Henry L Lazarus
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Science Fiction for March 2018
I really enjoy tales that mix science fiction and
fantasy.
Terry Mancour has reached the
tenth volume about a Feudal society dealing with goblins who want to
destroy all humans, after being cheated of their lands, with the
help of a very powerful, magically undead sorceror. Minalan, a
retired war mage turned village Spellmonger(ebook) is forced
to utilize all his talents to help the villagers and himself
survive. Over the next tales Minalan has become a Baron. The undead
elf Korbal the Necromancer (ebook) has escaped
from his prison and has made the elvin city of Olum Seheri his
headquarters as he works with the goblins, Alya , his wife had her
mind shattered and her only hope is in a magical object in the
undercaverns of Olum Seheri. The raid is successful, including
rescuing a captured princess, but Korbal sends dragons against the
human capitol and also Minalin’s home county. At the end,
technology, from the colony ship that brought humans to this world
of elves and magic, is discovered. I can’t wait for the next
tale.
Blood Cast (ebook
from Azure Flame Media, LLC ) is the ninth tale of Nadia Moran
who steals things for a powerful Elven lord Morvilind.. It’s been
over three centuries since the Elf Queen conquered Earth, which
hasn’t developed technologically since. The Elf lord is slowly
curing her brother Russell. Over the last few books Nadia has become
more powerful magically. She is trying to destroy the Rebels between
her missions. It’s been a year since she saw her brother and she
didn’t know he had been seeking her. A chance trip to her home town
of Milwaukee found her stopping her brother’s kidnaping and helping
rescue his friends. A high-level rebel is behind the kidnap and the
rebel is very powerful. Lots of fun and a great series.
Glynn Stewart’s Onset series is
about a hidden federal organization that hunts monsters. Sometime
ordinary individuals gain super powers when coming face to face
Ex-cop David White became super strong, able to heal quickly, and
able to see slightly into the future. He also has a magical sword.
In the previous book a nuke was used to stop power hungry vampires.
That couldn’t be totally contained, raising suspicion in the media.
Then David has to kill a monster attacking a protest march, and the
secret is out,. The agency is shut down and erased. Unfortunately
this is just a ONSET: Stay of Execution (paper from
Faolan's Pen Publishing Inc ) because some demon worshipers have
managed to infuse a new born with a demon and that Herald opens a
gate to the demon universe in Protland Maine Conventional arms are
practically useless though the army does try to respond. This is a
very exciting and fun end to the series.
The Holver Alley Crew may have
found and destroyed the mobster who burned down their street, but he
was acting on higher orders. Marshall Ryan Maresca has put Asti and
Verci Rynax looking into the nobility of Maradaine but find
themselves opposed by an old spy who had Asti captured by the enemy.
There’s also a mage using his powers to control the local gangs. The
answers lie in the trapdoor found in Lady Henterman's Wardrobe
(paper from DAW) in the end there are more questions than answers in
this fun caper of a tale.
Antimony Price is on the run after
spying on the Covenant that wants to destroy all .nCryptid s
She finds refuge working at Lowryland, a low end version of
Disney World. One roommate is a Gorgon and the other a sylph, both
hidden among humans. Only her ghost aunt knows where she is and pops
in occasionally to see if she is safe. Like other Seanan McGuire
tales, nothing is what it seems. Antimony’s uncontrolled ability to
create fires brings he to the attention of the Coven that actually
runs the park. They offer to train her, but it turns out to be Tricks
for Free (paper from DAW). They actually take her power, and
their use causes major accidents. They’ve also been stealing luck
from the tourist visitors. Antimony and her friends have to face the
coven who can literally through roller coasters at them. There’s a
tale at the end to explain how the talking mice made it home. Lots
of fun as usual.
Steven Brust tells a hard-boiled
tale about Good Guys (hard from Tor) working for a hidden
magical Foundation. Their job, to keep magic secret, is complicated
by a serial killer using enchanted objects for impossible murders.
Even though it’s expensive, they can teleport to the crime scenes
all over the country. The guy who provided the killer his objects,
also hires assassins to kill the investigators. There’s defiantly a
spy vs spy feel and a conspiracy that goes deeply into the magical
world.
Michael David Ares sets his
thriller in a future Manhattan in perpetual darkness because of the
climate change from an India- Pakistan nuclear tiff.
Dayfall (hard from Tor) is supposed to drive the population
nuts, but some of the chaos may be the result of hired killers and
explosive experts. The mayor has hird Jon Phillips, a small town cop
with a reputation for tenacity to find the murderers and maybe
contain the chaos. Of course everyone , including the Mayor; there’s
a pretty girl, and Jon admires all the classic detectives. Fun.
Aliette de Bodard sets her
Sherlock tale in the Scattered Pearls Belt. The Tea Master
and the Detective ( hard from Subterranean Press) starts when
Long Chau hires The Shadow's Child, a mind ship traumatized by the
previous war where all her crew were killed, to find a corpse in
deep space so she can discover the effects of deep space on the
human body. The Shadow's Child earns a living brewing drugs to help
people cope with deep space, only agrees to return to deep space
because it’s a short and she needs money for rent. The corpse they
recover is, of course, a murder victim. I’d like to see the pair
solving more mysteries.
The Science Fiction Society will have its next
meeting on March 2nd. The meeting starts at
8 p.m. at the Rotunda on the University of Pennsylvania
Campus Author Tom Purdom will speak. As usual guests are welcome.
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 a simpler way to
achieve fusion generation.