Cover is only tangentially related to the plot, as far as I can remember. Still, solid entertainment.
Off to a well-earned rest in Amazon’s cloud.
June 22, 2020
A Fleet Action Spread Across an Endless Blue Sky, Steven Mohan Jr. Story Bundle. I finished this, but had a couple of strong reactions to it. This gets its own “Three Strikes” post. (Here.)
Dieselpunk ePulp Showcase 2, John Picha, et al. Amazon freebie. The four stories were consistently good. A bit of a niche sub-genre, but very enjoyable. Favorite story was a tie: Storming Shangri-La or Bloom, both of which dealt neatly with dystopian themes. Read again quotient: Low but possible.
Extra big because now with even more extra-cheesy awesome!!!!
Castaway Resolution, Eric Flint, Ryk E. Spoor. Baen monthly bundle I loved the parts I read, but it tried to be so many things. Interstellar detective/search and rescue stuff with Lt. Susan Fisher: great. Castaways surviving the weird planet: way, way too long. Fifth in a series starting in 2006; 50/50 on reading the rest. Read again quotient: Can’t see it.
Forced Perspectives, Tim Powers. Baen monthly bundle. Surprisingly good! A secret history of a haunted Los Angeles teetering on the brink of spiritual annihilation. An Egyptian secret agent, weirded-out twins, and a host of other super-colorful characters swirl in a vivid and energetic mix. I’d read more “Vickery and Castine” stuff. Read again quotient: Higher than average.
Man-Kzin Wars XV, Larry Niven ed. Baen monthly bundle. I was prepared to absolutely hate this when I realized there were really fourteen (14) earlier books, but it won me over. Stories jump around chronologically, which made it a bit hard to follow, but all were pretty sound. Singer of Truth and The Third Kzin were especially solid, but Brad R. Torgersen’s Scrith ends the collection by tying human-Kzin fear and cooperation into an artfully written bow. Read again quotient: Absolutely.
Nevertheless, She Persisted, Diana M. Pho, ed. Tor special. Another book I wouldn’t have thought I’d have liked so much. A collection of female authors’ short speculative fiction pieces inspired by Elizabeth Warren. I loved exploring the varied perspectives in this short but powerful book. Read again quotient: Absolutely.