Henry L Lazarus                                                                                                                                                    HOME
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Science Fiction for July 2022
by Henry L Lazarus
    May you live in interesting times is a Chinese curse that applies both to most Science Fiction and Fantasy, but also to current events. Hopefully things in real life  will calm down soon.
We meet Domino Bluepoint in a dust bowl version of hell with little water, lots of alcohol, and demon bones for drugs. Domino arrived there because he is a witch, as is his mother an both can sell their blood for its magical properties. But there’s a lot more to Gwendolyn Nix’s I Have Asked To Be Where No Storms Come (ebook from booksgosocial) which thn gives the back story of the two brothers who grew up in the dustbowl southwest of the 30's. I hope this finds some award nominations.
Walter Goodwater has a neat tale of magical town in modern California. It has an ancient king who protects the inhabitants. It also has The Liar of Red Valley (ebook from Rebellion Publishing Ltd ) who can turn a lie into truth (only in the valley) at the cost of someone’s life time. Sadie’s mother was the liar until she died of cancer and now Sadie, who had been a waitress, finds herself the new liar. Unfortunately she’s had no training, the valley is under attack from magical monsters, and everything she thinks she knows about herself is a lie. Lots of fun.
The fae have visited our world for centuries, leaving children behind. According to Shameez Patel Papathanasiou these cchildren are reborn in their world after their death in ours. The Fae King has created a zombie like plague to cull the reborn.  Cassia is an intern in the same hospital where her mother has been a nurse for decades. Her sister is dying from an undiagnosed disease. A friend, Lucas, who had crossed to the Fae world four years earlier, thinks that Cassie’s healing magic, which she is unaware of, might be thee solution, and the reborn might have medicine for Cassie’s sister. So he arranges her to be brought to the fae world. When The Last Feather (hard from Flame Tree Press ) on her necklace falls she has to return home. Fun.
Alex Linwood has a natural talent that I found so absorbing I bought his previous series. He writes of teen agers with special magical talents in a medieval setting. Valentina was locked in a tower for three years after her King father died. She escapes and is dircted to a school in the capital of a nearby Empire, where it is promised she will be safe. Unfortunately agents fronm her kingdom attack her at the school. That’s when her magical talent saves her and she discovers h er link to The Queen of War(ebook from Greenlees Publishing). More to come.
City in the Sky (ebook from Faolan's Pen Publishing) Newport has been at odds with the country of Draconia putting flying sailboats against dragons. Erik Tarverro is a half-breed, skilled blaccksmith knowing little of his Father’s heritage. Then an assassin place hires him to replace broken knives, and then attempts to kill him to hide the work.That sends him to Newport where it turns out he is the only heir to a noble family. Though many of the other nobels despise him for being half-breed, Circumstances find him in Newport’s militia. When Newports’s main fleet leaves for war games, the Draconians attack, putting Erik in heart of war. This book, which was the first Glynn Stewart tale I read, impressed me enough to bccome a fan. It’s been rewritten and I hope will finally have a sequel.     
Rachel Graves has a properly romantically silly tale of Demonology professor Sarah Prescott who had fallen for an actual demon, but ended up Dumping Her Demon (ebook) when he decided to convert to human. Then she found the dead body of her close friend and fellow professor Minh in their shared office. With Legion, who she calls Lee,  detective Dean Young who doesbn’t believe in demons, and some demon fighters from the Catholic Church, she has to deal with deadly exiles from hell who could destroy the world. This is a proper giggle and hope a sequel is planned.
Harry Turtledove tells of the Hearst Glomar Explorer that in 1974, rented by the CIA, it recovered (a lost Soviet Sub Three Miles Down (hard from TOR). In his alternate version, the object brought up is a UFO. Jerry Stieglitz is graduate student selected for he voyage bcause he also wrttes SF. He and his co-worker manage to get inside the vehicle, but are soon sent home for other specialists. Then CIA monitering becomes oppressive.  The next episode promises to be more exciting.        Patrick Chiles is an expert in the complication of living in space. Spae force patrols the near Earth Frontier (paper from Baen) with the  U.S.S. Borman mainly for the rare rescue needed for the growing industrialization. Then the Jaing’s, a millionaire couple  on a private expedition, suffer disaster and the Borman is sent to hopefully rescue the couple out of contact. Marshal Hunter, a new ensign on the ship has to rise to meet the worst when it proves the Jaings had met with foul play from predictable enemies. The space war is well defined. Fun.
Raymond E. Feist concludes his trilogy im which the last of the magical Firemane family, Hatushaly, has to finally learn to use his magical ability to become Master of Furies (hard from  Harper Voyager). Baron Daylon Dumarch, now a king, is working on destroying the raiders. Hava, Hatushaly’s wife, is capturing ships to aid in that war. Hatushaly is very powerful and needed for far more powerful enemies than than the simple war, and to help his training, are some of the magicians from the Rift-war saga. This is a nice end to this trilogy and a promising hint to the next series.
David Weber and Jane Lindskold have a new tale of treecats on Sphinx. One of the treecats leaves his clan after a plague has killed his mate and left him telepathically blind. Hehas to join A New Clan (ebook from Baen) when he bonds to a human.  The main plot, at least for the humans, is about a new drug causing deadly accidents. Fun.
    Baen has reprinted the fun fourth tale of The Shaman of Karres by Eric Flint and Dave Freer in paper. Robosoldiers: Thanks for Your Servos (ebook edited by Stephen Lawson) is a fun collection from Baen. Then have combined three of Michael Z. Williamson’s combat tales into Target: Terror (ebook).
    Dr. Henry Lazarus is a retired Dentist and the author of A Cycle of Gods (Wolfsinger Publications) and Unnaturally Female (Smashwords).Check out his unified field theory at henrylazarus.com/utf.html that suggests fusion generation requires less energy.