Fiction

Book Review: The Hooligans of Kandahar by Joseph Kassabian

by

Every war that America has been in has seen its share of post-war soldier memoirs, The Hooligans of Kandahar is one of the better ones to come out of America’s most recent war. Specifically, this semi-fictionalized account chronicles one infantry squad’s (typically 8-12 men) deployment to Kandahar in Afghanistan in 2011-2012. The author, in an effort to secure the anonymity of his comrades has chosen to make the book semi-fictional and use nicknames instead of given names for the characters throughout. This was probably a smart idea as any current or former combat arms soldier can tell you that some serious crazy stuff goes on in any tight unit whether … More after the Jump…

Book Review: Empire & Hidden Empire by Orson Scott Card

by

Imagine that the seemingly intractable political divide between left and right in the US were to break out into civil war.  That is the premise behind the first of these two books while the second examines what happens after.  The ironic thing is that Empire was written in 2006 while Hidden Empire came out in 2007 and the country has had 10 more years for the political atmosphere to get even more poisonous as evidenced by the lack of anything but personal attacks in this year’s presidential campaign. I have been a fan of Card’s work since I read Ender’s Game as a Freshman in High School 30 years ago.  … More after the Jump…

Book Review: Black Tide Rising edited by John Ringo and Gary Poole

by

Black Tide Rising is an anthology of twelve short stories set in the world created by John Ringo in the series of the same name. The stories are uniformly good but as I am not a huge fan of short stories I wish most of them had been expanded.  As with most short stories these all left me wanting more information about the protagonists, information that is not forthcoming because of the nature of short stories themselves. That being said, all the stories in the book are good and worth reading.  One of the best things about them is that they concern what happened on the mainland as the outbreak … More after the Jump…

Book Review: Imperative by Steve White & Charles Gannon

by

Imperative is the seventh installment of the Starfire series that started with the publication of Insurrection in 1990. It details events in the universe from the Starfire games which were initially released as board games in 1979 but have continued into the computer era. Imperative occurs several years after the war with the Arduans chronicled in Book 6. In this new war later Arduan dispersates attack the races of the Pan-Sentient Union, Rim Federation, and Terran Republic. The old enemies, the Arachnids, reappear and it is not clear if the new threat can be contained and defeated. As usual the characters and races are portrayed realistically and the element of … More after the Jump…

Book Review: Brink of Extinction by Nicholas Ryan

by

[FULL DISCLOSURE: I received my copy of this book free from the author and/or publisher. I was not paid for this review and the opinion expressed is purely my own] When the author of this book contacted me about doing a review I was hesitant at first as I am starting to think the zombie book genre is about played out. I mean, how many variations on brain eating zombies in a post-apocalyptic world can there be. After exchanging a few emails with Mr. Ryan I agreed to read it and I am certainly glad I did. This volume is the fifth zombie book by Nicholas Ryan and it is … More after the Jump…

Book Review: Ghost Fleet: A Novel of the Next World War by P.W. Singer & August Cole

by

If have read some of the old-school thrillers of the 80’s and 90’s like Red Storm Rising, Flight of the Old Dog, or Red Phoenix then you will love Ghost Fleet. This is essentially an update of the Cold War military thrillers and you will love it. The main plot is that at some unspecified time in the near future (it is never explicitly stated) China pulls a Pearl Harbor in an attempt to create a 21st century Chinese version of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity sphere. The Chinese invade and take Hawaii and decimate the US Pacific Fleet through a combination of combat and cyber attacks on defense infrastructure … More after the Jump…

Book Review: Killing Titan by Greg Bear

by

I should have kept complaining. I recently wrote a glowing review of the first book in the War Gods trilogyWar Dogs, unfortunately the second book Killing Titan is not as fast paced or interesting. In fact, I barely struggled through the final chapters. After the fast paced, engaging action of War Dogs I expected this to be a pretty good follow up to lead into what I already knew was going to be a trilogy. War Dogs ends with the protagonist Michael Venn being taken into custody. This book starts with Venn in custody at Ft Lewis being held incommunicado and periodically interrogated by various people as well as talking … More after the Jump…

Book Review: War Dogs by Greg Bear

by

I complained earlier this year about the lack of good science fiction. Well, I can quit complaining. War Dogs by Greg Bear is a very good book and just what I have been waiting for. This book is science fiction going back to what it should be, a rollicking good tale with a scientific bent. This is a thinking person’s book as the storyline is not laid out on a straight A-B line you have to pay attention while reading to start to put the pieces together. That is one of the things I like about it. It shows that the author has some respect for his readers when he … More after the Jump…

Book Review: Tomorrow War by J.L. Bourne

by

I will admit that I am a fan of dystopian fiction. There is something about the idea that people can lose everything and persevere that I find a cross between fascinating and uplifting. It also helps that modern conditions are such that there are pretty much innumerable methods to get from modern society to subsistence savagery. Tomorrow War: The Chronicles of Max [Redacted presents a somewhat new twist on the trope of modern society collapsing. One that has been warned about by think tanks but I don’t think has really been tackled by fiction authors yet. The basic plot details the adventures of a character name Max. Max is some kind … More after the Jump…

Book Review: For Two Cents, I’ll Go With You by Marcia Maxwell

by

For 2 Cents, I’ll Go With You: A Novel of the Great War is the story of Pat, a farm boy who grew up in a small village in Michigan. His friend Aubrey has joined the Army and convinces Pat he should do the same so they can go to Paris and have adventures and meet beautiful women. As it turns out, things don’t quite go as hoped. Pat starts out at a camp in Georgia, then moves on to Pennsylvania where he is trained by a few memorable nurses on how to be a surgical assistant. He meets up with a band of three other men in Georgia who … More after the Jump…

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

by

What would you do if you were suddenly thrust back in time 200 years? Imagine life before indoor plumbing, automobiles, electricity and modern medicine. Claire Randall, a British Army Nurse during World War II, was on a second honeymoon with her husband, who she hasn’t seen in six years, when she discovers a portal through time hidden in a stone formation on a hill in the Scottish Highlands. She is thrust back in time to the year 1743, just a few short years before “the forty-five” will come to pass. Claire struggles to survive in this brutal new world, torn between the love she left behind and the new love … More after the Jump…

Book Review: A Long Time Until Now by Michael Z Williamson

by

I have read all of Michael Z Williamson’s previous books and found them to be excellent combat sci-fi with a little politics and social commentary thrown in.  A Long Time Until Now is not excellent.  In fact, it was a total disappointment.  I pre-ordered this book on Amazon in February and eagerly awaited its release in May given the dearth of my kind of sci-fi recently.  Unfortunately, with the release of this book my wait continues. Williamson’s Freehold books are nothing more than political commentary dressed up as sci-fi but if you can ignore the politics they are rollicking good adventures on their own. A Long Time Until Now is none of those … More after the Jump…

Book Review: The Martian by Andy Weir

by

One of the best books I have read in a long time. Weir’s “The Martian” is classic hard science fiction and that makes it that much better. Everything in the book is realistic and could be happening within a few years if NASA were given the resources. The best thing I can compare this book to are the early Allen Steele such as “Orbital Decay” and “Rude Astronauts” Essentially the book is the story of an astronaut whop gets stranded on Mars due to an accident when his initial mission gets aborted due to Martian weather.  It is that simple but the wealth of detail provided in the book about … More after the Jump…

The Ugly Duckling by Iris Johansen

by

The Ugly Duckling by Iris Johannsen Nell Calder’s life was forever changed the night she and her family were attacked by a madman. Plain looking and overweight, nobody really noticed Nell and she blended into the background, but no more. After an attack left her family dead and face broken and unrecognizable, a world renowned plastic surgeon takes on the challenge of transforming the ugly duckling into a beautiful swan. And she is pissed. Her attacker is determined to finish what he started, but he doesn’t know what Nell looks like. Hell-bent on taking him down, Nell trains hard and transforms from a shy weakling into a trained assassin. She won’t stop until … More after the Jump…

Book Review: Tin God by Stacy Green

by

I should have know when I saw the spelling of the main character’s first name that this wasn’t going to be a great book. Who spells a name Jaymee? I’ve always been a fan of the traditional spelling of a name, not this “my kid is special and so is the spelling of their name” crap that has been going on for the last decade. But, I digress. The story wasn’t horrible, just fairly predictable. Jaymee is broke and living in a trailer park while working at a diner. She’s saving up so she can afford a lawyer to get back the daughter she was coerced into giving up for adoption … More after the Jump…

+ More