BOOK REVIEW: Monster Hunter International

This book is a rip-roaring action slug-fest that doesn't pull punches, that drives the characters through hell and back.

Amazon / Kobo

*4.5 STARS*
Military Fantasy 

If you've been in the workforce long enough, you will probably eventually end up with a boss that rages like a beast, but few end up with one that is an actual beast. In this case: a Werewolf. But CPA Owen Zastava Pitt does, and after he has a gruesome, no-holds barred fight to the death, he tosses his boss out the fourteenth-story office window. It's presumed that Owen's next performance review won't go over so well. While Owen nearly dies from his wounds, it turns out there is a whole lot more in store for this paper pushing accountant who is just trying to be normal.

But normal isn't good for survival. And when the fate of the world is at stake, it's a good thing that "Z" (as his friends call him) decides to join Monster Hunter International. An elite organization of monster hunters. Because, as it turns out, pretty much all of the myths and legends we've ever heard of—whether it be werewolves, vampires, or orcs and elves—end up as true. 

But they also end up as nothing in comparison to what is about to happen. 

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Monster Hunter International (book one of the series) is inventive, fun, clever. This is a great piece of modern-day military fantasy playing with age-old monster tropes. Highly recommended. Be warned that it is not for the faint of heart: there is plenty of blood and guts flying about, and a little bit of profanity. But hey, what do you expect when you are confronted by legions of the undead, giant flying stone gargoyles, and Master Vampires that can move faster than you can shoot?

The action sequences are intense, inventive, and there are a LOT of them, but in a good way.

The interactions with the Federal Agents from the Monster Control Bureau serve as an interesting plot device as the characters have to deal with government intrusion into their business. So, not only does MHI have to effectively save the world, they have to do it with the government breathing down their necks and getting in the way. Makes the story a little bit extra-relevant for anyone that has paid attention to the government overreach of recent years.

While Z is a crack shot, a bruiser, and a big guy that might normally be pegged as the brute of the bunch, he is analytical, and ends up with some interesting psychic powers. There is astral-projection, reliving an evil maniac's age-old memories, and a peculiar Old Man that seems to live in Owen's sub-conscious, and yet is able to effect things (at times) in the real world to interesting results.

One of the only complaints I have about the book is with the romantic subplot. Z has a big crush on someone, and while his interest is well telegraphed, the return interest is not...at first. The lady in question is expressly not interested and has a boyfriend she is apparently committed to. Though he is a pretentious Hollywood-style douche bag. So you know she'll come around eventually to Z's interests. The problem is that when she does the timing comes across as inappropriate. Yes, they all just died, and then undied—No. No. I'm not ruining that one, you'll have to read it for yourself—and the world is possibly about to come to an end if they can't prevail against an unstoppable evil force, so the prospect of death and never being able to utter her true feelings to Z are of course a decent motivation for the ill-timing, but it could have been done a little better. Small complaint. No big deal.

TRIGGER WARNING: As in there are a lot of triggers...and bullets, and guns. Oh yes, all kinds of guns. In such detail and breadth that if you aren't a gun nut, you won't know what four-fifths of these things are. But you probably stop looking them up by the third gun mentioned, because the story pulls you forward, and you just trust in the author's ability to paint a picture for you. But then, if all of these triggers bothers you, I'm not sure how else you'd think to fight off legions of the undead, giant stone gargoyles that can play can-opener with armored vans, and worse! Perhaps call 9-1-1, hope your local police department wasn't defunded, and responds faster than it takes for some unsavory character to commit untold atrocities upon you?

Yeah, that doesn't sound like a good idea.

No, you do what a red-blooded American does. You unleash hell and fight.

Hoo-ah!

*Ahem* Where was I? Oh, yes. That's exactly what Z does.

So, if you want big conflict, lots of action, lots of guns, the Supernatural, and end of the world scenarios, Monster Hunter International is a fun read.

4.5 out of 5 silver-tipped bullets for this one.

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Gripey Rant. I'm a Picky Reader - 011 Brainstorm Podcast

In episode 11, it's time for a good ole-fashioned rant about being a picky reader, and why I stop reading a lot of books. 

Other Links: Youtube, Bitchute, Odysee

I get stuck on this need for the right balance of character and plot. We always need strong characters. That's largely how we connect with a book through our shared human experience. It's also why series do so well, when they follow some of the same characters around that we have gotten to know so well. But for me, I don't want my story to become subsumed by this wandering experience in the life of a character with little appearance of plot giving structure. I certainly don't want the character to change who they are because of plot restrictions, create awkward illogical rationale for why someone is doing something...just because the plot dictates. And a major fantasy novel by an indie writer did just that for me. Let's examine.

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The Brainstorm Podcast

Hello dear reader, I have a new project that is really an old project, but it is finally, slowly coming your way.

Welcome to the soft launch of the Brainstorm Podcast!

I've been a podcast listener since before it was cool, and have had a desire to put out a podcast for some time now. I even recorded maybe 15 to 20 episodes back in 2018, but never took the time to put them together and launch. Well, that time is now.

But what will it be about?

No big surprise there: writing, genre fiction and moral quandries. Let me explain...

• Genre fiction - reviews/analysis; books, but also movies and TV
• I've been a book reviewer for multiple notable sites, including some that are now long dead, and slightly buried. I've reviewed for SF Signal, Grasping for the Wind, SFF World, and I will bring some of my reviews to the podcast.
  
• I like to analyze what I like in a book, what I don't, and why, and I intend to go deep.
  
• Writing tips
• I'll break down my writing methods; what works and doesn't; habits, the whole lot. At times I've disagreed with the Writing Excuses team (awesome as they are), and there may be some episodes where I analyze their episode and give my own thoughts on the matter.
  
• Sometimes we'll go into marketing and the business side of things.
  
• Moral quandries
• Fiction is great for looking at life from a different perspective, stepping outside the normal framework of our preconceptions and being able to think with fresh, unbiased eyes. I don't want to just talk about books and media, I want to go deeper. Let's analyze the connections and wisdom we can find within fiction to real life.
• Sci-fi and fantasy stories are often of the What-If? And can serve as cautionary tales and opportunities to explore what might otherwise remain the unknown.

Come join me on this new adventure!

Click your favorite video platform 👉 Youtube, Rumble, Bitchute, Odysee 

 

 

BOOK REVIEW: The Core (Book 5 of the Demon Cycle) by Peter V. Brett

The Core is a wild ride and one hell of a Finale to Brett's Demon Cycle. This man does not mince words (well, he might have...at times...in other books), the story runs quick, though it is a BIG book.

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*4.5 STARS*
Dark/Epic Fantasy/Grimdark | October 2017 | Del Rey | 783 pages

The demons are getting ready to Swarm. The hive lacks the leadership of the Demon Prince, Alagai Ka. And while Arlen and Jardir sought to capture the leader to discover the secrets to destroy the demon threat, it has only set a deadly timer in motion that could decimate the human population in a feeding frenzy that man has not known for ages. So, as story threads come together, the demons rise in increasing organization, and the various human settlements are tested to the limits of their ability and far beyond.

Highly enjoyable for a fan of the series, Brett answers questions, showcases incredible new powers as both Arlen and Jardir push their own limits of understanding. My only complaint, at times, is this novel could have easily stretched to two... (And perhaps I wanted it to.) But Brett achieves the impossible by pulling off a satisfying close to an epic series, doing it timely, and sticking to one book.

Which, when you compare it to other series... What is there really to complain about? But there are story threads that are not so much tied off, as hacked short. Leaving potential there hanging, and a reader wondering. I would have liked to see them resolved, and certain storylines truly lacked a satisfying, well though out resolution.

In the end, The Core is an amazing book that delivers, and my complaints could be so much hot air, if that which is unresolved ends up as a spin-off series or one-off novels.

BOOK REVIEW: Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Too much geeky fun.

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*4 STARS*
Science Fiction | June 2012 | Broadway Books | 400 pages

A nerdly smorgasbord of pop culture references from the 80’s and 90’s, Ready Player One is a heady view of a future of Virtual Reality in a dystopic world ruled by mega-corporations ready to kill to defend their bottom line. And only a lone hero, deft and adept as his Avatar, obese and socially inept in his own skin, can stave off a push for corporate dominance that threatens the freedom of the world that he loves.

Geeky to the extreme, the book was a joy, the battles tremendous, and heart-warming as our hero discovers love and steps out of the self-made shell to experience real life and friendship.

Where else can you become Ultraman, towering over a hundred feet in the air, play Pac-Man, and relive old TV serials?

My only real complaint is sometimes the story gets bogged down in needless fandom detail. But some may say this is just one more fantastic tidbit.

If you love computers, VR, and played any of the old videogames, Ready Player One is a great ride.

Word of the Day: Haptic

And perhaps you shouldn’t listen to me, maybe you should just check out the Teaser Trailer for Steven Spielberg’s upcoming movie. Yeah…Spielberg. I’m kind of excited.

BOOK REVIEW: American Gods by Neil Gaiman

Present day. United States. A young land where the beliefs of old withered amidst the speedy rise of capitalism. A land where time was money and there was no time for antiquity. The old gods grow restless as the new ones of Technology and Media grow powerful and ambitious. It may result in war, and at what cost and with whose lives? At the center is an unlikely protagonist: Shadow.

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*4 STARS*
Dark Fantasy | Re-Published: June 2011 | Harper Collins | 674 pages

Large, burly, slow to speech, Shadow is not slow of thought. A tangled youth and a complicated life send him down the wrong path, made worse for the loss of the one he loved.

How does one even begin to review such a tome? It is literary, fantasy in a contemporary setting; skating the line between magic and magical prose. This is no slugfest of the gods, but a deep question of who we are, and what we stand for.

Along the way we meet with a medley of characters you half know from legend, scraping by in a land that has forgotten them, their powers diminished. But there is a gathering, a last battle; one where you don’t know if it is for good or ill.

At times Shadow makes the oddest of choices, always furthering the book and intriguing, but not always consistent, but then, here is a man embroiled in turmoil that I can hardly conceive. If his decisions seem unlikely, so is his predicament.

The one failing I felt for the book was an unfulfilled expectation. All along I expected the gods to battle, for magic to play a greater spot in this struggle. It does and it does not. Most of it is behind the scenes, alluded to with finesse and skill. It does not take from the book, only from my expectation. Which, coming from a love of epic fantasy, it is only to be expected that I would harbor desires of epic confrontations with visceral results. Instead the struggle is beautifully portrayed in prose that flirts and holds hands with the literary, but rarely feels overdone. This is a book to enjoy and one to make you think.

While I haven’t seen the new TV series, I hear good things. Have you seen the new show, have you read the book? And what do you think of the adaptation?

BOOK REVIEW: The Gunslinger (Book 1 of the Dark Tower) by Stephen King

An evocative literary mystical journey…

But one that doesn’t really go anywhere. Book one of the Dark Tower sets the stage, introduces the character, his protagonist, and asks a lot of questions.

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*3 STARS*
Dark Fantasy | Re-Published: January 2016 | Scribner | 340 pages

The Gunslinger is a story of a man on a journey, one he has been at for countless years; pursuit of a man in black, a man he knows nothing about, but suspects much. This man must answer for crimes, but those are oft unclear. The Gunslinger will travel to the ends of the earth, though, and stop at nothing to reach his journey’s end.

While King fashions an interesting world that is part nuclear, far-flung dystopia, part wild western showdown with a tall-walking hero, there is little to connect with as the Gunslinger’s journey is one of grave solitude. This is a story of remembrance, of old haunted (sometimes tormenting) memories. If anything is achieved here it is in laying a groundwork, a solid character we can sympathize with even if we do not wholly understand.

Much remained a question, left me wondering if what I read was “real”, some figment of a dying man’s last breaths, a conjuring by the mysterious sorcerer, or deeply buried allegory that never came back up for air.

The Gunslinger is a lonely man and the book is a lonely book. There was little grounding here, the side characters were superfluous, there to serve a means, and time seemed to mean nothing in this universe we are still coming to grips with.

I would have liked to have had more connection with the characters, to understand more of the Gunslinger’s journey, and when it started, to know what grave offense the man in black committed, the list goes on…

These and many more are questions brought up and never answered. There are allusions, and the ending brought a level of satisfaction, then twisted right back upon itself to make you question the reality created.

And why would the Gunslinger linger so long in that old western town while the outlaw continued on the run; and what about the child? The child! I should stop here.

It all seemed a literary experiment to blend and mash up your brain, leaving me unsure if the story would ever go anywhere in particular, or at least anywhere particularly interesting. I’d rather it had been more literal and less literary. That said, the ending brought light to some questions, ramped up the interest, but then trod upon my expectations with one last twist.

Will this amount to something in Book 2? I hope so. As a standalone story I rate this as 3 spent lead slugs (out of 5). Strangely appealing, though it is in desperate need of some answers to draw out my interest.

BOOK REVIEW: Flame Kissed by Alexis Radcliff (Seeking the Dragon: Book 1)

A girl whose life was changed by a tragic fire, budding romance, a frightening mystery, and a fantasy twist that will knock your socks off.

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*4 STARS*

Ella was an orphan, her family taken by fire. With high school nearly over, her dreams of musical talents obsessing her time, her family arranges a ski trip while her adoptive sister plots romance. Life will never be the same after this trip, and it has nothing to do with rippling abs or chiseled jaws.

Or does it?

It’s hard to adequately review a short story like Flame Kissed. The story is well told, characters fleshed out, dialogue true, but it is short. A great ground breaking, the story has set the scene for fantasy and romance, and what seems like a whole lot more to come.

I’m intrigued by the fantasy elements; they come late, but they feel authentic, fun, and real. When constantly shown that people with power abuse it in the real world it is hard to believe that those in a fantasy setting will not just do the same. Radcliff realizes this and Ella’s stoic “savior” shows that too much power tends to corrupt (at least some of our better morals.)

I was less taken by the romance between Ella and…well, we’ll skip on that and let you see for yourself.

I caution about a cliffhanger ending that will have you chomping at the bit for more. But thankfully, book 2 is now available. So that’s probably a good thing.

Published: August 2017 | www.lexirad.com

*As of August 2017, the author confirmed by e-mail that book 3 will be out in the next month or so and books 4-5 will soon follow. Sign up for the author’s newsletter to be first to know.
*Disclaimer: I’ve met Radcliff at a local writer’s group in the past, and was given a copy of this book by the publisher for review

BOOK REVIEW: Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

Emotional impact with every grain.

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*5 STARS*

Salt to the Sea tells of the real-world tragedy that swept up and down the Baltic States from Lithuania to Estonia as Hitler’s machine began to crumble under Stallin’s Red Army. Four young lives are impacted in her tale, fleeing the Russian invading force, each with their own mystery that unveils in careful precision as they stumble toward Gotenhafen and refuge upon the repurposed cruise ship: the Wilhem Gustloff.

Sepetys’s prose is spare and exacting, cutting like a knife, weaving four storylines slowly together until the bitter, climactic end. Despite the circumstances, she builds a sweet and genuine romance and each character’s mystery unfolds with each piece adding and building upon the rest.

There is Emilia – spoiled innocence with a haunted past; Florian – desperate, clever, seeking a daring retribution; Joanna – determined to make amends; and Alfred - delusional, a day dreamer, eager to be the best German soldier he can be (even if he can not.)

Just as salvation seems eminent, the long road over, dear friends lost, while new ones cling together, their refuge is targeted by a Russian sub and 9,000 perish in the worst maritime disaster of modern times. But the story does not end as you expect, and Sepetys once again proves her mettle with a conclusion that is poignant, heart-wrenching, and yet still rewarding.

Rare is it to want to read a book again—especially right after—but this was one of those oddities. And this from a guy sunk eyeball deep in the lore of fantasy and the cautionary wonder of sci-fi. Go figure.

As a novel, Salt to the Sea is superb; as a piece of history, slid under the magnifying glass, it is a telling reminder that in war, there are no winners and the true losses happen between the lines of war.

As conflicts boil throughout the world, as one country goes to fight some evil for the “greater good”, there are real people stuck in the middle, suffering. It is a point to remember.

February 2016 | Penguin Group

BOOK REVIEW: Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

I read Hunger Games, finally. Started great. But the actual contest was fairly contrived, and the fake romance tension missed the mark for me.

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*3 STARS*

Still, I continued on to read Book 2. Which just goes to show that a great concept can pull your story along. So long as you don't totally flub it.

And when I say "totally", I mean, she was pretty close.

Nothing worse than when a character acts inconsistently. Not to say we act consistent in real life, 100% of the time. But there needs to be a good reason for that inconsistency, and it needs to make sense.

All I have to say is...Poison Berries. Double Suicide. My thoughts? Katniss was nuts, it was a cop-out moment for the author, no way the Gamemakers would have stepped in. They want drama. How does it get any better than that?

3 arrows for hitting all the points, even if they were forced at times, and for a strong concept.

September 2009 | Scholastic Press

BOOK REVIEW: Daughter of the Blood by Anne Bishop

Lavishly sensual, sexuality breathes throughout the book, with a humming roar of violence lurking in the background, or sometimes just exploding across the page in a fury.

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*3 STARS*

Daughter of the Blood is Book 1 of the Black Jewels trilogy, where there is a Light Realm, Dark Realm, a Twisted Kingdom, and for powerful practitioners of the Craft they can travel through the veil of death itself. There is a struggle in the background, an epic contest that transcends realities, but for now the story centers on the ruler of Hell, a lost son, and a cast of characters raging at their bonds. But the story ends up very personal, very small; there are no epic battles, though the danger often buzzes in the background.

Read the rest of my review at SFFWorld.com

BOOK REVIEW: Into the Fire (Samantha Kane, Book 1) by Patrick Hester

Detective Samantha Kane just saw a ghost, a werewolf eviscerated her partner, and she burned down a building with magic. But not a bad day…all things considered.

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*3.5 STARS*

Patrick Hester’s full length debut novel is full of the characteristic humor that you’ve grown to love on his multitude of podcasts and in his written word. An admitted fan of Butcher’s Dresden Files (shall we say Devoted Fan?), Detective Samantha Kane’s world is Hester’s own playground built in mimicry of Butcher’s. For fans of the genre he hits all the right points and has his own style and touches to make it authentic.

Read the rest of my review at MYLIFEMYBOOKSMYESCAPE

Author's Book Page
For the person looking to support someone other than the Mighty Zon (Amazon), you can buy non DRM locked content for reasonable prices on Baen’s website

Full Disclaimer: I know the author from online interactions and collaborated on the ShadowBytes.com webcomic with Hester, but this has not factored into my review or rating.

BOOK REVIEW: Catalyst (STAR WARS): A Rogue One Novel by James Luceno

Even overgrown battle stations need something that goes BOOM.

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*2 STARS*

In the pursuit of a new super weapon to bring lasting peace through fear, the Republic rapes worlds to build what could be an impossibility.

Read the rest of my review at SFFWorld.com

BOOK REVIEW: Gearspire: Advent by Jeremiah Reinmiller

An ambitious debut that hits, but doesn’t always draw blood.

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*3 STARS*

In a world where advanced technology crumbles into decay, a scant few holding its secrets, magic is practiced and feared, and an empire hangs in the balance of war, Ryle is a young man, single minded in his passion to right past wrongs, all of them his — borne of a long lost father.

Read the rest of my review at SFFWorld.com

And if you like Reinmiller's work, don't forget to check out his Landing Page with Gearspire extras.

BOOK REVIEW: The Secret Horses of Briar Hill by Megan Shepherd

Transcendent, magical. A tale that strikes you deep in the heart as it lifts you up.

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*5 STARS*

Print Length: 240 pages
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers (October 11, 2016)
ISBN-10: 1101939753
ISBN-13: 978-1101939758

In the mirrors of Briar Hill Hospital winged horses live. And for a young girl, sick and orphaned, they bring color to her cold world of gray.

I don’t usually read Young Adult Historical Fiction, but a recent visit to the library captured my attention with this strikingly magical cover and I had wondered if it might find my young daughter’s interest.

It failed with her for now, but had me riveted by the first page. With carefully crafted prose we follow what appear to be the delusions of a sick girl with what only seems to be a terminal illness in the countryside of war-torn World War II England. At Briar Hill they are safe from the bombs, but there doesn’t appear much that can save them from the stillwaters that lurk in their lungs and take whom they will. Little Emmaline is a fighter though, despite all that she has lived through, despite where she is and the disease that takes a toll; she finds beauty in the everyday.

There is humor and strikingly heartfelt scenes in a book that is far deeper than you might imagine. Certainly a book to appeal to the young of age, but this is also one that can captivate anyone young at heart.

Moving, magical, the author does an amazing job of crafting a story that leaves the ultimate mystery up to each individual reader to decipher. Some will say the horses were real, some will say they were merely a symbol.

For me, I know what they were. I have no doubt. For I felt the wind on my cheeks as they flew.

(Gah! That was beautiful.)

BOOK REVIEW: The Seer by Sonia Orin Lyris

The Seer is a masterpiece of Epic Fantasy in the vein of The Game of Thrones.

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*5 STARS*


Amarta can see the future, but nothing is certain, everything changes, and a man made powerful by her own talent will stop at nothing to have her power for his own—or for none at all.

Read the rest of my review at MYLIFEMYBOOKSMYESCAPE

*BONUS: And on Baen's website you can read a free short story that takes place before the events of The Seer, called Touchstone. It is a great addition to the overall and gives a great feel for the world.

I'm a fan. Touchstone by Sonia Orin Lyris

BOOK REVIEW: Avogadro Corp. by William Hertling

Avogadro Corp is a diabolically clever insight into accidental A.I.

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*4 STARS*


What happens when an email algorithm to help human collaboration takes on a mind of its own; goes beyond its purview and skips past every check and balance in its way?

Read the rest of my review at MYLIFEMYBOOKSMYESCAPE

BOOK REVIEW: The Blade Itself, by Joe Abercrombie

Hold the blade, Inquisitor! I will tell the truth! I have found a new favorite author. His name be Abercrombie.

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*4 STARS*
(Originally posted on SFSignal, reposted here for posterity)
Print Length: 560 pages
Original Publisher: Pyr (2007)
Republished: Orbit (September 8, 2015)
ISBN-10: 0316387312
ISBN-13: 978-0316387316

BRIEF SYNOPSIS: Danger brews in the violent North. Dive into a bloodbath of fully realized characters, see a figure of the past stomp into the political arena and hold the flickering candle high to a cast of characters with dark shadows clinging close.

MY REVIEW:
PROS: Wit; unique character voices; a different spin on the typical epic fantasy; lively pacing;
CONS: Agh! Knife in the eye! I can’t see the plot. Where’d it go? Oh, wait. Eye is fine, the plot is hiding behind Glokta’s darkly tormented soul. Hiding right next to a cast of secondary characters overshadowed by Jezal’s ego and cowering from Logen’s dark past.
BOTTOM LINE: Exquisitely realized characters dominate this violent epic that shakes its steels at convention and will have you immersed.

In the Union city of Adua, where the Master Maker’s house towers above like an ominous dark cloud, all is fine and all is as it should be. The populace is kept in line by the ruthless Inquisition, the king is a slothly dullard, and the nobles flit about in their finery, finding purpose in a society of refinement as shallow as a pool of blood, while others mix intrigue and play at the games of power. But there is a danger brewing and a threat to the North, and the First of the Magi must come back into the world to set things right.

Meet a cast of characters with blood on their hands, but deep of thought. Meet a noble of breeding and refinement as shallow and proud as they come. And walk in the shoes of a military hero of common birth that must prove himself to his peers at every turn.

There is no map and there is no glossary in The Blade Itself and, frankly, I didn’t find the absence lacking. Character is the focus here. Abercrombie attacks the pages of The Blade Itself with character. And what beautifully interesting characters they are. Logen is a man of scarred practicality, Glokta is a man of mutilated sensibility, Jezal has never had cause to look further to the future than his mirror, and Bayaz is a man of mystery and wisdom we can only hope to understand. Even the everyman, Major West, is captivating as we see his own struggles.

Character is so much the focus that the plot takes a back seat. There is a greater conflict, a greater battle brewing, but with each character they are so strongly realized that, like life, each are their own worst enemies. In a way this is brilliant and I find it hard to point to a book that does character better. But we can all grow fond and comfortable with form and it is hard to see the plot.

Blood and gore spatter the page, much like the cover. If the gritty realism threatens your stomach, be warned. Abercrombie didn’t earn his nickname of Lord Grimdark for nothing. But it is not senseless. The author puts purpose into every page.

The setting of the story is beautifully realized through the unique eyes of each character. Captured with a modern sensibility, the world is thriving with detail. But if you cringe at the word “pants” or “shirt” in your medieval fantasy, you might want to proceed with caution, or maybe (instead) it is high time to deliberate whether it really matters for a book written for a modern reader. It’s not like anyone in the book is standing in line for an iPhone 6.

For the exquisite characters, for the clever wit and the surprise twist that suddenly made sense out of a major plotline, I give 4 very bloody swords out of 5 and if you didn’t already know: Abercrombie is certainly a dangerous new(ish) threat in publishing.

Book Review: LIEGE-KILLER, by Christopher Hinz is an Unflinching, Thrilling Space Opera

Original print cover

Bio-engineered sociopaths, space colonies, an irradiated earth, and a whole lotta bloody-fun going on.

*4 STARS*
(Originally posted on SFSignal, reposted here for posterity)
Print Length: 458 pages
Publication Date: April 1, 2014 (e-book, Originally published: 1987)
ASIN: B00J90C3CK
ISBN-10: 1617561363
ISBN-13: 978-1617561368

REVIEW:
The Paratwa were bio-engineered, lab grown humans, born in pairs with a single linked-consciousness. With a tendency toward terrible violence, the highest of their breed rose up, and as humanity fell, they left the planet a blasted wasteland. But before all was lost, they were brought down.

Or so humanity thought.

Hundreds of years later, humanity huddled away in 20 mile long cylindrical colonies orbiting earth, mankind finds themselves again under the threat of the Paratwa. And floundering E-Tech must somehow avert a disaster few recognize and none understand.

When an obscure computer program points the anti-tech organization toward an unlikely pair — hidden away in stasis — the threat has an answer. The question, however is: What kind of answer has Councillor Franco uncovered?

The cylindrical orbitals have their dark sides, no matter what the corporatized authorities want you to believe. There is political intrigue, murder, mayhem, and a mother-son duo that have to come to grips with old issues brought to the fore. Despite a lot of moving parts, Hinz manages the cast of characters well, and keeps the story moving.

And he does not flinch when it comes to his story. Some of the characters are twisted, self-centered and terrible, but others hold onto hope and human morality, no matter how tenuous.

Published in 1987, this appears to be Hinz’s debut novel. It shows in some disorienting POV head-hopping, but the story pulled me in enough to not matter. Councilor Rome Franco provides a moral center that is touching with his care for his wife, even as he grapples with the morality of his own actions and what he may have brought into the world. The villains grow on you, though at times they come across as too cliché. Gillian, as the hero, is beautifully realized, as he struggles with dark inner-secrets. And if you’re a fan of Tyrion from the Song of Ice and Fire books, you will have to wonder if G.R.R.M. wasn’t inspired by Nick — a brilliant, devious little man, full of more questions than answers.

This book is a classic, but hides its age as if it just stepped from a hybernation pod.

Just ignore the new e-book cover.

Instead, think of skyscrapers, hanging from the other side of an orbiting cylinder habitat, like massive stalactites; centersky awash in rain clouds, flaring with lightning; and the crack of the Cohe wand as the energy lash coils around your neck, like Death’s final embrace.

The twist of the novel is inevitable when it comes, likely predictable, but still a delight.

*I hear that the sequels fall flat. Hard to imagine, and Liege-Killer is amazing enough I’ll ignore the advice and try them anyway. I also hear of a graphic novel adaptation of this book that came out in 2013.

Four out of five leering Paratwa grins for a piece of Sci-fi that will (continue to) last through the years.

(And at the time of this review post, the kindle edition is a steal at only $1.99!)

Book Review: BRODY: HOPE UNCONQUERED, by Erik Wecks

A tale of two souls that refused to give up. Riveting, tightly woven, dancing between present and past, this novelette will pull you deeper than you expect.

*5 STARS*
Print Length: 58 pages (Kindle only)
Publication Date: May 30, 2012
ASIN: B00885S592

REVIEW:
Set in the far-flung future in Wecks’ PAX Imperium Universe, Brody: Hope Unconquered tells of the aftermath of a centuries-long space conflict, a war hero set for elimination by foul political machinations, and a desperate ploy to escape. But will the escape be better than the punishment and how will the two characters manage an impossible decision that will change their lives forever?

This is no adventure, but the danger is no less real. And when the mood gets too dark, there is always a ship AI with a penchant for stating the obvious.

The ending comes too quick, I wanted more falling action, but nevertheless, this is a good novelette and a quick read. And it was free. I don’t hand out praise without reason, and I don’t advertise without good cause, but in this case I feel comfortable recommending you sign up for Erik Wecks’ newsletter and receiving this free gem.

I get nothing for the recommendation, other than the good feeling of passing on a good story and supporting a fellow local author. (Well, that and the affiliate payment from Amazon.)

Five stars, blurring with faster-than-light travel.