Book Reviews Archives - Page 8 of 17

Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch, Book #1 of Gentleman Bastard series.

Introduction

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch is book one of the Gentleman Bastards series. Locke Lamora is an orphan of the island city of Camorr. The Thiefmaker turns the orphans into thieves. Lamora learns quickly and soon becomes more trouble than he is worth. Many years later, Lamora is grown up and collects his own crew, the Gentleman Bastards, who work confidence games. Another crew headed by the Gray King threatens to expose and kill them. To what lengths will Lamora go to defeat the Gray King and secure the Gentleman Bastards’ retirement?

Summary

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch starts with young Lamora learning the craft of theft from the Thiefmaker. The Thiefmaker soon learns that Lamora will steal anything at any time, and the risk that commands worries him. Lamora ends up with Father Chains, who runs a con game. They run the con with the twins, Calo and Galdo.

Locke Lamora, Calo, and Galdo leave Father Chains to form a new crew. They have unrecorded adventures until they try to pull a con on Don Lorenzo Salvara. The two other members of this crew are Jean Tannen, a powerful man, and Bug, a fresh recruit. Their fifth member is Sabetha, but she is on a mission in another town. Their goal is to amass a fortune large enough to escape Camorr forever.

All the thieving crews in Camorr pay tribute to Capa Barsavi. A new thief threatens them, named the Gray King. The Gray King has issues with Barsavi and with Lamora. The three groups struggle with each other. They lose fortunes and lives. Lamora wants to survive and escape Camorr with his fortune. It will be a hard task, but he vows to survive and win.

Recommendation

I read The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch from March 22, 2017, to April 17, 2017. There were three books I read in 2017 for which I did not write a book review at that time. This is the second of the three retro posts I will write. The Lies of Locke Lamora is an interesting mix of influences. It serves as a history book for the society of Comorr. The author based the society on Renaissance Venice with magic added. Locke Lamora’s early thieving career has aspects of Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. The main storyline follows a caper path like the movie Ocean’s Eleven.

They published the next two books in the series in 2007 and 2013. I held off reading them at that time because I had heard that there would be a delay in releasing the fourth novel, The Thorn of Emberlain. On his website, he stated that he completed a draft for the book in May 2019. It must come out soon, so I plan to read the next two as soon as I can.

Links

This is the link to the Goodreads page of The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29588376-the-lies-of-locke-lamora

The series that this novel reminds me most of is the first book the Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson. Mistborn has a crew of thieves that must pull off a difficult heist. The series goes in a different direction, but it starts in a similar spot. This is the link to the Goodreads page of Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/68428.The_Final_Empire

I posted a review on a book with a similar background to The Lies of Locke Lamora on Port of Shadows by Glen Cook. Port of Shadows has a similar magic system and features a medieval technology level.

In Port of Shadows by Glen Cook, The Black Company searches for rebels but finds dozens of identical young girls. Can Croaker unravel the mystery before the rebels open the Port of Shadows and free a powerful sorcerer?

Port of Shadows by Glen Cook

Shards of Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold

Shards of Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold, Book #1 of the Vorkosigan saga.

Introduction

Shards of Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold is book one of the Vorkosigan saga. Commander Cordelia Naismith is the leader of the Betan Astronomical Survey studying the unclaimed planet named Sergyar. The crew of Captain Aral Vorkosigan’s ship mutiny and drive off the Betans, leaving Cordelia behind. Vorkosigan takes her prisoner and they must hike five days to a Barrayaran supply cache to be rescued. Will they make it to the supply cache, or will they kill each other before they arrive?

Summary

In Shards of Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold humans populate many solar systems connected by wormhole gates. Each solar system is independent. Beta Colony is a technology-rich but resource-poor system. The Betan Astronomical Survey sends Commander Cordelia Naismith to peacefully examine an unclaimed planet named Sergyer for resources. Her spaceship is called the Rene Magritte. Barrayar is an isolationistic materialistic society ruled by an Emperor. Some factions of the government are pushing for war. They secretly claim the planet named Sergyer and the important wormhole gate that the system contains. A warship named the General Vorkraft, commanded by Aral Vorkosigan, is sent to Sergyer to control the system. The Barrayaran aristocracy uses the honorific of Vor and Aral is a high-ranking member.

The pro-war faction stage a mutiny against Vorkosigan, kill Cordelia’s shipmates that are on the surface of the planet, and leave Vorkosigan to die. Vorkosigan takes Cordelia and Ensign Dubauer, her brain scrambled crewmember, as his prisoners. Cordelia sends her ship away to warn the Beta Colony. Vorkosigan, Cordelia, and Dubauer walk five days to a Barrayan supply cache. Vorkosigan plans to get resupplied and retake his ship. During the walk, Vorkosigan and Cordelia develop a mutual respect that leads to a romance.

Through the course of the novel, they are separated and reunite. Vorkosigan faces challenges on Barrayar, and Cordelia faces challenges on Beta Colony. Some Barrayans they face are Sergeant Bothari, Emperor Ezar Vobarra, Crown Prince Serg Vobarra, Admiral Vorrutyer, Imperial Lieutenant Simon Illyan, and Ensign Koudelka. Cordelia faces the Betans; Dr. Sprague, Dr. Mehta, and Betan President Steady Freddy. There is enough plot in this novel for at least a trilogy.

Recommendation

Shards of Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold is a fun-filled space opera mixed with a romance. Cordelia and Vorkosigan are meant for one another, and I was happy to follow them on their adventures. I thought the Betan claims were almost plausible that Vorkosigan brainwashed Cordelia to be his spy. I would have liked to see more of that storyline, but I am glad that I can continue with the follow-up novel, Barrayar (Book #7 of the Vorkosigan saga), which continues examining the complicated politics of Barrayar.

Links

This is the link to the Goodreads page of Shards of Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61903.Shards_of_Honour

In Falling Free (Book #4 of the Vorkosigan saga) by Lois McMaster Bujold, space engineer Leo Graf must decide between retiring or risking his life protecting his students. The novel is a fun, self-contained space opera romp.

Falling Free by Lois McMaster Bujold

Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski

Introduction

Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski is a fantasy short story collection featuring Geralt of Rivia. Geralt is a Witcher, a human transformed to fight monsters for money. He kills monsters from fables come to life in this fantasy version of Europe. The beasts and monsters are receding from the world. What will a Witcher do when there are no more monsters to fight?

Summary – Introduction

There are seven stories in this collection. The first story of the series, The Witcher, was published in the Polish science fiction and fantasy magazine, Fantastyka. Five other stories are self-contained. The seventh story is a framing story told in seven chapters that appear between the other six stories. The seventh story called The Voice of Reason tells a complete story and illuminates and connects the other six stories into one narrative. Netflix released the first season of the TV show The Witcher on December 20, 2019. They adapted five of the stories in this collection in season one. The TV episodes combine three narratives into each episode. The three narratives are the short stories in the collections the Last Wish and the Sword of Destiny, Yennefer’s backstory, and Ciri’s backstory. Summaries of each of the seven stories follow.

Summary–The Witcher

The first story is The Witcher. The story gives a great introduction to the characters and the world they inhabit. Geralt’s first mission is to defeat a striga, preferably without killing it. A striga is a being created from a curse. Geralt must risk being killed to break the curse. They adapted the story in the Netflix Show in Episode 3, Betrayer Moon.

Summary–A Grain of Truth

A Grain of Truth is the second full story of the collection. The author based the story on the Beauty and the Beast fable. Geralt finds two people killed by an animal that he does not recognize. He follows the animal’s trail and must unravel a mystery involving a vampire-like being called a bruxa. They did not adapt this story for the Netflix show. I think the audience is too familiar with the Beauty and the Beast fable because of the Disney movie, so the showrunners felt that it would be too hard to adapt and stay interesting.

Summary–The Lesser Evil

The Lesser Evil is a story that introduces important actions he takes that define Geralt’s character. To start the story Geralt kills a kikimora, a large spidery beast, and he looks for payment at the nearby town of Blaviken. The alderman sends him to a wizard, Stregobor, whom he realizes that he knows when they meet. Geralt is stuck between the wizard and a woman thief, Renfri, who both want the other dead and both want Geralt to help each other do the deed. Geralt maintains that he hunts monsters and will not be an assassin for hire. Which lesser of two evils will Geralt choose?

Geralt prefers to choose neither, but events will get beyond his control. The events of this story will earn Geralt the title of Butcher of Blaviken. There are subtle aspects of the Snow White fable in the written story. They adapted the story in the Netflix show in Episode 1, The End’s Beginning. It is the first episode of the show and features exciting visuals and twisting plot points, so I see why the showrunners placed it first in the Netflix show.

Summary–The Question of Price

The Question of Price is the next story in the collection. There are two ideas in this story that are interrelated. The story has aspects of the Rumpelstiltskin fable. In the fable, Rumplestiltskin asks for the miller’s daughter’s firstborn child to spin the straw into gold for her. The fable is mixed with the honor code called the Law of Surprise. It’s the rule that if someone saves another’s life, then the rescuer can take a boon unknown to both at the time of the rescue. Queen Calanthe of Cintra hires Geralt to do an unspecified deed that she assures him has something to do with his profession as a monster hunter. Geralt doesn’t want to be an assassin, so he is dubious, but he lets the scenario play out. The occasion is the betrothal feast of the queen’s daughter, Pavetta. The resulting situation will have effects down the line in Geralt’s ultimate destiny.

They adapted this story in the Netflix show in Episode 4, Of Banquets, Bastards, and Burials. The written story features a troubadour, but that part is given to Jaskier in the show. Jaskier is called Dandelion in the written stories. He is a bard who is Geralt’s best friend and companion on some of his adventures, but not this written story.

Summary–The Edge of the World

The Edge of the World is the next story in the collection. It features a beast the villagers of Lower Posada hire Geralt to kill. Geralt discovers the beast is a sylvan, a creature of the woods, and he learns of the plight of the elves. Geralt must make a difficult decision balancing the wishes of the villagers and the elves. This is the first story that features Dandelion (Jaskier in the Netflix show). They adapted this story in the Netflix show in Episode 2, Four Marks.

Summary–The Last Wish

The Last Wish is the last full story in the collection. Geralt and Dandelion are fishing for food and catch a bottle containing a Djinn. Dandelion’s neck swells and Geralt searches for a sorcerer to heal Dandelion because without his voice he will cease to be a bard, Geralt finds Yennefer, a witch who will heal Dandelion for a price. She has her own hidden motivations to help them. Will Geralt pay her price? They adapted this story in the Netflix show in Episode 5, Bottled Appetites. Dandelion and Yennefer are both in the Netflix show as the characters they are in the written story.

Summary–The Voice of Reason

The Voice of Reason is a story in seven chapters spaced between the other six stories in the collection. In this story, Geralt comes to the Temple of Melitele to recover from his injuries sustained in his encounter with the striga. He is under the care of the priestess Nenneke. He dreams or tells about the other stories in the collection. The prince of Ellander wants Geralt to leave his territory because he doesn’t like witchers and what they represent. Geralt must carry out an impossible task to win his escape. They used aspects of this story in the Netflix show, but the story is mainly a framing device to bring the stories to hang together as a cohesive whole.

Recommendation

Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski is a great collection of stories. It’s like a sword and sorcery version of Grimm’s Fairy Tales. The story has a fable put in it, and Geralt must face a difficult decision to carry out his goals for each story. Dandelion and Yennefer are wonderful foils to Geralt, and I’m glad to know they continue with important roles in the series. They adapted five of the tales in The Last Wish in the Netflix show, and the last three episodes of the Netflix show were adapted from story stories from the second collection called The Sword of Destiny.

Links

Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski Goodreads page is linked below.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40603587-the-last-wish

Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski is similar to Red Country by Joe Abercrombie. Red Country has a similar magic system and features a medieval technology level. It is linked below.

Red Country by Joe Abercrombie

Storming by KM Weiland

Introduction

Storming by KM Weiland is a historical/dieselpunk mash-up novel set in Nebraska in the 1920s. Barnstorming pilot Robert “Hitch” Hitchcock runs into a mysterious girl, Jael. She drops from the clouds and falls onto his biplane. Jael looks and acts like she comes from another country and another place. Who is she and what does she want? Hitch’s life becomes complicated when sky pirates come looking for her and try to take over his hometown in Nebraska.

Summary

Storming by KM Weiland begins with Hitch returning to his hometown of Scottsbluff, Nebraska on a barnstorming tour. He left his hometown many years ago searching for adventure and escaping from secrets from his past. Hitch is in Scottsbluff practicing flying an old plane wanting to impress a big shot hoping to join his flying circus. On a practice run with his biplane, he sees a woman drop from the clouds onto his plane. She falls into the lake and he tries to find her.

Along the way Hitch runs into the colorful characters found in Scottsbluff; Sherriff Campbell, Hitch’s brother sheriff’s deputy Griff, a mute boy Walter, feuding brothers J.W. and Matthew Berringer, and the Carpenter family who are farmers. Jael is from Storming. She has something that the maniacal Zlo from Storming wants from her. He comes looking for her and the citizens of Scottsbluff are in his way. Zlo will stop at nothing to get what he wants. Hitch must reevaluate his life and make a choice; help Jael with an impossible task or run away from everyone along with a fortune.

Recommendation

I read Storming by KM Weiland from February 15, 2017, to April 3, 2017. There were three books I read in 2017 for which I did not write a book review at that time. This is the first of the three retro posts that I will write. Storming was a fun and quick book to read. I enjoyed checking my notes on the book to prepare this review. I liked all the characters and the setting was interesting. By reading the complete outline transcript (as I detail in the links below), I understood how she developed the ideas to end up with this story. It would have been a different book if she had used Jael as the protagonist and set more of the story on Storming. I agree with her reasons for her choices and I’m happy with the book as written though.

Links

This is the link to the Goodreads page of Storming by KM Weiland

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28099189-storming

I also read a book by KM Weiland which was about writing named Structuring Your Novel: Essential Keys to Writing an Outstanding Story.

This is a link to my review of her book.

Structuring Your Novel by K. M. Weiland

In the outline, she writes her idea brainstorms, orders her ideas into scenes, and then writes summaries for each of the 50 scenes for the book. As a writer, what was most helpful to me was examining the complete outline transcript from her novel Storming which is available on her website.

https://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/

The transcript uses the ideas from her book, Outlining Your Novel, and from her other books on writing. Another resource that is available on her website is a free template for the writing program Scrivener. The Scrivener program is available for 30 days free on their website.

https://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener/overview

Using the ideas of KM Weiland should help any author to improve their writing.

Tiamats Wrath by James SA Corey

Introduction

Tiamats Wrath by James SA Corey is the eighth book of The Expanse series. Winston Duarte and his band of former members of the MRCN from Laconia continue their plan to subjugate the whole human race. They plan to take over the solar system, creating an Empire with Duarte as the leader. Duarte believes he is the only person with the vision to defeat the creatures who destroyed the civilization who had built the gates to the 1300 worlds. Both sides gain victories and suffer defeats. Can James Holden and his crew defeat the Empire threatening to take over the 1300 worlds of man?

Summary

There are six viewpoint characters in Tiamats Wrath by James SA Corey.

James Holden is the viewpoint character in the prologue. The Laconians hold him as a captive at their capital. They have kept him long enough that his knowledge of the resistance is outdated, but they keep him around for a reason only known by Winston Duarte.

Bobbie Draper is the captain of The Gathering Storm, the advanced Laconian ship that the resistance captured. Her plan is to find ways that she can use the ship to bring the resistance force to the Laconians. Her first mission is to steal the special fuel needed to power the ship.

Alex Kamal is Bobbie’s pilot for The Gathering Storm. He gives a different perspective on Bobbie’s efforts. Alex has an old school approach to the resistance in contrast to newer members of the resistance. He remembers the actions of the OPA from thirty years ago, while a new generation has been born into the era of the Transport Union and the opening of the 1300 worlds.

Summary 2

Naomi Nagata has a different idea of resistance. She favors winning the war from within the enemy. She thinks attacking the Laconians economically and politically will win the war in time. Using that philosophy, she works behind the scenes using the old OPA network.

Teresa Duarte is Winton Duarte’s daughter. He has made her his heir and the potential ruler of a thousand-year-old empire. She is 14 years old and is trying to come to terms with her place in society and as the heir.

Elvi Okoye is part of the science initiative to determine the nature of the beings that destroyed the makers of the gates billions of years ago. The Laconians have stationed her on a ship that explores the 1300 worlds of the builders for clues to their demise.

Recommendation

Tiamats Wrath by James SA Corey seems like the middle novel of a trilogy. It continues the narrative from Persepolis Rising and builds up to the climax of the series in the ninth and final book. Bobbie’s story and Holden’s story paid off. Teresa’s story is just beginning. Eli’s story and Naomi’s story are setting up for a payoff in the next book. This is a great novel and I’m looking forward to reading the final book to see how the storylines are completed. So far, the ninth book is untitled, but they have it scheduled it to be published in 2020. I have put the book on my list to read this year.

Links

This is the link to the Goodreads page of Tiamats Wrath by James SA Corey.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28335698-tiamat-s-wrath

This is the link to my review of Nemesis Games by James S.A. Corey.

Nemesis Games by James S. A. Corey

In Babylon’s Ashes by James S.A. Corey, the Free Navy is trying to take the 1300 worlds. Can Holden and his crew defeat the Free Navy? Great conclusion to the Free Navy storyline.

Babylon’s Ashes by James S. A. Corey

In Persepolis Rising by James S.A. Corey, the Laconians plan to take the 1300 worlds. Can Holden and his crew defeat the Laconians? It starts a new trilogy. Great beginning to the Laconian storyline.

Persepolis Rising by James S.A. Corey

Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells

Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells. All Systems Red (Book 1), Artificial Condition (Book 2), Rogue Protocol (Book 3), and Exit Strategy (Book 4)

Introduction

The Murderbot Diaries are a series of four novellas that complete a self-contained single story. I have reviewed the first novella called All Systems Red. The review is linked to the link section of this review. I will review the other three novellas in this review. The protagonist of the diaries is a SecUnit (Security Unit), a partially organic and partially mechanical cyborg, or as she calls herself a Murderbot.

Summary

Summary of All Systems Red (Book 1)

The SecUnit (Security Unit) for the PreservationAux survey group has hacked and disabled her governor module during her last contract. The hack lets her follow the Company’s programming or to ignore it. SecUnits are built by the Company and must be used by every survey team for protection. The PersevationAux group surveys a planet to decide if they want to bid to the Company on building a colony there.

The story’s complication occurs when they lose contact with the DeltFall Group survey team, the only other survey team assigned to their planet. Dr. Mensah, the leader of the PreservationAux Group, investigates at DeltFall’s habitat despite the SecUnit’s suggestion they leave the investigation to the Company. What they find at the habitat changes their perspective on the Company and on their SecUnit’s behavior.

Summary of Artificial Condition (Book 2)

The SecUnit leaves Dr. Mensah and the PreservationAux Group, but she doesn’t remember all that happened during her contact with the DeltFall Group. She takes passage on a research vessel she names ART. ART has more intelligence than most bot ship drivers and it finds out she is not on a contract. They become friends and ART helps her look more human so she can go back to Ganaka Pit, the place where her memory was purged. What she finds there sends her on a mission to discover the truth behind what happened at Ganaka Pit.

Summary of Rogue Protocol (Book 3)

SecUnit learned from her last mission that the GrayCris corporation was involved in what happened at Ganaka Pit. She takes a transport ship to a planet named Milu to investigate what GrayCris did at a terraforming station they have closed down and sold. SecUnit unravels their plot and looks for incriminating evidence against GrayCris. She is helped on her mission by a bot the humans treat as a pet named Miki.

Summary of Exit Strategy (Book 4)

SecUnit heads back personally give the information she discovered to Dr. Mensah. GrayCris has kidnapped Dr. Mensah to lure SecUnit into a trap.

Recommendation

This is great. The Murderbot Dairies read like a long episodic novel. The action moves and SecUnit is an engaging protagonist. All she wants to do is re-watch episodes of The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon, but her past intrudes on her watching. Those pesky humans always have to be protected, and she does it well with snark, at least in her inner dialogue. Fortunately, we are there for the ride. I want to read the Murderbot novel, Network Effect, that is scheduled to be released on May 5, 2020.

Links

This is the link to the Goodreads page for All Systems Red by Martha Wells.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32758901-all-systems-red

This is a link to my review of All Systems Red by Martha Wells, Book 1 of The Murderbot Diaries.

All Systems Red by Martha Wells

This is the link to the Goodreads page for Network Effect by Martha Wells. It is the Murderbot novel due to be published on May 5, 2020.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/47902784-network-effect

Dragon Reborn by Robert Jordan

Dragon Reborn by Robert Jordan. Book three of the Wheel of Time series.

Introduction

Dragon Reborn by Robert Jordan is the third book of The Wheel of Time series. Perrin and Moraine follow Rand to Tear. Mat, Egwene, Nyneave, and Elyane follow the Black Ajah to Tear. They meet at the Stone of Tear and Rand meets his destiny with the sword that is not a sword named Callendor. Can Rand wield Callendor to prove he is the Dragon Reborn and defeat Ba’alzamon?

Summary

Dragon Reborn by Robert Jordan begins soon after Great Hunt by Robert Jordan ended. The battle at Falme is over and Rand unfurls the Dragon Banner. The Dragon banner group hides in the hills considering their next move. Moiraine, the Aes Sedai, and her warder Lan protect the group. Perrin, the wolf brother and Min, the lady of prophecy, and Loial, the Oglier are members of the group. Something unexpected happens and Rand leaves the protecting hills and the group follows him but is one step behind him on their way to Tear. Callendor, the sword that is not a sword, is found in Tear. The prophecy is that the Stone of Tear will fall and the one who can wield Callendor is the Dragon Reborn.

Meanwhile, the rest of the cast is in Tar Volan. Egwene, Nynaeve, and Elayne are training under the tutelage of the Aes Sedai. They have brought Mat, the trickster, to Tar Volan for the Aes Sedai to heal him. They hope the most powerful of the Aes Sedai can heal Mat from the curse of the dagger he took from Shadar Logoth. The Black Ajah makes its presence known. The members of the Black Ajah are Aes Sedai who follows the dark one. Egwene, Nynaeve, and Elayne head to Tear to fight the Black Ajah.

Both groups travel to Tear and Rand proves his worth.

Recommendation

The Dragon Reborn is another great novel in the Wheel of Time series. It was a great idea to limit Rand’s POV chapters and having him as a mysterious force that the group follows. Bringing almost everyone in the cast to Tear worked well. I enjoyed Mat’s story the best. His story feels like a spy thriller. Perrin faces his main dilemma of whether to take up the blacksmith hammer and a non-combat role or the war ax and a combat role. The best moment of the novel comes at the end when Rand responds to the climax of the novel. It is a perfect reaction and Moraine states the truth that will propel Rand, Perrin, and Mat in the novels that follow. I am looking forward to watching the first season of the Amazon Prime Video adaption of the first two novels of the series in 2020.

Links

This is the link to the Goodreads page of Dragon Reborn by Robert Jordan.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/359820.The_Dragon_Reborn

This is the link to my review of Great Hunt by Robert Jordan, Book two of the Wheel of Time.

Great Hunt by Robert Jordan

This is the link to my review of Eye of the World by Robert Jordan, Book one of the Wheel of Time.

The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan

Ghost Brigades by John Scalzi

Introduction

Ghost Brigades by John Scalzi is the second book in the Old Man’s War series. The Colonial Defense Forces created Jared Dirac for a specific purpose. He is a member of the Ghost Brigades who are the elite troops of the CDF. Jared is a clone of the mad evil scientist Charles Boutin and was made because Boutin has betrayed humanity enabling three alien civilizations to ally against humanity. The CDF wants to understand Boutin’s motivations by studying Jared and defeating Boutin and the aliens. Will Jared help the CDF when Boutin’s memories become his own memories?

Summary

Ghost Brigades by John Scalzi starts with Lieutenant Sagan interviewing a captive alien. The alien gives its view on humanity. He sees three kinds of humans. There are the unmodified humans that colonize unclaimed planets. The main members of the Colonial Defense Forces are older unmodified humans who have their minds transferred to young clone bodies. The CDF creates the third human from human DNA. They are the Ghost Brigades of the CDF. They make Jared Dirac from Boutin’s DNA. When he gains consciousness he doesn’t have any of Boutin’s memories. The CDF trains him in the Ghost Brigades and sends him out on missions. On his missions, his memories are triggered, and he has memories of being Boutin. He must understand why Boutin did what he did and Jared must forge his own path to save humanity.

Recommendation

This novel is a great sequel to Old Man’s War. Old Man’s War was about the second humans, the members of the CDF. Adding the Ghost Brigades ratcheted up the tension in the sequel. Jared Dirac was a great character to show the reader the methods of the Ghost Brigades. Charles Boutin seems like a mad scientist from an old school space opera but he is more than that. I appreciate that the author took an old trope and made it new. The author sets up the next novel in the series at the end of this novel. I am looking forward to reading book three of the series, The Last Colony.

Links

This is the link to the Goodreads page of Ghost Brigades by John Scalzi.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/239399.The_Ghost_Brigades

Old Man’s War is the first novel in the Old Man’s War series. This is the link to my review.

Old Man’s War by John Scalzi

In Redshirts by John Scalzi, they assign Ensign Andrew Dahl to the starship Intrepid. Crew members on away missions die at an alarming rate, but not the officers. Dahl must discover the unbelievable truth, or he will die like the other Redshirts. This is the link to my review.

Redshirts by John Scalzi

Worlds of Wonder by David Gerrold

Introduction

Worlds of Wonder by David Gerrold is his non-fiction book on the craft of writing, subtitled how to write science fiction and fantasy. The most famous work that he wrote was the episode of Star Trek (the original series) called “The Trouble with Tribbles”. He also wrote scripts and directed episodes of other Star Trek series. He wrote novels in the science fiction and fantasy genre. This book tells about his writing path and gives examples from his works to help aspiring writers. Where should you start as a new writer? Use this book.

Summary

Worlds of Wonder by David Gerrold starts with two of his college instructors who taught him valuable lessons. The first instructor told him he would never make it as a writer. That rage against failure fueled him to do well. The other instructor stressed the importance of structure. David Gerrold took that advice to mean he should learn from the masters of his chosen genre of science fiction and fantasy to see how they were successful. He realized that a story is about a person’s problem solving and the lessons learned through that experience.

Ask yourself If questions to invent the wonder of your story. Find your hero and your hero’s problem. Your hero will face crises and challenges. Set the stage and build your world. The first line is important to hook the reader and keep them reading. He gives examples of love scenes from his novels When Harlie was One and A Method for Madness. He goes over each structural device for writing. Discipline is important because real writers write. Use the idea that your first million words are for practice. If you end up selling any of your first million words, then that is a bonus for you. He ends the book with ten pieces of good advice.

Recommendation

Worlds of Wonder by David Gerrold is a useful book about writing. It is short and easy to read. The author has a conversational way of writing. The advice is sound but like other books I have read. I remember reading the author’s novel The Man Who Folded Himself when I was in high school. I also remember that he was the writer of “The Trouble with Tribbles”. David Gerrold was a panelist and an interviewee at Marcon in Columbus Ohio on May 11, 2019. I had planned to read this book but because of the conference, I read it sooner than I planned. I am glad that I did.

Links

This is the link to the Goodreads page of Worlds of Wonder by David Gerrold

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39709934-worlds-of-wonder

Recap for SF Conference Marcon Columbus on May 11, 2019. They held it at Crowne Plaza – Columbus North. I also attended Marcon in 2017 and 2018. This year I attended four panels, a performance, and an interview. My star of the con was David Gerrold. He was engaging in the panel and the interview that I attended with him.

Recap Marcon Conference 2019

Save the Cat Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody takes the books of Blake Snyder and applies his teachings to writing novels. She presents complete beat sheets and genre breakdowns of current and past novels. This is the link to my review.

Save the Cat Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody

Another similar book on writing is How to Write Best Selling Fiction by Dean Koontz. This is the link to my review. It’s from 1981, but the advice is still great.

How to Write Best Selling Fiction by Dean Koontz

Raven Tower by Ann Leckie

Introduction

Raven Tower by Ann Leckie is a fantasy novel from an award-winning science-fiction novelist. The Raven Lease is the speaker for the god known as the Raven and the Raven Lease is missing. Mawat is the heir to the Raven Lease and returns from wars in the south with his aide Eolo. Eolo learns secrets about the Raven and must decide what to do with that knowledge. The novel’s one-line preface is “there will be a reckoning”. What reckoning will take place?

Summary

Raven Tower by Ann Leckie begins with an unknown narrator speaking in the second-person to Eolo. The narration is like the narrator telling a story to Eolo after the events have occurred. Eolo is returning to Vastai, the capital of Iraden. Eolo is the aide to Mawat, and they have been at war in the south but must return to Vastai because Mawat is the heir to the Raven Lease. The Raven Lease is the speaker for the god known as the Raven and the Raven Lease is missing. Mawat tries to figure what happened to his father and what is going on in Vastai. Eolo can learn about the situation easier than Mawat could. The narrator influences Eolo and helps Eolo learn secrets. As the novel proceeds, the narrator tells stories that may or may not be told to Eolo. The stories read like parables. Eolo must decide what to do with the secrets learned. There will be a reckoning.

Recommendation

It was ambitious to write a second-person story in a novel-length. I was skeptical of this choice as I read the novel, but I understood the choice and the necessity to write the novel this way after I read to the end of the novel. The identity of the narrator is the whole point of the story. There will be a reckoning. I thought there were unanswered questions that a sequel could answer, but the author has tweeted that she intended the novel as a standalone novel. https://twitter.com/ann_leckie/status/1101144602181025800?lang=en

I enjoyed reading the Raven Tower and think it was the best book I read in 2019.

Links

This is the link to the Goodreads page of Raven Tower by Ann Leckie

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39395857-the-raven-tower

This is the link to the Goodreads page of Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17333324-ancillary-justice

Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie won the Hugo, Nebula, Arthur C. Clarke, and many other awards.

This is a link to my review of her novel.

Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie