Henry L Lazarus
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Science Fiction for January 2017
by Henry Leon Lazarus
Science Fiction and Fantasy have writers that are
stars, the ones who dominate the awards and have many Hugo and
Nebula awards.
Connie Willis is one of SF’s stars. Her
latest takes place in the very near future in which most people are
caught up in social media, none more than Briddey Flannigan. Her
current love interest, Trent, a man high up in the small
smartphone company she works for, suggests that she and he have EED
surgery, that will connect their emotions. When she wakes up, all
she hears is the voice of C. B. Schwartz, a tech expert with a lab
deep in the basement of her company. Then there are more and more
voices as she develops a talent for telepathy. C. B. Has been
a telepath since his teen years and only he can help her deal with
this Crosstalk (hard from Del Rey). Of course things get
more complicated as the reasons for Trent getting the EED come
clear. Then there’s her nine-year-old niece turned telepath , and
the surgeon who half-believes Trent’s connection. Lots of fun with a
dash of romance. Definitely on the award lists.
Katherine Arden’s tale of The Bear
and the Nightingale (hard from Del Rey) is a tale of the fae
set in 14th century Rus, which is still under tartar domination. The
Bear is the Frost Demon’s brother, locked up so he can’t destroy the
world. Vasilisa can see the household spirits in her world as could
her grandmother, the wife of Ivan I of Rus. One of them teaches her
to speak to horses and they teach her to ride. Then Ivan II has her
father Pyotr marry Anna, one of his daughters who can see spirits
and thinks them demons. When the local priest dies, his replacement
Konstatin reacts to her fear with sermons that cause the locals to
stop feeding the spirits. This opens the way for the bear. In the
coldest winter in Rus history. Only Vasilisa with the help of a
horse called Nightingale and the help of the Frost Demon can stop
him from escaping his chains I suspect this tale will be on award
nominations
Carrie Vaughn has a fun tale of teen-age
twins of the Director of Mars Colony sent to Earth to the
elite Galileo Academy. These Martians Abroad (hard
from Tor) are the first students from Mars, though other students
are from various stations around the Solar System. They have to
adjust to gravity three times stronger than they are used to, and
somehow make friends. Then trouble comes on their various class
trips, including one to the Lunar colony that almost kills Polly, a
rules-breaking smart girl. Most of this is the usual adapt to
college, but it’s still fun.
Barb Hendee, and J.C. Hendee have a
new series about a world with violent ghosts and The Dead
Seekers (hard from Ace) who send them out of the world to
their final destination. Tris Vishal, Baron's son, was still born
but somehow came alive. He has the ability to touch ghosts and to
push them into a magical hole. Mari Kaleja is a were-leopard whose
parents were all murdered by ghosts. She traced Tris, thinking he
was the source of the ghosts, looking for revenge. Heilman
Tavakovich is an Apothecary who makes objects that can also touch
ghosts. Together they have to fight ghosts at a border fort where
refugees are slaughtered by the tyrant soldiers on the other side of
the border. They have to learn to trust each other and survive
the deadly ghosts.. A good beginning.
A. M. Dellamonica concludes her trilogy
about Sophia Hansa, a marine biologist from our world sent magically
to a world of mainly water, Stormwreck. The natives are well aware
of our technology, but dismiss it. Sophia, has found a place for
herself as a forensic examiner. She has just brought the technology
of fingerprint analysis and has made several trips back and
fourth to our Earth, with her digital camera capturing images of
Stormwreck’s strange creatures and magical beings. People are
attacking ships using illegal magical creatures called frighteners.
They even sunk her sailing ship. The only way to capture them is to
investigate The Nature of a Pirate (hard from Tor) , the
pirate she had saved from execution. At the heart of the terror
attacks is the question of slavery which several nations still
practice using coercion magic. Other questions about Stormwreck and
are Earth are answered and Sophie finally finds love. This is a fun
trilogy.
Now for two series about powerful witches in a
world with modern technology and all sort of magical creatures.
Agatha Blackmore was too powerful for the
witches council to handle, but she comes from a powerful family.
Accidently she created a bunch of green squirrels, and made a
miniature, talking unicorn; Fergus, who has become her
familiar. She also turned her aunt briefly into a chicken. Witches
usually don’t join the FBI, but Conjuring Quantico (ebook)
which details her problems during her first year at the academy. She
has marines trying to break into her lab, and a Director trying to
steal secrets. But she makes friends like Cat, a were-puma. She even
gets to work on a missing persons case. T S Paul then shows her in
her third year as a Magical Probi( ebook) in the small
Magical Crimes Division and it’s only member Jack Dalton. This time
she has three cases, the murder of a television chef by the Fae, a
special magical necklace stolen from a locked museum, and werewolf
terrorists in Las Vegas. Can’t wait for more.
N. E. Conneely’s five book tale of
Michelle a witch working with local police departments to deal with
problems like trolls set free from their reservation, and demons. Witch
for Hire (ebook) introduces us to her and to Elron, a fifteen
hundred year old elf who is mourning his dead wife and getting used
modern society. A Witch's Path(ebook) has her facing a demon
inhabiting Elron’s dead wife. Though she doesn’t actually fight the
demon until A Witch's Trial (ebook) where she and Elron get
help from an ancient demon killer. The clans have noticed her and
the grandmother she never met wants her as the next head of that
clan. A Witch's Concern (ebook) has her dealing with constant
attacks from that clan, while her mother marries her father and
joins another clan. Finally A Witch's Rite (ebook) sends
her, Elron and some cops up into the mountains to investigate
strange reports from hikers. They’re caught by someone making
magical drugs who traps them in a maze of flowers with plenty of
deadly traps. Elron and Michelle relationship has grown enough by
then to give this tale enough of a final for the series.
James A. Hunter tells of Yancy Lazarus, a
former marine in Viet Nam who did cold work for the Mages guild
until they let the Fae take his girl friend. Known as the fixer now,
he is a powerful mage, expert at fighting very powerful magical
beings. Strange Magic (ebook) has him face demons called
forth by another mage. He is framed by two gangs in California and
has to fend off their attacks before facing down the mage behind his
problems. In Cold Hearted (ebook) a weak mage unable to
join the guild is given a ring with the spirit of an ancient vampire
and uses his new abilities to attack the mages who refused him
membership. Yancy touches the blood of a murdered mage and finds
himself blocked from using magic.. Only working with an FBI agent
Nicole Ferrero, and traveling to an alternate future filled with
Zombies, can he find Sir Galahad and the Grail can he be cured. Lots
of fun. The third adventure has him helping the old chief
Sasquatch and his daughter deal with Wendigo Rising(paper
from Create space and ebook), and evil Sasquatch with a magical
tiara that lets him control other Sasquatch. He and agent Ferrero
and his other friends have to find the fates in the fae world
to learn how to stop the Wendigo. The series is lots of fun.
John Ringo continues his Monster
Hunter Memoirs:Sinners about Chad Oliver Gardenier who fought
monsters in New Orleans in the 80's This prequel to Larry Correia’s
fun series shows a city beset with horrors because of the Voodoo
practitioners who can actually work magic. Lot of fun,
fascinating incidents make it hard to put down.
The Science Fiction Society will have its Annual
election meeting on January 6th 2017 The meeting
starts at 8 p.m. at International House on
the University of Pennsylvania Campus.
Dr. Henry Lazarus is a local 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 a simpler way to achieve
fusion generation.