Science Fiction for October 2010
By Henry Leon Lazarus
James
Enge returns to The Wolf Age(trade from Pyre) and his character,
Morlock Ambrosius and his sword Tyrfing. This time the Strange Gods, humans
who have taken on god-like aspects, are destroying the city of Werewolves
because it’s immortal founder is waging war on them. Morlock is captured
by the wolves and thrown into their prison with a spike in his to block
his magic, which drives him mad and leads to a prison break. Werewolf politics
follows, eventually leading Morlock to Ulugarriu and confrontation with
the Strange Gods. The best parts are the description of the city with its
wolf and human area for the weres who are locked into one shape.
Political rallies that always devolve into war, and elections that come
down to one to one fights, Very neat. James Enge is on my must read list.
Sheri
S. Tepper has been a favorite of mine since the middle eighties. Her latest
takes place millennias from now when technology has been lost to all but
a few, a time of three moons, a time when the water-breathing sea king
has forbidden sea trade, and a time when people have to survive The
Waters Rising (hard from Eos). Xulai, seemingly seven years old, has
been sent to carry the dying princess’s soul back to her home country as
per custom. An evil duchess, who had used ancient machines to slowly murder
the princess, has decided to also kill Xulai. But with help including
Abasio and his talking horse, a magical chipmunk, and the people from her
home sent to protect her, and her abilities at deceptive magic she has
a chance to survive. It’s more adult than I just made it sound. Lots of
fun and a sure award nominee.
Imagine
Constantinople at the height of power during the reign of Justinian when
Rome was reconquered. Guy Gavriel Kay changes the names and characters
involved to created a very satisfying look at the city where chariot races
are the heart of the city and mosaics the center of art. We met Crispin,
master mosaic, when he went Sailing to Sarantium (paper) both at
the request of the Emperor to decorate the ceiling of a new sanctuary,
and of his queen, to convey a private message to the Emperor. Now he finds
himself at the heart of Imperial politics just by knowing the movers and
shakers. His queen, now in exile, awaits the word of the Emperor and his
ex-actress wife. The Empress, impressed by his work is a friend and his
friend, a soldier, is marrying the girl he rescued on his travels. Another
character, Dr. Rostum has been sent as a spy by the King-of-Kings who rules
Sarantium’s enemy kingdom. Add in a famous Charioteer knifed after a love
tryst, a dancer worshiped by all factions, a famous cook, and an
assassination plot and you have a tale the kept me glued to the pages.
Only the Lord of Emperors(trade from Roc) can unravel the mess.
Very satisfying.
There’s
not a lot of magic in Joel Shephard’s tale of an ex-princess/ sword- woman
Sasha (paper) She, her teacher Kessligh, her Serrin lover Errolyn,
and her sister Alythia have traveled from Petrodor (paper) to Tracato
(trade from Pyr) , a city soon to come under attack from the crusading
army led by her Father. But the city is on the verge of civil war between
the followers of a nobility left over from before the Serin conquered the
country, and those who want no nobility. When evidence is found of nobility
treason, the city explodes trapping Sasha and her friends. This is the
third book of a tertrology and I’m eagerly awaiting the conclusion.
I
was in Junior High School working as a volunteer for the school library
when I discovered Dumas’s tales of the Musketeers and was lucky the library
had all five volumes. Pierre Pevel has entered that realm with the addition
of dragon-turned-humans. He even adds a dash of Dumas characters (like
Athos) for true fans. The Black Claw, a secret society devoted to bringing
Dragon Rule to the world, are the villains. The tale starts when Richelieu,
looking to for a treaty with Spain, reinstates The Cardinal’s Blades
(trade from Pyr and translated from the French by Tom Clegg) to find a
missing Spanish Cavalier. Soon the discredited Captain La Farge has gathered
up the swordsmen and swordswoman who had formally served with him and,
facing daunting odds armed with only sword and single-shot pistol, discover
the evil that has infested France. Double and triple spies abound. I hope
more books in the series are going to be translated.
Daniel
Leery and Adele Mundy have an easy assignment because they are still recovering
from their last mission so their next assignment is to take a new Commissioner
to a planet allied to the Alliance – no problem since Cinnabar and the
Alliance have signed a peace treaty. So Daniel’s corvette , the Princess
Cecile, sails into a nasty plot by a nominal ally of Cinnabar. David Drake,
as usual, for What Distant Deeps (hard from Baen) has borrowed from
history to provide a basis for this latest action tale. This time he as
to partner with the Alliance military in order to prevent the Palmyrans
from restarting the war. I always enjoy the tales in this series and eagerly
gulp them down
Harry
Connolly writes a second tale of ex-con Ray Lilly, who has become an agent
for the magical Twenty Palace society. Preditors are creatures from unknown
dimensions who can be quite deadly when found on Earth. The society’s main
purpose is to wipe them out and protect humanity. One family has managed
to keep a saphire dog in a Game of Cages (paper from Del Ray) but
ther daughter needs the money and holds a quiet auction – except the dog
gets out and is soon terrorizing a small town and the losing bidders, including
a warlock. Only the tattoos that protect him from bullets, his magic knife
that can slice through anything, and grit and determination can keep Ray
alive in this solid thriller. Impossible-to-put-down. I liked the tale
well enough to find the first, Child of Fire (paper), at amazon for
my kindle software. It was just as much fun.
Alexia
Tarabotti would not have gone to Italy and the paranormal-hating Templars,
if her Werewolf husband had held her Blameless (paper from Orbit)
in her pregnancy. Her abilities to render immortal Vampires and Werewolves
human with a mere touch has also allowed the impossible to happen, and
Lord Macon is the sire. It doesn’t help that Vampire have her marked for
death because centuries before another with her talent had also born a
child. Alexia is a proper Englishwoman who keeps her poise even when chaos
surrounds her. Lots of fun. I’m looking forward for the next, and final
book in this series.
Anya
Kalinczyk has a day job as an arson inspector for the Detroit Fire Department
while working with a psychic research group because she can see, talk,
and sometimes absorb ghosts. But there’s a con artist trapping ghosts and
incidently using their Sparks (paper from Pocket by Laura Bickle)
to burn people from the inside and sometimes cause incidental fires. It
seems she is after a museum vase, that may have been Pandora’s box. It
doesn’t help that Sparky, Anya’s pet, elemental salamander lays a bunch
of eggs that no one else can see and which have to be protected from the
villain. I’m enjoying this series and hoping for more.
Carolyn
Crane returns to Midcity where an industrial accident created highcap people
with psionic abilities. Otto, now mayor has the ability to lock people
into rooms, and another, Packard, can read people so well he can
train neurotics to zap their neuroses into other people. Justine, a hypochondriac
who is in love with both, has been giving her neurosis to highcaps locked
safely by the mayor as a way of resetting their personalities, and maybe
making them sane. One, who can link people’s dreams together, has linked
her to Packard. At the same time some people have discovered how to see
highcaps and protect themselves from the highcap powers, and hard murdering
Highcaps. It all has to do with evil from Otto and Packard’s past and Justine
has to figure the Double Cross (paper from Bantam-Spectra) before
she gets murdered herself. Very odd, but hard to put down.
A
typical Connie Willis time travel story has very average historians from
our near future trapped in the past and forced to live through the events
they had hoped to skip over. Ms. Willis is fascinated by the British home
front in World War II. This time she somehow covers the whold war from
the Blackout (trade) of the Blitz till the All Clear (hard
from Bantam Spectre) of VE day. Like a good historical novelist, she puts
her people, working in normal jobs like sales and watching children, and
ambulance drivers through the worst of the bombing of London and the rocket
attacks later in the war. They may be hysterical about trying to return
to their present, but they manage to survive the worst parts of the war.
I didn’t find the reason they couldn’t return believable and the tale is
much, much too long. But I kept reading and enjoying the occasional silliness
thrown in.
Patrick
A. Vanner is obviously a fan of Battlestar Galactica. He has humanity fighting
the frog-like Xan-Sskarn. Captain Alexandra McLaughlin commanded the only
surviving ship for the last battle. Human traitors have given deadly secrets
to the frogs, forcing Alex and her crew again and again into deadly battles
even a Ragnarok (trade from Baen) fight in the Solar System. Plus
she has human enemies like an Admiral convinced she had left his son to
die in one of them. The battle scenes are well limned and I found the tale
hard to put down. Sequels are planned and, alas, needed.
Jack
Campbell completes his tale of the lost hero found in suspended sleep who
leads the Lost Fleet: Victorious (paper from Ace) back from a trap
by Syndic forces in the first tale. I brought the fleet home, but is sent
rearmed back to confront to Syndic forces again and bring an end to the
century long war that was instigated by aliens. So he has not only to confront
the syndics in their home system with traps set for their arrival, but
he also has to face aliens who have successfully hidden their ships from
previous human contact. Lots of fun with a solid ending.
Rachael
Caine ends her long running Weather Warden series with a Total Eclipse
(paper from Ace). Joanne Baldwin and her husband David, a Djinn have been
trying to prevent Mother Nature from destroying humanity. Mother
Nature has finally woken up and Joanne and David are both powerless. Towards
the end when all seems lost Cassiel, a djinn made human when she refused
to wipe out humanity, and her lover Luis come riding to the rescue on their
motor cycle. A side series about them Undone (paper) and Unknown
(paper) recounts their fight against Pearl, once a Djinn who is using kidnaped
warden kids to try to destroy all the djinns. That series has two more
tales to go and fits before this last Weather Warden tale. All of Ms. Caine’s
tales are impossible to put down and I usually gulp them down in a day.