Andreas' Other Books - (C-D by author)

Jack Campbell - The Lost Fleet: Dauntless

Note: Jack Campbell is a pseudonym for the author John G. Hemry.

The Lost Fleet: Dauntless

Solid military SciFi. The premise has an attack fleet from the "Alliance" find the century old survival pod of legendary commander John "Black Jack" Geary, with the man himself hibernating inside. Just after that, the fleet is stranded in "Syndic" space after being soundly defeated in an ambush. All the flag officers have been imprisoned and shot, so by virtue of time in rank, Captain Geary is now in command of the "Lost Fleet". But in the century of his absence, two interesting developments have occured. First, he is seen as a legend; a larger than life hero viewed by the personnel under his command as a savior. Secondly, the long war has led to high rates of attrition, loss of command know-how, and acceptance of atrocities. To add spice to the mix, many of the surviving captains are not happy about the new regime. And now they have to fight their way home.

The prose is straightforward, with the point of view character always Geary himself. He is tired and sick from his long hibernation, baffled and angered by the ruthlessness and incompetence the fleet, and frustrated at the idiocy of many of his commanders. The novel (first in a series) is a study in leadership, and the necessity to perform both the right actions and use the right words in order to ensure loyalty. Beyond that, it is a fun and fast paced little book. It doesn't hold immense depth, but if you like military SciFi, you'll probably enjoy it. 20060801

The Lost Fleet: Fearless

Campbell is back with the second installment in the Lost Fleet series, in which "Black Jack" Geary continues to fight internal and external enemies to get the fleet home. Part of the fleet defects, leaving Geary with an even greater shortage of ships. But by being unpredictable, he continues to fight on. The internal struggle is interesting, as Geary realizes how powerful he can become if he brings the fleet home.

This was very much a middle book. No resolution. I have no problem with Campbell's rather short (by today's standards) novels but this one could easily have been amalgamated with "Dauntless". 20070529

The Lost Fleet: Courageous

By this, the third book, the series is losing steam. What's worse, it's losing the plot. While the battles are still very nicely done, the backstory is wearing quite thin. Nothing much happens to move the plot forward. The fleet continues to struggle on in its quest to reach alliance space. Captain Geary continues to struggle on his quest to retain command in the face of insubordinate subordinates. Geary continues struggle to figure out his relationship with Senator Rione. Nothing new to see here. Move along. I was happy with the second book being a middle book, but at some point something radical or conclusive will have to happen. I was so fed up after Courageous I may not care enough to read the next installment. 20080129

 C.J. Cherryh - The Chanur Saga

Cherryh is quite successful so when I saw this omnibus of the first three Chanur novels (The Pride of Chanur; Chanur's Venture; The Kif Strike Back) I thought I would see what all the fuss was about. I managed to slog through the first book. The story is pretty boring and the aliens are plain vanilla space opera fare. Humans that look different if you like. I tried reading the second novel but gave up after ten pages. What I don't get is how this stuff can sell so well. Seriously, there is so much better out there.

Tom Clancy - Red Storm Rising

The fact that "it had been done" did not scare Tom Clancy when he wrote this novel about an attach on Western Europe by the Warsaw Pact. It is pure technothriller with a very heavy military element. Masterfully written and very hard to put down.

Tom Clancy - The Cardinal of the Kremlin

At the time this novel was published, Reagan's "Star Wars" space defence initiative was big news. Solid Clancy and with some very good spy stuff, although I found it a bit slower paced than the really good ones.

Tom Clancy - Without Remorse

In this novel, Clancy takes a step back in time to tell the story of how John Clark became... Well, how he became John Clark. Solid stuff, but not as good as some of the other Clancy's.

Tom Clancy - The Sum of All Fears

Jack Ryan, almost ready for the prime time in Debt of Honor, brokers peace in the middle east and discovers that nuclear weapons in the wrong hands can be dangerous. Solid Clancy, and I especially like how he is not afraid to blow big stuff up just because it happens to sit in the continental United States.

I like the old cover better though, with the Israeli A-4 Skyhawk being blown to bits. The movie, although quite good, changes the story significantly and does not really reflect the breadth of the novel.

Tom Clancy - Rainbow Six

A step away from Jack Ryan, although he still lurks in the background. Unfortunately, this novel marks a decided slump in the quality of Clancy's writing. There is nothing wrong with the story, although I found the motivation of the bad guys a bit too James Bond'ish. The simple fact of the matter is that I did not feel a compelling need to finish the book. It was a bit dull, especially compared to other Clancy. So read it if you like, but I would skip directly to The Bear and the Dragon.

Some say that he does not write anymore, but only oversees a staff. I don't know about that. My opinion is that this novel was written as a selling vehicle for the computer game released around the same time by Clancy's games company Red Storm. The game, aptly named Rainbow Six, is about an international antiterrorist unit, just like the novel.

Tom Clancy - The Bear and the Dragon

A return to form for Clancy after the lackluster Rainbow Six, this novel nevertheless struck me as pretty formulaic. It was very cool, though, to see military cooperation between Russia and the United States. I enjoyed this one a lot. Watch for Pavel Petrovich Gogol, a very cool guy.

Tom Clancy - Red Rabbit

A somewhat enjoyable story of a much younger Jack Ryan, also featuring the Foleys during their time in Moscow. Not nearly as "big" a story as most of Clancy's novels, I nonetheless liked this tale of a defection from the Soviet Union. Still, Clancy has shown many times that he can do better than this.

Tom Clancy - The Teeth of the Tiger

What is it with Clancy nowadays? Some of my favorite novels are The Hunt for Red October and Executive Orders. Lately he seems to have lost it. Red Rabbit was at best "only ok" and this last work is more of the same. Full of platitudes ("if possible, the service in Vienna was even better than in Munich") and repetitions, it makes one believe the rumors that he does not write anymore, and the novels are group efforts by his staff. Supposedly, Clancy supervises and approves. It's very sad to see what was once a great author who has lost it. I mean, look at Stephen King, you don't see his quality lacking.

Having said that, The Teeth of the Tiger is still an entertaining novel, worth a read for the Clancy fan. This stuff is still, in my opinion, better that most of what the genre wannabees churn out. The story is about a US agency so deep undercover that it is not even part of the government (insert worrying comments about vigilantism here) and (are you sitting down for this?) terrorism against America. Could it be more annoyingly predictable? I really wanted to like this book, and was having a pretty good time, but the end, while coming to some sort of conclusion, does leave a lot of stuff just hanging there.

Mr Clancy, you can do much better than this! 20030826

Arthur C. Clarke - The Nine Billion Names of God

Very good short story collection. It is hard to believe that most of these stories were written in the fifties. The ideas are still fresh and the plots though-provoking.

Arthur C. Clarke - The City and the Stars

This is an interesting Clarke novel in that it really moves into more Stephen Baxter-esque subject matter (albeit forty years early). It is about the last remnant of humanity, which lives in a city and whiles away the millennia in eternal bliss. But there is trouble in paradise (of course). A young boy finds that he wants more. I found this a bit slow paced, but it is an interesting investigation of utopia.

Arthur C. Clarke - A Fall of Moondust

Not a very "deep" book about an accident on the moon. Has not aged well, but still enjoyable to pass the time.

Arthur C. Clarke - Childhood's End

Tale of how aliens come to Earth to help humanity. They are shrouded in mystery until the very last (and very surprising) moment. Also, about what the future may hold for the human race. Very good stuff from Clarke.

Arthur C. Clarke - 2001 Series

This series started as a one-off book released in conjunction with the Stanley Kubrick movie of the same name. The books are:

• 2001: A Space Odyssey

• 2010: Odyssey Two

• 2061 Odyssey Three

• 3001: The Final Odyssey

The first and second books are enthralling. 2061 is more of the same, and pretty pointless in my opinion. 3001 is an attempt at closing up all the loose threads, and does so in a satisfying way.

For a long time, these books frustrated me because I didn't get them. On the surface, they are hard SciFi, but there is quite a bit of existential pondering about the nature of life. When I finally just relaxed and accepted the fact that there are mystical things going on, I realized that this is the whole point. The reader is supposed to be in awe, and there are some things that mankind is not meant to know (yet). The first two especially are SciFi classics, and would recommend them. Just accept the mystery and embrace the sense of wonder.

Arthur C. Clarke - The Fountains of Paradise

A classic from one of the great masters. The book tells the story of the construction of a space elevator on an island closely based on Sri Lanka. The author took a bit of license and moved it to the equator.

While one might think that the story is only about the technical aspects, it delves much deeper into the spiritual history and future of bridge building. For what is a space elevator if not a bridge to the stars? Clarke skillfully blends the past and the future into a marvelous tale. His famous skill with the sense of wonder is shown off to great effect, and the book leaves you feeling in awe with humanity and the universe. 20041205

As usual, Clarke has an interesting premise. Faced with a sun going nova in 3600, humanity launches seed ships with the necessities for creating earth life, including humans. Some of these colonies succees, including one on the island paradise of Thalassa. But after seven hundred years, a manned colony ship with a million frozen humans appears in orbit. The crew of the ship needs water ice in order to rebuild the ablation shield on the ship and ontinue their journey. The novel describes how the two, very different, peoples meet and interact over the course of the colony ship's stay.

Unfortunately, I found the whole thing naive in it's view of humanity (everybody is unnaturaly wise and kind) and more than a bit a bit dull. While Clarke has many interesting ideas, and I certainly had no problem finishing the book, I found that there was a peculiar lack of tension. Clarke compensates with his mastery of the "sense of wonder" style, but it isn't enough to elevate this novel even close to the level of his masterpieces, like the Rama Series or The Fountains of Paradise. 20050415

Arthur C. Clarke - The Ghost from the Grand Banks

Competent story about ´the near future and an attempt to raise the Titanic. Despite the title, this is not a Ghost story in the way you might think. Enjoyable and well written.

Arthur C. Clarke - The Hammer of God

Asteroid and comet impact books have been done to death, and yet some of them are worth reading. This is one of those.

Arthur C. Clarke & Gentry Lee - The Rama Series

Rendezvous with Rama is, along with 2001, the defining work of Arthur C. Clarke. A mysterious cylinder is found in space, falling inwards on a trajectory which is taking it through the solar system. An expedition is sent to probe it's contents. The book is full of sense of wonder, and Clarke manages to convey awe at alien things like few others can. In the late 80's, Clarke teamed up with Gentry Lee to write a sequel trilogy (the first book is written by Clarke only). The whole series consists of:

• Rendezvous with Rama

• Rama II

• The Garden of Rama

• Rama Revealed

The trilogy explores and expands on the Rama concept, and puts forward some very interesting ideas on life in the universe, and how ready we as humans really are to inherit the stars (or Eden). It is an epic tale of destiny, focused around the character of Nicole, a hero if there ever was one. But not an action hero, simply an inspiring figure around which the story swirls and flows. Wonderful stuff, and awe-inspiring.

Arthur C. Clarke & Gentry Lee - Cradle

Giant ancient starship at the bottom of the ocean. Mystery. It's been done to death, and this one doesn't really stand out. It's decently written and plotted but nothing special.

Arthur C. Clarke & Mike McQuay - Richter 10

This book is about earthquakes, but not in the way you think. It's more about one man, Lewis Crane, and his obsession. This obsession will cost him everything. On the way, we see fascinating glimpses of an evolving society and, oh yes, some earthquakes. Very good.

Arthur C. Clarke and Michael Kube-McDowell - The Trigger

Clarke has in the past few years taken to writing outlines and letting other authors do the heavy lifting. This has produced some great titles such as "Richter 10" and "The Light of Other Days". Here's one more, about a device that disables guns and bombs.

As with the other two, it all starts out low key. An accidental discovery in a lab. But as with many such discoveries, it soon takes on a life of it's own, and leads the inventors (and the reader) to many unexpected places.

Interestingly, this book manages not to preach from either end of the gun-control argument. Without becoming less exciting or interesting, it manages to sum up and discuss the entire issue from the aspect of new technological advances. A great book. 20050129

Arthur C. Clarke and Stephen Baxter - Time's Eye

Clarke and Baxter's previous collaboration, "The Light of Other Days", was a splendid effort. This start of the two book series "A Time Odyssey" which continues in "Sunstorm". I have been shying away from Baxter for a few years. While his skill as a writer continues to improve, I have found that his Xeelee stories and their obsession with entropy make me terribly melancholic. Despite Baxter's unflagging optimism, his is not a bright future.

Like 2001 and it's sequels, "Time's Eye" is driven by the intervention in human affairs by unknowable and very powerful alien beings. In a flash, the Earth is divided up in chunks from different times. A UN helicopter crew from 2037, a British Colonial detachment Afghanistan, the armies of Alexander the great and Genghis Khan. Overlooking these humans and their reactions to the discontinuity are reflecting spheres hovering above the ground, inscrutable an silent.

While there is some focus on attempting to solve the mystery of the events which have brought the protagonists to this, the main thrust of the story is rather typical alternate history fare, much like "1632" or "Island in the Sea of Time". So, it's been done better from that particular angle, but I did find that Clarke and Baxter infuse the characters with a sense of their place in time and space. Unlike many other alternate history stories, this one does not revel in, or lose itself in, the practicalities of the events. Sure, the "modern" humans introduce the stirrup and steam engines, but unlike with Stirling (who, to be fair, I much enjoy reading) the alternate history angle is not the actual point.

Time's eye shows hints of what the superhuman beings behind the Eyes are actually doing. It is cruel indeed, but seen as necessary. So do the means really justify the end? Hopefully the sequel, "Sunstorm", will shed some light on this.

Having said all that, I devoured this book. It's great reading by two of the greats of Science Fiction. 20050916
 

John Ringo and Julie Cochrane - Cally's War

This book is reviewed here.

Stephen Coonts - The Intruders

Coonts used to fly Intruders of carriers. This makes him, per definition, a cool guy. If you like planes, you will probably enjoy this novel. Pity that Coonts forgot to throw in a plot. Anyway, Coonts' hero Jake Grafton meets his wife in this novel. There, I gave half the "plot" away.

Stephen Coonts - The Minotaur

This one has a little more story than The Intruders. It's all about a new plane to replace the A-6 Intruder, and a conspiracy. And, yes, Jake Grafton is in the middle of it. Same as for The Intruders, if you enjoy aviation, this is probably for you. Otherwise, give it a pass.

Stephen Coonts - America

I didn't expect much from Coonts, as usual. However, this surprised me: There is almost no flying and this is a pretty passable technothriller in Tom Clancy style. Still not as polished as it could be, Coonts fails to make the last half as gripping as the first. Also, I had a hard time believing the motivations and actions of the bad guys. Still, I didn't want to put it down until the end.

Harold Coyle - Code of Honor

Decent Clancy clone about the drug war. Helicopters galore. The one nice surprise here were the good characterizations.

Harold Coyle - The Ten Thousand

Even though the premise is a bit flawed, I really enjoyed this. A somewhat anti-nuke fanatic German Chancellor forbids an American division transporting nuclear arms to go through Germany. They have to fight their way to the sea. The military stuff is well done, and the characters are, as usual for Coyle, truly threedimensional.

Michael Crichton - The Andromeda Strain

Vintage Crichton in the truest sense. I think this is his first novel. Formulaic like the other Crichton books, but without their redeeming qualities. This story of a satellite falling back to Earth after picking up an alien, and dangerous, organism has aged very badly. I can forgive that, but as opposed to other Crichtons, I didn't care at all about the characters. There were times when I couldn't even tell them apart. Still, having read his later works it was interesting to see how it all started. Hints of the author's future style are discernible in the text. And since it is a very short read it wasn't too taxing. 20060501 

Michael Crichton- The Terminal Man

Yet another Crichton.The table of contents reveals the traditional day-by-day format, and the novel is laid out over four days. The story is about a man who has is implanted with a device which gives pleasure in order to control violent seizures. The man goes on a murderous rampage as he learns to control the pleasurable impulses.

It's typical Crichton. Briefly entertaining. I find it a lot of fun to read about the technologies. Crichton is heavily into using very contemporary gadgets and looking into their philosophical implications. So while his novels date fast, they provide an interesting insight into what concerned people at the time of writing. 20040924

Michael Crichton - Rising Sun

Thriller set in the corporate world of Los Angeles. A murder has been committed in the boardroom of a large Japanese corporation, just prior to a major deal. An old detective with "Japanese experience" is teamed up with a younger man to solve the murder. Masterfully told, if a bit dated due to the heavy use of old computer jargon and technology as plot points.

Michael Crichton - Congo

As usual, Michael Crichton serves up a fast paced book in which the plot spans only a couple of days. The ideas are quite fascinating, from the long discussions about what are now very archaic computers to the insightful look into primate psychology. As always, though, the whole adventure is covered and (in this case, literally) buried up at the end. I like Crichton's work, but his books always leave me wanting more depth. 2003

Michael Crichton - Airframe

If you are interested in aviation, you should definitely pick this one up. Even if you are not, it's still good reading. An aircraft encounters severe turbulence and one person dies. At least, that's what people think happened. The novel follows the investigation by the manufacturer. A "bad" result could mean death for the company. As usual, Crichton shows how well he can describe corporate environments.

Michael Crichton - Sphere

It's another BDO (Big Dumb Object) story! Not the best Crichton. An large sphere is found underwater. Divers are sent down to investigate. Strange things happen. Gee, wasn't this plot copied for Clarke and Lee's "Cradle"? Anyway, fun for the SciFi and Crichton buff, and probably ok for the rest of you. On a side note, the movie is actually pretty good. Scary in that Alien way.

Michael Crichton - Disclosure

You know it's Crichton when the chapter headings are days (all in same two weeks or so). I liked the movie and for some reason I keep coming back to Crichton's rather formulaic plots. The guy is a dialogue genius, and his dependency on describing what is, at the time of writing, cutting edge technology, is always good for nostalgia.

This book is way better than anything I have read my Mr. Crichton. It is really quite gripping and explains the background much better than the movie. I almost put it in the Book Picks but it didn't quite make the cut. 20031018

Michael Crichton - Timeline

Very cool if you like Medieval history. A corporation has developed a way to send people backward in time. Something has happened, so a group of scholars is sent back to investigate. Needless to say, Bad Things happen. Well researched and written, and quite hard to put down.

Michael Crichton - Prey

Crichton takes on nanotechnology in his usual "one-week story" format. Exciting and with some neat tech stuff but not particularly deep. This sort of thing has an irresistible appealfor a geek like me . Genetics, computers, nanotech, all rolled into one. Pity the books isn't better. 20040218

Michael Crichton - State of Fear

This is the first Crichton novel I have had a hard time finishing. Somewhere in the middle, I just lost interest. It's an interesting story, but frequently disjointed and muddled. Quite unlike Crichton's usual very focused style. Thankfully, it does pick up at the end, and Crichton is never really a bad author.

As with all Crichton's novels, there is a central theme. This time it's global warning. In an interesting twist, the author takes a dissenting opinion. While the views of characters should never be mistaken for being the same as the author's, Crichton does make himself quite clear in the afterword. Put simply, he claims there is not enough research to prove global warming one way or another. Interesting. It should be noted, however, that Crichton likes his scholarly afterwords and bibliographies. I have learned to take them with a pinch of salt.

The story revolves around an aging philanthropist, his young lawyer, and a large environmental organization. As the book progresses, it becomes clear that the environmentalist organization intends to influence public opinion by attempting to control natural phenomena. For example, they wish to create a flash flood to focus attention on global warming. Crichton writes characters and their interactions with each other and technology with his usual skill.

It is important to remember the title. I don't think Crichton wrote State of Fear as a treatise on global warming. The point of the novel (apart from entertainment of course) is twofold: First, instill some healthy skepticism about accepting any "accepted truth". Secondly, discuss how the "powers that be" need society to fear something in order to keep it in check. A central passage in the book deals with this explictly. With the media as a willing messenger, fear is brought home to the public. Current western society is as safe as it has ever been, and yet people are irrationally fearful of many things. Maybe that's because they are constantly hammered with wall to wall coverage of murder, war, climate change and assorted doom. It's not that the Cold War or Global Warming are only in our minds, but the way such phenomena are "sold" to us is full of hyperbole and fearmongering.

Be skeptical. Crichton subtly reminds the reader of this with the last point of his afterword: "Everybody has an agenda. Except me."

What I really liked was the sheer contrarianism of the whole thing. The environmentalists are portrayed as dissention squashing fanatics. The movement is anything but grass roots, but feeds on a vast mass of donations, much of it from rich but perhaps misguided individuals who need something to do. Those asking for clear, untainted evidence are hung out as traitors to the Earth. No matter how you feel about global warming, it's an interesting read just for that. As a thriller, though, it's only fair to middling. Crichton has done better. 20070619.

Samuel R. Delany - Dhalgren

Considered to be Delany's masterpiece, I didn't get very far in this weighty tome. It's odd that I would so dislike this, since Delany's "Nova" is one of my favorite books, but there it is. The story, as far as I could make out, is about a traveler to the city of Bellona, a place which has suffered a great disaster, so great, in fact, that space and time no longer work as they do in the outside world. Very literary, in all the bad ways.

Eric Flint and Andrew Dennis - 1634: The Galileo Affair

... is reviewed here.
 

Stephen Donaldson - The Gap into Conflict: The Real Story

I was never, like some of my friends, a fan of the old Thomas Covenant fantasy series by Donaldson. This is the first of the Gap series (5 novels), a grand space opera. A mere 184 pages, it is loosely based on the Nibelung Ring operas by Wagner (of which there is a synopsis at the end).

It is an idea piece that introduces three characters, and delves deeply into their psyche, especially that of the villain.

Donaldson's space opera aspects are a constant mild annoyance, since he has taken the very worst of all clichés in the genre, without making even a token effort ot be original. It's like being inside a video game with similar thematics. The plot was enough to get me through this novelette length tale, but that was about it. I don't think that I will try the other 4 books. 20041205

James Doohan and S.M. Stirling - The Rising

This is book one of the Flight Engineer series. "Mr. Scott" from Star Trek makes an attempt. This shameless plug on Doohan's celebrity is terrible. I can't believe that Stirling was willing to put his name on it. Still more unbelievable is that there are more books in the series. Stay away!

Ian Douglas - The Heritage Trilogy

• Semper Mars

• Luna Marine

• Europa Strike

Three very good near future military SciFi stories, loosely connected at the micro level, but there is a deeper background to the whole thing. My only small gripe is that Douglas (which, by the way, is a pseudonym for William H. Keith) does not concentrate more on the backstory of alien visitors in ancient times. Still and all, a very good read.

Ian Douglas - The Legacy Trilogy

These are sequels to the exciting Heritage Trilogy. Set a hundred years further in the future, they flesh out the backstory significantly and satisfyingly. The Marine Corps focused action remains, improved if anything. Douglas (actually William H. Keith) writes about battles, troops and equipment with a gritty and realistic tone.

Star Corps

Descendants of the An, prehistoric overlords of Earth, have been discovered on a planet in a nearby star system. Suddenly, the delegation sent there is attacked by these Ahannu. The Marines send a relief expedition on a ten year voyage (one way) to regain control. This book introduces the Marines in the first two books of the trilogy, in particular John Garroway, descendant of the main characters from the Heritage Trilogy. The Ahannu are just a bit player in galactic terms, though. 20071212

Battlespace

After a ten year voyage back to Earth, the Marines are sent out again. Their twenty year absence has led to significant problems interacting with society. This time, the mission involves securing an alien stargate in the Sirius system, thought to be used by the "Hunters of the Dawn", a very advanced race that destroys any life that could threaten it. At the gate, the Marines encounter another race, the Oannans/N'mah, which has been fleeing from and fighting the Hunters of the Dawn for millenia. After initial violence, an alliance is formed. 20071217

Star Marines

The action now jumps forward a century and a half, but the main characters are still Garroways. The Hunters of the Dawn, alerted by the destruction of their ship and gate in "Battlespace", have decided that humans are a threat. A Hunter ship appears in Sol system and attacks. Earth is devastatated. The Marines launch a Doolittle Raid on the enemy, trying to buy the humans time. 20071220

While the "Marines rule" theme can sometime be a bit heavy handed, this is quality military SciFi. The back story, only hinted at in the Heritage Trilogy, is fully fleshed out and well imagined. Douglas is currently writing yet another trilogy, entitled the "Inheritance Trilogy", with the first book coming out in 2008. Whether this will bring some closure to the macrostory is unknown. By the end of the Legacy Trilogy things are still very much up in the air about the future survival of humanity. 20071220

Ian Douglas - The Inheritance Trilogy

These are sequels to the exciting Heritage and Legacy trilogies. As before, the focus is on the Marine Corps and its role in imagined future conflict.

Star Strike

This is the first book in the third trilogy about US Marines. The story jumps ahead about half a millenium. The Xul still threaten humankind, but have been quiescent since the events of Star Marines. As per usual, the Marines are hindered by a misguided politician, then proceed to save the day and win a great victory. On the micro scale, there is the usual boot camp training sequence with a new scion of the Garroway line.

While the plots are becoming somewhat formulaic, these novels are still of high quality. The action is gritty, the story is epic, and the books are real page turners. I was afraid that all the "future tech" would somehow make the story less relatable, but this is not so. Douglas manages to explain well how technologies like AIs and direct mind link to computers and virtual spaces change the way humans interact. He also infuses the book with a sense of history, and understands that political entities and priorities can shift dramatically over time. 20090723

Galactic Corps

The second book of the trilogy picks up the story about a decade after Star Strike. Once again, there is an irritating politician. The Marines now attempt a blow at the very heartland of the Xul, the radiation ridden galactic core.

While the first half follows the usual formula, the second half, with operations in the core, is truly excellent. Very exciting and with many elements from "sense of wonder" stories like Ringworld and Rendevous with Rama. These are areas that military Scifi doesn't usually touch upon but could and should more often. A very strong middle book and another page turner. 20090726


Semper Human

After a thousand year "break" in the macrostory, the Marines are back. Revived from a centuries long hibernation (a kind of reserve status), they wake to a radically different galactic society, with a plethora of alien races, as well as new offshoots of the human race. The reason for their awakening is the Xul, who seem to be altering reality, subtly influencing human minds through the spooky effects of quantum physics.

After the breakneck action of the previous two books, this one feels very slow to start. A lot of time is spent discussing the changes to galactic society of the past centuries. The usual "Marines are anachronisms", only more so, and to excess. Once battle is joined, so to speak, it doesn't feel anywhere near as visceral as previously. The characters are dull and not very compelling. Douglas redeems himself a bit at the end with some excellent historical vignettes, but it is not enough. Unfortunately, the books becomes one long treatise about why Marines have always pulled mankind's (and in this case Galactic Society as whole's) chestnuts out of the fire. While I understand and even agree with the message, it is far too heavy handed. So this, the ninth, and possibly last, book of the saga, unfortunately ends it with a sizzle where there should have been a bang. A big, big bang. 20090801

David Drake and Eric Flint - The Belisarius Series

Military SciFi/Alternate history in which an evil empire appears in India in the fifth century. Famous general Belisarius receives a warning from the future and must counter the threat. This series was quite well received in the Military SciFi community. It goes deeper into philosophical and poetical tangents than similar works, although this is a sideshow, albeit an interesting one, to the main action. Eric Flint's classic wry humour pervades the prose. The books can almost be read as historical novels and contain quite a few interesting tidbits about the period. The series consist of.

• An Oblique Approach

• In The Heart of Darkness

• Destiny's shield

• Fortune's Stroke

• The Tide of Victory

• The Dance of Time

The sixth and final book, The Dance of Time was planned for release in 2004, but didn't come out until 2006. It tied up all the loose ends quite neatly, even though the conclusion was foregone by this time. However, the habit of the authors to show of their characters' cleverness, while only a minor annoyance in the first five volumes, really grated on my nerves in the sixth book. Endless uses of "Why not?" and equally endless enumerations of factors both in the exposition and the dialogue are just plain bad style. Still and all, very satisfying as a series.

David Drake - The RCN Series

With the Lightnings

I was put off from reading this for a full eight years mainly due to the horrible cover, but also some misgivings about David Drake. While I loved his Hammer's Slammers, his writing has often been a bit wooden. The blurb just didn't do it for me either. Sometimes I'm so happy to be proven wrong. "With the Lighnings" is quality military SciFi. The RCN series has been likened to the Hornblower books, However Drake himself says they are actually based on the Aubrey/Maturin books. Since these are in themselves inspired by the Hornblower series, I suppose both comparisons are apt.

Lt. Daniel Leary is an officer of the Republic of Cinnabar Navy. Cinnabar is a great power opposed by the Alliance. As in all good adventure fiction of this stripe, the Alliance is "evil" and Cinnabar is "good". Leary is a supernumerary on a diplomatic mission to the planet Kostroma. Meanwhile, Adele Mundy, a Cinnabar information specialist in exile, has been hired to set up the ruler's library on Kostroma. While they are there, the Alliance invades Kostroma. Leary and Mundy join forces and, with the help of a group of Cinnabar ratings, set about attempting to escape.

Swashbuckling action only begins to describe this book. Drake has adapted his technology and political/social structures to mimic the age of sail to a degree that would be ridiculous if it didn't work so well. Leary and Mundy are the perfect characters. Daring and courageous, yet by no means arrogantly sure of themselves. The locales are colorful, the characters engaging, the action furious and exciting. I look forward to reading the other books in the series. 20080407

Lt. Leary: Commanding

After the heroic deeds on Kostroma, Leary is unexpectedly permitted to retain command of the captured corvette Princess Cecile. Mundy becomes an intelligence officer for Cinnabar's elusive spy chief, Mistress Sand. Leary and his crew must catch up with a squadron en route to prevent a rebellion on a vassal planet. Through high level machinations, one of their passengers is the putative heir of the planet's ruling family.

The main plot is not terribly strong, but it doesn't matter much. This series is about high-flying adventures, exciting locales and interesting characters, not exact plotting. There is a certain disjointed feeling to the story. For example the incident with the pirates could have been a self contained short story and feels like an excuse to provide some amusing action more than a necessary story element. But as mentioned, all that doesn't really matter. Revisiting Daniel Leary and Adele Mundy is a treat unto itself. 20080520

The Far Side of the Stars

At the beginning of the third book, Lt. Leary is beached on half pay after peace has broken out between the Republic of Cinnabar and the Alliance of Free Stars. Through an unexpected turn of events, he is able to once again take command of the Princess Cecile, which has been sold out of navy service but is chartered as a yacht by a wealthy foreign couple who want to venture far into the lawless "north". Their aim is adventure, gambling, big game hunting, but also a search for an elusive relic, the Earth Diamond.

As is now usual with these books, the main plot is not very linear, with many subplots seemingly there to provide amusement and adventure rather than support the main plot. And as is also usual, I didn't mind at all. Not totally unexpectedly, Lt. Leary finds a way to return to navy service both himself, his crew, and the Princess Cecile. The action is fast, furious and humorous and maintains the high standards of the previous books. 20080601

The Way to Glory

Lt. Leary has finally been promoted, but due to political machinations he is not given a new ship command. Instead, he is assigned as the executive officer of a paranoid Captain whose last move was to violently quash a mutiny by massacring the perpetrators, one of whom was a senator's son. Leary cannot play humble, and ends up squarely in the sights of his superior.

The series certainly isn't becoming dull, but I find that Drake missed an opportunity here. The main plot complication in the early part of the book is the contrast and conflict between Leary and Captain Slidell. However, Leary quickly manages to get himself assigned to detached duty, robbing the readers of a whole raft of interesting situations. If you can look past that, this is still a strong book in the series, albeit not quite as good as those preceding it. 20080625

Some Golden Harbor

Lt. Leary, sans ship, is sent to Ganpat's Reach as an advisor. His mission is to untangle a messy inter-system invasion that threatens the interests of a Cinnabar ally. Convenienty, he can hire his own former ship, the Princess Cecile, and most of the Sissies, to convey him. On arrival, he finds a complex web of intrigue and machinations.

I was rather dissapointed by this installment. While it was entertaining enough to keep me going, the plot felt haphazard and overcomplex. The three system polities involved weren't sufficiently fleshed out, and I was often confused about who did what and to whom. Individual scenes were top notch as usual, but the arc of the plot was muddled. 20080701

 When the Tide Rises

After the mild disappointment of volumes five and six, Drake is back in good form. Leary is sent on a mission to destabilize what one might charitably call a banana republic in order to relieve pressure from a Cinnabar stronghold. The Bagarian Republic is modeled after South American revolutionary governments, complete with generalissima and corrupt politicians with plenty of unearned decorations. Needless to say, Leary and Mundy manage to complete several daring raids in order to achieve the mission.

Clarity returns. Leary, Mundy and their companions on the Princess Cecile are as outrageous and entertaining as ever. The action scenes are frequent and of the usual high Drake class. Character development of some of the supporting players is emphasized, definitely a good thing. This book has made me eager once again for the next installment.