August Reads

More long car trips (it is 3ish hours down to Ft. Pickett, where I had to go twice this month) plus more walking plus more working out equals more books read.

• Grunge (Monster Hunter Memoirs #1) by John Ringo, Larry Correia
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• The Rhesus Chart (Laundry Files #5) by Charles Stross
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• The Nelson Touch (Ark Royal #2) by Christopher Nuttall
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• The Annihilation Score (Laundry Files #6) by Charles Stross
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• Technomancer (Unspeakable Things #1) by B.V. Larson
• The Hot Gate (Troy Rising #3) by John Ringo
• Re-read. Such a great series. I am a big fan of John Ringo in case you cannot figure that out yet. I liked this series because it was a big picture (but also micro by covering the stories of the general populace as well), going from the underemployed web comic writer who discovers the secret sauce that helped Earth earned its independence. All the way up to becoming a major regional player.
• Citadel (Troy Rising, #2) by John Ringo
• Live Free or Die (Troy Rising, #1) by John Ringo

December Reads

• Battle Cruiser (Lost Colonies Trilogy #1) by B.V. Larson
• A giant solar flare knocks a rapidly expanding Earth back, affecting the technology as well as the transportation system that Earth used to get to its colonies 160 years before the start of this book. The main character, LCDR Sparhawk, is a member of the ruling (this is a hereditary democracy (not that we can comment, Bush family for example), complicated by cloning. They are called *cough* Public Servants *cough* and Sparhawk has rebelled and joined the Space Guard) families and after long isolation the universe is coming to visit the Earth again. As it often happens, a lot of big activities all center around our hero.
  Overall a fun read, complicated by... interesting politics and some really odd 180's by some characters, this story kept me entertained for a long day of driving. (3/5)
• The Nightmare Stacks (Laundry Files #7) by Charles Stross
• This story changes a lot of the Laundry Universe. While the last book introduced giving the perspective of a non-Bob character, this one pretty much removes him from the equation completely (except for a few references and borrows Bob's most notable sidekicks, Pinky and Brain). Told from the perspective of Alex, the moderately capable vampire (don't be silly, Vampires don't exist) and in Leeds (vs London). So much happens that my head is spinning a bit and I am deeply curious how things, given that the Laundry basically gets aired by the time everything is done.
  This is probably the most approachable (and one of the top 3 of the series) book of the series other than the first book, since while it helps to have read the first 6 books you really could come into this book cold and be able to understand what is going on. (4/5)

November Reads

• Dawn (Xenogenesis #1) by Octavia E. Butler
• Meh. This was one of those drag me to the end (since if anything life has proven, I have the ability to power through pretty much anything) type of books, that actually had me reading other books in between before finishing. While it was an interesting concept (aliens abducting survivors of an apocalypse on the Earth with the intent of repatriating them in the far future), the very concept was so grim that I had a hard time keeping up my interest (in particular as you learn the plans of the aliens). I know that even though there are more books that more me this is a one and done. (1/5)
• Grits, Guns & Glory - Bubba the Monster Hunter Season 2 by John G. Hartness, Melissa Gilbert (Editor)
• Bubba, the most unlikely Church employee that you are going to find, is a lot of fun. This collection of short stories (all chained together to provide a comprehensive overall sequence) will keep you awake during a long drive. Bubba is a mostly straightforward good-old boy who, along with his assorted allies (life-long friend, girlfriend and his handler Priest), fights the things that go bump in the night that are creating problems. Taking off right from the end of the last book where Bubba is doing his impression of a shis-kebab, the book ramps thing up for a the main fight at the end of the novel (with a couple of fun turns down side stories). Bubba's big fight is with his brother who effectively defeated him last "season" and continues to gather power towards his overall plan at the end. Overall this was a fun book to read in smaller bites. (4/5)
• First Grave on the Right (Charley Davidson #1) by Darynda Jones
• A nice light pallet cleanser after the heavy handed book I read lately. A little more harlequin than I normally go book-wise, but the overall concept (the world that is being spun) is pretty interesting. I enjoy the concept of Grim Reapers living with the rest of us (Everything from Dead Like Me on TV to good old Death in the Discworld universe) and this story delivered. Took a little while to get into it but hard to stop once I got started. If you enjoy a book where the paranormal is more leaning toward normal, this can be a nice fun read. (4/5)
• The Brotherhood of the Wheel by R.S. Belcher
• Another good urban fantasy read. What if the Truckers and Motorcycle Clubs are really agents of a secret society (formerly the Knights Templar) that is out there to protect the travelers of the roads? Well in this world they are and we get to learn more about them and how they handle a big bad enemy from effectively destroying reality. The world and situation are slowly revealed through the eyes of the newbie characters, a MC guy and an investigative cop. I definitely would look forward to another book written in this universe. (4/5)

October Read's

• Scattered, Smothered and Chunked - Bubba the Monster Hunter Season 1 by John G. Hartness
• Since I have read Larry Correia's MHI series the concept of a redneck monster hunter isn't too far of a stretch for me. But Bubba is a distinct voice. Working, for of all groups, the Catholic Church as a freelance monster hunter the stories in this book were varied and entertaining. We don't learn the whole truth of what formed the personality of Bubba until the final novella, which goes into his origin story, but overall the flow works. There were a number of LOL moments in this book that kept me entertained throughout.
• CTRL ALT Revolt! by Nick Cole
• Set in the not too far future, this is the story that addresses why a large fear of the tech community, artificial intelligence (or machine sentience), represents such a fundamental threat to the human race. Gaming plays a big role in this story, focusing on Fish, a game developer, and Mara, a blind DD girl who is trying to rise above it all. The pace was a little anemic at first, but things slowly come to a boil and people are racing around both in the real world and in the electronic games worlds which play such a key role to the plot. And now I learn that the author has another book (Soda Pop Soldier) that this basically the prequel to, so that just got added to the pile.
• The Trafalgar Gambit (Ark Royal #3) by Christopher Nuttall (Goodreads Author)
• Breaking away completely from the BSG-yness from the first the first book, this story yet again focuses on the mission and crew of the HMS Ark Royal. Shifting a little more into the geo-(galacto?) political realm, we find the crew on a last ditch attempt to open up diplomatic relations with the aliens (which they determine to have seperate factions based on the actions of some of the ships in the second book). But war is politics in another form, so even with the diplomatic mission there is still a lot of action left in this story to satisfy. The trilogy is ended in a satisfactory manner (and only because of a hunch did I realize that there was a follow-on series).
• Dead Six (Dead Six #1) by Larry Correia
• Parallel stories about two black-ops operators dealing with a murky world. Both of the main characters, Valentine and Lorenzo, are engaged against the terrorists that exist in a fake middle eastern country similar to Qatar.  Valentine works for Dead Six, an black CIA backed set of operators who are tasked with taking the war to the terrorists homes/vacation spot. In the end they are deemed to be disposable and are themselves marked themselves. Lorenzo is more of an independent operator with a small team that is being blackmailed to complete a mission of obtaining a key (which opens a special door.... the contents of which aren't explained but are very mysterious/supernatural). There is some overlap, characters die and in the end you have Valentine and Lorenzo up against their respective organizations as a team. I am interested to see where this goes in the next book.
• The Gap Into Conflict: The Real Story (Gap #1) by Stephen R. Donaldson
• This is kind of a twisted perverse little story. The two main characters are pirates, in a future where the area of space they are operating in is fairly lawless. The more twisted part is what happens to the female space cop, who is captured and controlled by Angus Thermopyle who takes advantage of her and is also the focus of attention of the other main character (also a pirate) Nick Succorso. I am not sure why this series is so popular but since I already have the second book I guess I will find out.

September Reads

More long car trips (it is 3ish hours down to Ft. Pickett, where I had to go twice this month) plus more walking plus more working out equals more books read.

• Call to Arms (Black Fleet Trilogy #2)  by Joshua Dalzelle
• The Einstein Prophecy by Robert Masello
• sdsdf
• The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories by H.P. Lovecraft, S.T. Joshi (Editor)
• So after years of references to Cthulhu in books and RPG's, I finally took the time to actually read (or listen as this case may be) to the original stories. Other than the obvious note that these stories are a product of their time (and hence, horribly racist and sexist by our standards) the stories held up fairly well. I can see why H.P. Lovecraft has had such an enduring influence on horror writers down through time.
• The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov
• Not so classic Asimov in some regards (this apparently is the one book where he decided that his characters would not be asexual creatures and wrote a lot of sex scenes in) but also a big idea Asimov story with the valiant scientists as the main characters. Overall it was an interesting premise (free energy.... but is anything really free?) and also looked at the self serving actions of both the scientific community and society at large will overlook a problem until it is unavoidable, hopefully in time to make a correction to save themselves.
• One Year After (John Matherson #2) by William R. Forstchen
• Solid book. Interesting to finally continue to the story in "One Second After" (EMP attack on US Homeland, as well as other parts of the world). The book does borrow heavy from the standard survivalist "Anti-Government" shtick, where the main characters clearly love America as a concept (God Bless America and the Pledge of Allegiance are both commonly seen). But it shows a strong hatred for the bureaucratic actions that sometimes form up when enough of the basic rights/functions are aggregated in the story. The author is clearly influenced by story's of the rise of fascism, in particular the Third Reich ("I was only following orders" is a clear hatred buzzword).  Overall a solid story and it looks like it sets up another follow on book, which hopefully won't be as separated in time as this book was from the first one.
• One thing, for me, as a parent, the hardest part of this book to handle is the children in danger/harmed 

August Shows

Travel and vacation = low media consumption.

TV:

• Star Trek - DS9 (Season 1), Enterprise (Season 1) and TNG (Season 1) - I still think DS9 is the best of the ST series. 
• Supernatural - Season 8
• Orange is the New Black (latest season)

Movies:

• I got nothing... 

What my Daughter is obsessed with:

• Octonauts - At least there is some learning here.
• Paw Patrol - not so much...

What my Son is obsessed with:

• Anything his sister has
• Anything he can eat
• Pretending everything is a phone
• Walking, everywhere

July Shows

Slowly getting back into the groove.

TV:

• Babylon 5 - Finally finished!
• Star Trek - Now to piss off the Trekkies/Treckers.. I am watching in chronological order... Starting with Enterprise ;)

Movies:

• Finding Dory - OMG, I saw a movie in the theater! And it was good!
• Deadpool - Finally got to see what everyone else already saw
• 10 Cloverfield Lane - Alien Invasion (maybe ;) plus the locked room situation... Solid entertaining movie

What my Daughter is obsessed with:

• Team Umizoomi - An addiction I heartily endorse.

What my Son is obsessed with:

• Anything his sister has
• Anything he can eat
• Pretending everything is a phone
• Walking, everywhere

June Shows

Amazing how little reading gets done when you are stuck in a whirlwind of requirements that come with being a Company Commander during Annual Training in the National Guard. Basically for 2 weeks I didn't read or watch most anything. And then, in all fair turnabout, my wife went out of town for 10 days and I became the primary parent for a fast and strong willed 3yo girl and a 10 month boy that decided that walking was what he needed to do right now! (Thank God for family, my MIL came into town during the weekend and my parents are helping out for the rest of the time) All of which means I watched even less stuff (not that I am complaining).

I did finish the Flash and have just one episode left of Babylon 5 (I am now convinced I never saw the last season).

June Reads

Amazing how little reading gets done when you are stuck in a whirlwind of requirements that come with being a Company Commander during Annual Training in the National Guard. Basically for 2 weeks I didn't read or watch most anything.

• Technomancer (Unspeakable Things #1) by B.V. Larson
• I started this book on a "meh" note... for some reason it didn't click right away and only after I was about 1/4 into the book did I really get engaged. This book covers the standard problem that a lot of readers have of having to discover the world the characters are in by literally making the main character a blank slate. With effective amnesia (able to do things like read, talk, drive, shoot guns, but not able to remember any personal details) the main character wakes in a hospital facility in one of my most . Slowly we learn more about this world, with the weird occurrences and "magical" devices that are the key to people's "magic". I was quite satisfied by the way that the events finally built up to the ending.
• Ark Royal (Ark Royal #1) by Christopher Nuttall
• It is hard to imagine that a potential reader of this book hasn't watched Battle Star Galactica just as much as the average reader should see that the writer obviously was influenced. Aging Carrier close to retirement? Check. Carrier the new hope for Humanity? Check. Command staff with a lot of personal issues? Check. Fighter pilots going at it like rabbits? Check.
  But the Author does a good job once you can forgive him for the fact that he was strongly influenced by BSG, even if just in his subconscious. 
• United States Of Apocalypse by Mark Tufo (Goodreads Author), Armand Rosamilia (Goodreads Author)
• Not a bad little story. Nothing like a reminder that apocalypse can be started by more mundane actions. (Though North Korea? Could you have picked a more unlikely bad guy?) This one does a good job on focusing on two people, one in NYC and one in the unpopulated area of California. You don't see a lot of stories focusing on what happens to the big cities, because in the end you are fairly toast in all but the smaller ones unless you bug out quickly.

May Reads

• Kill Switch (Joe Ledger #8) by Jonathan Maberry (Goodreads Author)

• Ever read a book that is part of a series that you are so excited about and enjoying so much that you had to push back and take deliberate action to read in smaller bites? Yeah, that was this book (given my druthers I would have zipped through this book but I decided to spread out my entertainment). The book starts slow with some pretty clear foreshadowing that like a lot of the Joe books everything isn't going to be all-right in the end and that the country as well as the main characters aren't going to get out of this un-scarred (happens in a lot of Jonathan Maberry's books). I am proud of my self control to have taken two whole weeks to listen to this book (and really, this is a series where I seriously recommend the audio book. Ray Porter, the narrator is awesome. Even Jonathan has admitted that now he hears his characters as though narrated by him, as he is writing new stuff! His skill at presenting these stories is a significant enhancer).
  
  As to the story? What if the lights went out? What if everything that runs on electricity other than the tiny bit used in brains/hearts stopped working? (side note, this is the basis on a global scale for at least one TV show and one really good book series) What else could you do to make that worse? Well if you read this book you can come up with some idea's. The Ledger series has been delving more into the paranormal (vs the Science gone bad from the first couple) the past book or so, and this keeps it up. I really cannot think of much more to say that doesn't potentially spoil the story.
  
  BTW, there is a great little scene in this book that is a treat if you have read some of Maberry's other series's (beyond the fact that those other story-lines all have similar characters and names in them).

• Shifting Shadows: Stories from the World of Mercy Thompson (Mercy Thompson 0.1/0.6/0.8/1.5/4.5/5.5/7.4) by Patricia Briggs

So somehow this book ended up on my pile (Audiobook) and to pace myself with Kill Switch I decided to give it a try. Overall the stories stood up well even accounting for the fact that I am effectively unfamiliar with the Mercy Thompson world. It actually may motivate me to try at least first book of the main series. 

• Welcome Home / Go Away (Kris Longknife #9.5) by Mike Shepherd
• A short little palette cleanser from some of my recent books. This novella fills in a little of the backstory of the Kris Longknife series. Told from a different perspective than normal, mostly from her grandparents point of view (mostly General Trouble). It was interesting to see how the events of the latest book played out from another perspective. Nothing significant happens in this book but it was fun to spend a little more time in this world.
  
  
• Chains of Command (Frontlines #4) by Marko Kloos
• Another interesting continuation of the story of Andrew Grayson. Like the other books there is another fast forward that leads to rejoining Andrew and his wife a year after the events of the last book. Desperately rebuilding the military, Andrew has been co-opted to become a Drill Sergeant, pumping out new recruits into a military that is desperately short handed. But Andrew is not fated for that career for too long as his skills as a successful leader are again called for. Tasked to support a special team to go after the leadership of their confederation who fled just prior to battles of the last book, Andrew picks up a promotion (to the amusement of his wife) and is tasked to put together and lead a team to see if some of those ships that disappeared can be put retaken and put to use in their upcoming campaign to retake Mars.
  
• A Shrouded World - Whistlers (A Shrouded World #1) by Mark Tufo (Goodreads Author), John O'Brien
• So I am much more familiar with Mark Tufo's Michael Talbot character (I actually read the first book of John Obrien's Jack Walker series last month), but this seemed like a fun little collaboration between two characters (+ Trip from Talbot's world). Each of the characters got to interact with the other's main issue (Talbot's zombies and Jack's nighwalkers) and introduced a new bad guy to this world (the Whistlers). It took a little while for the characters to meet up finally, but it was worth it. I am looking forward to the next book to see what happened to this world.

• The Adventures of Tom Stranger, Interdimensional Insurance Agent by Larry Correia
• So it was free. And I got a lot of enjoyment from it. So win for me. This short story/novella was offered free on Audible so I couldn't pass on a free story from one of my favorite authors. Goofy? Yep. Chock full of pop culture references? Check. Overall it feels like this was a collaboration of a bunch of drunks (I can see it now.... "hey! hey! Put in Chuck Norris"), but not just any drunks but a bunch of SF/Fantasy/Mil-SF Con drunks. This story made my run fly by.

April "Reads"/Reads

Lots of driving for the Army leads to more "reading"of audio books:

• Joe Ledger: Special Ops (Joe Ledger #5.5) by Jonathan Maberry

• A great collection of short stories. The Joe Ledger world combines high tech, investigation, action and, yes, a little of the unexplained (in some ways this is the X-Files from operators perspective as opposed to a more passive special agent perspective). They fill in some of the backstories of specific books and/or characters. This was a excellent way to prepare for the release of the new book in the Joe Ledger series later this month. (5/5) 

• Do Unto Others (Freehold: Ripple Creek #2) by Michael Z. Williamson

• Bodyguards. You may ask yourself, what can be more boring that being a bodyguard. Well.. When you are the bodyguard for the only child (daughter) of the richest man in human space? Well, then things get complicated. Located in the Freehold universe (authoritarian Earth that embodies the nanny state, but also containing Freehold, libertarian paradise) this is the story of the Ripple Creek bodyguards (from the previous book, Better to beg Forgiveness) who have the difficult task of keeping this young woman alive. (4/5) 

• The Dark Between the Stars (Saga of Shadows #1) by Kevin J. Anderson

• Bringing back most of the surviving cast of the Saga of the Seven Suns, this book jumps 20 years into the future (so now the children of the main characters are involved as well). There is a new bad guy for the hero's to face, as well as some returning bad guys and some new allies. It will be interesting to see how the story continues to develop, as the scope of this story is pretty far reaching (which leads to some significant jumps in perspective). Overall a solid story. (3.5/5)
• Chaos (A New World #1) by John O'Brien

• It was an entertaining read. The world is going down due to a flue virus, and the vaccine turns out to be worse than the disease. My one big issue was that it seemed to easy for the main character, Jack. He flies an C-130, there just happens to be one with extra internal fuel tanks. The only person he encounters in the sky is his girlfriends brother? Yeah, I want to be this guys friend since he appears to be the luckiest guy alive (and of course his GF is one of the few survivors at the military base in Kuwait she is at). I will definitely read (listen to) the next book to see where this goes. (3/5)

Shows

It is ironic, given my site's name, that my consumption of "media" has taken a nosedive. I mostly blame it on the whole "being a responsible and caring parent" thing.

I mean, really, no one (I know there are exceptions) went to their grave going, "man, I wish I hadn't wasted so much time interacting with my children." BTW, this is my favorite recent picture... because, yes, that is the Medal of Honor hanging around my daughters neck (though she was probably more excited about the dog to her left). That is Army COL Crandall, MOH awardee (of "We were Soldiers" fame, he was the aviation guy who returned multiple times with supplies and to get the wounded)

But I still find some time to watch a few shows. Right now we seem to be in a new golden age for comic books, not just in the movies (everything from the Avengers to Superman seems to be doing well) but also on TV (and off TV, Netflix has been dropping some awesome stuff as well), which pretty much is taking up most of my viewing cycles. These are about the only shows that I am caught up on:

• Arrow - because the world seems to love moody rich people with no super-powers kick butt. And well.... Felicity....
• The Flash - much less moody and more bright, with bigger and more extreme bad guys.
• Supergirl - still on the edge on this show, not quite caught up on
• Walking Dead - smaller set and way more spoilers floating around
• Fear the Walking Dead - even though I find myself rooting for the zombies against these guys
• iZombie - pretty novel take on zombies and very different from other zombie shows
• Jane the Virgin - what can I say, it is entertaining and I watch it with my wife (interestingly the only one on this list that didn't derive from a comic book)
• some miscellaneous sitcoms (everything from 2 Broke Girls to Big Bang Theory)

Ironically since if I had to describe myself I would say that I was a Marvel Comics guy (vs a DC Comics guy) but overall the DC stuff has been producing a better/more watchable set of shows (I want to like Agents of SHIELD, but it doesn't have the same level of watchability that the DC set does.  Agent Carter is much more watchable (as well as the Netflix shows Daredevil and Jessica Jones) but is a much smaller commitment.

The only other thing I am really watching is a re-watch of Babylon 5, because I can have it on in the background and do other things while I go through the show. Somewhat dated but overall it held up well (JMS did a great job writing this show).

And of course I still make a pretty good dent in the reading pile (based on my other posts). 

March "Reads"/Reads

Long books plus long runs seems to even's out my audiobook listening. 

Hell's Foundations Quiver (Safehold #8) by David Weber

• Long book, long series. I think things are slowly coming to a head. Weber's villians, in this case Clinton, are always appropriately hatable that you feel sorry for the people on their team. Almost. David Weber is wordy but the sheer concept of this story keeps me coming back, the combination of "older" tech being aided by futuristic capabilities to help the good guys win really does make this a fun series to read. 4/5 (AB)

Eruption (Supervolcano #1) by Harry Turtledove

• Disappointing. I have been a fan of Harry Turtledove for most of my life so I bought this on his name alone. And while the concept is interesting (The Yellowstone Supervolcano erupts!) it just doesn't feel like his other books. I get it, the idea is to abstract this massive, world changing event and put it up against a personal perspective of the people who are being affected. But this felt more like the disaster films I grew up on in the 80's and early 90's, right down to the corny characters. I don't think I can bring myself to get the next book of the series. I was bored. 2/5 (AB)

Terms of Enlistment  (Frontlines #1) by Marko Kloos

• Good start to a series. Overall this book entertained (always the highest praise from me). The near future looks somewhat bright (at least there is star travel, though Earth itself is looking pretty grim). Following the story of someone from the modern equivalent of the projects (and on the dole) who earned the right to enlist, it is always interesting to me as someone who went through basic training in the USA to compare. Nothing too egregious leapt out at me and the progress of Andrew to first the local Army and then eventually to the Navy was entertaining (I like how when he showed up on his first ship the XO accuses him of being a PX Ranger (bought some awards at the PX that he didn't earn), though I suspect any real XO worth his salt wouldn't have given him the the chance). Overall I was excited to get started on the next book. 4/5 (AB)

Watch on the Rhine (Posleen War: Sidestories #1) by John Ringo, Tom Kratman

• If there is ever a book I have read that most clearly got started over a few drinks, this book is it. I imagine it went something like: "I bet you I can write a story where the nominal good guys wear Sigruden (the Lightning bolt of the SS)" "Hah, good luck with that"  And with that we have this book, which started as a short story and became this full length novel. Where the fricking remainder of the SS is rejuvenated to help Germany fight off the oncoming Posleen horde. Now I share some convictions with the author, Tom Kratman, a retired US Army Officer, so the way that certain parts of Germany are handled came off quite satisfying to me, but overall, like all the Posleen (Legacy of the Aldentia) world this is a grim world. Overall it was a solid addition to the the universe that was created by John Ringo. 4/5 (DB)

Lines of Departure (Frontlines #2) by Marko Kloos

• Continuing a solid series. The storyline flashes forward 5 years to the re-enlistment of Andrew and his Girlfriend. The fight against the against the aliens is going not so well. Andrew has shifted from being a regular swabbie (after converting from being a regular grunt in the first book) to becoming a Combat Controller (basically a JTAC from my military experience. Still part of the space service but down in the mud coordinating air and space support). The best part of this was the humanizing of his relationship with Mother when he is down on leave, taking her out of the PRC and letting her experience some of the world around her). And after getting engaged to his girlfriend (and promising to be back in 6 months) he heads off to fight... not the aliens but the other part of humanity that has colonized deep space (Russian/China coalition). And then things get worse. Finally he is basically exiled (with a whole bunch of other people) onto some ice world.  And then things get worse again. 4/5 (AB)

Angles of Attack (Frontlines #3) by Marko Kloos

• Surviving the trials of the last book, Andrew is now stuck out on the ice world. With a ragtag group of ships from both sides they finally start working together against the enemy menace. After going back to Earth-space, coming back to the ice world and then finally returning to Earth (and linking up with his fiancee) things of course take another bad turn. Looking forward to the next book to see where things go from there. (4/5) AB

February "Reads"/Reads

Even more miles for my training equals even more miles for me to listen to books. Though it is a slightly (less so than normal) shorter month.

• Valhalla (Lexy Vaughan Steven Macaulay #1) - Robert J. Mrazek
• Not a bad book. But not interesting enough to keep going. It was interesting how the author tied in the airplane recovery into a recovery effort for, of all things, the Vikings and secret cults. Felt like a mediocre Dan Brown novel.

• Brothers in Valor (Man of War #3) - H. Paul Honsinger
• Continuation of a fun series. I enjoyed the interesting situations and the clever ways that the captain was able to escape. Based on the ending I am interested to see where this goes.

• The X-Files: Trust No One - edited by Jonathan Maberry
• With a new "season" of The X-Files on tv, it was hard not to buy this anthology to get into the mood and revel in some nostalgia. So I didn't resist and was quite happy with the set of stories. The X-Files feels like returning to your childhood and most of these stories captured the feel of the show. While not every story completely engaged me, the overall set made me feel like I got my money's worth.

The Engines of God (The Academy #1) by Jack McDevitt

The Engines of God (The Academy #1)

by Jack McDevitt

Solid and engaging SF. One of the things I respected about this book is that it shows the future as a messy place.  Sure, they have FTL travel and communications but everything is not hunky-dory at home.  Earth is a messed up place that seems only to be getting worse, science is still operating on a shoestring budget, the military/government is still stepping on peoples toes and the universe is a big scary place.

Spanning 5 separate planets, this tale is good (generally what I have come to expect from Jack McDevitt).  We have the stars but they are a fairly lonely place. Only one alive race has been found (the are technologically around the WWI level), another never got off their planet and died out and a third was engaged in a game of clue, placing structures near all three races (they left a statue near us an weirdly empty city on a moon of another race).

The main characters are mostly archaeologists, who only seem to have exciting jobs in the stories that are written (like Indiana Jones) who are trying to put all the pieces together.  There is action scenes scattered all around story as well as high tech action.  I am really looking forward to the next book!

Redshirts by John Scalzi

Redshirts

by John Scalzi

Ah, redshirts. It seems to be a sign of a true SF geek to immediately get the reference, vs those would stare at you blankly if you referenced it.  But what if you suddenly realized that you weren't the main character in the reality that you inhabit. Worse, you come to the suspicion that your part in the show may be to become just interesting enough to make the audiences feel some emotional loss when you died. And everyone around you is dying at a rate unheard of for any other ship in the fleet.

Well, this is what happened to the main characters of this story.  And after living through a dreaded away mission (except for their dramatically lost friend ironically) they finally figure out what is going on and even when their show is being written (though of course via divergent universes there is no reference to their show).  After kidnapping a main character (one of the best ways to ensure that they don't die off-screen) they are off to the past to try and stop the writers from killing them and their compatriots.

Overall a fun book, with entertaining characters and a sly wink to a bunch of in-jokes. It may not be a book I ever go back to re-read but it was an interesting story.

Midst Toil and Tribulation (Safehold #6) by David Weber

Midst Toil and Tribulation (Safehold #6)

by David Weber

Treading water. When you get a series that has such breadth and scope such as the Safehold series (in particular when you are talking about a book that spans the entire world where the fastest objects are moving at around 20mph) you sometimes have a book where most of the story is spent getting things tidied up from the last book and preparing the ground for the next.  Midst Toil and Tribulation is one of those rebuilding books.

Sure, some things happened.  Fights occurred, progress was made, troops were moving across the world. But in the end you find yourself wanting, waiting for the next book because that is when the interesting stuff is going to happen.  I appreciate the series and look forward to the next book but this book just whets your appetite for the next book, leaving you unfulfilled and wanting.

Fuzzy Nation (Fuzzy Sapiens) by John Scalzi

Fuzzy Nation (Fuzzy Sapiens)

by John Scalzi

A rewrite of a previous story with the same name, this story updates a story that many people, myself included, have never read to contemporary standards.  While a number of the points were updated to account for how we see the technology and standards for contemporary society, I could very much feel the underpinning concepts that carried through from this older story.

A lot of older SF has the super-competent character who is so much smarter and slicker than his peers effectively manipulating the other characters of the story.  In this case it is even more appropriate that this same archetype is also a disbarred lawyer who utilizes his knowledge to control the whole flow of the story.

I was definitely entertained and enjoyed the story throughout though.  From the introductions of the Fuzzies to most of the elements and characters, this book brought me solidly into the story and entertained throughout.

Jack Holloway, a dis-barred lawyer, is a prospector on Zara 23.  In his searches he has struck the mother load, something that would pay out billions of dollars, but he now faces a moral quandary.  Small creatures that he calls Fuzzies have taken to visit his place.  He shares their info to his ex-girlfriend who chooses to file a claim that they are an intelligent lifeforms, which would jeopardize Jack's future payday.  Throughout the book Jack must balance his his desire to strike it big with the potential cost of endangering the fuzzies.

The Evolutionary Void (Void #3) by Peter F. Hamilton

The Evolutionary Void (Void #3)

by Peter F. Hamilton

What a solid ending to a pretty fantastic series.  Considering this is the end of the second trilogy based in this fascinating universe that has such a massive scope that it was entertaining to see where it would go.  Full of everything from post-Singularity intelligences, uploaded human consciousnesses, cyborgs, magic and even some elves tossed in.

To really get this book you must have read the previous books, preferably even the series that preceded this one given that is where many of the characters and came from.  This is a SF series that evokes the older SF, large in scale and concepts coupled with solid contemporary characters.

Second Star (Star Svensdotter #1) by Dana Stabenow

Second Star (Star Svensdotter #1)

by Dana Stabenow

Classic SF. Given that I grew up in the days when the Russians (or Soviets) were a driving force, this novel felt familiar. This is basically an alternate future book, where a message from space shows that Aliens are out there and motivates the world to head outwards to greet those aliens on a more equal footing.

Star is basically a construction manager / captain of the still developing L5 community being put together by the Western alliance (US, Japan, Mexico, Canada) on a grand scale (miles long rotating habitat meant to house 1 million people? That's the definition of grand scale!).  Of course, there are a lot of issues. The potential of a hostile takeover, construction delays, solar flares and, yes, aliens all make this book an entertaining read.

Amazingly for a book written 2 decades ago, the book holds up fairly well (other than the geo-political aspects). I had to go back see when it was written and was quite surprised at the date.