first scenes in a Hollywood Block Buster but here it feels like it never stops. Put a handful major characters, one mega conspiracy or two and the intrigue and mysteries of a Le Carré cold war spy thriller into the mix and splatter it out on a canvas of world-wide insurrection, high technology and dystopian cityscapes and you have a feeling what this book is…

… Mirrored Heavens is a strong first novel by David J. Williams. He presents a chilly future high-tech world of espionage and double crossing that is more than entertaining, the characters are not very deep and at times the plot might feel a bit over complex at times but so far I like it. I already have volume 2 Burning Skies here waiting. I can recommend it if you like fast paced cyber thrillers.

Starbound by Joe Haldeman

Starbound left me conflicted, I have had to have a few days to think it over before writing a review. After the human race’s near extinction from an exploding martian the earth authorities decide to send an expedition after the mysterious Other’s starship that left the solar system heading for what might be the Others home world…

… not a bad book, nor an excellent, it is somewhere in between for me. It took a little long time before the action started and when it did it was over in no time. I would recommend it if you like mysterious aliens and Defying Gravity-esque personal interaction.

I haven’t read Marsbound, and it it is supposed to be a better read than this one, maybe it suffers from middle-book-itis.

Bitter Angels by C. L. Anderson (Sarah Zettel)

Bitter Angels was written by Sarah Zettel under pseudonym. It’s a military science fiction of sorts with a central murder mystery. And I liked it much more than Kingdom of Cages, which put me off from her, seems I was wrong…

… I liked the mystery part, but it took a bit too long to get to when it started to make sense, around page 300. I wouldn’t mind if the author made faster work of that. It left only 150 pages for the real action and the characters to grow.

Now and then I felt it was too much talks, meetings and dead ends that didn’t bring the story forward, but I might have missed a point or so. It slowed it down from excellent to good in my mind. Bitter Angels is a good mystery-spy science fiction and if you like that it’s a book for you.

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