Showing posts with label SF. Show all posts
Showing posts with label SF. Show all posts

Sunday, April 13, 2025

The Infinity Gate (Pandominion #1) 1Star

 

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress & Blogspot by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: The Infinity Gate
Series: Pandominion #1
Author: Mike Carey
Rating: 1 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: 523
Words: 163K
Publish: 2023



I was intrigued by the writing and the storytelling. I stayed up late one night, when I couldn’t really afford it.

Technically, this is a duology. The reality is that it was one long book that he just randomly cut in two and called it a duology. This just ended, abruptly. No resolution, no closure, nothing. I was so pissed off that I was on the edge of just abandoning the next book and sending Carey to hell. Yes, you heard that right. I have that power. I have chosen to be merciful and let him live though.

I will also be reading the next book, hopefully enjoy it, mark it 1star and also label Carey as an author to avoid. Authors who don’t know how to actually write individual books within a series, even a duology, are trash in my eyes.

★☆☆☆☆


From the Publisher

Infinity is only the beginning.
The Pandominion: a political and trading alliance of a million worlds - except that they're really just the one world, Earth, in many different realities. And when an AI threat arises that could destroy everything the Pandominion has built, they'll eradicate it by whatever means necessary, no matter the cost to human life.
Scientist Hadiz Tambuwal is looking for a solution to her own Earth's environmental collapse when she stumbles across the secret of inter-dimensional travel. It could save everyone on her dying planet, but now she's walked into the middle of a war on a scale she never dreamed of.
And she needs to choose a side before it kills her.


Wednesday, April 09, 2025

Empire’s Gambit (Empire Rising #13) 3.5Stars

 

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress & Blogspot by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: Empire’s Gambit
Series: Empire Rising #13
Author: David Holmes
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: 515
Words: 204K
Publish: 2022



Oh man, this was long. It felt long too. The main issue is that Holmes needs an editor to hack and slash and force him to write tighter. I’ve noted this in previous volumes, where he goes into world building detail mode and suddenly, 5 pages later, the scene ends but the story is still at the same exact place. World building should NOT be indulged in at the expense of the overall story pacing. With this being the thirteenth book in the series, I’m obviously not going to abandon it over this, but it is a continual little irritant to me. I’m sure there are other people out there who love it. Those people probably only read this series, or stuff just like it, so they don’t care. I do care however.

The other irritation is the flow of time. This one could very easily be on me and thus I’m not knocking any half stars off, but it really feels like almost no time has passed since the first book. I “know” it has, and events prove that (James losing his first wife, getting re-married, having a child, now having twins) but James feels exactly the same as Emperor as he did as the captain of a small ship. James’ voice hasn’t aged or changed. I think that is what I’m picking up on here. Other authors are guilty of this literary sin as well. Dean Koontz and his Odd Thomas. Terry Brooks and ANY of his Shannara characters. Dan Willis and his Alex Lockerby creation. A counter example would be Simon, from Tad Williams’ Memory, Sorrow, Thorn epic fantasy trilogy. You get the idea. Once again, it’s not something I’m going to stop reading this series over, but it is a weakness.

This volumes ends the War of Doom with the karacknids. From the little chapter headers in previous books, I know there will be a second War of Doom plus other wars with even more insidious species. I also know there will be a civil war that almost tears the Empire apart. This is a good stopping place. I wondered, for several days, if I wanted to continue the series. Book 21 was just released in January, so there’s still a LOT of Empire Rising ahead of me if I want it. I decided that I will continue. I was not surprised by my own decision. As I’m sure you aren’t either.

I have been reading this series for over two years now. I read the first book (The Void War) back in February of ‘23. I thoroughly enjoyed it. If this series sounds like something you might enjoy, read my review and then for a 180degree difference, read Nancy’s Review. Between us, hopefully you can decide if starting this series would be good for you or not.

★★★✬☆


From the Publisher & Bookstooge


The Karacknid assault on Earth has been turned back at great cost to both sides. Only the intervention of the Kulreans saved Humanity’s homeworld from certain destruction. Yet the Kulrean worldships cannot be used for offensive operations. This means Humanity and her allies have only a few months of respite before the Karacknids can make good their losses. When they do, everyone knows they will resume the offensive and Tanaka-lan will seek to end the war once and for all.

With no way to compete with the Karacknids’ superior numbers and industrial might, Emperor Somerville has proposed one final stratagem. The Allied fleet must strike right at the heart of the Karacknid empire in a last ditch effort to try and end the war. Yet to do so would mean venturing into the enemy’s most fortified systems and leaving the Allied worlds at the mercy of Tanaka-lan. Risking everything, James has no choice but to attempt the impossible. No sacrifice can be too great to save his people and his family.

James challenges the Imperator to a one on one duel, Imperator vs Emperor. James wins and the karacknids immediately fall back along clan lines and thus begins a civil war. This gives humanity and the Alliance a chance to regroup and begin recovery. Empress Christine also gives birth to twins, setting the stage for the next series of adventures in the Empire Rising chronicles.



Tuesday, April 08, 2025

Mayenne (Dumarest #9) 3Stars

 

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress & Blogspot by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: Mayenne
Series: Dumarest #9
Author: EC Tubb
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: 182
Words: 52K
Publish: 1973


When we last left Dumarest, he was safely ensconced on a world where he could be happy. So what happened? I’m not exactly sure to be honest. The following is all we, the readers, get from the author:

He leaned back against the wall and allowed the hypnotic cadences to wash over his conscious mind, dulling reality and triggering sequences of unrelated imagery. A wide ocean beneath an emerald sky. A slender girl seated on a rock, her hair a ripple of purest silver as it streamed in the wind, the lines of her body the epitome of grace. A fire and a ring of intent faces, leaping flames and the distant keening of mourning women. Ice glittering as it fell in splintered shards, ringing in crystal destruction. Goblets shattering and spilling blood-red wine, the chime of chandeliers, the hiss of meeting blades, harsh, feral, the turgid chill of riding Low.”

Not much to go on, now is it? It feels like Tubb wasn’t sure HOW to explain Earl leaving a place that could have been a new home to him, so he didn’t. For that reason alone I docked this a precious half-star.

The book, by itself, was fun. It ends up being about a planetary mind (much like the Star Trek Episode Firewater recently reviewed) that falls in love with Earl. Of course it does. Everybody falls in love with Earl. He’s worse than Captain Kirk in that regards. I did check out the date and this book was published in ‘73 while the Star Trek episode was back in ‘68, so it is quite possible Tubb just lifted the idea wholesale. Of course, the idea of a planetary intelligence was bouncing around a lot, so Tubb might have just lifted it from the generalized zeitgeist of his generation. Either way, he wasn’t being original at all. But if you tell an exciting story, does it really matter?

Make no mistake, this was exciting. Tormyle (the planetary intelligence), puts the group through quite a few tests that are life and death.

The reveal at the end that Mayenne was a cyclan agent was not one I saw coming. I probably should have, but it was just too preposterous to consider, so I didn’t. The very end, with Tormyle sending Earl to some random world was more on par with how Earl gets separated from his various lady loves and didn’t bother me at all.

Thus the Eye Rolling Adventures of Earl Dumarest, Male Gigolo, Continues!

Sadly, the cover art changed. There are no more bubble spacesuits. Awwwwww….

★★★☆☆


From Jeffbuser.com

This one has very little to do with the arc story, and is almost a stand-alone SF piece. An accident strands the ship on which Dumarest is traveling in deep space. The eerie songs of Mayenne, a Ghenka singer also on board, are accidentally transmitted over ultraradio, and are received by a mysterious entity that eventually transports the whole ship to an unknown planet at the very edge of the galaxy. It is quickly revealed that the planet itself is the entity Tormyle, which proceeds to eliminate passengers and crew in “10 Little Indians” fashion while performing a series of experiments to understand the nature of human emotion. Tormyle notices and tests the love between several sets of passengers, including the budding romance between Dumarest and Mayenne. By the time the cast is down to five, Tormyle is desperate to make Dumarest love it, and reveals that Mayenne and another passenger are actually agents of the Cyclan. Dumarest kills the man and Mayenne kills herself before Tormyle allows the other two to escape in the repaired ship. Finally alone with Tormyle, Dumarest convinces it that a human (at least Dumarest) simply cannot fall in love with a planet, and Tormlye releases him.



Monday, March 24, 2025

Star’s End (Starfishers #3) 2.5Stars

 

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress & Blogspot by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: Star’s End
Series: Starfishers #3
Author: Glen Cook
Rating: 2.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: 247
Words: 75K



It is a good thing this was the final book in this trilogy. It was empty. Every character was a morass of neuroses and hangups and was so internally focused that they couldn’t and wouldn’t care about anyone else, no matter who they were. That is a revolting mindset to be in.

I have determined that I really don’t like Cook’s science fiction. As such, I’m going to stop exploring his stuff that I haven’t read (not really much by this time to be honest) and concentrate on re-reading his Black Company books, which I really enjoyed the first time around. When the best thing you can say about a book or even a trilogy is that it makes you want to re-read something else by the author, well, that’s just pathetic. That’s probably a good way to end this review. Pathetic...

★★✬☆☆


From the Publisher

At the edge of the galaxy lies the fortress known as Stars’ End, a mysterious planet bristling with deadly automated weapons systems, programmed to slaughter anyone fool enough to come within range. But who built this strange planet of death, placing it within view of the Milky Way’s great lens… and tantalizingly close to the hydrogen-filled feeding grounds of the interstellar dragons known as Starfish and the priceless ambergris they create?
Should the harvestships of the High Seiners, known as Starfishers, gain control of that arsenal, they need never fear the Confederation’s navy nor the armies of the human-like Sangaree again. But intelligent life everywhere now needs the might of Stars’ End—and the expertise of agents Mouse Storm and Moyshe benRabi. For in the midst of the Sangaree wars, a far more sinister enemy approaches, coming from the depths of the galaxy, in hordes larger than a solar system.


Monday, March 17, 2025

Starfishers (Starfishers #2) 3Stars

 

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress & Blogspot by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: Starfishers
Series: Starfishers #2
Author: Glen Cook
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: 211
Words: 72K



The boy narrator from the previous book is now just one of two undercover agents for Luna Command, the military machine of humanity. They have infiltrated a Starfisher world ship to discover its secrets for all of humanity. The Sangaree, the humanoid aliens also from the previous book, have also sent their own undercover agent. She ends up outing BenRabi and Mouse but they for some inexplicable reason don’t out her. This allows her to get a Sangaree Clan fleet to attack the world ship and then there’s some space sharks (I’m not kidding) and there’s big battles, blah, blah, blah.

The whole time BenRabi has been having an existential crisis and he’s as whiny as a 15 year old. It gets real old real fast. I wanted to slap him across the face so many times and tell him to grow up and stop being such a baby. Why Cook chose to write him this way is beyond me.

In the end BenRabi chooses to abandon Luna Command and join in with the Starfishers. Which is what they also wanted. However, Mouse is Luna Commands long term bullyboy BenRabi going over was all part of his plan. Aye yi yi.

This wasn’t a waste of my time and I actually enjoyed this a tiny bit more than the first book, but my goodness, BenRabi made it very hard to enjoy the story. It almost seems like Cook is deliberately writing his SF to be as unpalatable as possible. Why, I have zero idea. Maybe Cook has a split personality and the side that wrote SF hated everybody, but especially the people who read his SF? OR! Cook didn’t actually write his SF. He subcontracted it out to guy named Vladimir Gonzalez from China who only wrote in Bavarian and then used a corgi to re-translate it into english. Hey, that works for me! It neatly explains everything.

The REAL Glen Cook


★★★☆☆


From the Publisher

Starfish: Treasure troves of power. They were creatures of fusion energy, ancient, huge, intelligent, drifting in herds on the edge of the galaxy, producing their ambergris, the substance precious to man and the man-like Sangaree alike. In deep, starless space the herds were protected by the great harvestships of the Seiners, or Starfishers - the independent, non-Confederation people who dared to skirt the deadly boundaries of Stars' End and battle the Sangaree. It is with them on the harvestship Danion that Confederation agents Mouse Storm and Moyshe BenRabi have to fly and fight, probing mystery and myth. And where BenRabi, man of many names, must surrender his dreams and his mind itself to the golden dragons of space and their shepherds, the gathering... Starfishers.


Thursday, March 06, 2025

Implacable (Lost Fleet: Outlands #3) 3.5Stars

 

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress & Blogspot by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: Implacable
Series: Lost Fleet: Outlands #3
Author: Jack Campbell
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Mil-SF
Pages: 284
Words: 107K



More aliens show up, insane Syndics show up, renegade Alliance ships show up and it is all up to Geary to balance things and make it work out.

Which he does.

There’s a lot of politic’ing going on. I enjoyed this story despite that. This catches me up on the Lost Fleet books, so I will let Campbell go off my radar for several years until he decides to write more. And if he doesn’t, then this was a decent place to end. I appreciate that he wrote things that way.

★★★✬☆


From Fandom.com

As far from explored space as any human has ever been, Geary and the Alliance fleet are on their own, protecting a diplomatic mission in territory belonging to an alien species with still-unknown motives. His already complex and dangerous mission is further imperilled by deadly challenges from other human factions seeking to harm or exploit the aliens. When another alien species whose technology is far more advanced than humanity’s arrives, the stakes are raised to the highest possible level. Only the most serious danger comes from an unexpected source. When presented with orders to carry out actions he believes not only are mistaken but would be contrary to the ideals of the Alliance, Geary has to finally decide whether he must invoke the power that his long-revered name holds, all the while knowing that this might endanger his entire fleet, tear apart the Alliance, and destroy everything he has fought for.


Wednesday, March 05, 2025

The Twice Dead King: Ruin (Warhammer 40K: Necrons) 3.5Stars

 

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress & Blogspot by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: The Twice Dead King: Ruin
Series: Warhammer 40K: Necrons
Author: Nate Crowley
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: 306
Words: 108K



I am wicked glad I read The Infinite and the Divine before diving into this The Twice Dead King duology. While Crowley (the author) does a great job of using flashbacks to explain how the Necrontyr (the people) became the Necrons (immortal metal beings), already knowing the basics helped me process other parts of the story better. Also, being familiar with the Shards and how they affect Necrons explained a lot that wasn’t explained here.

What we get here is the first part of a duology that shows why the Necrons haven’t taken over the entire universe, even being as powerful as they are. It shows their degradation over the millions of years that they slept in their tombs, to awaken, or to awaken insane or to not awaken at all. Factor in that there can never be any more little baby Necrons, well, you have a race of beings that don’t want to die but were tricked into committing long term race suicide and are now going insane over the issue.

Literally insane. Like, eating humans to try to get flesh into their metal bodies, even though they have no mouths or digestive organs. The main character also has an episode, which I guess is common to Necrons, where his brain “remembers” being flesh and has what amounts to a killer panic attack because he can’t “breathe” even though he’s a robot.

How messed up is all of that? Very messed up, that’s how much. And it fits perfectly within the Warhammer 40K grimdark universe. You think you are getting immortality and the chance to rule the universe and BAM, you’re totally boned by some nasty other race. And even if you kill them all, they still bone you for millions of years because they were that nasty.

The Empire of Man makes an appearance and boy howdy, do they do a number on the Necrons. They are on a Crusade and are wiping out the Necrons one world at a time and Oltyx (the main Necron character) is trying to save his House (Necrons are divided up into factions based upon Family and it is as messy as anything humans ever experienced). Which is when he discovers his King has gone insane and is eating people and “stuff”. He manages to make it off his home planet with a small contingent of survivors by the book’s end, but I am not sure what the next book will entail. Without the ability to increase his forces, he is ultimately doomed, even if it takes another million years.

I was impressed with how well Crowley wrote this story. It was a good story (within the framework of the WH:40K universe I mean) and didn’t read like a game codex turned into a book in 3 days.

To close, I’d like to talk about that cover. Terminator looking machines with glow’y axes. How cool is that? It’s WICKED cool, that’s how cool it is! Definitely going to be a strong contender for cover love at the end of the month.



★★★✬☆


From the Publisher

Pride is everything for the dynastic kings of the Necron race, who have awakened after millennia to see their empires occupied by foul beasts and simple minds. For the Necron Lord Oltyx, the Ithakas dynasty was his by right, but the machinations of the court see him stripped of his position and exiled to a forgotten world.

Exiled to the miserable world of Sedh, the disgraced Necron Lord Oltyx is consumed with bitterness. Once heir to the throne of a dynasty, he now commands nothing but a dwindling garrison of warriors, in a never-ending struggle against Ork invaders. Oltyx can think of nothing but the prospect of vengeance against his betrayers, and the reclamation of his birthright. But the Orks are merely the harbingers of a truly unstoppable force. Unless Oltyx acts to save his dynasty, revenge will win him only ashes. And so he must return to the crownworld, and to the heart of the very court which cast him out. But what awaits there is a horror more profound than any invader, whose roots are tangled with the dark origins of the Necrons themselves.


Monday, March 03, 2025

Metal Giants (Short Story) 3Stars

 

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress & Blogspot by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: Metal Giants
Series: -----
Author: Edmond Hamilton
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: 30
Words: 10K




Take War of the Worlds and replace the Martians with a mad scientist and the tripods and aliens driving them with an AI that wants to exterminate humanity and voila, you have this story. Of course, the mad scientist repents of what he did and dies in rectifying the situation, but man, WotW was all I could think of when reading this.

March is not turning out to be much of a “reviewing” month for me, so I’m going to end now. I just don’t care.
★★★☆☆


From Bookstooge

A mad scientist creates an AI, which in turn begins building its own robotic servants who begin exterminating humanity. The mad scientist in a fit of remorse builds a giant wheel and crushes the AI to death and dies in the process.

Tuesday, February 11, 2025

Veruchia (Dumarest #8) 3.5Stars

 

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress & Blogspot by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: Veruchia
Series: Dumarest #8
Author: EC Tubb
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: 159
Words: 46K


This was a good adventure story. Earl makes a quick exit from one planet where he was looking for clues to Earth’s location and in the process got the attention of somebody bad. He runs for another and because he used up all his money, has to go fight in the arena against giant killer chickens. From the description in the book, I think they were more raptor like than dragon like as shown on the cover. That wasn’t glossed over, but was the actual introduction for him to meet Veruchia. The fight was well described and I enjoyed it.

The owner of the planet dies (of poison) and the guy who thinks he has things all locked up (and he’s directed by the cyclans) must contest with Veruchia about who is to become the ruler of the planet. It all comes down to who was the captain of the starship when the colonists first landed hundreds of years ago. The ship has been lost and Veruchia has been hellbent on finding it before this, but now her very life depends on it.

There was a lot of water action in this. The spaceship ends up being on a continental shelf and Earl uses the ability of the mind control thingy that his ring has given him to use a kraken to bring the ship back to the surface. Obviously, there is a lot more than just that, but that’s the gist. Lots of underwater monsters to contend with as well as sea-quakes.

Earl and Veruchia over come all and she becomes the owner. She asks Earl to stay with her as her consort, and to my complete surprise, agrees. There’s nothing on the planet to help him in his quest, so in essence he’s giving up his quest to be with this woman. I thought he should have done that a LONG time ago. Sadly, since there are many more books in this series, I know something will happen between books to propel him onward in the next book. Not really looking forward to that, to be honest. Earl needs to learn to be content with what he has.



Once again, really liked this cover. And as a bonus, there’s no spacesuit bubble helmet :-D

★★★✬☆


From the Publisher & Bookstooge
Earl Dumarest, trans-galactic soldier of fortune, is still seeking his birthplace, the fabled planet Earth.
On the distant, decadent planet Dradea, he meets the mysterious, mutant woman Veruchia. She selected him from the gladiators’ arena to become her servant. . . and more.
Soon, Dumarest discovers that she too is engaged in a quest – and that the fate of her planet hangs in the balance. Fascinated, compelled, he agrees to help her.
But then he must face bizarre perils which make the gladiatorial arena seem a haven of safety.

Veruchia completes her quest, becomes ruler of her world and Earl decides to settle down with her and stay on the planet and give up his quest for Earth.



Wednesday, February 05, 2025

Shadowline (Starfishers #1) 3Stars

 

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress & Blogspot by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: Shadowline
Series: Starfishers #1
Author: Glen Cook
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: 311
Words: 94K



It’s been about four years since I last visited Cook (the last Garrett, PI book in fact) but considering how that series whimpered out, I’m not surprised I took so long to return. At some point in the near future (defined now as within two years) I plan on re-reading his Black Company, as that is probably my favorite of his stuff. Before I do that however, I want to broaden my view of his writings. I’ve read 33 books/stories by him so far, so I feel like I’ve got a decent grasp on him but am always looking to learn more.

One thing I learned with this is that I do not care for Cook’s science fiction. His only other SF book I’ve read (to date) is The Dragon Never Sleeps. I gave that 3.5stars but it didn’t make me want to read more if it had been part of a series. This book was exactly the same. I didn’t hate the time, but I wasn’t experiencing Book Nirvana of any sort. I already have the rest of the trilogy on my ereader though which is why I’ll finish it off. I can’t say exactly WHY I don’t care for his SF, whether it is the characters or the plot or what. I’d like to think it is his writing, but until I re-read Black Company and see how the writing is, I don’t feel comfortable stating it is that. But man, this doesn’t “feel” like the same guy who wrote BC.

Anyway. This story is about a mercenary company that is family run, near the end of the galactic era of mercenaries. Betrayal, revenge and old fashioned stupidity are the points of this story. The “Starfishers” that this series takes its name from are mentioned and they show up to act as go-betweens for about 2-3 paragraphs. Beyond the fact that they are humans living on giant fleets that scoop up material, I don’t know a thing about them. I sure hope the next two books deal more directly with them.

This is really close to a 2 ½ star rating in terms of enjoyment in reality, but it didn’t quite dip that low so I kept it at a 3. However, if the next two books are similar in terms of enjoyment, I’ll definitely take the rating down. Don’t say I’m not generous!

I’ll end things by showing the older cover and the newer one. While the newer one is slick and semi-eye catching, it has no soul, no emotion, nothing that grabs you and makes you want to read this book. The older cover at least has some character. It’s bit more honest about the contents. You know you’re getting some groundpounder reading instead of Starfisher Space Action. It might not be the best cover ever, but at least it’s got some soul and isn’t just some slop like the new cover.




★★★☆☆


From the Publisher

The vendetta in space had started centuries before "Mouse" Storm was born, with his grandfather's raid on the planet Prefactlas, the blood bath that freed the human slaves from their Sangaree masters. But one Sangaree survived - the young Norborn heir, the man who swore vengeance on the Storm family and their soldiers, in a carefully mapped plot that would take generations to fulfill. Now Mouse's father Gneaus must fight for an El Dorado of wealth on the burning half of the planet Blackworld. As the great private armies of all space clash on the narrow Shadowline that divides inferno from life-sheltering shade, Gneaus' half- brother Michael plays his traitorous games, and a man called Deeth pulls the deadly strings that threaten to entrap them all


Monday, February 03, 2025

Mephisto’s Game (Galaxy's Edge: Tyrus Rechs #4) 2Stars

 

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress & Blogspot by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: Mephisto’s Game
Series: Galaxy's Edge: Tyrus Rechs #4
Author: Jason Anspach & Nick Cole
Rating: 2 of 5 Stars
Genre: Military SF
Pages: 273
Words: 89K


After the end of the Galaxy’s Edge series where the authors unceremoniously just dumped the series to finish it up, I didn’t have high hopes for them at all. But I wanted to give them another chance, sigh.

Well, this was that chance. It wasn’t bad, but it was not good either.

Now, I am absolutely open to the possibility that my disillusionment with the authors has now colored every interaction I have with them (ie, every book I read), but this didn’t feel like what I wanted.

So I’m done with these guys and I am done with the Galaxy’s Edge in any form. I do have a couple more books on my ereader, but I’m simply going to delete them off, wipe this series and add a different one. I’m tired of them continually disappointing me and since I have the power to DO something about that, I will.

★★☆☆☆


From the Publisher

The Hunter Becomes the HuntedThe fearsome bounty hunter Tyrus Rechs has laid a careful trap to kill an elusive and powerful criminal known as Mister Zauro for crimes orchestrated on the planet Detron. But unbeknownst to the bounty hunter, another trap has been laid just as carefully… a trap for Tyrus Rechs himself.
For Zauro is a Lizzaar, and Lizzaar crime lords are not without their defenses.
Rechs is mere moments away from finishing his termination when the counter-trap is triggered. In an instant the tables are turned, the hunter becomes the hunted, and it is Rechs who is on the run as he is battered by an army of mercenaries, assassins, and war bots led by a mysterious and ruthless killer named Mephisto.
Now Tyrus Rechs, the perpetual loner, must rely on a growing group of unlikely allies if he hopes to survive to see the end of… Mephisto’s Game!



Monday, January 27, 2025

Resolute (Lost Fleet: Outlands #2) 3.5Stars

 

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress & Blogspot by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: Resolute
Series: Lost Fleet: Outlands #2
Author: Jack Campbell
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Mil-SF
Pages: 295
Words: 115K



Black Jack is hampered by traitors in his own ranks, men and women who are trying to sabotage the diplomatic mission to the Dancers. Then more aliens show up and bring their own set of problems to the table.

This is basically Geary handling one problem after another and doing his best to not turn into a Tyrant to sweep the Alliance away and start it over.

I enjoyed it. It’s very typical Jack Campbell writing and story telling and while it didn’t blow me out of the water, it more than did its job of entertaining me and helping me wile away a couple of hours. That is really all I expect from a Lost Fleet novel. It delivered and I am satisfied.

End of Review.

On a different subject.

With some of these “series” that are long going but have different sub-series (Lost Fleet, for example, has the original Lost Fleet books, then the Beyond the Frontiers and then Lost Stars, the Genesis Fleet and now this Outlands series but they are all one continuing story’ish), I include links at the bottom of a review so you can see all of the books in that series or sub-series. My recent review of Pyramids is a good example of that. At the very bottom I have a list of links to various categories of Discworld. I’ve done that with earlier Lost Fleet books, but I haven’t with the recent series (Outlands and Genesis Fleet) and I wonder, does anyone ever use those links? If I am interested in a series that another blogger is reviewing, I will frequently click something like that if they offer it. But I am not interested in them very often. Thanks for any input.

★★★✬☆


From the Publisher

Geary knows that some political factions in the Alliance were just trying to get rid of him when he was assigned to escort a diplomatic and scientific mission to the far reaches of humanity's expansion into the galaxy . . . and beyond. But he views his mission as both a duty and an opportunity to make things better wherever he can. And when a crippled Rift Federation ship tumbles out of jump space, Geary leaps into action. But the survivors' story isn't completely adding up.

As Geary investigates, he soon finds himself fending off spies and assassins while leading the fleet as it fights its way across space controlled by the mysterious and hostile aliens whom humans call enigmas. Challenges arrive at every turn, including an unknown alien species that invites the fleet to visit one of their star systems. With little information to go on, Geary must weigh the benefits of potential new allies against the possibility of a trap. The fate of the fleet--and perhaps even the future of humanity--will depend on him making the right decision.

If he can stay alive long enough to do that.


Wednesday, January 22, 2025

Across Space 3Stars

 


This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress & Blogspot by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission


Title: Across Space
Series: -----
Author: Edmond Hamilton
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: 67
Words: 21K


This was a serialized story in one of those old pulp magazines, Weird Tales, and was a decent adventure novella. The beginning, where the populace of the world panics reminded me EXACTLY of When Worlds Collide. So much so that I went and looked up the publication date for this and Worlds to see which came first. Worlds was published in 1933. Across Space was published in 1926, which leads me to speculate whether the authors of Worlds had read this story originally and allowed it to color their story telling. We’ll never know.

I’m also giving this the “Scyenze” tag because it’s obvious the author worships Science as his god and thinks it will solve every problem encountered by mankind. I don’t hold that personally against him, as a lot of people thought that, but it is something to be aware of as that kind of thinking still persists today. If you find yourself automatically obeying some Butcher (who explicitly wants to experiment on death viruses without thought of the possible consequences, aka Anthony Fauci) because he has some letters after his name, you too might belong to the Cult of Scyenze. Don’t reject what they say automatically, but understand their background and the biases they are hiding while they proclaim their “great wisdom”.

Ok, I’m getting off my soapbox now.

This was a good story with cosmic horror overtones. Call of Cthulhu wasn’t published until 1928, but Lovecraft had published other stories in Weird Tales previous to this story, so it is entirely possible Hamilton was influenced. Either way, it didn’t feel like a rip off, just gave off that weird vibe. Which is what most stories needed I suspect to be included in Weird Tales.

This was also a straight up adventure story with no characterization, very little setting and most of that was held for the underground world inhabited by the ancient Martians.

When I read Hamilton’s Starwolf Trilogy, I wasn’t sure if wanted to read more by him or not. After reading this novella, I definitely want to explore more by him. I have collection of his works that’s about 6800 pages long. Not sure if it’s a complete collection, but it is in publication order and it should give me enough. I suspect I’ll read a story or two and then take a break and then come back. Let him steep in the Bookstooge Percolator as it were.




★★✬☆☆


From Bookstooge

One night astronomers discover that Mars has stopped dead in its orbit. The next night Mars begins falling towards Earth. This causes chaos and hysteria among the populace. One man, our hero, knows a famous Scientist. He goes to him and asks what is going on. Said scientist goes all “secret’y” on him and flies him down to Easter Island, where a previous scientist and his group have gone missing. They find that a group of subterranean Martians, with their super scyenze rays, are drawing Mars close enough to Earth to facilitate an invasion, allowing them to rule the earth. Our Hero and The Scientist figure everything out, overcome their psychic guards and reverse the deadly ray, thus putting Mars in orbit around one of the other large gas giants. The Scientist sends Our Hero away ostensibly to get reinforcements but uses the time to explode the Ray Machine and trap all the malevolent Martians underground, and quite possibly killing them all. Our Hero sheds a tear and goes on with his life.



Tuesday, December 10, 2024

Technos (Dumarest #7) 3.5Stars

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress & Blogspot by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: Technos
Series: Dumarest #7
Author: EC Tubb
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: 154
Words: 47K


At least this book wasn’t named after a woman. I was getting rather tired of that. Of course, Earl Dumarest sleeps around like a flipping clock. I mean, a space prostitute is so smitten by him that she gives him a freebie, apparently all night long. Sigh.

The story is the same as all the previous ones. Earl is trying to track down more info about Earth, goes to a hellhole of a planet, finds out it was all for naught, gets one teensy tiny clue and then goes off hunting again.While fighting off Cyclan plots.

It’s always the setting and whatever adventure is written that makes these stand out. Here Earl has to hide out on a technological planet and survive a mechanical death maze. It was pretty cool.

Once again the cover is awesome. Earl is wearing his usual 70’s disco-spacesuit with the bubble helmet. It just makes me want to do the whole Dance Fever, John Travolta thing. Oh Beeeeehaaaaave!

★★★✬☆


From the Publisher

Synopsis – click to open

“A dying man’s last words brought Dumarest to Loame, ‘the garden planet’. Its name was a mockery–Loame’s gentle citizens could only watch in horror as their fields were ravaged by a mutated vine that destroyed all it touched. They were sure the acid-dripping vine was the work of their enemy world, Technos.

Technos was not a world open to outsiders–but Dumarest is not a man who takes no for an answer. As a fugitive, as a prisoner of war, as the captive bedmate of a queen, he continues his quest, seeking an answer to the question that his his life’s obsesson: ‘Have you ever heard of a planet called _Earth_?'”

Thursday, December 05, 2024

KTF Part II (Galaxy's Edge #17) 2.5Stars

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress & Blogspot by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: KTF Part II
Series: Galaxy’s Edge #17
Author: Jason Anspach & Nick Cole
Rating: 2.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Military SF
Pages: 285
Words: 117K


This series is done. I’m glad. It had sunk to disappointing levels. Even here, Anspach and Cole (the authors) do their best to get rid of every “force” user and divorce this series from its space opera roots. Not particularly happy with them as authors right now.

I do have a couple of standalone Tyrus Rex novels still to read by them. I still haven’t decided if I’ll actually read them or not. I don’t have anything else to say that won’t sent me descending into a rant and I just don’t have the energy for that right now.

★★✬☆☆


From the Publisher

IT ALL ENDS HERE.

Every decision, battle, triumph, and heartache has led the galaxy to this moment.

The Republic is spun wildly into sudden war as Gomarii slavers, in overwhelming numbers, strike on behalf of their Savage allies. The battle is fiercest on a newly rediscovered world: Earth.

But galactic war is only the symptom of an older, deeper, and far more dangerous conflict. Now Keel and Ravi must work frantically to assemble the warriors needed to withstand an ancient threat, and Prisma must wrestle to control her own inner darkness. While on the front lines, Death’s grim specter comes for Chhun and Victory Company.

For once again, a Legion stands steadfast before the void.

Wednesday, November 20, 2024

Boundless (Lost Fleet: Outlands #1) 3.5Stars

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress & Blogspot by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: Boundless
Series: Lost Fleet: Outlands #1
Author: Jack Campbell
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Mil-SF
Pages: 317
Words: 124K


After reading the prequel series The Genesis Fleet and not being very impressed, I was wondering how I was going to handle Campbell’s foray into the next Black Jack Geary Adventure. It has been 8 years after all.

Thankfully, Campbell does a great job of recapping things and bringing wayward readers like myself up to speed. Thus I dived back into the Lost Fleet universe and had myself a grand old time.

This was everything that previous Lost Fleet books are. You get Jack Geary being forced to walk that impossible line between doing the right thing while corrupt politicians do everything in their power to destroy him by hook or by crook. He’s given conflicting orders, hampered by stupid citizenry, surrounded by enemies as well as crew who border on hero worship of the worst kind.

There are space battles but thankfully that plays a smaller part than usual. I have had my fill of space battles from reading the Empire Rising series by Holmes. Sadly, with Campbell being a retired Navy officer, there’s not much space marine fighting described. It’s all ship to ship, sigh.

Overall though, I had a better time reading this than the Genesis fleet trilogy and that bodes well for the rest of the trilogy.

★★★✬☆


From the Publisher

click to open

Geary believed in the Alliance. Even when he uncovered overwhelming evidence that the highest echelons of the government and fleet command were involved in secret programs and prison camps, he believed it was worth saving. And that his duty was to see that justice was served even though some factions feared that revealing the truth would cause the Alliance to crumble.

But after narrowly surviving two assassination attempts when he brings evidence of the misdeeds to the capital star system, Geary realizes that some have decided the easiest way to make the Alliance’s problems go away is to get rid of him. He finds himself ordered to undertake a perilous new mission outside of the reaches of human-occupied space while the Senate clashes over the evidence.

Geary’s warships must escort a diplomatic and scientific mission across the dangerous, disintegrating remnants of the Syndicate Worlds empire. But even if he can make it to Midway Star System, the gateway to alien-controlled space, Geary will face former Syndicate officials who have rebelled and regard the Alliance with deep suspicion. And that will be the easy part. . . .

Wednesday, November 13, 2024

The Web of Spider (Spider #3) 1.5Stars

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress & Blogspot by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: The Web of Spider
Series: Spider #3
Author: William Gear
Rating: 1.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: 668
Words: 241K


This was twice as long as the first book and it was NOT twice as good.

This was very much a religious treatise as much as it was a science fiction “story”. There were pages of Gear using his characters to talk about neo-shamanism and how wonderful it is to serve a god who doesn’t know everything and who is both good and evil.

How anyone could find that desirable is well beyond me.

Gear also takes some heavy handed swipes at monotheistic religions, ie Judaism, Islam and Christianity. Unfortunately, Christianity is the one he focuses on and just ignores the other two.

I wanted to quit several times, but I was reading this concurrently with Neuromancer and that was so bad that I couldn’t tell if my desire to quit was because this book was really that unenjoyable or if Neuromancer was just sucking the reading joy from my life. Looking back now, its obvious to me this book WAS that bad and I should have dnf’d right near the start. One more mark against Neuromancer for destroying my senses in regarding other books.

★✬☆☆☆


From the publisher

Click to Open

THE FINAL CONFLICT!

The Sirian rebellion had proved the catalyst for the rise of two powerful new forces in the galaxy. Ngen Van Chow, leader of the failed rebellion, had fled to a distant world, establishing a base from which he would launch an interstellar holy war of destruction, a war fuelled by the discovery of a long-hidden technology which could transform ordinary men and women into fanatical soldiers of Deus.

While on the long-lost colony planet of World, the Romanans, known as the warriors of Spider, and their Patrol allies – formerly part of the military and police force which kept order among the worlds and stations controlled by the computer network of the Directorate – prepared for civilization’s final stand against this seemingly unstoppable conqueror.