Henry L Lazarus
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Science Fiction for April 2018
Fantasy and Science Fiction frequently come in
series. There’s nothing better than ending them on a high note.
Drew Hayes writes of a an Earth
with Supers, people with special abilities. There are also powereds
who can’t control their abilities. An experimental process has
allowed five powereds to have enough control to enter the hero
certification program, a four year college degree from which only
ten will graduate to become the heros who fight evil supers. In Super
Powereds: Year 4 (ebook) the fifteen remaining seniors face
harsh testing after testing while powerful heroes on the run,
try to prove the corruption that led to one hero’s murder. Of course
there’s a massive fight at the end worthy of any comic book movie.
This is partially a college tale, partially a tale of athletic
abilities, and of course a tale of powerful superheroes in the
making. Over th four book all the characters grow and form an
indelible memory. Highly recommended.
Tessa Gratton adds magic to a
Shakespeare tragedy, giving some of the characters the ability to
work magic by talking to trees. But it’s not the King that’s the
center of the tale, it’s the The Queens of Innis Lear (hard
from Tor) and their husbands and lovers that for the center. Yes
Lear demands profession of love, and disinherits Elia (Cordelia in
the play). Then he is rejected by the other daughters and ends up
lost in a storm aided only by his Fool. This tale is far more
complex and introducing Husbands and lovers, witches and queens. The
trees of the island want only one Queen and get what they want. I
expect and award nomination for this tale.
Sophie is a dressmaker with the
ability to sew working charms into her dresses. It has brought her
to the attention of a nobility worried about a Turn (paper
from Orbit) to revolution. It doesn’t help that her brother Kristos
is heavily involved with the growing revolution and that the leader
of the revolution blackmails her into putting curses on clothes for
the Queen. But luckily there’s a handsome noble willing to help as
the uprising begins. Rowenna Miller has a nice fantasy romance. I’m
looking forward to the sequel.
Medieval war has bloody,
Chivalrous, and heroic. Leo Carew sets his tale of The
Wolf (paper from Orbit) at war in an alternate England
with two types of humans. The Anakim of the north are giants, whose
men have bone armor, and who live triple human life span. The
Southerners send a huge army led by a commoner, Bellamus, whose
trick leads to routing the Anakim army and the death of its King.
Roper, a young prince, finds himself and his country not only beset
with foreign troops, but by those conspiring for his throne. Somehow
he has to land on his feet, destroy the human army, and regain his
throne. Lots of bloody fun.
Cass Morris’s version of the Roman
(Aven) Republic with magical powers, take place after the death of a
dictator and the politics of returning rule to the Senate and
Consuls who have to face election. Iberian tribes have begun a
revolt, threatening Aven colonies on what will become Spain.
Sempronius Tarren is an ambitious politician hiding his Shadow
abilities what would disqualify him for office. He proposes sending
Aven Legions to Iberia to put down the revolt. Latona of the
Vitelliae, who held in her abilities in Fire and Spirit under the
dictatorial rule, now finds herself losing control From Unseen
Fire (hard from DAW) in the emotionally charged political
campaign. Never fully trained, she needs the training that the
Priestess of Juno withholds. Even though marries, she is attracted
to Sempronius. This is light look at an interesting world and
I’m eager to read more.
In the latest RNC tale, Daniel
Leary and Adele Mundy are secondary characters. Instead David Drake
introduces us to Roy Olfetrie who had to quit the academy when his
father committed suicide when his fraud was discovered. After hard
times, Roy joins Daniel’s crew as third officer only to be
shanghaied and sold into slavery when that ship was captured by
pirates. Luckily they put him in charge of the main computer. Roy is
prepared to return Though Hell Should Bar the Way (hard
from Baen). He also rescues a kidnaped heiress from the Admiral’s
harem. Add in some space battles and it’s a fun, exciting read.
D. J. Butler returns to his lush
nineteenth century America, Witchy Eye (paper) with an
American Empire established by William Penn and based in
Philadelphia. It’s a Witchy Winter (hard from Baen) as Sara
and friends ride to the kingdom of Cahokia knowing that she is the
heir. Unfortunately That choice is up to the Serpent Goddess, a real
goddess. Nathaniel, her twin brother, has his own travails until his
witchy ear is released. But an indian, Ma’iingan, has come to rescue
him so that he can cure his new baby. There are other
claimants to the throne; Beastmen attacking human settlements; a New
Orleans rich in Vodoo nmagic,;and even a few zombies. There’s more
coming is this exciting series.
In 2065, there are colonies
on Mars and privately owned tiny spacecraft are exploring the solar
system. Then an ancient spaceship is discovered America and Europe
send one expedition, the Chinese send another, and the Califate
sends a missile. Chris Holt, the Astronomer who discovered the
object is on the mission and discovers a way to communicate with it
s ancient control computer, before the missile destroys the ship.
That gets plans for fusion drive and a moon of Saturn. Thus we then
have a combined Mission to Methone (hard from Baen) with
Americans, Europeans, and Chinese. India sends a separate ship
and isn’t willing to cooperate. This is a future with India and
China ready for Nuclear war. This is a darker future that most uses
of this standard trope. Most intelligent species wipe themselves
out, or are helped on their way by Alien Destroyer who are opposed
by the Makers. Fun.
Emma Newman has another look Before
Mars (paper from Ace). Decades after the expedition described
in Planetfall (paper) Anna Kubrin, Geologist and Painter
arrives on the small base on Mars, selected because her paintings of
Mars have created a stir. She realizes something is off at the
base when she finds a note only she could have written and a boot
print where no astronaut had gone before. This is a deep, depressing
and moody tale, where secrets are better not revealed. Anna
not only has to discover why the base has so many problems, but also
why she doesn’t miss her young daughter she left behind on Earth.
In S. J. Morden’s future, the
corporation responsible for building the Martian base, discovers
that robots are simply not cost effective. Since the XO company has
a subsidiary running prisons, the obvious solution is so send a few
lifers, like Frank Kittridge , who had murdered his son’s dealer,
with just enough training, on a One Way (paper from Orbit)
trip to Mars to build the base. The first half of the tale is
fascinating look at the training and setting up the base. The second
half where one by one the inmates are killed is more standard. Still
the tale is fun and a sequel is promised.
Phillipa Bornikova has a third
tale of Linnet Ellery, a lawyer working for a prestigious vampire
firm.In Publish and Perish (paper from Tor), Linnet
finds whey females are never turned into vampires. It has to do with
her extreme luck in avoiding harm from Werewolves, vampires, and
Fay. They usually accidently kill themselves. It has to do with the
case she takes of Parasitologist whose university won’t let him
publish and a parasite that releases a disease deadly to werewolves
and vampires. I don’t won’t to give more away, but this is a fun
series. And yes, Linnet meets the only female vampire.
David Weber, Timothy Zahn, and
Thomas Pope continue their tale of Manticore centuries before Honor
Harrington. The Manticore barely fought off an attack in the
previous tale, and now it’s a matter of A Call to Vengeance(hard
from Baen) by tracking down the mercenary admiral who led the
attacking fleet. Unfortunately the agent for the company who hired
Admiral Gensonne, also wants him dead and all traces erased. As a
result the star kingdom makes new friends and future enemies with
planets who appear in the later books. There’s also a problem with
royal inheritance that has to be resolved. This is fun with some
exciting space battles.
Subterranean Press has a novelette
by Connie Willis about a blogger meeting various publishers in New
York. I Met a Traveller in an Antique Land (hard) finds him
with a canceled appointment finding a used book store whose
upper floors contain all the lost books (in
English). Fun.
Baen has volume 2 of the late Poul Anderson’s The
Complete Psychotechnic League.in Trade. These tales were
written in the 50's and are still fun. There are fun new tales
of Star Destroyers (Trade, edited by Tony Daniel and
Christopher Ruocchio) We Spencer’s Project Elfhome, Michael
Z. Williamson’s Angeleyes, and Larry Correia and John
Ringo’s Monster Hunter Memoirs: Sinners have been reprinted
in paper
The Science Fiction Society will have its next
meeting on April 6th. The meeting starts at
8 p.m. at International House on the University of
Pennsylvania Campus. Author Michael R. Underwood of the
Geekomancy books 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.