Henry L Lazarus
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Science Fiction for May 2016
by Henry Leon Lazarus
The best fantasy and Science Fiction take place
in worlds that are a little strange. Not too weird, but strange
enough to stretch the readers mind.
Robert Jackson Bennett tells of a world
in which six divinities ruled the continent creating miracles for
their worshipers. Eventually they conquered Saypur and enslaved the
inhabitants. A hero found a way to kill the divinities, which
destroyed all their miracles. Saypur conquered the ravaged
continent, and now has to deal with its problems. In
Voortyashtan the main city sank when it’s divinity died, clogging
the harbor. General Turyin Mulaghesh, who lost her hand in the
adventure in the City of Stairs (paper) is dragged out of
retirement to investigate if a new super-conducting material mined
near the city has any relationship to the divine. The first
investigator disappeared and strange things are happening, including
ritual murders. The answers are all found in the City of
Blades (paper from Broadway Books) a place for the souls of
the dead warriors – dead warriors who want to return to destroy the
world. This is a tense solid book with real characters who
stick to your mind. Impossible to put down. The first was nominated
for a world fantasy award and the second deserves awards.
Lavie Tidhar is an Israeli so he tells
his tale set in the Central Station (paper from
Tachyon Publications ) which goes between Tel Aviv and space
and the city and station are a diaspora of multiple nationalities
living in peace. Most people have inplanted nodes that let them join
the huge conversation. Robotniks, survivors of the last Israeli-arab
wars, beg for spare parts and sometimes serve as priests.
Boris Chong returns from Mars because his father is
dying. Following him to the station is Carmel, born in
the asteroid belt and turned into a vampire data-miner. Boris
discovers that a close friend, Miriam, who never left
had adopted one of the children he helped genetically modify before
he left for other parts of the solar system. Her brother, Achimwene,
a book dealer who never had a node, adopts Carmel and helps her find
information on her condition. This a wonderful tale of simple
interactions in a future strange and wonderful. I hope this finds an
award.
Guy Gavriel Kay spices up history with a
dash of magic and then changes the names so that he can modify
history as needed. So that decades after the grand city of Sarantium
(Constantinople) was conquered by the Asharians (Ottonmans), the
council of twelve of Seressa (venice) are sending out spies Lenora
Valeri, who was disgraced by having a child out of wedlock,
was picked by the council to spy on a neighboring city
(Dubnrovnik)married to a Doctor sent there. On the ship going over,
the doctor is killed by raiders (Uskoks) from Senjan (Senj)
including Danica Gradek who has to leave the raiders after killing
one of them. Other Children of Earth and Sky (hard from
NAL) includes the brother of Danica, Damaz, a trainee in the
khalif’s army captured as a child; a merchant Marin Djivo; and a
Painter, Pero Villani sent to Sarantium to paint the Khalif.
There’s also a hundred men from Senjan sent to fight the Asharians.
In our world the Ottomans would eventually break the fortresses in
Prague and continue on to Vienna. The four major characters’s lives
intertwine. And there is the ghost of a Grandfathers who talks to
both Danica and Damaz, and eventually saves Danica’s life. This is a
beautiful tale from a master story-teller and I expect award
nominations.
An Ageless (paper from Inkshares)
person is chased for those trying to duplicate her abilities
Alessandra was born in Italy in 1938 and taken by a Nazi laboratory
on Sardonica. After being rescued by the allies, she escapes when
she lands in America. Chased by the CIA by an agent and his nephew,
she is aided through her long teenage growth period and by her quick
healing. Paul Inman tells an intense tale that ranges from the
nightmare of a Nazi lab, to the free world of 2028 with scenes
flickering back and forth in time to tell a solid tale of a woman
always on the run, and the agents obsessed with finding her.
Excellent
The fourth volume of Lady Trent’s memoirs
tells of her expedition In the Labyrinth of Drakes (hard
from Tor) in the Arabian desert of her world. Marie Brennan’s
wonderful world is in its Victorian Age and does not tolerate a
woman naturalist studying dragons easily. She and her co-researcher
Thomas Wilkeer are hired by the Royal Scirling Army to investigate
dragon breeding, and end up with a discovery of an ancient dragon
breeding ground. The two are kidnapped, attacked, and even
poisonsed, before she finds love with an old friend. This is a great
seeries.
In a recently destroyed village three
people meet. Other times each would be an Enemy (paper from
47North) of each other, but they have to work together to survive.
Veiko can talk to ghosts. Thrown out his people’s tribe, he intended
to sell his furs to the village. Snowdenaelikk, half-blood conjuror
and smuggler, came to meet a contact in the village. Legion
scout Dekklis is part of a troop investigating the destruction of
the village.. Her republic has denounced all Gods and is being
menaced by a tribe led by a God who is trying to re-embody herself.
Since God magic is much more powerful than sorcery, stopping her
will take everything our three heroes can give. K. Eason tells an
exciting tale.I’m looking forward to the sequel.
Verity Price didn’t know that the
all-star dance reality tv show. Dance or Die, really meant its
title. She had won second place in an earlier season. Then she had
retired from dancing to go back to her family’s full time job of
rescuing cryptids and had even gotten married, when the call
came. Seanan McGuire’s fourth tale about the part-time
dancer, Chaos Choreography(paper from DAW) has
contestants and producers trying call on a snake god by ritually
slaughtering the losing dancers. The talking mice are just as much
fun, as is Verity’s dimension-hopping grandmother who looks like her
sister. Perfect fun.
In a world of super-heroes and villains,
Corpies (trade from Chaos Choreography) have lesser powers
and work from corporations by cleaning up super battles and rescuing
civilians. Titan had left the superhero scene when he was outed as
gay. Now that his sons are training to be heroes (see his fun Super
Powereds series for details) he feels it is time to go back into the
field, and the only group willing to hire him as a hero advisor. Age
has taken none of his phenomenal strength and agility, but the
scandal still cripples him and only his willingness to work with a
weaker team, bringing out their strengths, enables him to rise to
real heroics. Drew Hayes has a lot of fun creating a world with real
super powered people and takes the time to show the details. Great!
Four people wake in an abandoned
Freighter wrecked on an empty moon in a poorly explored solar
sysetm. Three of them are newly graduated trainees sent to the Grand
Dutchess’s flagship. The other is labeled Admiral (hard from
ROC) but he is too young to be an Admiral. Survival comes first, and
then finding a way to get off the planet that turns out to have
deadly non-human inhabitants. Aside from the puzzle of who the
Admiral is, Sean Danker keeps upping the challenges to the in a
gripping tale impossible to put down.
Sylvain Neuvel uses found documents
(interviews, diary entries, and reports) to tell of the recovery of
an alien robot whose pieces were hidden five thousand years ago. At
first the American Military of the Sleeping Giants (hard
from Del Rey). Then a helicopter pilot and a linguist are bonded to
the double controls (one for the legs and one for the head and arms)
It’s a little hard to keep secret when an accident in a secret lab
causes destruction at the Denver Airport. The idea might be
improbable, but Mr. Neuvel keeps the background as solidly real as
he can. Lots of fun.
Naomi Lane tells of a young teen
sent To Play the Lady (ebook) Jenna and her brother are the
first commoners set to court, she to be one of the queens Ladies,
and he as an aspiring knight. Magical talents are usually found in
the nobility, but Jenna is a mind mage, though she can only talk to
horses when she arrives, and she has a magical sword and bow from
her people’s magic. When her abilities allow her to stop an
assassination attempt and prevent a war. This allows her To Serve
the King (ebook) as a knight trainee. But people are using her
merchant father to further their ends, drawing her in. I was
fascinated by the tale and willing to wait for more.
Simon Forester comes from a Naval family
in the Commonwealth where Women dominate. Because his mother and
sister have solid naval careers, and he’d be bored with the normal
male pursuit as estate manager, he takes the tests to join the
Academy, but panics enough to hack the computers for the answers.
This gets him kicked out, but his aunt, noting his hacking talents
with his built-in neuroware, suggests he joint the merchant
guild as a ordinary space-man on a freighter, Shooting the Rift(
trade from Baen) That would have been ok, except that the League of
Democracies suspect a spy and through a bunch of merchant crews into
custody. Alex Stewart would have had a more exciting tale, exciting
tale, except the time in prison last too long. Still I’m willing to
try the sequel because the action scenes were worth the wait.
1934 was a golden age of baseball and
every small town fielded a semi-pro team. Harry Turtledove imagines
an magical alternate earth where vampires knock on windows at night,
zombies are used for free labor, and wizards haul cargo on flying
carpets. Jack Spivey plays for his home town in Arkansas and picks
up odd jobs on the side when he runs afoul of the local gangster. At
the same time he has an opportunity to join a touring team called The
House of Daniel(hard from Tor) when their out-fielder was
hurt. The book is mostly about the games and a travel guide to the
towns they go through on their bus. They win a big tournament in
Denver and then have to survive a zombie revolt, and one team uses a
conjure man to jinx them. This is a must for baseball fans and a fun
look at America during the Depression.
The Winner of the Philip K. Dick Award for
distinguished original science fiction paperback published for the
first time during 2015 in the United States was Apex by
Ramez Naam (Angry Robot Books). The Winner of the Philip K. Dick
Special Citation was Archangel by Marguerite Reed (Arche
Press).
Baen has reprinted Robert Asprin and Linda
Evans’s Tales of the Time Scouts (trade), two novels about
Jack the Ripper and time travelers. They have also reprinted David
B. Coe’s tale of an ex-cop, PI and were-myste concerned with His
Father’s eyes (paper)
The Science Fiction Society will have its next
meeting on, May 13th 2016 at 8 p.m. at International
House on the University of Pennsylvania Campus. Short story
writer E. Lilly Yu will speak. She has been nominated for a
Hugo Award. 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).Check out his unified field theory at
henrylazarus.com/utf.html that suggests a simpler way to achieve
fusion generation.
The Science Fiction Society will have its next
meeting on, May 13th 2016 at 8 p.m. at International
House on the University of Pennsylvania Campus. E. Lilly
Yu, who has been nominated for a Hugo for a short story 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).Check out his unified field theory at
henrylazarus.com/utf.html that suggests a simpler way to achieve
fusion generation.