So my intention had been to have this ready (…counting on fingers…) three months ago. Life intervened, but better late than never. On to the next part of the backlog!
Roses and Candy
Dogs of War, David Drake
This is a collection of short military-themed SFF fiction assembled by and including work from Drake, a Vietnam veteran. Of these, my favorite was probably Gene Wolfe’s Straw, which had a clever twist. Other heavy hitters include Joe Haldeman, Richard Matheson (of I Am Legend fame) and pioneering female SF author C.L. Moore. Everything was well-written, the writing style of some pieces is definitely dated. All in all, though, a strong vintage collection.
Smirk factor: All clear: 2 pts (some dated language and style)
Immersion factor: Shallow: 1 pt
Writing quality: High: 2 pts
Character/plot development: Average: 1 pt
Innovative/interesting: Average: 1 pt
Total: 7/10
Poker, Sex & Dying: Inside The Mind of A Gambler, Juel A. Anderson.
A dead tree book! This is an interesting but very odd tome from 2003, written from the dual point of view of helping readers who are in sales and also or alternately play poker. Anderson breaks people down into 13 personality types, each of which has particular strengths and weaknesses. Anderson is a strong observer of human nature and many observations ring true once pried out of the poker context. This is, though, a eccentric little book.
Nonfiction. Total: 4/10
Vicarious, Brett C. Bruno. Back in mid-January, I wrote:
This is a tough book to pin down. I like the general idea: an indolent, self-involved twit obsessed with reality TV star gets kicked out of perfect-yet-dystopian future world but carries on undaunted with his obsession. It’s proven tough to actually sit down and read the thing, though, for reasons that I can’t quite put my finger on. It’s not bad. But apparently doesn’t have that essential “hook” that would make finishing it easier. Currently stalled at 53%.
I would have bet (myself -- which makes little sense) that the book was bound for an inevitable downgrade to the quit it category. But no! For reasons that still aren’t 100% clear to me, I picked it back up and found -- some interesting stuff! The second half of the book was the action-focused night to the first half’s procedural day. Our hero is challenged to prevail, in what turns into a decent but belated reward for sticking it out.
Smirk factor: All clear: 2 pts;
Immersion factor: Damp: 0.5 pts
Writing quality: Average: 1 pt
Character/plot development: Average: 1 pt
Innovative/interesting: Tries hard: 0.5 pts
Total: 5/10
The Spectre General, Theodore Cogswell.
The 427th Light Maintenance Battalion of the Imperial Space Marines is marooned on a lonely planet. Things change abruptly when they are accidentally discovered by a new fleet, and find that there is room to solve each others’ problems. Vintage tale with a clever premise and some jarring, dated tropes. Selected for the 1973 Science Fiction Hall of Fame novella collection.
Smirk factor: Acceptable: 1 pt
Immersion factor: Shallow: 1 pt
Writing quality: Average: 1 pt
Character/plot development: Average: 1 pt
Innovative/interesting: Average: 1 pt
Total: 5/10
The First Theodore Cogswell Megapack, Theodore Cogswell.
Theodore Cogswell (1918-1987) was an active writer in the 1950s and ’60s. This volume of 16 short stories is heavily influenced by the Cold War, and features several examples of turnabout as (un)fair play, as well as sly humor. Worth reading for insights into the genre’s past, I was never quite sure what I was getting from story to story.
Smirk factor: Acceptable: 1 pt
Immersion factor: Chest-high: 1.5 pts
Writing quality: Average: 1 pt
Character/plot development: Average: 1 pt
Innovative/interesting: Above-average: 1.5 pts
Total: 6/10
Upright Women Wanted, Sarah Gailey.
This was in doubt for quite some time. Previous thoughts:
This novella was a Hugo and Locus award nominee, and came via a Tor free book offer. It’s a reinvention of the western genre, in a setting “full of bandits, fascists, and queer librarian spies on horseback trying to do the right thing.” (Thank you, Goodreads.) The writing is good and the story interesting; I’m finding the tone a bit biting and negative. We’ll see.
So we saw. In the end, this was worth finishing -- mainly because Gailey’s perspective is vastly different than most of the authors I read and I was challenged by the story and characters. I stand by the analysis in the penultimate sentence above.
Smirk factor: Acceptable: 1 pt (Little/no smirking as such, tone was jarring)
Immersion factor: Damp: 0.5 pts
Writing quality: Average: 1 pt
Character/plot development: Average: 1 pt
Innovative/interesting: Above average: 1.5 pts
Total: 5/10
Alien Hunters, Daniel Arenson.
Arenson previously graced the site here with the first volume of Earthrise. Alien Hunters is about a motley group of galactic exterminators/eviction agents. It’s mildly funny, and good brain candy. Not heavy on plot, character development or drama — but it doesn’t need to be.
Smirk factor: Acceptable: 1 pt (This is entertainment, not literature...)
Immersion factor: Shallow: 1 pt
Writing quality: Average: 1 pt
Character/plot development: Average: 1 pt
Innovative/interesting: Above average: 1.5 pts
Total: 5.5/10
Enemy of All Mankind: A True Story of Piracy, Power, and History’s First Global Manhunt, Steven Johnson.
More than the sum of its parts, this examines piracy through the prism of a late-17th century incident involving pirates (well, yes...), a particularly vicious maritime crime spree, the East India Company, and the Mogul Sultan Aurangzeb. The interplay between crime and commerce, politics and justice is fascinating, and Johnson’s excellent writing style keeps the story flowing smoothly.
Nonfiction. Total: 7.5/10
Ice And Monsters (The Lost Book 1), Peter Nealen.
My introduction to the sub-sub-genre called “War Gate,” “the Fully Kinetic intersection of Military Thriller and Epic Fantasy.” (Capitalization unchanged from the original.) I started this with mixed feelings, but Nealen’s writing brought me around. There is a Norse flavor to this guns-n-sorcery epic, as well as an almost thoughtful element leavening the episodic wall-to-wall violence. Speaking of violence, there is lots on offer but less than I expected. The story takes up the slack. Interested to see how the series and the idea evolves in the future.
Smirk factor: All clear: 2 pts (No smirking, minimal jargon, accessible!)
Immersion factor: Chest-high: 1.5 pts
Writing quality: Average: 1 pt
Character/plot development: Average: 1 pt
Innovative/interesting: Above average: 1.5 pts
Total: 7/10
Flight of the Javelin: The Complete Series: A Space Opera Box Set, Rachel Aukes.
The series opens on a colony ship experiencing a critical failure in deep space. Things quickly go sideways, and disaster piles on top of betrayal piles on top of intrigue. This is an intricately-plotted thriller that operates on several levels. Good writing, a wide range of characters who evolve as the story goes on and a very expansive plot culminating in a Last Man Standing style showdown combine to delight.
Smirk factor: All clear: 2 pts
Immersion factor: Chest high: 1.5 pts
Writing quality: Above average: 1.5 pts
Character/plot development: Above average: 1.5pts
Innovative/interesting: Average: 1 pt
Total: 7.5/10
The Hallowed War: A Military Sci-Fi Series (Book 1), T.E. Bakutis.
Grant is a Hallowed, recruited from the slums to join an elite paramilitary unit specialized in hunting down deadly mutants plaguing Rocham, a floating city controlled by the mysterious Cloud Nine corporation. This struck me as another “YA-adjacent” novel but it was well-written, fast-paced and overall enjoyable. Decent character development, serviceable plot, and flashes of snarky humor. It needed a little more “oomph” somewhere to make it stand out.
(This may have been an ARC which got lost in the shuffle. Oops -- sorry.)
Smirk factor: Acceptable: 1 pt (Not sophisticated writing, but not crass either.)
Immersion factor: Shallow : 1 pt (Got a little impatient with it, but not tempted to quit.)
Writing quality: Above-average: 1.5 pts
Character/plot development: Above-average: 1.5 pts (It’s all there, it’s just...simplified.)
Innovative/interesting: Average: 1 pt
Total: 6/10
Space Junk: Waymaker Wars Book 1, Rachel Aukes.
This starts with interstellar tragedy, and escalates rapidly into intrigue, conspiracy and violence. Aukes offers an interesting, well-written take on how AI and humans might interact. Oh, and in case you’re wondering, for better and worse, human nature doesn’t change. Layered plot and nuanced characters drove a quick and compelling read.
Smirk factor: Good: 1.5 pts (Good writing, words align with the ideas.)
Immersion factor: Chest-high: 1.5 pts
Writing quality: Above-average: 1.5 pts
Character/plot development: High: 2 pts
Innovative/interesting: Average: 1 pt
Total: 7.5/10
Artifact (Saturn’s Legacy #1), Joshua James.
I have a conflicted relationship with James’ team writing. I prefer him as a solo author, and this novel shows why. Lowell is a disgraced space marine guarding a dig site on one of Saturn’s moons when things go abruptly and violently sideways. Good pacing, reasonable characters (although the bad guy’s a bit cartoonish) and a twisty plot keep this interesting.
Smirk factor: Acceptable: 1 pt (Not literature but no disasters either.)
Immersion factor: Chest-high: 1.5 pts
Writing quality: Average: 1 pt
Character/plot development: High: 2 pts
Innovative/interesting: Average: 1 pt
Total: 6.5/10
Swipe Which Way?
Military Misfortunes: The Anatomy of Failure in War, Eliot Cohen and John Gooch.
Interesting premise, tough follow-through. Cohen and Gooch set out to look at what goes wrong with military force -- certainly plenty of examples to choose from. This should be more than timely, but reading it is like wading through molasses. Culminated for now at 12%.
Risk Savvy: How To Make Good Decisions, Gerd Gigerenzer.
I started this as a complement and potential rebuttal to McChrystal’s book on risk. Is it irony if I may have chosen poorly? Stuck pondering the difference between risk and uncertainty, 9% of the way in.
The Watchers: The Complete Series: (A Post-Apocalyptic Series Box Set: Books 1-3), Tom Abrahams.
Looked like an interesting premise -- a post-Apocalyptic world defined by the scarcity of water, where power is literally all wet. Slow to develop, and has not really held my interest. Turned off the tap with the tub 8% full.
Ghosted
The Myth of The Entrepreneurial State, McCloskey and Mingardi. 51%
Previously discussed my difficulties with this in January. Made it a couple of pages further since then, but the writing is turgid and the arguments repetitive with almost a ad hominem sheen in places. Too bad, because I think McCloskey and Mingardi’s arguments are fundamentally right -- this is just terrible advertising for them.
Nonfiction. Total: 3.5/10
Free Trader Complete Omnibus -- Books 1-9: A Cat and His Human Minions, Craig Martelle.
A whopping (and daunting) 2206 pages! Popped briefly into the middle of Book 3 (Adventures on the RV Traveler) but got no joy. Ended Book 1 (The Free Trader of Warren Deep). Too long, oversimplified characters and plot, and, well, just too long. 14%
Smirk factor: 0verdone: 0 pts (18 smirks, replacing actual emotions.)
Immersion factor: Damnp: 0.5 pts
Writing quality: Average: 1 pt
Character/plot development: Below-average: 0.5 pts
Innovative/interesting: Average: 1 pt
Total: 3/10
Dead Silent: A Box Set Collection, Judith Lucci, ed. 1%
Not bad as such, but definitely not a genre I’m into. Dipped a toe into the water, quickly removed it.
Total: N/A