David Drake

Book Review: Earth Unaware by Orson Scott Card and Aaron Johnston

by

Earth Unaware is the first book of the Formic War trilogy, which is the prequel to the The Ender Quartet that first appeared in the 1980’s.  It essentially tells the story of how earth and humanity got into the position of developing Battle School and the fleets that Ender uses to wipe out the Formics in Ender’s Game. This book starts off with rather a whimper but quickly picks up speed and keeps you glues to the pages.  I got the distinct impression that my wife was annoyed because I would not put the book down in the evenings while I was reading it.  Anyone who has read the Ender Quartet will … More after the Jump…

Book Review: Slow Apocalypse by John Varley

by

Slow Apocalypse by John Varley is one of those books that only come along once every few years.  It is a book that makes you think without even realizing it.  The first Varley book I ever read was Steel Beach and Slow Apocalypse is on a par with that book.  It is an absorbing read and somewhat of a morality tale. The book itself 438 pages long and I would guess it runs about 60,000 words. The premise is interesting and plausible.  Imagine some mad scientist developing a bacteria that breaks the hydrogen bonds in petroleum turning oil into worthless sludge.  That is what happens in this book.  The story itself follows the … More after the Jump…

Book Review: What Distant Deeps by David Drake

by

This is the eighth book in the RCN series by David Drake and it continues the story of the adventures of Daniel Leary, an extremely competent and lucky starship captain in the Republic of Cinnabar Navy. This book finds CAPT Leary escorting a Cinnabar Commissioner to a world allied with the alliance of Free Stars shortly after the end of the recent war between the Alliance and Cinnabar. Once he gets there he discovers a plot that could drag the two exhausted star nations back into war and with the able assistance of his crew sets about to derail it. Along the way there is plenty of intrigue and adventure. … More after the Jump…