Henry L Lazarus
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Science Fiction for March 2014
by Henry Leon Lazarus
There’s something about a hard-fought fantasy
battle that stirs the blood. I don’t mean the vampire stuff. The
classic medieval war tales like those of Game of Thrones are far
bloodier and fun to read and watch because they exist so far from
our world and time.
Mark Smylie is an artist responsible for
the award winning graphic novels Artesia. As such his visual eye for
written scenes is unbelievably good. His tale of a quest for a
magical sword stored in The Barrow (trade from Pyr) of an
ancient wizard is very compelling, both fro the way he brings his
background alive, and for the very likable three-dimensional
characters. Start with Stjepan, a map-maker with dark friends, Erim
a swords-woman masquerading as a man, and brothel owner Gilgwyr
known for his fabulous spectacles. When a magical ritual goes wrong,
killing the magician trying to unlock the map to the barrow, the map
ends up on the skin of his noble sister ruined by a scandal and
sends her, her brother, and his knights along. The barrow is truly
cursed and very dangerous and the ending is unexpected. I suspect
this impossible-to-put down tale will end up with some nominations.
In the fifteenth century, alchemists
Nicholas Flamel and his wife Perenelle supposedly worked out the
formula for immortality. According to Stephen Leigh both of them
need to feed off human emotions. Nicholas feeds off fear and torture
while Perenelle feeds off human talent, causing it to grow. As the
Immortal Muse (hard from Daw) she lives with and feeds of such
famous artists as Bernini; Vivaldi, and the holocaust victim
Charlotte Salomon. Framed by her confrontation with Nicholas in
modern times, the tale is one of well described historical
slices slightly modified to fit the story. Fascinating and
compelling, this might find some award nods.
Jon Sprunk borrows a bit from James
Clavell with a tale of a ship-wrecked sailor in a land his people
are attacking. The nobility of Akeshia are born with the ability to
move air and wind and fire, and Horace, unknown to himself, has
those same abilities. He discovers this when the caravan
transporting him and others to the Sun God’s temple is hit by a
chaos storm that he somehow calms. This tale of Blood and Iron
(trade from Pyr) also has ex-soldiers, turned slaves, and then
soldiers again trying to work a revolt. Very exciting and I’m
looking forward for the next part.
I really enjoyed Brian Staveley’s tale of
the Emperor’s three children, The Emperor's Blades (hard from
Tor) Not one to coddle them, he sent the two boys to harsh
training and Adare, named finance minister after his assassination
has to deal with the high priest of the Sun God accused of the
deed who used his ability to avoid paying for his crime. Valyn is
facing the final test to become a Kettral, Imperial troops who ride
into battle on giant birds, when he has to deal with attacks on his
life. The heir Kaden has been studying with the monks of the shin
who try to find the elements of the Blank God within themselves, a
process the involves making tons of pots, digging holes and filling
them in, and being buried up to ones shoulders. He is not
fully trained when traitorous troops come to kill him. The treachery
goes very deep and I’m looking forward to part two.
Anne Leonard tells of the kingdom of
Caithen, a small kingdom that is part of a larger Empire. In this
tale of Moth and Spark (hard from Viking) dragons used to
live, and then the ancestors of the Emperors got control of them and
used dragon fire as a weapon against their enemies. Prince Corin is
fated to free the dragons and the Emperor will do anything to stop
him, including violating the loyalty oaths. The prince, while
visiting the north, is given a potion to give him the powers
necessary and then made to forget until the potion has done its
work. Tam, of a well-to-do commoner family (her father was a
physician) comes to court for the season because her sister married
into the nobility. She is the observer of the murder of one of the
nobility and comes into contact with the prince. Her, unknown to
her, seer powers are exactly what the Prince needs – and it helps
that the two of them fall deeply in love. I found the tale
compelling and very pleasant. The prince and family are very likable
as is Tam and the world feels real. Very enjoyable.
Michael Boatman tells of how Jehovah is
in human form as Lando Calrissian Cooper, a stand-up comic who has
occasionally has to step out of character to vanquish gods like Zeus
and the archangel Gabriel gone crazy. He can reset time after
winning but that doesn’t help when Bacchus gets him drunk at the
meeting with his girl friend’s parents. Not only that but something
is coming, something could really destroy him and humanity. The plot
ranges from laugh-out-loud silly to serious consideration of what it
means to be a God. He may be the Last God Standing (hard
from Angry Robot), but will he survive it. I couldn’t put it down.
Gods also exist in Drew Hayes’s silly
tale of Pears and Perils (ebook). Start with a contest from
the fast food chain Camelot Burger which has a reality ad planned in
which the three winners go to the island of Kenowai to
participate in a ritual to release Kenowai from the tree in which
nature imprisoned him for the last few centuries. Nothing would have
happened except for the cat, the King of Kenowai, who just happened
to come along. Soon the god is released inside Clint, one of the
contests. All they have to do is take the pear that was part of the
ritual to Nature’s temple on another island. Unfortunately the pear
was stolen and a trickster god is determined to stop his fellow
god’s rebirth. Yes it’s a silly as it sounds, but it’s also quite
fun and very enjoyable.
AD Starrling has an exciting chase tale
filled with car crashes and massive gun fire. There are two
clans of immortals, both who die for real after seventeen
deaths after revival. Lucas Soul is a rare half-breed of both
families, the Crovirs and the Bastians. Even though both clans are
infertile since the Red Death of the fourteenth century, Lucas has
been hunted by both sides for his first few centuries. He’s working
as a private eye with an ex-cop, and human partner Reid Hasley
when a potential client turns out to be hunter and gives him his
fifteenth death. The trail leads to Europe and a genetics professor
and from Paris to Prague and places in between. Soul Meaning (paper)
is as much fun as many shoot-em-up movies with sword play added,
especially since Lucas can bring permanent death when he kills an
immortal with a sword. Lots of fun.
Trent Jamieson continues his tale Steven
de Selby, who had risen to head of Mortmax in a short novel The
Memory of Death (ebook from Momentum Books). Considering he
died saving the Earth in the last tale after becoming the
Death of Earth, coming back to life is a little difficult, and
several versions of him walk out of the sea. But it all works out,
setting the stage for more adventures. Fun.
B.R. Maul tells a fun tale of two teenagers sent In The
Land of Magnanthia (ebook from JKSCommunications ) Simon
Whittaker, a nerd who sings in the school choir gets the ring
of affinity. He was supposed to be trained but a cracked portal
moved things up and he has to get over his homesickness to prepare
for his new role as guardian. Meanwhile Jak Jakobsin a rich bully
who has been tutored, is kidnaped by evil warlocks and has to face a
treacherous maze before given magical powers. Light fun with more to
come.
Ian Mcdonald continues his tale of a
teenager searching for his father through multiple parallel world.
The dirigible Everness crashes when in finds itself on a Ring world
built by intelligent dinosaurs on an Earth where the dinosaurs never
died. The nine Earth’s already connected would find huge problems if
these technologically-advanced ever got a hold of way to leave their
universe and, alas, Everett Singh is faced with survival on their
deadly world ruled by the Empress of the Sun (hard
from Pyr) On our Earth the Everett cyborg is trying to fit in
with Everett’s friends while battling the mind virus that destroyed
Earth 1. Fun, but heavy with pulp. I’m still reading.
Adam Christopher mixes horror with hard
science fiction in The Burning Dark (hard from Tor) has
ghosts on the U-Star Coast City which is being dismantled. Captain
Abraham Idaho Cleveland, a hero of the Spider War is sent on final
assignment before retirement to help oversee its dismantlement. The
crew doesn’t believe his tale of heroism and the records have been
erased. Then crew starts disappearing and ghosts including a female
cosmonaut from our age, start appearing. I didn’t swallow the
solution to the central puzzle, but the book is impossible to put
down.
Finally we have a wargamer’s delight, the
seventh volume of David Weber’s battle on Safehold against a corrupt
church. Like a Mighty Army (hard from Tor) wipes out church
armies that are poorly-led with less fire power to the
edge of the Temple lands. There’s a lot of fun rooting for the side
with the better weapons. There’s some neat battles between the
incessant talking that sets up each battle. I missed book six and
don’t think I missed anything. I’m still enjoying this long tale,
but it’s getting harder to keep my interest up.
Baen has reprinted in paper Sharon Lee and Steve Miller’s Liaden
tale, Necessity’s Child; and Charles E. Gannon’s
exciting Fire with Fire. They’ve also reprinted in trade
Marion Zimmer Bradley’s The Fall of Atlantis; the third and
fourth tales of S. M. Sterling and David Drake General series,
Hope Rearmed; and the latest Honorverse tale Shadow of
Freedom.
The Science Fiction Society will have its next
meeting on March 8, 2014 at 8 p.m. at Rotunda on the
University of Pennsylvania. Campus, Jay Smith, one of the writers of
Parsec-winning, audio-drama HG World, will speak.. As usual
Guests are Welcome.
Dr. Henry Lazarus is a local Dentist and the
author of A Cycle of Gods (Wolfsinger Publications) and
Unnaturally Female (Smashwords).