BOOK REVIEW: The First And The Last by Adolf Galland

The First And The Last by Adolf Galland
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A fearless leader with 104 victories to his name, Galland was a legendary hero in Germany's Luftwaffe. Now he offers an insider's look at the division's triumphs in Poland and France and the last desperate battle to save the Reich.

"The clearest picture yet of how the Germans lost their war in the air".--Time.


A first-hand account written by a man who was part of the upper echelons of the WW2 German Luftwaffe and also at the forefront of the air war over Britain and mainland Europe. There's many interesting insights into strategic decisions made by the German leaders, and Galland's in-person dealings with Hitler and Goring give us a rare look at the minds behind Germany's war effort. I found it fascinating how much of a hindrance the mindset of Hitler was against the defence of the German Reich, thus allowing Allied air forces to gain the upper hand and eventual air superiority over Europe. The case of the misuse of the brilliant new ME-262 turbojet aircraft is indicative of this and the sorry saga is told well by Galland in the later chapters of the book. I could sense the author's frustrations as he retells these events. While reading Galland's account I came to respect the man and his honor as a soldier. He was no Nazi, that much is clear, yet he did his best to carry out his sworn duty as a Luftwaffe officer. Political ideology doesn't appear in this book, but it's a candid account that is both interesting and educational, a must-read for anybody interested in military history.

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BOOK REVIEW: The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers #1) by Becky Chambers

My rating: 4 out of 5

When Rosemary Harper joins the crew of the Wayfarer, she isn’t expecting much. The Wayfarer, a patched-up ship that’s seen better days, offers her everything she could possibly want: a small, quiet spot to call home for a while, adventure in far-off corners of the galaxy, and distance from her troubled past. But Rosemary gets more than she bargained for with the Wayfarer. The crew is a mishmash of species and personalities, from Sissix, the friendly reptilian pilot, to Kizzy and Jenks, the constantly sparring engineers who keep the ship running. Life on board is chaotic, but more or less peaceful – exactly what Rosemary wants. Until the crew are offered the job of a lifetime: the chance to build a hyperspace tunnel to a distant planet. They’ll earn enough money to live comfortably for years… if they survive the long trip through war-torn interstellar space without endangering any of the fragile alliances that keep the galaxy peaceful. But Rosemary isn’t the only person on board with secrets to hide, and the crew will soon discover that space may be vast, but spaceships are very small indeed.

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

This book is a fine example of an independently self-published book (subsequently re-published by Hodder & Stoughton) by a gifted storyteller. Here, Chambers has written the sort of book that I would love to write someday, one with interesting characters, interesting aliens and far-off, wonderful places.

The story isn't so much about the activities of the wormhole-creating starship Wayfarer but rather about the diverse crew members, and more specifically who they are. Each character has an interesting story that kept me intrigued, and their stories don't appear to be finished with this book so hopefully there's more to come.

Throughout the book, I had a definite sense that the author has something bigger to say, an axe to grind if you will, maybe about the diversity of people and how it's okay to be different, etc. I can't quite put my finger in what it is, and I don't know the author, but I felt her passion, and that made it even more interesting.

Overall, a really good character-driven story within a well-built universe with enough action and suspense to keep you hooked. I'll keep my eye on this author for sure. It's followed in the three-part series by A Closed and Common Orbit.

Buy the ebook HERE (Amazon)

Buy the paper book HERE (Book Depository)

BOOK REVIEW: Secret Journey to Planet Serpo: A True Story of Interplanetary Travel

Secret Journey to Planet Serpo: A True Story of Interplanetary Travel by Len Kasten
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

On July 16, 1965, a massive alien spacecraft from the Zeta Reticuli star system landed at the Nevada test site north of Las Vegas. Following a plan set in motion by President Kennedy in 1962, the alien visitors known as the Ebens welcomed 12 astronaut-trained military personnel aboard their craft for the 10-month journey to their home planet, Serpo, 39 light-years away. In November 2005, former and current members of the Defense Intelligence Agency - directed by Kennedy to organize the Serpo exchange program - came forward to reveal the operation, including details from the 3,000-page debriefing of the 7 members of the Serpo team who returned after 13 years on the planet. 

Working with the DIA originators of the Serpo project and the diary kept by the expedition's commanding officer, Len Kasten chronicles the complete journey of these cosmic pioneers, including their remarkable stories of life on an alien planet, superluminal space travel, and advanced knowledge of alien technologies. He reveals how the Ebens presented the U.S. with The Yellow Book; - a complete history of the universe recorded holographically, allowing the reader to view actual scenes from pre-history to the present. He explains how the Ebens helped us reverse-engineer their antigravity spacecraft and develop technology to solve our planet-wide energy problems - knowledge still classified. 

Exposing the truth of human-alien interaction and interplanetary travel, Kasten reveals not only that the Ebens have returned to Earth eight times but also that our government continues to have an ongoing relationship with them - a relationship with the potential to advance the human race into the future. 

This is certainly as book of two quite distinct halves; Part One being an enjoyable essay on aspects of the UFO phenomena and it's well known Nazi connections, etc. I actually enjoyed this part of the book, and it certainly provides some good food for thought. There is so much smoke surrounding this issue that there's got to be the fire of truth hidden away in there somewhere, and this part of the book does a nice job of discussing the idea of a grand conspiracy and attempting to convince the reader. However, when we get into Part Two, things change for the worse. I'm not saying that I completely disbelieve the claims of a secret journey to the alien planet Serpo forty light years from Earth, but the book sure doesn't present the case all that effectively. What we have is a poorly written account made up from communications with someone named "Anonymous" who allegedly has access to information about this alleged mission. Large portions of the diary of the mission commander are reproduced that tell the story of the trip to Serpo and the thirteen year stay of a human crew hosted by the aliens. We are also presented with portions of transcripts of presentations to U.S. President Reagan where he is being briefed about the aliens and the missions, etc. Interspersed among the text are silly images of things like the cast of Star Trek, movie posters and numerous references to the movie Close Encounters Of The Third Kind (which is also allegedly based on the same story) and miscellaneous items mentioned in the text such as jeeps and automatic pistols. This all robs the story of credibility, and made it seem to me like a bit of a piss-take, and the text doesn't flow well. I'd really like to say that the book convinced me that there was indeed a secret journey to Serpo and a relationship built with another intelligent species in the Galaxy, but it unfortunately doesn't. I do plan to read Len Kasten's other book The Secret History of Extraterrestrials: Advanced Technology and the Coming New Race to see if he recovers and manages to convince to me what is possibly the biggest and most fantastic story in human history.

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Photo allegedly taken from the surface of the planet Serpo

BOOK REVIEW: Genesis by W.A. Harbinson

Genesis by W.A. Harbinson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

GENESIS is a once-in-a-lifetime novel of searing terror and explosive excitement. There is a global conspiracy of such enormity that those who encounter even its outermost fringes are inevitably contaminated. A conspiracy based on incredibly advanced technology of 'Earthly' origin. A conspiracy dedicated to the eventual enslavement and subversion of humanity as we know it. A conspiracy stretching through time - across icy polar wastes and jungle hideouts... into the cold vacuum of space itself. A conspiracy poised to turn life on Earth into a chilling nightmare of living death. Unless... GENESIS is more - much more - than a gripping, frighteningly plausible story. It is the reading experience that will alter the way you look at your world... and your universe!

Every now and then a book like this comes along that I can really get into, get totally engrossed in and I don't want to put it down. I'd read some other reviews (most of which were positive) and it sounded fascinating, being an alternate history sort of story founded in actual events and myth. The story follows a UFO investigator on his search for the truth about UFO sightings and abductions and there are interesting side stories and flashbacks from key characters. What we end up with is a fast-paced adventure across the globe and across time that builds quite an epic story of global conspiracy. As I said, I had trouble putting this one down and I attribute this to the intriguing plot that one could almost imagine being factual. I did struggle a little with some of the dialogue at times which seemed a little odd and just there for the sake of it. However, these pieces were minimal and the book generally flows quite well. One of the best alternate history stories that I've read to date, and it's a good yarn that keeps you hanging in there for the next slice of the story.It's a good yarn that is just the right length to be 'epic' but not too much as to bore or grow tired of. Overall a very good book that I'll happily recommend to anyone who likes a meaty tale with lots of intrigue and mystery.

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BOOK REVIEW: Cibola Burn (Expanse #4) by James S.A. Corey

Cibola Burn by James S.A. Corey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The gates have opened the way to thousands of habitable planets, and the land rush has begun. Settlers stream out from humanity's home planets in a vast, poorly controlled flood, landing on a new world. Among them, the Rocinante, haunted by the vast, posthuman network of the protomolecule as they investigate what destroyed the great intergalactic society that built the gates and the protomolecule.

But Holden and his crew must also contend with the growing tensions between the settlers and the company which owns the official claim to the planet. Both sides will stop at nothing to defend what's theirs, but soon a terrible disease strikes and only Holden - with help from the ghostly Detective Miller - can find the cure.

I've read The Expanse series from the first book and have been captivated by the story right from day one. This is book number four, and it was a slower read for me, not because it isn't any good, but because I found the story a little underwhelming initially. It's part of a larger series which has now been expanded to something like nine books, and a reasonably complex storyline it is too with quite a bit of political stuff going on behind the main action. In this book, we've finally escaped our own solar system, and the vast majority of the story unfolds either on or around planet Ilus which sits on the other side of one of the mysterious gates created by the alien protomolecule in the previous book. I'd rate this book as my favorite of the series so far, for the most part anyway, and the main reason for this is that now we've got alien artifacts and ruins to add a new sense of wonder and mystery, which is my favorite aspect of sci-fi in general. The book was quite unextraordinary for much of it, it must be said, apart from the previously mentioned alien enigmas. Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy reading it very much, and we meet a number of new and interesting characters, but it seemed a little dull and directionless for a part. Looking at the big picture, it isn't actually lacking direction at all, the first two-thirds are mostly about the political and ideological posturing of the parties involved in settling Ilus, things all quite critical to the story, but the action is a little sparse. The final third, however, takes off nicely and more than makes up for it. This is where there is the typical Expanse combat, explosions and noise. All good stuff, and fun to read. The epilogue gives a nice hint as to where I'm assuming the story will go next (in Nemesis Games due out in June 2015), and did actually round off the book really well, bringing everything into perspective and restoring some of that lack of direction that I felt earlier. Overall it's another good installment of this series and I'm looking forward to book five. I just wish this one hadn't loafed along so much in the early stages, and had it not been for this it would've been five stars. All of that said, Cibola Burn is still a thoroughly entertaining sci-fi space opera story that once again does credit to the authors.

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The paper book vs. ebook debate rages on...

Yep. Fair enough.
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BOOK REVIEW: The Fortress In Orion by Mike Resnick

The Fortress In Orion by Mike Resnick
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The Democracy is at war with the alien Traanskei Coalition. War hero Colonel Nathan Pretorius has a record of success on dangerous behind-enemy-lines missions, missions that usually leave him in the hospital. Now he's recruited for a near-impossible assignment that may well leave him dead. 
At the cost of many lives, the Democracy has managed to clone and train General Michkag, one of the Traanskei's master strategists. Colonel Pretorius and a hand-picked team must kidnap the real Michkag if they can, assassinate him if they can't, but no matter which, put the clone in his place, where he will misdirect the enemy's forces and funnel vital information to the Democracy. Against the odds, Pretorius, along with Cyborg Felix Ortega, computer expert Toni Levi, convict and contortionist Sally "Snake" Kowalski, the near-human empath Marlowe, the alien Gzychurlyx, and Madam Methuselah - the Dead Enders - must infiltrate the Fortress in Orion, accomplish their mission, and escape with their lives.

The very second that I learned of this new book (which is the first of a series) set within Resnick's fantastic Birthright universe, I went straight over to my preferred ebook provider and purchased it. I'm a big fan of Resnick's and I haven't read anything by him that I've not enjoyed, some more than others, but generally I rate his work very highly. However, I admit to being a bit disappointed with this one. In a nutshell, the whole book felt like it was a young adult novel with a few choice profanities thrown in to make it seem a little more "grown up". Not at all what I expect from Mike Resnick. It's fast-paced storytelling and quite engaging with an almost pulp-style feel, but still it lacks any real substance. Anyway, here's a quick rundown of the book and a few things that I did like.
Our main man, Colonel Pestorius, recovering from injuries collected during his previous assignment, is tasked by his commanding officer to assemble a team to carry out a daring mission. This mission requires them to sneak up on the Democracy's alien enemy at a location some light years away across the galaxy and to carry out a somewhat tricky task. Pestorius assembles a small and eclectic group of misfits, all with a specific talent or skill necessary for the mission and gives them a rundown on the basic plan. They then set off across the galaxy, hashing out the details of the mission as they go.
The characters are fun and moderately interesting and I enjoyed their banter for the most part, even if the dialogue was a little "adolescent" much of the time.
The story ambles along at an okay pace throughout the middle fifty percent or so of the book, and we learn little bits and pieces about the characters, nothing too deep, just snippets of their pasts. We also drop in on some different planets across the Galaxy along the way, and see a few interesting species as well, which was another thing that I enjoyed.
The last few chapters is where the whole plot comes together, and comes to an okay conclusion, but just okay, because there's no real guts to it. By that I mean that there isn't a twist of any description or even a big surprise, the whole thing just ends without much fuss, albeit dropping hint or two to set up for the next book in the series.
If you need a simple-to-read, action-packed and mildly humorous novel with a straight forward plot that doesn't require much effort, then this is a good choice, but I don't think you'll find much to get hugely excited about.
I think that I probably will read the next book when it's released, to give it another chance. Hopefully Resnick, who I still rate as one of the best storytellers ever, will deliver us something with a bit more grit next time.

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Olivier Pron's Art

Pretty decent artwork by Olivier Pron. Check out more of his work HERE.

All images © Oliver Pron

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