Henry L Lazarus
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Science Fiction for May 2014
by Henry Leon Lazarus
One thing I like about fantasy and science
fiction is the way an idea, like reliving the same life over and
over, can be reshaped in the hands of individual authors into
something wild and very different.
Claire North shows us a present
constantly changed by the few people who relive their life over and
over. They are in sync so that one life for each corresponds, though
they move through different time periods. This allows for
information to passed through time to the various Cronus clubs that
can be found for thousands of years. Their policy is to avoid major
changes to the time stream since one of their members made enough
changes to lead to a nuclear war that wiped out humanity. The
First Fifteen Lives of Harry August (hard
from Hachette Book Group). Another person who relives his lives,
Vincent is so fascinated with the idea of a Quantum Mirror that he
wants to speed up technological progress to do it. He also attacks
the members of the Cronus clubs- either causing them to forget
their past lives so that they begin again in the next, or to abort
them so they never appear. Harry, born in 1919 and who usually dies
in the eighties from cancer, is in a unique position to stop
him and risks everything to do so. Very exciting and fun.
Daryl Gregory imagines a near future in
which designer drugs are printed to order. Afterparty (hard
from Tor) is the tale of Lyda Rose, a biochemist, the inventor of
Numinous. Shye and the other developers were fed massive doses of
the drug at a party celebrating the beginning of human trials, a
party at which her wife was murdered, and which her child still in
her womb was infected. Ten years later she is being treated in a
psychiatric institute talking to Dr. Gloria, an angel only she can
see. Then a new patient dies of Numinous withdrawal after being
given it in a new age church. That sends her out of the institute on
a hunt. Helping her is Ollie, an assassin when she’s off her drugs,
and Rovil who was their lab tech and now works for established drug
manufacturers The trail to Edo, the billionaire who subsidized their
original research, leads to Texas and, amazingly to Lyda Rose’s
ten-year-old daughter who communicates without speaking and has tons
of imaginary friends. Hunting them is another assassin who leaves
dead bodies on their trail. There’s a sort of drug- infused illogic
to the whole tale, but a realistic base that grounds the narrative.
At the heart of the tale is really a murder mystery but the quest
getting there is true fun. Highly recommended..
In another world the Emperor of the Elves
and most of his family is killed in an Airship crash leaving
half-goblin, nineteen-year-old Maia, fourth in line to the throne,
to become The Goblin Emperor (hard from Tor). Maia had been
exiled since the death of his queen mother a decade before and
raised by a disgraced courtier who took it out on him. Now, a
Katherine Addison tells us, he has to return to huge palace and
somehow navigate the court intrigues, alienating as few people as he
can. Everyone, including the emperors widows, his nephew and two
nieces all younger than him, and the Lord Chancellor who resents
him. There’s the problem of picking a potential Empress who resents
the choice, a few attempts on his life and, of all things, a bridge
that the ruling council wants swept under a rug. This is a
fascinating look at a Chinese-based empire that was impossible to
put down. I only wish the tale had kept going, even though the
ending was satisfactory.
Sarah Cawkwell anchors a standard fantasy
to an alternate 1559 in which Richard the Lionhearted brought back
the secret of Magic from his crusade in Jerusalem. Richard III (the
oner who killed his nephews in our world) makes a deal with a demon
to win at Bosworth Field. Richard V is the present king. But
his son will be able to hold the demon’s soul and allow her presence
on this Earth. To stop in Richard has made magic treasonous and sent
the King’s Inquisitor to kill all practitioners, a man unknowingly
using magic to find them. Mathias Eynon and his betrothed Tagan have
lived in a village protected from the Inquisitor until their
protector grows old. Their protector Wynn sends them through the
Earth to Bavaria to find a powerful shape shifter, and hence to the
King of the Pirates. And then a seeress. Together four, and
Heirs of the Demon King: Uprising (paper from Abaddon) are needed
to stop the evil demon. This is alight tale, with quirky
characters and who are always on the verge of destruction with
the Inquisitor constantly on their tail, even leading an
English Army to conquer France to clear the way. Lots of fun.
An old man in a bar tells of his first
years, the first five spent in a Dungeon. Edward M. Knight starts
his adventures of Dagan in a medieval world in which unwanted
children are thrown into a gladiatorial arena for wagers like the
wagers in a cock fight. Dagan manages to escape with A Thirst for
Vengence (paper from Edwards Publishing which I bought
electronically). He learns to live on the streets, and eventually to
get some training in magic before his new benefactor helps him rob
the arena. Fun, dark and gritty. I can’t wait for the next
adventure.
When a Shadye necromancer decides
to sacrifice a child of Destiny with magical abilities, he gets
Emily from our world who’s mother name is Destiny. Saved by
Mage named Void she is sent to be Schooled in Magic
(ebook from Twilight Times Books which I bought
electronically. At Whitehall she meets the usual bullies, makes
friends with her roommates and others and in enrolled in the
equivalent of ROTC. Emily is a fascinating young woman who works
hard to overcome her unfamiliarity with this strange mediaeval world
and bringing concepts from our world. Christopher Nuttall, as
usual, tells a fun tale with a solid ending. Sequels are planned,
thank goodness.
Christina Farley absorbed Korean Myths
when she taught there. Gilded (paper from Skyscape
which I bought electronically) is the tale of Sixteen-year-old
Jae Hwa Lee who come to Korea when her mother dies and her father
takes a job in his homeland. She doesn’t know her family is cursed
and that the eldest in every generation has their soul stolen by a
demi-god Haemosu. Haemosu is so creepy he makes child molesters seem
normal. But Jae Hwa has trained her whole life at Archery and
Karate. She has a new friend , Marc to help her and, it seems other
gods are providing weapons and advice. This is a wonderful look into
Korean Myth through teen age eyes and a tale impossible to put down.
Ollie Bourque tells an interesting time
travel tale in Ad Astra: Beginnings (ebook from Publish
Green) Humanity died out leaving only nanobots who eventually send a
group of themselves back in time to prevent the great disaster that
destroyed humanity. Jacob Riley, an irish lush, saved the life of
the person who would eventually destroy civilization, so he was a
good pick to infest. The raise his intelligence, stop any effect of
alcohol, and that sends him back to school to become an expert in
the growing field of nano-technology. Hired by Stratos
Corporation, a company earning money from lunar mining, he marries
his boss and has a child. Then he is picked to become the pilot to
guide an asteroid to near-Earth orbit so it can easily be mined.
There are other players, either alien or from the future, who may
have had something to do with the original desctruction. But all
Jake has to do is live in a box on the Asteroid for eight years so
insure the right orbital path is followed. I found it fascinating
and hope there is a sequel.
Elizabeth Moon concludes her fifth and
final volume of Legend of Paksenarrion with Crown of Renewal
(hard from Del Ray) which ends the tale not with a bang, but instead
a whimper of character arcs being finished. I’ve read Sheepfarmer's
Daughter (paper), which essentially started the series in 1988, a
number of times. While the background is somewhat generic, the
characterization made Ms. Moon an author to watch. However even she
recommends that the latest is for readers of the earlier books. I
enjoyed it, relishing the quiet working out of the previous
problems. It’s a sold end to fun series.
iDavid Drake has another Daniel Leary and
Adele Mundy tale. Sent in a far future that somehow feels like the
Napoleonic Era, the tales always take their truths from ancient
battles. The Sea Without a Shore (hard from Baen) takes place
during a truce between the Allience and Cinnabar. However Cinnabar’s
spymaster has a son who has gotten involved with a religious group
caught between two forces trying to take their planet. He hopes that
a treasure he may have located may provide the funds for his sect to
buy weapons to protect themselves. However his mother make sure that
Daniel and Adele escort him. Their best bet to go treasure hunting
is to end the war with some skulking, some skulduggery, and a dash
of blackmail. The usual fun ensues.
Jennifer Estep concludes her final tale
of Gwen Frost, Nike’s guardian and student at Mithos Academy.
Killer Frost (paper from Kensington Books) takes place after
the reapers free Loki from his prison. They need a special object
and will stop at nothing, including kidnaping Gwen’s grandmother.
But, mysteriously, Nike has predicted that Gwen will kill Loki. How
do you kill an immortal god?. This has been a fun series and I
recommend it highly for people looking for a fun, light read with a
dash of romance.
Both Larry and Niven and Gregory Benford
have written about huge objects in space like Larry Niven’s
Ringworld. This time their Bowl of Heaven (paper) is
literally bowl shaped with a huge living area and a sun that forces
this Shipstar (hard from Tor) to move from star system to
starsystem. Lots of intelligent beings have settled there. Alas for
the human crew of a star ship Sunseeker and the still sleeping
colonists intended for another world, the rules of the bowl want the
humans to settle there instead of continuing to a world that has
sent back threatening signals. These two grand masters of science
fiction don’t disappoint even though the plot is mainly an excuse to
show off the wonders. Wow!
iKarl Shroeder has an interesting idea for
his fun juvenile tale. Toby McGonigal’s family colonized an Oort
world and he ended up spending fourteen thousand years in deep
sleep. His brother and sister are still alive because, after his
loss in space, they created a Lockstep (hard from Tor)
Empire of worlds where people are awake for thirty days and then
sleep for thirty years. On Earth Empires have come and gone but the
lockstep worlds are stable. Because his name is on the ownership, he
is very valuable. He goes underground and hides, but soon is found,
but only he can make the changes necessary for the empire’s
survival. Light fun and forgettable except for the really neat idea.
Kij Johnson has edited the Nebula Award
Showcase 2014 (trade from Py) with the winners and a
selection from the novel winner.
The Science Fiction Society will have its next
meeting on, May 9th 2014 at 8 p.m. at International house
on the University of Pennsylvania. Campus,. Jon McGoran
(author of Drift). will speak . As usual Guests
are Welcome.
Correction: Last month I wrote that Ramona White
wrote Three Princes. It was Ramona Wheeler.
Dr. Henry Lazarus is a local Dentist and the
author of A Cycle of Gods (Wolfsinger Publications) and Unnaturally
Female (Smashwords).