Terms of Enlistment (Frontlines #1) by Marko Kloos

My rating: 4.7 out of 5

The year is 2108, and the North American Commonwealth is bursting at the seams. For welfare rats like Andrew Grayson, there are only two ways out of the crime-ridden and filthy welfare tenements, where you're restricted to two thousand calories of badly flavored soy every day.

You can hope to win the lottery and draw a ticket on a colony ship settling off-world, or you can join the service.

With the colony lottery a pipe dream, Andrew chooses to enlist in the armed forces for a shot at real food, a retirement bonus, and maybe a ticket off Earth. But as he starts a career of supposed privilege, he soon learns that the good food and decent health care come at a steep price…and that the settled galaxy holds far greater dangers than military bureaucrats or the gangs that rule the slums.

***** *** *******

This book and the series has been floating around in my peripheral vision for some time now. I'm generally not the biggest fan of military sci-fi but I do enjoy the sub-genre enough to keep my eyes peeled for what's hot. After hearing a huge amount of good things about the series as well as watching a short film from Netflix's animated series Love, Death & Robots based on one of Kloos' short stories (Lucky Thirteen - which is from the same timeline as this book) I was compelled to investigate further.

Set in what is a rather grim future, the story is told in a enjoyable first-person and present-tense narrative which flows well. The perspective is that of the main character Andrew Grayson, who grows up in a dirty thirty floor tenement block which is part of a low-class public hosing estate in Boston, one of untold other similar estates across the world. Understandably, he yearns to escape his miserable existence and signs up for the military. The world is at war. Two opposing power blocs, the North American Commonwealth and a Chinese-Russian alliance are fighting it out across the globe as well as in space. There are dozens of colonised planets within about a forty light year sphere to fight over. Grayson longs to get of Earth, as far away from his old home as possible. He gains entry into the Army, and this is when things start get really interesting for him.

Simply put, this is a superb book. It's well written and has loads of the stuff that we all love about science fiction such as interesting characters, cool technology and lots of noisy action. Kloos strikes a really good balance between character development and story momentum, and the length of the book is such that it's easily devoured in a reasonable time. If you like lots of explosions and automatic weapons fire you will love this. Just as much as the superb action sequences, I enjoyed getting to know Andrew Grayson as well as his friends and colleagues, he's a normal guy with normal emotions and sensibilities who I could easily relate to. I am really looking forward to seeing him again in the other books.

Kloos has done a really good job with this book and I can easily see why his work is rating so high among his readers. This was the first book for a while that I've found this hard to put down, the story keeps moving so fluidly and with such pace that I was so easily drawn right into the story. Perfect.

4/5 for concept

5/5 for delivery

5/5 for entertainment

= 4.7 out of 5

Buy the ebook HERE (Amazon US)

Buy the paper book HERE (Book Depository)

ANNIHILATION ARIA by Michael R. Underwood

My rating: 4.3 out of 5

An exuberant space opera that dares us to lose ourselves in battle songs and nonstop action!

A woman who can wield a weapon like a song. A man who can out-think ancient death traps. A pilot who flies her ship like a second skin. To keep the Kettle out of hock, Lahra, Max, and Wheel flout border patrols, salvaging artifacts from dangerous galactic ruins. 

But the power in those artifacts threatens the iron-fisted rule of the galaxy’s imperialist overlords, the Vsenk. To protect their dominion, the Vsenk have humbled entire civilizations. They eat ships like the Kettle and her found family for breakfast. 

Lahra, Max, and Wheel are each just trying to get home to the lives they lost, but they’ll have to evade space fascists, kick-start a rebellion, and save the galaxy first. 

Board the Kettle for a space opera like none you’ve ever read before: an adventure of galactic subterfuge, ancient alien lore, a secret resistance force, lost civilizations, and giant space turtles. 

***** *** ******* 

DISCLAIMER: Review copy from NetGalley. 

***** *** *******

While looking for the next book to read, I was quickly taken by this book's synopsis and fantastic cover art. To me, “exuberant space opera” sounded like just the thing, then they mentioned “salvaging artifacts from dangerous galactic ruins” and I was immediately curious. Painted on a huge canvas that spans light years, this story gallops across fantastic places, lifeforms and action. The plot is a typical yet original tale of uprising against a tyrannical empire, a rather horrid bunch who viciously subjugate all and deal with objectors most harshly. Throw into the mix a good measure of Guardians of the Galaxy and you get this  cool space opera. I liken it to a modern pulp sci-fi romp, designed purely to entertain and delight. I reckon that the author achieved and delivered a book that will appeal to people who adore fun reads. I suggest that this book will rate quite well across a sizeable array of science fiction readers. 

The idea of a galactic empire ruled by tough overlords with a struggling resistance fighting back is not new but it’s a formula that sure does work. Just check out the massive entertainment juggernaut that is Star Wars and you see the proof of this. Annihilation Aria stacks up pretty well, being packed with classic tropes that make this genre so enjoyable. There’s tyrannical galactic overlords (the Vsenk), rogue gangsters, various alien species and even a race of giant sentient turtle-like creatures which cruise space and are eminently wise. At the centre of the overall plot of the book is a massively modified being who has the power to destroy planets. Our main characters become pivotal players after discovering an artifact which can be used to control its powers and also shows the history of and balance of power within the galaxy are not what is commonly believed. What they find out will alter things dramatically. 

The central characters are a likeable trio of humanoids who scratch a living as treasure hunters and scavengers. There is a very intelligent human (Max) who has somehow become separated from Earth and has ended up in another part of the universe. His wife (Lahra) is of a species which has a number of societal castes and she is of the soldier caste, made for battle. What I thought was pretty cool and unique is how she uses songs to fuel both herself and her weaponry in combat. Her entire species uses singing to affect various things in their environment and seem to derive a tangible energy from it. I’ve not come across this idea until I read it in this book, so that was refreshing. The third is a matter-of-fact, and practical woman (Wheel) who belongs to a species who are fond of heavy bodily augmentations which allow them to interface directly with machines. She is the owner and pilot of a really neat little ship called the Kettle which she pilots by becoming literally immersed within it. Each of these three are keen to find their way back to their homes, wherever they are. Another key player in the story is a huge Vsenk noble (Arek) who is one of the few of his kind who does not blindly accept their absolute right to rule over the galaxy. He has his own reasons for wanting peace and plays a pivotal role in events. 

Each of the characters in this story, the main players as well as the supporting cast, are very good and it was fun getting to know them. The author’s excellent skills as a writer and storyteller are in no doubt and it is very easy to read, yet contains all the detail necessary. The world building is good, although I did find myself hankering and looking for some slightly more detailed descriptions of some of the locations and other elements of the story. Having said that, I’d imagine that these would be mostly superfluous and the book would end up to be quite long indeed if the author used too many more words. It’s already about as long as this sort of book should be. To be a little more specific about who I think this story is most suited to, I’d have to say that I perceived a slight “youthy” feel to it. This is fine by me and probably enhances the lively feel of the book. It was always easy to pick up the story again after a day or so away from it and I always found it a pleasure to return to. From an entertainment point of view, this book rates high and is perfect to kick back with a bit of not-so-serious distraction.  

You’ve probably worked out that I really enjoyed this. The story is good, delivered well and is very entertaining. The story finishes up leaving a definite path open for further stories, even a prequel to this would be cool to find out more about how things ended up where they are. Some websites list this as the first in series called The Space Operas, so hopefully this is true. I checked out the publisher’s (Parvus Press) catalog and there are some impressive sounding sci-fi and fantasy titles listed there. If this book is any indication, then I’d wager that both the author and whoever publishes his subsequent work will do quite well.

4/5 for concept

4/5 for delivery

5/5 for entertainment

= 4.3 out of 5

 

Buy the ebook HERE (Amazon US)

Buy the paper book HERE (Book Depository)

Chaos Rising (Thrawn Ascendancy #1) by Timothy Zahn

My rating: 4.3 out of 5

Beyond the edge of the galaxy lies the Unknown Regions: chaotic, uncharted, and near impassable, with hidden secrets and dangers in equal measure. And nestled within its swirling chaos is the Ascendancy, home to the enigmatic Chiss and the Nine Ruling Families that lead them.

The peace of the Ascendancy, a beacon of calm and stability, is shattered after a daring attack on the Chiss capital that leaves no trace of the enemy. Baffled, the Ascendancy dispatches one of its brightest young military officers to root out the unseen assailants. A recruit born of no title, but adopted into the powerful family of the Mitth and given the name Thrawn.

With the might of the Expansionary Fleet at his back, and the aid of his comrade Admiral Ar’alani, answers begin to fall into place. But as Thrawn’s first command probes deeper into the vast stretch of space his people call the Chaos, he realizes that the mission he has been given is not what it seems.

And the threat to the Ascendancy is only just beginning. 

***** *** *******

I've become quite a fan of Thrawn, the blue-skinned and red-eyed Chiss with a brilliant mind and ruthless character, yet so very likeable. This began by reading the original Thrawn Trilogy books (also by Timothy Zahn) from the early 90's, which were incredibly significant books that effectively kicked off the whole expanded universe phenomenon. These are currently considered non-canon and known as Star Wars Legends. Thrawn has evidently always been a character that George Lucas has wanted to explore, and even after the transition to the Disney-owned era and a whole new canon of Star Wars lore, some of the first books published were Thrawn books (the three-part Star Wars: Thrawn series) and which were all great reads. After their successes, Zahn has again been commissioned to give us another series set "A long time ago, beyond a galaxy far, far away….". Set chronologically before the previous series, it is called the Thrawn Ascendancy series and set down for three books at this stage. Grand Admiral Thrawn is possibly going to become a whole lot more relevant in the grand scheme (note the reference to him in the recent episode of The Mandalorian TV series...) and this book is playing a key role in building his character.

Mitth'raw'nuruodo

In Thrawn from 2017 (see my review HERE) we're reintroduced to him as Mitth'raw'nuruodo, exiled to a remote forest planet, his Chiss rulers having seen it fit to punish him for wrongdoing during his military career. This new series takes us back to the beginnings of that career and starts to build for us the story of how Thrawn falls out of favour with his superiors. As a quick recap, The Chiss Ascendancy is an empire of near-human Chiss located inside the Unknown Regions of the galaxy (known as the Chaos to the Chiss) which is highly secretive and strictly isolationist to outsiders. To quote from the book itself:

For thousands of years it has been an island of calm within the Chaos. It is a center of power, a model of stability, and a beacon of integrity. The Nine Ruling Families guard it from within; the Expansionary Defence Fleet guards it from without. Its neighbours are left in peace, its enemies are left in ruin. It is light and culture and glory.

Chiss Ascendancy logo

Set during what fans know as the Republic era, there is some crossover with that timeline and we briefly come across a familiar character or two that Star Wars fans will know. This again points to the Unknown Regions/Chaos playing a larger role in the new-canon universe moving forward. Bring it on I say. Anyway, enough background, what about the book?

There are two separate chronological plot lines which run beside each other for the whole book. The main plot line has Thrawn as a mid-level officer of the Chiss Expansionary Defence Fleet and involved in the investigation of some disturbing events going on in space surrounding the Ascendancy. It's an intriguing and action-packed story with a number of interesting and likeable supporting characters, and portrays Thrawn as the cunning and quick-thinking officer that we've seen lots of previously. His love for art and culture is, again, very prominent and we see him deduce much about his opponents and other species from closely observing their artistic expression. The second plot line gives the back story of how Thrawn transitions from nothing to brilliant military officer in a rather meteoric rise up the command chain. There is clearly more than meets the eye going on here and as the story moves forward we learn much about the political skulduggery that dominates Chiss society. Thrawn grows up through this system into a master military tactician and leader, yet ignorant to the nuances and intricate self-serving that makes up the world of politics. You can see this weakness taking him toward that exile that I mentioned earlier. No doubt we will arrive at that part of the story later in this book series.

The action sequences are excellent and not drawn out unnecessarily, which is great for me because long space battles can have me quickly losing focus. The intrigue part of it is pretty good, and gives the reader a few things to mull over in their mind as the story unfolds. It's one of those stories which I had to keep my brain in gear enough to follow the plot, and if I let my attention wander, I found myself going back to re-familiarise myself with the guts of what was going on. This is mostly a reflection of me reading when I'm much too tired and in no way due to the writing style, which is typically mostly superb. In fact, as can reasonably be expected, Zahn displays his excellent storytelling skills. Although, for my only complaint as it were, I found the whole feel and vibe of the story as a bit "youthy", like it was targeted at a younger audience than myself. The dialog and the speech style used is very clean, almost too clean, like it's written for a teenage reader. I guess this could be the desire to have the book accessible to all age groups, and it doesn't really present much of a problem, but it's a noticeable facet. I’d happily let my kids read this and I think that they’d enjoy it immensely as would my mother, that’s if any of them were into Star Wars...

The characters are excellent. Additionally to Thrawn himself, I found myself liking just about all of them, even the more unsavoury types. There is an interesting cast of supporting players and throughout the story we learn a lot about Chiss society and the way that their hierarchy operates. I suspect that this information will be important for the new story arc moving forward; I can see the Chiss and the other species of the Unknown Regions becoming a sizeable part of the Star Wars universe. One small thing, possibly insignificant yet tantalisingly curious, is reference to the connection of the name of the Chiss child space navigators called sky-walkers and the familiar name Skywalker. Does this hint at a possible Unknown Regions origin of the Skywalker bloodline and Aanakin’s extraordinarily high midi-chlorians count? This is good, very good, especially since we’ve often been given tantalising little snippets of information over the years due to Emperor Palpatine’s interest and fascination with the Unknown Regions. This is quite safe territory for the new direction as well with little or no risk of overwriting previously published things from the expanded universe. Yet again, I'm left feeling happily content with the direction that the new Star Wars brains trust is taking things overall. The new and forthcoming High Republic Era and its stories offer more mouthwatering and alluring prospects.

In summary, this book is a pleasing addition to this new canon story arc and is one that is easily devoured and enjoyed. If you want to keep abreast with what possibly could be one of the next big movie characters, I suggest that you keep learning about Thrawn and who he is and what he represents. He might just be seeing a whole lot more of him in the coming years.

5/5 for concept

4/5 for delivery

4/5 for entertainment

= 4.3 out of 5

Buy the ebook HERE (Amazon US)

Buy the paper book HERE (Book Depository)

Thrawn: Treason (Star Wars: Thrawn #3) by Timothy Zahn

Thrawn: Treason by Timothy Zahn

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“If I were to serve the Empire, you would command my allegiance.”

Such was the promise Grand Admiral Thrawn made to Emperor Palpatine at their first meeting. Since then, Thrawn has been one of the Empire’s most effective instruments, pursuing its enemies to the very edges of the known galaxy. But as keen a weapon as Thrawn has become, the Emperor dreams of something far more destructive.

Now, as Thrawn’s TIE defender program is halted in favour of Director Krennic’s secret Death Star project, he realises that the balance of power in the Empire is measured by more than just military acumen or tactical efficiency. Even the greatest intellect can hardly compete with the power to annihilate entire planets.

As Thrawn works to secure his place in the Imperial hierarchy, his former protégé Eli Vanto returns with a dire warning about Thrawn’s home world. Thrawn’s mastery of strategy must guide him through an impossible choice: duty to the Chiss Ascendancy, or fealty to the Empire he has sworn to serve. Even if the right choice means committing treason.

***** *** *******

Boy, this new canon of Star Wars stories, both in books and on the screen is really starting to heat up and I've been suitably impressed by most of the new Disney-era stuff. When I saw that there is yet another new canon series (Thrawn Ascendancy) out there, I thought it best to get caught up with this final book of the Thrawn series. 

In what is the final episode of this particular series, the story arc is presumably brought to a close, yet doors have definitely been opened to further exploration. It's a pretty good addition and a little bit better than the previous book Alliances in my opinion (see my review HERE). In all honesty, the plot line is nothing overly spectacular, but it lends itself well to what has been a fairly entertaining series.

We follow Thrawn with his crew and associates on a mission to discover the reason for stolen shipments of equipment and materials from the huge Imperial weapon Project Stardust (named by designer Galen Erso after his daughter Jyn Erso - see Rogue One), or the building of the Death Star. What ensues is an enjoyable mystery ranging across the galaxy, and an encounter with a mysterious alien threat in the form of the Grysks (what appear to possibly be the new canon version of the Yuuzhan Vong) who originate from far beyond Imperial territory. We also learn more about Thrawn's people the Chiss and their potential role in future events.

I'm aware that this is a rather brief review, but it should suffice to say that this is yet another typically well-written Zahn Star Wars story, with a good measure of intrigue and some really good action scenes, especially the space battles. Zahn again proves why he's long been one of the first choices to write Star Wars novels and it's great to see that the new "ideas" people want to keep him around.  It's undeniable that Zahn had a huge hand in creating what became the Star Wars Expanded Universe and the awesome evolving creature that became. I can only hope that the new canon of stories becomes as good or better than that. Based on what I've seen so far, I'm quietly confident that all will be just fine in the Star Wars universe.

4/5 for concept

4/5 for delivery

4/5 for entertainment

= 4 out of 5

Buy the ebook HERE (Amazon US)

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The War of the Maps by Paul McAuley

The War of the Maps by Paul McAuley
My rating: 4.7 of 5 stars

On a giant artificial world surrounding an artificial sun, one man - a lucidor, a keeper of the peace, a policeman - is on the hunt. His target was responsible for an atrocity, but is too valuable to the government to be truly punished. Instead he has been sent to the front lines of the war, to use his unique talents on the enemy. So the lucidor has ignored orders, deserted from his job, left his home and thrown his life away, in order to finally claim justice.

Separated by massive seas, the various maps dotted on the surface of this world rarely contact each other. But something has begun to infiltrate the edges of the lucidor's map, something that genetically alters animals and plants and turns them into killers. Only the lucidor knows the depths to which his quarry will sink in order to survive, only the lucidor can capture him. The way is long and dangerous. The lucidor's government has set hunters after him. He has no friends, no resources, no plan.

But he does have a mission.

***** *** *******

A nice surprise was this. Every so often you come across a book that turns out to be a pleasant slap in the face, one of those books that make you realize that maybe you keep your reading boundaries a bit too tight. This is one such book. After reading the synopsis, I had reservations about starting this book and initially had in the back of my mind that I'd end up not finishing it. I didn't really think that it sounded much like my sort of thing, but those thoughts disappeared after only a half-dozen or so pages. The basic idea of the story, set on some sort of huge artificial world in space somewhere was enough to grab my attention, and I was not left disappointed. I ended up totally absorbed in the story and actually purposely taking my time with it, basking in the escapism that it gave me.

The main character, a retired cop, is on a mission to finish some business, and nasty business at that. He's really want to finish the job that he was tasked with, and there's a bit of score to settle. He's on the trail of another bloke who has been involved in some interesting going-on and needs to be brought in. He is instantly likeable, and the story begins building nicely right from the start, both in character development and in the world building. Behind this is the fact that there is some sort of invasion going on across various parts of the world, where people and various creatures are being attacked/manipulated/modified by some sort of organism or something that is on the loose. There are plenty of references to ancient creators and world-builders that are now revered as deities, a fascinating idea. These concepts are left open throughout the entire book, but with plenty of clues to keep you hypothesizing, trying to work out the origins of the world and the people in it.

McAuley's world building is superb and he seems to be able to describe things with very few words, which I was quite impressed by. The characters are good, but it's really only main chap who is explored to any sort of depth. The secondary supporting members of the cast are likewise portrayed well, albeit to a lesser level of detail. The story's journey across the world is wonderfully captivating, there being many things of interest to see and marvel at. There a number of quite awesome spectacles along the way which are elements that I always look for in sci-fi, one example being the huge sea-going arks that were once used to explore that vast oceans that separate the various "maps" on the outer surface of this big construction. And the weird and wonderful beasts in these oceans are likewise pretty incredible. The ending didn't deliver a big final reveal like I initially thought it was going to and definitely leaves the way open to further exploration. However, don't take this to mean that it has an unsatisfactory conclusion. I hope McAuley decides to give us some more of this awesome world and it's story.

My attention was held easily while reading this, and I'd happily recommend this to anybody who is looking for a read with a wonderful balance of adventure and intrigue yet is relaxing enough to just chill with and escape reality for a while. 

5/5 for theme

5/5 for delivery

4/5 for entertainment

= 4.7 out of 5

Buy the book HERE (Amazon)

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Dune (Dune Chronicles #1) by Frank Herbert

Dune by Frank Herbert
My rating: 4.7/5

Set in the far future amidst a sprawling feudal interstellar empire where planetary dynasties are controlled by noble houses that owe an allegiance to the imperial House Corrino, Dune tells the story of young Paul Atreides (the heir apparent to Duke Leto Atreides and heir of House Atreides) as he and his family accept control of the desert planet Arrakis, the only source of the 'spice' melange, the most important and valuable substance in the cosmos. The story explores the complex, multi-layered interactions of politics, religion, ecology, technology, and human emotion as the forces of the empire confront each other for control of Arrakis.

Published in 1965, it won the Hugo Award in 1966 and the inaugural Nebula Award for Best Novel. Dune is frequently cited as the world's best-selling science fiction novel. 

***** *** *******

This is my third reading of this classic sci-fi novel, which I thought that I'd get in before the release of the latest screen adaptation attempt due to be released later in 2020. The origins and subsequent success of Frank Herbert's 1965 novel Dune is well documented and is a good indication of how good this book really is. It comes across as a bit dated in its style and prose, but you can't deny the quality of the story. It's an epic adventure across the face of an incredible and desolate planet which is itself part of a massive galactic empire, under the rule of an Imperial head and administered by various noble houses or families who constantly strive in competition and rivalry with each other, contending for power and commercial gain which is itself controlled by a huge galactic corporation. It's all good stuff right here.

I was actually introduced to Dune by listening the the music of Iron Maiden, who have a track called "To Tame A Land" on their 1983 album Piece Of Mind which is a heavily paraphrased seven minute version of the story. Apparently the band wanted to call the song "Dune", and approached Frank Herbert for permission, who quickly refused due to his dislike of heavy metal music. Fair enough, but he's got Maiden to thank for revealing his excellent novel to me and, I'm sure, many others as well.

The characters of the story are excellent and have quite some depth in most cases, although Dune itself only really scrapes the surface of the story and its characters. These are apparently expanded upon to quite some extent in the sequel novels, as well as the canon of "expanded universe" works co-authored by Herbert's son Brian and Kevin J Anderson. My intention is to explore some of these in the future, although opinion seems to be very mixed as to their worth as companion works to one of the most successful science fiction books of all time.

It's interesting and enjoyable that Herbert wrote so many strong and interesting female characters into his story, and I reckon this is one of the the real highlights of the characterisation. There's been some talk about the gender of one or more of the characters being changed in the upcoming movie(s) in, what I can only assume, is an attempt at political correctness which I find just a tad ridiculous. The world depicted in Dune has many male figureheads yet there are women pulling the strings all over the place as well as men who truly love and honour their women. One of the more distasteful players in the story (Baron Vladimir Harkonnen) is presented as a homosexual deviant with a taste for young men, another plot point which might need to be treated a bit more carefully in this day and age. This is just more reason for me to eagerly anticipate the movies, to see just how things might be dealt with in the context of both the story and current thinking about issues such as the role of women and sexuality.

Reading this book is best done in an unhurried manner, taking the time to fully digest the words and the details of the story. The pacing does feel a bit erratic at times, sections of extended but very good character dialogue mixed with some really good action scenes, especially the knife fights! This is a mere observation and I didn't find the differences in pace distracting in any way. Overall its position as a seminal work of science fiction, which went on to inspire an untold number of readers and writers alike, is well deserved. What it loses in terms of its sometimes dated speech, it more than makes up for in depth of story and intrigue. I highly recommend it to anybody who enjoys an absorbing and epic tale.

Roll on the new movie or movies! May they do for Dune what Peter Jackson's movies did for LOTR and undo the damage (personally speaking only) from the 1984 film adaptation.

5/5 for theme

4/5 for delivery

5/5 for entertainment

= 4.7 out of 5

Buy the book HERE (Amazon)

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Mass Awakening by Shoshi Herscu

Mass Awakening by Shoshi Herscu

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

The Truth has been hidden from us while a global policy of mass depopulation and exploitation has been carried out behind the scenes for the past half-century. The author, an independent journalist, became aware of this agenda only in the past few years. She found it hard to believe, but in-depth research and the testimony of whistleblowers worldwide have exposed these strategies. They include geoengineering (chemtrails), fluoridation of water supplies, GMOs, vaccinations, false flag terrorist attacks, and economic warfare by the group David Wilcock calls the Cabal. However, despite this grim reality, a positive shift of mass awakening is occurring worldwide. Tribunals are being established to prosecute elite offenders; revelations of hidden technology like free-energy and new economic models are being put forth. The author shows how humanity is claiming its rightful heritage as spiritual beings and charts the course of our elevation of consciousness.

MASS AWAKENING gives us all real hope for an amazing future.

***** *** *******

I love the subject matter, but I found this to be a a bit all over the place, and almost reads like a teaching book for a cult (and, yes, I've read one or two of those over the years...).

I found the short part about music frequencies and the section about global financial matters quite interesting, especially in the light of our current events (COVID-19, which Shoshi obviously knew nothing about while writing the book). But, if you consider yourself anything resembling agnostic, you won’t appreciate most of it; it’s got a heavy spiritual content. Also, the ET thing is massive for her. I'd say that she is a bit of a disciple of the Galactic Confederation of Light concept (or something similar) which has been around for some time now.

The huge number of internet links was slightly off-putting and, because I read this book on an e-reader, they were unusable. I can't help but see this book as a slightly jumbled compilation of a series of ideas gleaned from many, many hours surfing the internet and spent on social media conversing with members of countless fringe groups.

The subject matter is fascinating and mind-bending and (in my opinion) grounded in fact, well worth investigating if you are seriously interested in the world around you and what is REALLY going on. To me, Shoshi Herscu came across as a bit of a nutter, a crazy woman who spends too much time talking to other nutters. That's only my perception, and she's probably not, but what came across while reading made me feel this way.

Overall, if you're new to the idea of things being way different to what they appear to be, and have a very open mind, you will glean much from this book. But for me, this was far too chaotic and untidy for the subject matter to be fully grasped and appreciated.

3/5 for theme

2/5 for delivery

2/5 for education

= 2.3 out of 5

Buy the book HERE (Amazon)

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Whip by Martin Caidin

My rating:

4 out of 5

They called him Whip because that was the way he handled a plane. Small, wiry, always ready for action, Captain Whip Russel was a terror in the air...and the pilots of his Brigade of B-25 bombers were the best outfit in the Pacific in 1942.

With the Japanese at the height of their power, Whip and his boys flew into Northern Australia on a special assignment that was to change the drift of the war - and teach them all a thing or two about victory...and defeat...

***** *** *******

Here we have a perfect example of a book from another of my favorite fiction genres; loosely fact-based tales of men and women who fought on our behalf during the times of war that have come along over the years. Whip is a great rollicking yarn that whisks the reader along on missions against the Japanese in the Pacific theatre during World War Two. I've had a copy of the Corgi paperback edition for around thirty years that I picked up in a book exchange somewhere along the way. I've read it four times that I can recall and have enjoyed it immensely each time. First published in 1976 and enjoying a number of reprints over the years, Martin Caidin has delivered an entertaining book that will appeal to lovers of WW2 history, action and aviation. Caidin has written a number of other fiction titles as well as some non-fiction works on military history. Also, a few sci-fi thrillers have come from him as well; in fact, the popular 70's and 80's TV series The Six Million Dollar Man was adapted from his novel Cyborg. Sure, Whip is a bit pulpy and may not find huge acceptance by today's readers, but it's designed for entertainment purposes with a little factual account blended in there and I'd suggest that most people over that age of 40 would really enjoy reading this.

From the opening lines and the moment when Whip Russel's B-25 bomber squadron thunders overhead Garbutt Field in Northern Australia, the action never really stops. Whip's squadron is on the retreat from the vast invading Japanese forces on the northern side of New Guinea and in the Solomon Islands. While regrouping in Aussie, plans are formed to create a forward operating base high in the jungle hills of New Guinea, a secret base from where they can strike out at the Japs more or less unmolested. They also decide to modify their aircraft to be able to deliver extra blows to the enemy, and edge that no other squadrons or aircraft have. Of course, things don't always go exactly to plan but the results are generally quite impressive. Caidin writes with great detail and things do seem very authentic, I guess due to him having had quite a bit to do with these aircraft and the men who flew them.

A B-25 bomber attacks Japanese frigate

The characters are relatively shallow (I guess) but I'd ask who would want them to be any different for this type of yarn? I liked every cast member in this book and think that they fit the whole story perfectly. The writing style is great, very typical of stuff like this from the same era. It's what I grew up reading so it's real comfort reading for me, a return to the tried and true tropes and yarns that kept my younger mind ticking over and learning about various things that interested me. This is the sort of book that people like me can crawl into when life gets a bit much, make a tactical retreat from the real world for a little while and regroup of our resources. Just like Whip Russel's B-25 squadron. A lot of folks around me don't realize how much they've got books like Whip to thank for allowing me the ability to do this.

Basically, Whip is an interesting and yet sometimes grim World War Two yarn, perfect for military and/or aviation fans who want to immerse themselves in what I was most probably like back in those darker days of our history.

3/5 for concept
4/5 for delivery
5/5 for entertainment
= 4 out of 5

Buy the book HERE (Amazon US)
Download the epub file HERE (The Z-Library Project)

A Star-Wheeled Sky by Brad R Torgersen

My rating:

4 out of 5

Over a millennium in the past, humans fleeing Earth in slower-than-light vessels discovered the Waywork, an abandoned alien superhighway system that allows instantaneous travel from star to star. The problem: there are a finite number of Waypoint nodes—and the burgeoning population of humans is hemmed in as a result. Furthermore, humanity is divided into contending Starstates. One of the strongest is based on an oligarchy ruling families, but still mostly democratic. The other is a totalitarian nightmare. War seems inevitable.

Now a new Waypoint appears. Might it lead to the long-lost creators of the Waywork? If so, there may be knowledge and technology that will tip the balance in the coming war.

Three people race to make it to the new Waypoint—and beyond. These include Wyodreth Antagean, the reluctant son of an interstellar shipping magnate, Lady Garsina Oswight, the daring daughter of a royal family, and Zuri Mikton, a disgraced flag officer seeking redemption. They are facing an implacable foe in Golsubril Vex, a merciless, but highly effective, autocrat from the Waywork’s most brutal regime. Vex is determined to control the new Waypoint and whatever revelation or power lies on the other side.

Now humanity’s fate—to live in freedom or endless dictatorship—depends on just what that revelation might be. And who gets there first.

***** *** *******

After having read and enjoyed some of Torgersen's previous work (the Chaplains War novel and a number of his shorter stories) I immediately elevated this book to the top of my to-read list when I saw its release. I really like his writing style, which possibly has something to do with the fact (which I only found out recently) that one of his key mentors is Mike Resnick who happens to be one of my favourite authors across all genres. Torgersen delivers to us a good story with good characters and an interesting plot, and the world-building is very good. These facets add up to a pretty good novel that is clearly just the beginning of a larger series of books and/or stories. In his Acknowledgements, Torgersen admits that "retooling for long form has been—and continues to be—a process" after a number of successful shorter works (not least his great success in the Analog magazine Reader's Poll), and I feel that maybe I can sense this a little while reading this. While the story ideas contained in it are excellent and the execution is just fine, there did seem to be a slight lull in the middle, just enough to cause my attention to wander a little. But the last quarter really picks up again and finishes the book off nicely, albeit rather abruptly.

Set in the distant future when Earth is but a distant memory and the topic of legend, the story starts when a new Waypoint in an interconnecting interstellar network called the Waywork suddenly appears. A frantic race begins by rival groups to reach this new portal, find out where it leads to and to then exploit any potential resources it might contain. You see, after the discovery of the Waywork (which was created by an unknown and enigmatic ancient civilization referred to simply as the Waymakers) human space was further broken up into a number "Starstates" which are separated geographically, politically and ideologically. Some of these are in a constant state of tension and territorial dispute and the protagonists in this story are the rival Starstates Constellar and Nautillan. Each one desires the new territory for it's strategic value and whatever the new space might contain, habitable planets being in short supply and a new place for people to settle is quite a prize indeed, one worth going to war over. The ideologies of these two states are quite far removed from one another, the militaristic Nautillan desires to subjugate the other Starstates and to bring them under their own one rule, whereas Constellar (ruled by royal First Families) are generally content to coexist peacefully with other states and to respect each other's ideological differences. What ensues is a tense territorial tussle over the new space, and the new things that are encountered along the way. Straight away it is noted that things are a little bit off, a tad unusual and they realize that there may be new forces or factors at work.

As the story progresses, the characters are built nicely and by the end of the book we have gotten to know a few of them quite well. The characters' depth is fine for this story, but there are one or two personalities that I would have liked to learn more about, but I'm not disappointed enough for it to have depreciated the story at all. Like I said, this is clearly the beginning of a larger story arc, so the characters will obviously grow along with it. Good, because they're a good bunch of players which suit the story well. Again (as is typical for me), my favorite character was one of the less-than-lovely players in Golsubril Vex, an aggressive commander from Nautilan, a single-minded woman who has conquest on behalf of her home Starstate as the prime (i.e. only) objective, no compromises. Her counterpart on the Constellar side is also a woman, Admiral Zuri Mikton and she is almost as fierce, yet she lacks the cruel streak of Vex. Another key character, and also a woman, is the very intelligent yet rather petulant Constellar First Family daughter Lady Garsina Oswight, who is brought along on the expedition officially for her expertise in the study of the Waymakers, but she does kind of manipulate her doting Daddy a wee bit to get on the team. The only other top-level character in here that isn't a woman is Wyodreth Antagean, the rich son of a Constellar shipping magnate who is also an officer in the reserve navy. This chap comes along in both a military capacity and also as the owner of a number of vessels commandeered by the Constellar navy. Maybe Torgersen is trying to make a statement in placing women into most of these powerful positions, a tip of the hat to modern political correctness? He's a reserve military man himself, so maybe he's giving a salute to strong women that he has seen in charge of various things in his own world? Honestly, I don't care at all because I've always enjoyed strong female characters in the stories. However, it is a very noticeable inclusion in this book.

The action scenes are good, really good, and there is no shortage of combat action, both in the vacuum of space and on a planetary surface. They're not usually my sort of thing, but the space battles are quite a lot of fun to read and they keep the pace up in the story. In a nutshell, the combination of action, dialogue and plot is very good, and I'm not quite sure what caused that lull in my interest during the middle section. The ending comes up quite quickly indeed, but we do learn quite a bit of the background story about the earlier days of humanity and how they came to populate the Waywork. However, the nature of the enigmatic Waymakers remains largely unrevealed, waiting for the next book to continue building the picture.

The writing style is excellent, in my opinion, and Torgersen (again) demonstrates his talents with words. For a chap who is not yet a professional author, his storytelling abilities are far in excess of many pro writers that I could name. This guy is one to really watch for the future, and I reckon we'll be seeing some huge best-sellers from him in the years to come. The only thing that seems to lack in the delivery of this book is the element of humour, a dose of light-heartedness or even some cutting sarcasm to break up the tension of the main plot. That would really elevate it for me and probably prompt me to award at least another half a star to the rating score. It's highly enjoyable at any rate, so that's really just nit-picking by me.

I assume that Torgersen is a man of faith, because the concept of belief in something bigger than ourselves, faith in things unseen in another realm of existence, is a recurring theme right through the book. One of the second-tier characters is a chaplain and there is a body of scripture that is often referred to in the story, and the appearance of the new Waypoint seems to fulfill prophecies contained within this. The existence of God is suggested many times and references are made to the scriptures throughout the book. These things (as well as in Chaplains War) certainly point to him being a God-fearing person who ponders the question of our existence not being afraid to consider a higher power. This is a welcome thing as far as I'm concerned, because I do occasionally get ticked off by arrogant atheism (if there is even such a thing) and the anti-faith sentiment that often comes across in a lot of science fiction writing. Why should the idea of an omnipotent something or someone outside of our understanding be so tough to handle? It is a speculative fiction genre after all, supposedly populated by readers and writers with broad minds.

Anyway, to round things off, this book is a fine read and a nice blend of military sci-fi and space opera that is worth picking up if you feel like some relaxing entertainment from one of the more prominent new sci-fi writers to come along in recent years. I'll certainly be keeping my eyes peeled for the inevitable sequel or sequels.

4/5 for concept

4/5 for delivery

4/5 for entertainment

= 4 out of 5

Buy the ebook HERE (Amazon US)
Buy the paper book HERE (Book Depository)

Paradise by Mike Resnick

My rating:
4.3 out of 5

Peponi, a distant world rich in wildlife and populated by a people without a high degree of technology, is "discovered" by mankind.

Men arrive on the planet, then reap its riches. After years of subjugation, the natives finally begin to push for independence. While armed rebellion is put down, from its ashes a native leader, Bukon Pepon, is able to forge the various tribes together and gain independence from the Human government.

Upon independence, most Men leave the planet for distant shores and dream their dreams of the paradise that Peponi once was. Other Men stay to create a new dream. But both Men and Pepons watch their economy and resources dwindle away as overpopulation, hunting, tribal factionalism, and the introduction of non-native species take their toll. 

***** *** *******

Another thought-provoking and enjoyable read from one of the best story tellers (in my humble opinion) to ever put down a word. In this relatively short novel, Resnick quite impressively retells the history of Kenya, but this time in a far future sci-fi setting, substituting the distant planet of Peponi for the African country and an interesting race of tribal humanoid aliens for Kenyans. It sits within Resnick's wonderful Birthright universe and therefore will most likely please any reader familiar with the setting and probably anyone else who enjoys a good yarn. It moves along a relaxed pace which allows you to take in every word and engage easily with the story. I found it a little amusing, given that this is sci-fi, that I had to remind myself a few times that it’s not an actual historical account. I can only conclude that it seems so real because it's written so well, and making the assumption that it's quite faithful to the factual history of Kenya. The other two books of this Galactic Comedy sub-series of "Chronicles Of Distant Worlds" (Purgatory and Inferno) also tell stories based on other African nations and, if they're any bit like this one, will no doubt be similarly engrossing reads.

The central character, a pleasant chap called Matthew Breen, is a journalist and author, and the book begins with him researching for a book about a famous human hunter and guide on Peponi. The name Peponi means "paradise" in a local dialect and really is a veritable paradise in itself, being a stunningly beautiful planet unspoiled by outsiders up until its discovery by human explorers from the Galactic Republic. While we actually learn very little about Breen himself, we meet and get to know many other very colorful characters throughout the book and it’s these peoples' stories who really make the story. We begin with the hunter's account of his life and experiences as a safari guide for rich off-worlders, and this leads to more interviews with others who also have amazing tales and account of some of the pivotal events that unfold. Breen ends up writing a number of books about Peponi and its people, who range from human land owners to soldiers and mercenaries to native politicians, the first-person narrative bouncing back and forth between Breen and the various characters whom he converses with - a style which I found enjoyable to read and which totally drew me in.

The story is chronological and broken into four main parts, each separated by a number of years and each telling about a distinct phase of the planet's history, from life under human colonization through to an extremely brutal guerrilla war for freedom and then to eventual independence within the Republic and self rule by the natives. The same format continues right through the book, with Breen searching for information and speaking with people as he goes, both formally and informally. He remains impartial and indifferent throughout, telling each side of the story that he hears as fairly as possible. The accounts are fascinating, and the tales told are excellent. I loved reading about the wide variety of wild animals on Peponi, from the huge lumbering Landships which are eventually hunted to extinction, and the fearsome (and superbly named) predatory Bush Devils and Demon Cats. Everything is described sufficiently to allow you to form a solid picture in your mind's eye of the setting and the things within it. The sentient Peponi humanoids themselves are interesting enough, but it is the wild animals which I actually found to be the most interesting parts of the book. In saying that, however, the dialog used is good and the conversations between the various characters are easy to follow, satisfying, informative and easy to follow, i.e. a great example of this writer's skills.

Because it's a retelling of an actual history, you can definitely see the parallels in the fiction and the fact, and not just that of Kenya, but many countries on Earth which have been colonized then achieved independence, for better or worse. But are they better off governing themselves in comparative ignorance, or should they let the colonizing power remain, at least in part? The natives of Peponi ask themselves this question as they attempt to pave a way forward totally unprepared and unequipped for what they must to do to carve out a place in a vast technological galactic society. This fiercely tribal race of people, who never even had the wheel before the entry of humans, has been thrust forward by thousands of years in just a couple of generations and are (quite understandably) a bit dumb-struck by what they see in front of them. You could say that the eventual moral of the story, and the answer to the previous question, is that Peponi and its people need to be left to discover their place in the galaxy in their own time and in their own way, without corruption from outside influences.

Resnick has produced another top-notch and satisfying tale that kept me captivated for its entirety. Inspired by his travels in Africa and his love of the continent and its cultures, Resnick’s story telling is excellent which is typical for him. This is reinforces the fact that he is one of the most awarded science fiction authors of all time, mainly for short fiction but I've found his novels to be some of the best from the sci-fi genre that I can name. While I haven't enjoyed everything of Resnick's that I've read so far quite as much (I'm talking mainly about his more recent work here), he more often than not fails to disappoint me and this is exactly what he has achieved here. It’s a good, solid yarn with a sobering message at its core that will engage the thoughtful and inquiring reader.

4/5 for concept 

5/5 for delivery 

4/5 for entertainment 

= 4.3 out of 5

Buy the ebook HERE (Amazon US) 

Buy the paper book HERE (Book Depository)