Henry L Lazarus
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Science Fiction for July 2018
Fantasy and Science Fiction can imagine worlds
with odd premises about the universe. For instance, suppose souls
really survive after death.
It’s 1938 and the British are
deeply enmeshed in the Spanish Civil War. Lenin rules the USSR after
his death, Stalin has come to Spain as a way of confronting him. And
England has spies working after their death in Summerland (hard
from Tor). Rachael White is running a simple operation in Spain
working with a Russian defector, when he tells her of a highly
placed Communist mole in Summerland. The science of after-life
technology involved ecto-tanks and other horrible weapons reshaped
the world after the horrors of the World War. Hannu Rajaniemi has
created a unique world in which the dead interact with the living
using ecto-phones, mechanical dolls, and living mediums paid for
their time. Even the Prime Minister and the Queen of England are
already dead but still in power. Peter Bloom, the hidden communist,
is very high-placed in the Summerland part of the Secret Service and
Rachael is shunted in Finance to keep her quiet. Imagine a Graham
Greene spy tale with half the spies already dead. Very neat.
The first three books in
Craig DeLancey’s pulse-pounding space opera Evolution Commandos
(paper from 47 North) are together in one volume. They are
impossible to put down and filled with exciting action in an
alien-filled galaxy that humans have just joined. Amir Tarkos is the
only human in the Harmonizer Corps that keep peace in the Galactic
Alliance. His commander, Bria, a bear-like Sussurat is terse and
mission obsessed. Five thousand years before, the Ulltrians had
almost destroyed galactic civilization. Thought destroyed, they had
hid out on an extra-solar planet called World Hammer. Tarkos and
Bria’s mission involves first finding a human archeologist in the
Ulltrian home planet, Well of Furies, which involves also recovering
a book in the middle of a hurricane, that sends them to World Hammer
to face one of the Ulltrians and recover information of their plans
for an Ice Sky Storm attack on the Neelee home planet. It doesn’t
help that they are imprisoned for treason and have to escape. Wow.
Silasta is a City of Lies
(hard from Tor) believing itself safe and fortunate while the people
on the surrounding estates share none of the bounty. They are so
safe that they think nothing of sending their army off to protect
their mines. Like his Uncle, a close advisor to the Chancellor who
secretly protects him from poisons, Jovan protects the Tain, the
heir. Returning early to the city, they arrive only to have the
Chancellor and his uncle die of poison. Then an army of embittered
servants attacks the city raising a siege. They act as a
professional army with the knowledge of how to build siege engines
and hate the Silastans for their sacrilege ignorance of the local
nature deities. Jovan and his sister Kalina who suffers
from asthma must brave everything to discover the real treacheries,
like the traitor who poisoned the Chancellor and remains hidden. Sam
Hawke tells a fun tale.
Glynn Stewart is one of the newer
authors I really like. Vice Admiral Isaac Gallant led a rebellion
against his mother who had become dictator of the Confederacy.
Easily putting the rebellion down, the conspirators were all sent
seven hundred light years away on a one-way Exile (paper
from Faolan's Pen Publishing). The planet they find is perfect, in
fact too perfect because it was terraformed by alien robots, some of
whom consider it sacred. With limited fighting ships they have to
fight for their right to survive. Fun.
Ruthanna Emrys continues the tale
of Aphra Marsh, born in Innsmouth where the people of the sea,
who eventually transform into ageless sea beings, lived. Raised in a
camp far from the sea where the the government relocated her, she
and her brother are the only survivors. Her hunt for others of her
race leads her to Brooklyn where a young man and his mother have
retained the traits of the sea people The problem is that he’s been
lured by the Outer ones, insect-like creatures who are very
technologically advanced. Only a few are on Earth and they like to
capture minds of volunteers and send them to the stars. It’s 1949
and the threat of nuclear war has put them in two camps; and the
ones for active interference have forced those who just want to
observe. Aphra, her friends, some of her ancient grandfathers, and
the FBI agents who worked with her before become enmeshed in the
politics of these strange creatures with their Deep Roots
(hard from Tor). I found the background with multiple magic
systems a bit confusing, but still interesting.
Jason Denzel continues his tale of
a world split into reality and a world of mist where fey creatures
live. Pomella AnDone, the first commoner to become a Mystic
(paper) has become known as Hummingbird because of the fey birds
familiars that help her in her quest to free the unclaimed from the
slavers who collect them. It is time for the Crow Tallin, a time
when the mystic world comes closest to reality and a time when all
the High Mystics come to Kelt Apar, Pomella’s home, to help people
deal with the confluence and to prevent the last Mystic Dragon
(hard from Tor), responsible for the separation. Pomella has to deal
with a young woman with psychic ties to the dragon, and with
protecting her mentor, a retired high mystic, from his disapproval
of the High Mystics actions. Fun. They’ll be a third tale coming to
finish the story.
David D. Levine concludes his
wonderful series about Nineteenth century England in a solar system
filled with air in which Englishmen sail the solar currents to both
Mars and Venus. Arabella The Traitor of Mars (hard from
Tor) starts with Arabella and her husband being feted at the heroes
who helped stop Napoleon from conquering the system with iron clad
ships built on Venus. Unfortunately the Prince Regent of England
along with the Honorable Mars Company have decided that it is
England’s best interest to conquer Mars and its natives. Arabella,
who as born and raised on Mars and who had close Martian Native
friends. Along with her husband Captain Singh, and Robert Fulton,
who had discovered that hydrogen provided enough lift to allow iron
clad sky ship, Arabella helps found a city on Mars to build ships
only to have it destroyed by the English. Retreating to Phobos,
protected by currents that make it difficult to work through, She
and her friends have an impossible task to defeat the second English
Fleet. I really enjoyed this series.
Kevin L. O'Brien has a number of
stories about Her Majesty's Monster Hunter (ebook),
Sir Differel Van Helsing starting at age 12 when her father is
murdered and the aunt left in charge of her turns out to be a
traitor. Aided by Dracula she fights monsters all over England
and is director of the Caerleon order. Volume one has fun
tales of her adolescence. Volume 2 tells of her adventures as an
adult.
N. K. Jemisin’s The Stone Sky (paper
from Orbit) won the Nebula Award for Best Novel.
The Science Fiction Society will have its next
meeting on July 20th. A panel of members will evaluate the
Hugo award finalists. This is always fun and important for
those eligible to vote. The meeting starts at 8
p.m. at International House on the University of
Pennsylvania Campus. 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.