Book Review – The Vampire Federation – Uprising by Sean McCabe (Scott Mariani)

 

·       The Vampire Federation – Uprising

·       Sean McCabe (Scott Mariani writing as Sean McCabe)

·       Paperback: 480 pages

·       Publisher: Avon (10 Jun 2010)

·       ISBN-10: 1847562124

·       ISBN-13: 978-1847562128

 

 

The Three Laws of the Vampire Federation:
1. A vampire must never harm a human
2. A vampire must never turn a human
3. A vampire must never love a human

 

With a system of bylaws like that you just know they’re all going to get broken…

If you are looking for two-hundred year old vampires full of angst pretending to be teenagers or glowing, angelic creatures who want to better mankind, or romantic walkers of the night pining for their human lovers then I suggest you take your reading proclivities elsewhere. You’ll find none of that here. In fact, what you will discover in Uprising are vampires on both sides of the law (those who abide by the three laws and those who don’t) who’ll stop at nothing to get what they want. And when they meet you know it’s going to get damn bloody. As a result, a war that could jeopardize the peaceful co-existence between the vampires of the Federation and humans by those who wish to cultivate human-kind as a food supply becomes more and more of a reality.

 

In my opinion the beginning of The Vampire Federation – Uprising suffers from the introduction of too many characters too quickly in too many too short chapters. (Yes, that’s exactly how I felt [at first].) However, after the swift introductions are over the story develops rather well into a fast paced urban fantasy thriller that just happens to contain vampires. Mr. McCabe manages to deliver an adventure story that reads like a Hollywood blockbuster. As a matter of fact, it took very little imagination to visualize the all-to-vivid scenes being played out on the big screen in my head as I read this. There are a lot of surprises, some unconventional vampire thinking (drugs to walk in daylight, etc.), and lengthy scenes of heartless, plot-provoking violence. Finally, here be vampires with bite (pardon the pun.)

 

I rather enjoyed the character development, interaction, and dialogue that McCabe created in this story but was absolutely fascinated and captivated by his descriptive, action-packed scenes of violence. (I’m a guy – what can I say! And McCabe certainly knows his audience.) Gabriel Stone, the main antagonist in this story is, to me, quite the evil character and while Joel, the human detective and Alex, the vampire agent, struggle with their own emotional baggage we find that their problems are those many of us struggle with ourselves. There’s plenty of page-turning action here and more then a few thrilling exploits that make up for some of the obvious plot twists and re-cycled devices but there are some surprises thrown in for good measure, as well. One of the more interesting scenarios involves a sleazy politician who more-or-less sells his soul to a vampire and then, realizing the price he’ll have to pay, attempts to redeem himself in an unconventional manner.

 

Fast-paced and fun.

 

3 ½ out of 5 stars

 

The Alternative

Southeast Wisconsin

 

 

Additional Reading:

 

Vampire News

 

Scott Mariani Uprising site

(Note: Sample Chapters can be downloaded from this site.)

 

LibraryThing.com book site

 

Author's website (Scott Mariani)

 

Blog Review

 

Please report broken links.

 

 

 

 

Book Review–Two-Fisted Tweets by James Hutchings

• Two-Fisted Tweets
• James Hutchings
• EBook
• Smashwords
• February 2011

I’ve never really read much flash fiction before but in my opinion James Hutchings has crafted thirty short, remarkably humorous, entertaining, and thought-provoking micro-fiction stories in this much, too-brief anthology. The brevity of these stories forces the author to tell us as much in what isn’t written as what is. And Hutchings does this wonderfully. While Two-Fisted Tweets fits into the category of sudden, micro, or short-short-fiction it is so very much more. Structured to be less than 140 characters in length these thirty mini-stories were created to fit within the parameters of a Tweet, which in and of itself is quite a unique notion. I’m not sure if they were ever sent as actual Tweets but if they were Mr. Hutchings followers are certainly an entertained bunch.

Some might scoff at this type of fiction, and I wasn’t quite sure what to expect either when first approached with a request to review it but you might be surprised to learn that flash fiction has roots that are as old as Aesop’s Fables and that some of the world’s leading writers practiced the skill. Among them Anton Chekhov, O. Henry, Franz Kafka, H.P. Lovecraft, Ernest Hemingway, Arthur C. Clarke, Ray Bradbury, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., and Fredric Brown, to name a few. Perhaps the most famous was reportedly penned by Hemmingway in the example. “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.”

One sample from the book which might give you an idea of the creativity involved and which made me chuckle out loud is this one:

“Rotting hands reached from the darkness. At last, someone was attracted to her for her brains.”

And here’s one of my own:

Two–Fisted Tweets by James Hutchings, in short, is a unique, humorous and satisfying, though too brief (puns intended), read.

4 stars out of 5

• The Alternative
• Southeast Wisconsin

P.S. In addition, the author has graciously agreed to give away 10 copies to the loyal readers of this blog. The first 10 readers to send me an e-mail with a request and format choice will receive a free electronic copy of the book direct from the author. For everyone else, the book can be found at Smashwords for .99.   Two-Fisted Tweets

(Note: My e-mail address can be found in my profile at the top right sidebar.)

Additional Reading:

Flash Fiction entry at Wiki

Evidently, Flash Fiction is even more popular than I thought. Here are a few websites dedicated to the craft. Some are actual flash writing while others are informational blogs and others are tutorials. I had no idea…

Flash Fiction Online

Flashfiction.net

Fiction Factor.com

Flash Fiction

Flash Fiction Blog

ZenVirus.com Flash-Fiction

Percontra.net Flash Fiction

R Jane Flash Fiction Blog

S Joan Popek.com

Flash Fiction Forums

Book Review - Equinox- Six Declinations by Richard S. Freeland

• Equinox- Six Declinations
• Richard S. Freeland
• Short Story Collection
• Dragonlyre
• 125 pages

Book Contents

• Equinox
• Family Tradition
• Anomalies
• The Last Angel
• Garbage Man
• Bygones

Equinox – Six Declinations is a solid collection of six short stories generally categorized as horror, fantasy, suspense, or the macabre. But don’t let the genre tags mislead you. This is one complex and unique anthology containing superior stories that should appeal to just about everyone. Forget that they’re listed as horror stories. All you really need to know is that each story is highly creative, tightly woven with strong, unforgettable dialogue, and has that unique “hook” ending (or segue) that so many short stories lack these days. If you like your macabre fiction complete with twists, turns, and a slightly off-kilter bite than Richard S. Freeland’s Equinox – Six Declinations is a short story collection just waiting for you. In one way or another each of the stories presented here reminded me a bit of Stephen King’s early works. The characters all live in the real world, have that working-man’s mentality, speak not like characters in a novel but like genuine people, and will frequently be subjected to the worst terror of their short lives.

“Equinox,” the title story, was nostalgic for me personally in the sense that it brought back memories of the classic vampire movies I used to watch as a kid. Don’t get me wrong, this is a modern tale not an old classic but taking a tired cliché like “Look into my eyes!” and making it fresh is always a difficult task yet Freeland manages to do just that with exceptional skill. The seduction inherent in Vampire films literally jumps off the page in this story (even though we’re never really sure that the antagonist is actually a vampire at all) and the depiction of the victim’s disorientation by supernatural hypnosis is chilling.

“Family Tradition,” the second story, is a cautionary tale of poaching in the wrong place and time. It’s also an uncommon rite-of-passage fairy-tale with a unique and lycanthropic surprise ending. You’ll never hunt on your neighbor’s land again…

“Anomalies” is by far the strangest story in the collection yet is remarkably amusing and decidedly entertaining. The residents of Booster’s Roost, an eclectic lot if ever there was one, experience a very strange and fantasy-filled day. Fire-and lightning-storms, nano-bots, and a boulder with a mind of its own blend with the characters and round out the action. The strong suit of this particular yarn is the punch ending and the smooth and believable dialogue leading up to it. In fact, Freeland’s strongest asset is, in my opinion, his use of free-flowing dialogue which reeks of realism and sounds, in my head, like people I know speaking to each other.

“The Last Angel” is the very best of the stories here and in my opinion really deserves to be more completely fleshed out and written into a full length novel (or even a series – wink to Mr. Freeland.) Set in a post-apocalyptic America this is a haunting quest story of heroic proportions with an unlikely mission. I’ve always loved post-apocalyptic tales that delve into the differences between our world today and the new world forced upon our descendants after a devastating environmental change. The Last Angel does not disappoint. The story left me eager to learn more about the ravaged, dying land. What happened to the world so many years before that turned it backward? Who or what is the angel? Where is it from? Where is it going to? Hopefully, Freeland will see fit some day to tell us more of this story. I, for one, can’t wait.

In “Garbage Man,” Henry Hatcher is a garbage man and an unlikely serial killer who can hear the voices of those wrongly murdered. Watch him take vengeance on their behalf. (Warning: This is not a story for the squeamish or faint of heart. Reader beware. There is a tragic scene here that will be heart-rending to those of you with small children.)

“Bygones,” the last story in the collection, deals with mortality, regret, and fear. After his oldest and closest friend dies of a stroke in a nursing home an elderly man confronts the denizens of a crack house as he rushes head-long to meet his own fate.

Equinox – Six Declinations is an engaging and compelling collection and I thoroughly enjoyed each of the six stories included in the anthology. The only real criticism I have is that the book lacked only one thing - another ten or twelve stories for me to enjoy.

Highly recommended.

4 out of 5 stars

• The Alternative
• Southeast Wisconsin

Additional reading:

Author’s website

Preview of Freeland’s upcoming novel Seed

Author site at AuthorDen.com

Book Review - Kill the Dead by Richard Kadrey

Kill the Dead

Richard Kadrey

Publisher: Eos (2010)

Hardcover

448 pages

Demon Hunter extraordinaire, escaped Nephilim from Hell, and all-around bad-ass Sandman Slim is back in action and hot on the trail of yet another underworld killer. This time, however, he has to quell a major zombie infestation shambling out of the bowels of Los Angeles, join forces with a zombie-slaying porn star, and interact with the strangest cast of characters since The Wizard of Oz met Lord of the Rings. And even then you still couldn’t touch the zany antics of this son-of-a-fallen-angel, James Stark, aka Sandman Slim. Intrigued yet? Well, you should be. Kadrey’s second Sandman Slim novel is grittier, more guttural, and ultimately more satisfying than the first. And that’s something that just doesn’t happen too often!

In my earlier review of Sandman Slim, the first book in the series (see August 2009 post) I said, “Kadrey definitely knows how to spin a dark tale. His language, while offensive to some, fits the character of the story perfectly. Gritty, dark, angst-ridden and graphic the dialogue and fight scenes are coarse, bloody, and down-right mean-spirited.” Kill the Dead is doubly so.

Kadrey’s story treaties with demon-killing and the required weapons needed to do so and with the pre-requisites necessary to become the Devil’s bodyguard and with three different “types” of zombies and with the ability to walk away from earth into shadows and with fallen angels and father issues and gruesome, blood-splattering annihilation. So, why then do I find this macabre story so fascinatingly entertaining and downright funny? Because Kadrey is as compelling and comedic a writer as you'll ever come across. And I mean that in the best possible way. While the supernatural aspects drive the story the twisted/sick humor kept me reading page after page. And believe me when I tell you that the grisly humor is not gratuitous in any way but necessary to make the whole thing work. Because even gruesome needs a break before it crawls into the sewer forever and Kadrey instinctively understands exactly when to sprinkle in those lighter moments. His dialogue and banter knows no equal and his characters, the dregs of the earth, are painfully fun to watch. The bikers, two- dollar whores, meth addicts, murderers, hexed ghouls, and numerous nasties living right around the corner - seen but unnoticed - help drive this story and the zombies make you want to run like hell as fast as you can in the other direction. Which might explain why I associated with them in my head as I read Kill the Dead and perhaps tells you more about me personally then I usually divulge. But Sandman Slim was really an entertaining and fun read for me and many a scene of dialogue made me laugh out loud. I’m certain this book isn’t for everyone but for me it’s right there… dark, macabre, grisly, and hilarious.

Opening line:

Imagine shoving a cattle prod up a rhino’s ass, shouting “April Fool!”, and hoping the rhino thinks its funny. That’s about how much fun it is hunting a vampire.

Favorite quote:

"The universe is a meat grinder and we're just pork in designer shoes, keeping busy so we can pretend we're not all headed for the sausage factory."

Dialogue banter:

"Marshall Wells said you liked to talk."

"I'm a people person."

"Is that before or after you cut people's heads off?"

"I only cut off my enemies' heads. I break my friends' hearts."

"So, that's, what, zero hearts broken?"

"The night's still young."

Additional reading:

Google Books excerpt of Kill the Dead

Kill the Dead Review

Kadrey’s Wikipedia Entry

Author Website

 Harper/Collins Site for Kill the Dead

Blog Review

Cory Doctorow’s Review

Oh, and one other thing regarding the actual composition of this book. In an unusual editorial decision Richard Kadrey wrote Kill the Dead with no obvious chapters and very few breaks in the action (or perhaps the entire book is one huge 430 page chapter, hard to tell.) When the reader wants to set the book aside Kadrey gives them no hints as to where to leave the bookmark. That fact didn't really bother me much, but I can see how it might be irritating to some. So, if that’s the kind of thing that bugs you then be forewarned.

By the way... Kill the Dead is also a very quick read (for those who like their death and destruction cranked up to level 11!)

Buy it. Read it. You won’t be dissatisfied.

4 out of 5 stars

The Alternative

Southeast Wisconsin

Book Review – "The Breach" and "Ghost Country" by Patrick Lee

Travis Chase Series
Patrick Lee
1. The Breach (2009)
2. Ghost Country (2011)

The Breach
Patrick Lee
Harper
Format: Mass Market Paperback
ISBN: 9780061584459
384 pp.
Publication Date: December 2009

The other day I received Ghost Country, the second book in the Travis Chase series, as an Advance Readers Copy in exchange for a review. (Shout out to the Early Readers program at LibraryThing.com for the opportunity.) Looking through my “to read” pile, which is more of a wall than a heap, I noticed that I already owned a copy of The Breach, the first book in this series, and it was in queue to be read soon. Needless to say it went to the top of the pile. I had to read the series in order, you see. I’m delighted to report that both books were a pleasure to read. The Breach, Patrick Lee’s debut novel and the first book in the series, is a fascinating and engrossing read from start to finish and the premise is decidedly unique and vastly creative.

Thirty years ago, in a buried government think-tank beneath the wastelands of Wyoming, an experiment went terribly wrong. During the process a mysterious fissure opened into an impossible unknown. Is there an incredibly distant alien universe on the other side? Or is the breach a conduit from one section of space to another? No one is sure but what they do know is that mysterious gadgets and scientific anomalies have begun to appear through the rift. They range from the mundane to the improbable. Medical guns that cure disease and injury with a touch, foot-long dishrags that weigh 25,000 pounds and defy the laws of nature, and other items so dangerous a secret organization is developed to hide and protect them. But, when Travis Chase, an ex-con with a checkered past, stumbles upon the wreckage of a crashed aircraft the world he once knew is changed forever and he begins to understand how dangerous the breach may be. When Travis rescues a breach operative being tortured near the plane crash he is pulled into the secret world of a conspiracy like no other.

Patrick Lee has an uncanny ability for building great Science Fiction stories. Period. That he incorporates elements of conspiracy theory, murder mystery, spy thrillers, intrigue, and future/alien technology into the mix is pure bonus for the reader. (Note: I’m not convinced the technology is alien or from our own future yet. There are other possibilities which I hope will be explained in later installments.) That Lee’s premises and plot twists are eerily believable and skirt the edge of our own technological advances borders on the genius and his story will keep the average reader not only engrossed but totally entertained. You’ll be on the edge of your seat anticipating the “what’s next” surprise through the entire story. And that’s not even the best part…

What’s really intriguing to me are the possibilities Lee presents and the places The Breach may ultimately take us. What or who is on the other side of the breach and why are they sending bits and pieces of their technology through it? Are the artifacts alien? Or are they from our own distant future? Are we depositing our treasures to preserve them from eminent collapse? Hopefully, Mr. Lee will eventually explain it to us all… ten or twelve books from now. This is, for me, a captivating series full of credible technological advancements that are just half-a-step out of synch from our own. Ideas like these are the reason we have micro-wave ovens, lasers, and communication satellites. They are the reason we advance scientifically. Keep up the great work Mr. Lee and I’ll keep spreading the good word to anyone who’ll listen.

4 out of 5 stars

The Alternative
Southeast Wisconsin

Ghost Country
Patrick Lee
Harper
Format: Mass Market Paperback
ISBN 9780061584442
384pp.
Publication Date: January 2011

It’s not often that the second book in a series exceeds the first but in this case Patrick Lee has outdone himself. Ghost Country is every bit as good as its predecessor and exceeds it on a number of different levels. Foremost, I have to mention that the plot twist to this story is both mind-blowing and immeasurably intelligent and the main reason that I give the second book a higher rating then the first.

Curious technology has passed through the breach into our world for decades. The most recent device is an artifact (hole-punching flashlight) that opens a fissure seventy years into our own future. [Think of it as Breach².] The only problem is that once you stick your head in and glimpse the future you come back scared out of your mind. Everything on the other side is dead. Buildings are crumbling, wild animals roam the streets, and mankind has disappeared. Worse, newspaper accounts found on the dead side of the hole reveal that Bleak December, the time when the entire world begins to unravel, is only two months away [in real time.] Travis Chase along with Tangent operatives Paige and Bethany must head into that dead world and unravel the mystery to what happened to the world this coming December.

Again, this is a solid performance by Patrick Lee and the premise is both captivating and frightening in its complexity and realism. My hat goes off to Patrick Lee who’s created and delivered a sophomore story that surpasses his debut. If you haven’t read The Breach or Ghost Country yet I highly recommend that you do so. If you’re anything like me you’ll be a fan in fewer than five pages.

4 ½ stars out of 5

The Alternative
Southeast Wisconsin

Additional reading:

Author Sites

Patrick Lee Biography

Author Website

The Breach

SF Signal Review (The Breach)

John Scalzi’s “Whatever” on The Breach

YouTube Book Trailer

Tor.com Review of The Breach

Patrick Lee Interview

Ghost Country

Harper/Collins Ghost Country Page

SF Signal Review (Ghost Country)

Buried Under Books Review

Book Review - Feed by Mira Grant

Feed

Mira Grant

Orbit (2010)

Mass Market Paperback

608 pages

I’d like to make one thing perfectly clear… I love zombie books. Always have, always will. Zombie movies? Not so much. Walking Dead? Twelve thumbs up. (‘Cause, you know, zombies need lots of finger food.) Seriously though… I have, in the past few months, read and reviewed two other zombie books: The Passage by Patrick Cronin and The Reapers Are the Angels by Alden Bell. All are well written and received high marks from me. Feed may well be the best of them.

As a long-time blogger I found my interest piqued by a number of the concepts covered in Feed. First, and perhaps last, make no mistake, this is a damn good zombie book. Maybe one of the best I’ve ever encountered. Especially those scenes when the zombies are on the attack. Grant understands on a base level what it must feel like to live in the middle of a zombie invasion and all the harsh realities that might go with it. But Feed is so much more than a simple horror genre novel. Here is what really got me thinking about the intricacies below the surface of the narrative. When the zombapocalypse occurs blogging, for obvious reasons, has become the standard form of journalism across the world. People are afraid to leave their homes but have news to impart. What do you do? Post it to your blog-site, that’s what. This, to me, is an intriguing concept. Will the world be forced to go viral when it all, well, goes viral? In other words, what changes would a near-future, world-wide natural or unnatural disaster cause us to make? Would the way we deliver and receive our news change? Probably so, and that makes this not only a zombie novel but social commentary, as well. Whether it was designed as such makes no difference. It was enough to get me thinking about what other changes might occur after a world-wide disaster. Farming and food distribution? Gun training and safety? Medical evaluation in the field? These ideas, and many more are explored by Grant and with a unique and creative eye. So, if you are interested in a zombie story with benefits, then this is it.

Feed could, in many respects, be a book that you don’t discuss in polite company. You know, politics, religion, and zombies. But here’s the thing, the book really isn’t about zombies at all (notice the flip-flop waffling from my first paragraph.) It’s about political intrigue and religious zealots. It’s about good and evil. It’s about mankind’s folly and unimaginable plague. It’s about science and our ignorance of same. It’s about the evolution of gun control and journalism. And it’s about struggle and survival. Yes, there are zombies in this book but there is oh, so much more. If you’ve read and liked my other 4 star rated and reviewed books then do yourself a favor and read Feed. You won’t be disappointed.

My one and only complaint? [Spoiler Alert – Avert your eyes now!] Ms. Grant, why did you feel the need to kill off Georgia? It’s a waste of a great character, in my estimation, and a dreadful loss to the series. [Spoiler Alert off!] When an intriguing and well-written central character is lost in the first book of a trilogy one can only hope that the plans for better, larger-than-life characters to replace them are in the pipeline. If that’s the case then we’re all in for one hell of a ride and my objection becomes moot.

Feed is the first book in the Newsflesh trilogy which includes Feed, Deadline, and Blackout with book two, Deadline, scheduled for release in May of this year and book three, Blackout, scheduled for release in May of 2012.

4 ½ stars out of 5

The Alternative

Southeast Wisconsin

 

Q. What did the zombie say to his friend while they were slurping down clown brains?

A. Does this taste funny to you?

Additional reading:

Mira Grant Author site

Seanan McGuire Author site

The FeedBook review

Author Wikipedia site

Author’s Livejournal blog site

Author profile

Google Books excerpt of Feed

Coming soon!

Book Review - Burton and Swinburne in the Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack by Mark Hodder

 

Burton and Swinburne in the Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack

Mark Hodder

Pyr (2010)

Trade Paperback

373 pages

ISBN 1616142405 / 9781616142407

While not a true aficionado of steam-punk I can say that I’ve read a fair share of this genre lately and have yet to be disappointed. George Mann’s The Affinity Bridge (see review September 05, 2009), Drood by Dan Simmons (see review March 30, 2010), The Wind-up Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi, Perdido Street Station by China Meiville, and almost anything by Cherie Priest lead the pack in pure unadulterated Victorian Era steam-punk fun. Burton and Swinburne in the Strange Affair of Spring-Heeled Jack continues that tradition. Let it be known that I have scoured the four corners of the Internet looking for information and reviews concerning this book and the legend that spawned it. I have yet to find a single bad review of this book. Nor will you find one here.

Spring-Heeled Jack does not really set any new precedents but the concept of engaging real historical figures together to solve a series of crimes committed by a mythological creature/criminal is brilliant. The title character, trapped by his own folly, is a wonderfully written individual but a miserable human being. Complex but tortured we find that Spring Heeled Jack is simply a lost man searching for a way back home. In the end, you may be surprised to find yourself feeling sorry for him. Of course, Hodder’s work has that little extra punch that I, as a book reviewer, am always looking for. First, this is his debut novel (and I wish you a long and prosperous career, Mr. Hodder), secondly, the plot twists and turns through time in short vignettes that are creatively layered over the main story and then coalesces together to complete a tightly woven story that completes itself perfectly in a beautifully created epic, yet tragic, finale.

Hodder’s prose will lift you up and drop you down in the midst (and mists) of Victorian Era London. You’ll hear the clickety-clack of the steam driven coaches on the cobbled streets and the zzzzzz of overhead gondolas as they whizz by on compressed air. DNA altered animals will appear as second nature and the unlikely pairing of Sir Richard Burton, the adventurer, and Algernon Swinburne, the poet, will emerge to solve a number of crimes. From time travel, and automatons, Rakes, aero-copters, sword fights, Libertines, to genetic engineering on a bizarre scope, the underbelly of London, and characters whose brains have been removed Spring Heeled Jack never once failed to entertain.

4 out of 5 stars

+ add ½ star for being a debut novel

1/2

Additional Reading:

Series:

Burton & Swinburne

1. The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack (2010)

2. The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man (2011)

 

Pyr’s webpage for Spring Heeled Jack

Literary Landscape’s Review

Well-written Review at “Mell’s Words on Words” blog

Mark Hodder on Sir Richard Francis Burton

Mark Hodder’s Sexton Blake tribute site

Pyr’s Blog site

Classic Book Review – Gateway by Frederik Pohl

Gateway

Frederik Pohl

1976

Del Rey Books

278 pages

1977 Nebula Award Winner, 1978 Hugo, Locus and John W. Campbell Award Winner

What exactly is Gateway you ask? For those Science Fiction fans unfamiliar with this novel I will say this, “You will definitely want to read this masterpiece.” It is a classic SF work that even after a number of re-reads never fails to entertain me. Number 32 on the Top 100 SF Book list it has won the Nebula, Hugo, Locus and John W. Campbell Awards, the only book I’m aware of to do so. Now for those of you who have read Gateway I’d like to say a few words. Something about this book has always stood out for me but I’ve always had trouble defining and articulating what it was. Now that I’m a bit older I understand it better and hopefully will be able to help you do the same. Gateway is filled with nothing less than “The Pioneer Spirit” that helped to make the United States the country it is today. Let me explain. In 1845, my great-great-great-great grandfather moved, via wagon train, from New York to Wisconsin settling in the newly opened territory of Dodge County. When they left New York they knew they were leaving everything behind for good. Family, friends, homes, jobs, everything they knew was replaced by hard work and a completely new environment. So begins Gateway. Spacers head out in newly discovered alien spacecraft in search of riches and a better way of life. (Sound familiar?) Change the spacers to farmers and the exploration of space to unknown territory and you have what our ancestors faced when they began their treks west.

Obviously, I was not thinking about historical aspects or pioneers when originally reading Gateway, nor have I on additional readings. On the contrary, I am always totally immersed in the Science Fiction (the alien culture, the unknown destinations, spaceships, etc) of the book throughout my entire reading. It wasn’t until much later that I saw the correlation between the pioneers of America and the characters in this story. Be that as it may, I don’t think a better novel of the human condition has ever been written using SF as a backdrop. The frailty of the human psyche and the complexities of the heart are so well-written that you’ll feel sympathy for the main character knowing full well what a schmuck he truly is. And, the technology Pohl covers holds up – information concerning black holes, holographs, A.I. psychology software, and the characteristics of relativity described in the narrative continue to stand up under scrutinization.

Pohl’s Gateway, Joe Haldeman’s Mind Bridge, and Jack Chalker’s Midnight at the Well of Souls remain, to this day, my favorite novels from the year I graduated high school. What do they have in common? They all explore space and while doing so examine the human condition. All are worthy of five star ratings and all should be in your library.

Gateway has all the elements of great Science Fiction - fear of the unknown, underlining terror of an alien race (Xenophobia), some of the coolest settings in all of literature, alien heirlooms and collectibles, robotic A.I. psychotherapy, technically advanced civilizations, the exploration of far-off star systems, brain downloading, vaguely understood alien spacecraft, unknown destinations, and one of the best writers of our time pulling it all together into a tightly bound plot. Find it, devour it, and love it. You’ll revisit it again and again in the ensuing years ahead. Alternative guaranteed.

Heechee Series

1. Gateway (1976) -- Nebula winner, 1977; Hugo, Campbell and Locus SF winner, 1978

2. Beyond the Blue Event Horizon (1980) - Nebula and British SF Awards nominee, 1980; Hugo and Locus Awards nominee, 1981

3. Heechee Rendezvous (1984) -- Locus SF Award nominee, 1985

4. Annals of the Heechee (1987)

5. The Gateway Trip: Tales and Vignettes of the Heechee (1990)

6. The Boy Who Would Live Forever: A Novel of Gateway (2004) -- Campbell Award nominee, 2005

5 out of 5 stars

Additional reading:

Gateway Article Interesting article (read the entire essay for full disclosure) 

Gateway Game Download (Note: Does not work with Windows 7 OS)

Frederik Pohl’s Blog

Author’s website

Frederik Pohl's Wikipedia Entry

Internet Science Fiction DataBase Bibliography

In-depth and Insightful interview With Pohl

Pohl on Writing the Gateway Story

The Alternative

Southeast Wisconsin

Graphic Novel Review - The Life and Times of Martha Washington in the Twenty-First Century by Frank Miller and Dave Gibbons

The Life and Times of Martha Washington in the Twenty-First Century

Frank Miller and Dave Gibbons

Publication Date: June 23, 2010

Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Format: FC, 600 pages, TPB, 7" x10"
Price: $29.99
Age range: 16+
ISBN-10: 1-59582-482-0
ISBN-13: 978-1-59582-482-0

From Dark Horse:

A masterpiece nearly twenty years in the making, this archival volume contains the complete life story of Martha Washington, the twenty-first century freedom fighter created by comic-book megastars Frank Miller (Sin City, 300) and Dave Gibbons (Watchmen), now in a more affordable softcover edition.

Our story begins in the squalid corridors of a maximum-security housing project, where a young girl will rise from the war-torn streets of Chicago to battle injustice in a world insane with corruption. Her fight will take her far, from the frontlines of the second American Civil War, to the cold, unforgiving reaches of space. She will be called a hero, a traitor, and nearly everything in between, but all along the way, her courage, her integrity, and her unwavering commitment to that most valuable of rights-liberty-will inspire a movement that will never surrender.

* The Life and Times of Martha Washington in the Twenty-first Century contains six hundred stunning pages of work from two of the top creators in comics!

* Collecting remastered versions of every Martha Washington story and featuring the same extensive behind-the-scenes section by Dave Gibbons and introduction by Frank Miller as the hardcover edition.

From the Alternative:

Okay, so I’m walking through the airport in New Orleans after The Voodoo Experience looking for something to read so I can eradicate a few hours before my plane takes off for Chicago. I see a rack of graphic novels and manga at the Hudson News as I pass so I decide to step in and browse. Now, I own my share of entertaining graphic novel’s including: Watchmen, V For Vendetta, Serenity, Maus, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, 1492, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, etc. But The Life and Times of Martha Washington in the Twenty-First Century is different from the very start. The cover caught my eye and while I waffled over purchasing it, mainly because of the fairly steep price, it kept drawing my attention. I picked it up once, twice, flipped through the pages. I even walked away from the store. But something about the cover intrigued me. Simplistic but political in nature, an uncharacteristic hero, and the names Frank Miller and Dave Gibbons finally solidified my purchase. I needed to know what it was all about.

My review of this book (nee graphic novel) will now take a sideways step from the typical simply because it is in no way normal. Politics, conspiracy, science fiction, aliens, the apocalypse, deception, space wars, meteors, a militant A.I. software program bent on taking over the world, and an atypical hero The Life and Times of Martha Washington in the Twenty-First Century scans more like a written narrative than a graphic novel and that is the highest compliment I could ever pay it. Don’t get me wrong. A graphic novel is suppose to immerse you visually and make no mistake, this one does. But I also felt like I was physically transported to 2030 America in just a few short frames. Quite frankly, I found very little not to like about this book. Most graphic novels and comics drag you in with those cool, jaw dropping spreads of great art or, conversely, they have superb, intricately detailed stories (i.e. Maus). Rarely do they contain both. But that’s exactly what makes this one so different. It is the perfect combination of concisely written story and remarkable artwork that makes Martha Washington a near-masterpiece and stand out performance.

I read a lot of Science Fiction every year as you can probably tell from the litany of books of that particular genus that I’ve reviewed over the years. It is, in fact, my favorite genre. Sadly, I have to admit that I had never heard of Martha Washington before I picked up this omnibus edition at the airport. Shame on me. Hopefully this review will help those of you unfamiliar with Miss Washington and her exploits get acquainted. Believe me, it won’t take long and it’s a worthwhile endeavor.

Highly recommended if you’re into Science Fiction, great art, tight story-lines, politics, alternative realities, the apocalypse, aliens, nuclear warfare, trips into space, the colonization of Mars, blood and gore, intrigue, suspense, murder, military Sci-Fi, more blood and brains, artificial intelligence, cults, precognition, evil antagonists, world destruction, back-stabbing, or mayhem and face it, who isn’t?

Great story. Great art. Great time to go out and purchase this.

4 ½ out of 5 stars

Additional Reading:

Boing Boing Review

Martha Washington Wiki page

Frank Miller Wiki page

Frank Miller Official site

Dave Gibbons Interview @ Comic Book Resources

Blog review by Horus Kemwer

Goodreads page

ComicAttack.net

Dark Horse Comics page

The Art of Frank Miller

Dave Gibbons Wikipedia entry

Dave Gibbons Fansite.com

 

The Alternative

Southeast Wisconsin

Book Review - The Lucifer Code by Charles Brokow

The Lucifer Code

Charles Brokow

Forge Books

2010

Hardcover

368 pages

ISBN: 0765320932 / 9780765320933

Note: Review copy received through LibraryThing.com Early Reviewers.

You know how some cyber-space experts say that what you post on the Internet remains forever? What that probably means to me in this case is that I’m eventually going to regret what follows. Be that as it may, herein lies one of my very few, very bad reviews. (Not that I’ve written a bad review…although that too may be the case. What I mean is that the book in question is on the receiving end of a bad review.)

In my opinion, The Lucifer Code is a disappointing read for many different small reasons and for one glaringly large one (more on this later). Is the book self-indulgent? Perhaps a little. Misogynistic? Probably. Waste of time? For most of us, unfortunately, I’d have to say yes. It seems to me that the first thirty pages or so simply drone on needlessly about how the main character, Thomas Lourds, is such a ladies man (and not in a good way). Oh, a lot of action takes place, to be sure, but it’s hard to feel involved or become immersed in it through all the sexism and objectifying. I might not have taken such extreme umbrage had Lourds been more charming and polished, like James Bond, for instance, or had that cool factor, like Cotton Malone. Unfortunately, he is neither. In fact, Lourds is so full of himself  that if you look closely enough you can almost see his ego leaking out of his ears onto the page. At one point I remember thinking, Yeah, yeah we get it. Age old story. Horny old man, wants to jump bones of every nubile, young thing he sees. Now, get on with the story, for crying out loud. Unfortunately, Brokow never does. On the surface, this book seems to have everything a good mystery needs to be successful. It contains a conspiracy, a kidnapping, random, gratuitous gunfire, a car chase, and a covert operation carried out by a remote, unemotional CIA operative. And that’s all in the first few chapters. But for me the story never truly coalesces, never really comes together. Most likely because I had to wade through all the skirt-chasing and womanizing to get to any real substance. Shot at, flipped upside down in a car wreck, and running for his life and that’s when the main character decides to get aroused? Look, I can root for the libido of an aging character, even connect somewhat with the ribald, lonely old man, but this level of philandering is too much even for a dirty old man like me. I can suspend belief for a lot of different reasons but there’s no way to downplay this character’s personality and he isn’t written well enough for me to overlook this huge personality flaw.

My advice, good reader? Don’t waste your time. And take with a mountainous grain of salt the reviews that loved this book. Do yourself a favor and move on. There’s actually good literature to be read out there. Spend the time otherwise wasted on this one searching for it.

1 ½ stars out of 5

Twenty minutes later… After re-reading my heavy-handed review it appears that I’ve assumed a truly harsh posture towards this book which is odd since I  completely understand how difficult it is to write a novel. However, in comparison and defense of my review, I’d like to add that just this morning I picked up Mark Hodder’s debut novel Burton and Swinburne in the Strange Affair of Spring-Heeled Jack and simply couldn’t put it down. Now, I can’t wait to get back to it. I guess what turned me off almost immediately about The Lucifer Code was the lasciviousness of that main character. Without a doubt, both books contain characters of similar cut but Hodder’s Richard Burton is refined and likeable while Brokow’s Thomas Lourds has never matured from that annoying, sophomoric frat boy who’s sole purpose in life is to score and move on. The difference between the two is, like I said earlier, glaring.

In truth, I was somewhat ambivalent about The Lucifer Code until I actually started writing my review. Something changed as I began to put my feelings into words. Perhaps, it was because I started to think how my wife or daughters might view this if they were reading it. I can’t say for sure but I suspect most women readers will find the attitude of the main character offensive and disrespectful. I know I did.

Thirty minutes after that… I don’t normally give up easily when it comes to reading new material. Especially when I feel obligated to provide a review but in this case I had to quit reading after only 70 pages. A much younger me would have plodded through this book to find the payoff at the end, which I’m sure it has. The older me realizes that my reading time is finite and getting shorter each day. Time to find something I might truly enjoy reading rather than something I have to simply because I promised to review it.

The Alternative

Southeast Wisconsin

The Voodoo Experience - Alternative Music Festival

• The Voodoo Experience
• City Park
• New Orleans, LA.
• (October 29^th – 31^st, 2010)

     Back in June my wife and I had the distinct pleasure of attending the very first Verge Alternative Music Festival held at the SummerFest Grounds in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. We had the opportunity on that Saturday to attend concerts performed by Weezer, Geri X, Cold War Kids, Locksley, The Ravonettes, AFI, Invade Rome, and Rogue Wave. We had a great time and decided to branch out. This month we’re taking our concert-going adventures to new levels. We will be attending the Voodoo Experience in New Orleans, LA. the weekend of October 29^th, 2010. Four days and nights of music, southern food, and sightseeing will do for me what the peace movement did for Woodstock. I’m really looking forward to this vacation and, since we’ve never been to “Nawlins,” hope to take pleasure in a unique and new experience. Below is a listing of our anticipated agenda (schedule to change at any time) as delivered by the Voodoo Experience iPhone app. Group details are from the Voodoo site. Click on a band name to visit their website.

Friday, October 29^th, 2010

• Johnny Sketch & the Dirty Notes -- Sony Make.Believe Stage at 1:30 PM

• AM -- Voodoo Stage (LOA Lounge)at 2:30 PM

• Eli “Paperboy” Reed & The True Loves -- Sony Make.Believe Stage at 3:30 PM

• Dead Confederate -- Voodoo Stage (LOA Lounge) at 4:30 PM

     Dead Confederate is an alternative rock band which formed in Athens, Georgia, United States in 2006. The band consists of Hardy Morris (vocals, guitars), Walker Howle (guitar), John Watkins (keyboards), Brantley Senn (bass) and Jason Scarboro (drums). The band released their debut album, "Wrecking Ball" on September 16, 2008 on Razor & Tie and The Artists Organization. The album includes the single "The Rat". Though the band is pinned as producing the same kind of indie rock aesthetic à la My Morning Jacket and Band of Horses, Dead Confederate dabbles in darker shades than their compared predecessors. From the raspy, unrestrained shrieks of "The Rat" and the psychedelic guitar wail on the vivid "Tortured Artist Saint" to the intimate acoustic layers of "Memorial Day Night," Dead Confederate echo the Drive-By Truckers' bittersweet southern rock angst with the smoke-heavy swagger of the Black Angels. Although southern Civil War soldiers may remain six feet under, Dead Confederate's sincere versatility drives home that Rock'n'roll is damn well alive and kicking.

• Metric -- Voodoo Stage (LOA Lounge) at 6:30 PM

• Weezer -- Sony Make.Believe Stage at 7:45 PM

     Weezer was founded in Los Angeles on February 14, 1992 by Rivers Cuomo, Jason Cropper, Matt Sharp, and Pat Wilson. The band began writing music and playing local clubs. Despite not having much success at first, the band pressed forward. After 16 months together, playing shows and recording demos in Los Angeles, DGC records (Geffen) signed Weezer. The band moved to New York to record at the famed electric lady studios under producer Ric Ocasek (of Cars fame). During the recording of Weezer, Jason left the band to take care of his future wife, who was pregnant with their first child. Jason was replaced by Brian Bell, a then bassist from a band called Carnival Art.

• Muse -- Voodoo Stage (LOA Lounge) at 9:00 PM

• Raphael Saadiq -- Bingo! Stage at 9:15 PM

Saturday, October 30^th, 2010

• Michael Tolcher -- Sony Make.Believe Stage at 12:00 PM

• Mia Borders -- Voodoo Stage (LOA Lounge) at 1:00 PM

     Mia Borders is one of those rare young talents that can sing about life, love, and loss and make listeners feel it. With lyrics so personal, so mature, and so direct, she has recently captured both local and national audiences with her energetic blend of funk, soul, and contemporary songwriting. As Offbeat Magazine's Alex Rawls writes, "Note to self: Pay more attention to Mia Borders." USA today named Mia one of the 2010 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival's “hidden surprises,” and Where Y'at Magazine named Mia "New Orleans' hottest buzz band." The April 2010 release of "Magnolia Blue” garnered her a nomination for “Best Emerging Artist” at the Big Easy Music Awards and a nationally broadcast performance at N.O. Jazz Fest '10 by WWOZ. Mia Borders hit the road in support of "Magnolia Blue" with notable performances at the Mount Helena Music Festival, Taos Mountain Music Festival, San Jose Jazz Festival, and Bonnaroo (VIP pre-party with Big Sam's Funky Nation.) When Borders recently opened for Corinne Bailey Rae at the House of Blues, NewOrleans.com noted that "Borders drew the crowd in and had them cheering for more by the time she announced the last song of her 30-minute set." Mia Borders has secured her role as one of the fastest rising artists in the city and has established herself as an artist to watch.

• The Whigs -- Sony Make.Believe Stage at 4:00 PM

• Cage the Elephant -- Voodoo Stage (LOA Lounge) at 5:00 PM

     Music critics who have witnessed the eye-popping spectacle that is Cage the Elephant live performance have likened the band’s singer to many things, among them “a demented Bible Belt preacher,” “a Tasmanian devil whooping and jumping up and down like a frenzied gibbon.” And that’s just frontman Matt Shultz. The verdict? “Exhilarating, 100 mph stuff,” raved British indie music live show — which made this red-hot Kentucky-bred band the talk of this year’s South-by-Southwest music festival, and led USA Today to single them out as a band not to miss at 2009’s Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival — is the perfect showcase for their buzzed-about self-titled debut album for Jive Records. Recorded over 10 days with Grammy Award-winning producer Jay Joyce, and a Top 40 hit when it was released on British indie label Relentless the U.K. last June, the album is a genre-defying blend of rock n roll and raw youthful punk energy all propelled by Matt’s taunting, Dylan-esque rhythmic vocal delivery, Brad Shultz and Lincoln Parish’s furious twin guitar assault, and bassist Daniel Tichenor and drummer Jared Champion’s rock-funk groves. “The music comes from a pure place,” Matt says. We really like the energy of music that feels passionate, raw, unplanned emotion. That’s what we were really trying to capture.

• Florence And The Machine Florance And The Machine -- Sony Make.Believe Stage at 6:00 PM

     Let’s talk about magic. Because music, at its best, is a kind of magic that lifts you up and take's you somewhere else. “I want my music to sound like throwing yourself out of a tree, or off a tall building, or as if you’re being sucked down into the ocean and you can’t breathe,” says Florence Welch. “It’s something overwhelming and all-encompassing that fills you up, and you’re either going to explode with it, or you’re just going to disappear.” Florence writes her best songs when she’s drunk or has a hangover, because that’s when the freedom, the feral music comes, creating itself wildly from the fragments gathered in her notebooks and in her head. “You’re lucid,” she explains, “but you’re not really there. You’re floating through your own thoughts, and you can pick out what you need. I like those weird connections in the universe. I feel that life’s like a consistent acid trip, those times when things keep coming back.” Florence herself is a mass of contradictions: she’s tough yet she’s terrified, a bundle of nerves and passion, of darkness and pure joy. “I feel things quite intensely, which is why the music has to be so intense. I’m either really sad or really happy; I’m tired or completely manic. That’s when I’m at my most creative, but it’s also dangerous for me. I feel I could write some good songs, or break some hearts, or tables, or glasses.” As a performer she can seem fearless, but she’s also far too quick to pass judgment on herself. This is the woman, after all who got into Camberwell Art College by making a huge floral sign telling herself ‘You are a twat.’ She says she’s a geek, who loses all control when in love. She’s also something increasingly rare and precious in a time of karaoke pop: an artist who has found her own, authentic voice.

• Buckwheat Zydeco -- Soco/WWOZ Stage at 6:45 PM

• Jakob Dylan and Three Legs -- Soco/WWOZ Stage at 8:30 PM

 

Sunday, October 31^st, 2010

• Jonathan Tyler and the Northern Lights -- Sony Make.Believe Stage at 11:15 AM

• White Rabbits -- Voodoo Stage (LOA Lounge) at 12:15 PM

• Minus the Bear -- Voodoo (LOA Lounge) at 2:15 PM

• The Airborne Toxic Event -- Sony Make.Believe Stage at 3:15 PM

     Literary allusions are hardly new territory in rock and roll. The Fall named their sixth record Bend Sinister after Nabokov's infamously dark novel. The Velvet Underground got its name from a certain cult book on sex and bondage given to Lou Reed at a party one night. "Killing an Arab" by the Cure is a reference to the Stranger by Camus -- Robert Smith's favorite book, in fact. The Airborne Toxic Event borrows its name from the novel White Noise by Don Delillo. Published in 1984, the book foresaw a world consumed by media -- radio waves, billboards, television, advertisements -- all crowding waking hours, finding their way into dreams, subconscious thoughts, incoherent bits of static about Toyotas, Pepsi, manic depression, and the president. The Airborne Toxic Event is an enormous dark cloud, created by an explosion at a nearby chemical plant. In addition to the crowded airwaves, the cloud portends death, lingering at the edges of life, giving it meaning, urgency, something to fear. The music press has compared them to the Cure, Modest Mouse, the Smiths, Franz Ferdinand, the Clash and the Arcade Fire. Rolling Stone named them one of the top 25 bands on MySpace. Their live show, in addition to viola, organ, guitars and trumpet, includes the hood of a 1969 Alfa Romeo found at a junkyard one afternoon. It's been a heady few months. And what began with a literary allusion, with a couple of boys alone in a warehouse, has become a kind of sweeping plea - to dance, to sing, to cry, to live - to find something alive and kicking among all the static, death, and white noise.

• Paul Oakenfold -- Le Plur Stage presented by Billboard.com at 4:15 PM

• JP. Chrissie and The Fairground Boys -- Bingo! Stage at 5:45 PM

• Macy Gray -- Soco/WWOZ Stage at 5:45 PM

• My Morning Jacket -- Voodoo Stage (LOA Lounge) at 7:00 PM

     There’s a theme of moral confusion that runs through the whole record,” says Jim James, frontman of My Morning Jacket, explaining the title of the band’s new album, Evil Urges. “The world today is such a confused place. Things that people think are good values are obviously twisted, but there are other things considered evil that obviously aren’t. There is real evil out there, but Evil Urges is about how all of these things that you’ve been told are evil really aren’t, unless they’re actually hurting something or somebody.”

     It’s ambitious territory for the group’s fifth full-length studio album, and it’s matched by the most far-ranging, surprising, and satisfying sounds of their career. From the freak-funk electro-slam of “Highly Suspicious” to the contemplative “Sec Walkin’,” which could almost be a Nashville standard, on Evil Urges, My Morning Jacket display the scope and fearlessness that demonstrates their growth into one of the world’s great rock & roll bands.

 

Voodoo Experience Agenda

My agenda was emailed from the official iPhone app of the Voodoo Experience 2010, available here: (Voodoo Experience 2010 iPhone app)

Brought to you by Applitite LLC - Applitite LLC

The Alternative

Southeast Wisconsin

Sent from my iPad

Book Review – Out of Whack by Jeff Strand

Out of Whack

Jeff Strand

ISBN 0759945020

Paperback

Note: For those of you with a PG-13 mindset please look away now.

I’ll say this once, and only once. Gratuitous sex. Okay, now that that’s out of the way I can begin my review of Jeff Strand’s Out of Whack. But wait, before you accuse me of stealing Strand’s idea of opening up a work with a sex scene know this – I don’t care if you accuse me of stealing his idea. You see, as far as I’m concerned, gratuitous sex is in the public domain and belongs to everyone. Or, should, at any rate.

Note: For those with a PG-13 mindset who looked away earlier you may now read the remainder of my review without bumping repeatedly into anything R-Rated.

Irreverent by nature Out of Whack can only be described as a semi-autobiographical kick-in-the-pants, coming-of-age, laugh-fest (with lots of words/phrases hyphenated together to sound cooler). No, seriously, I squirted milk out of my nose while reading this. Twice! I guffawed in my sleep dreaming about the humor contained therein. I chuckled uproariously at the oddball antics of the characters and I peed my pants during one hilariously feeble sex scene. And that was just in the first few chapters!

Seriously folks, Out of Whack is a terribly funny read that successfully manages to tap into the raw emotion just about everyone’s felt during those awkward growing up years. The story is truly about friendship and love and humor and doing whatever it takes to attain your goals. It also manages to entertain with both humor and aplomb. I recommend it to anyone that a) likes to laugh, b) is interested in starting a comedy troupe, or c) wants to be entertained but can’t afford that certain magazine wrapped in plain brown paper. Out of Whack is a witty book by a certifiably comical author and well worth your time.

“But don’t read it for the laughs.  And don’t read it for the heartfelt parts.  Read it for the sex scene, which proves that even if you’re filled with ravenous animal passion, trying to dramatically tear off somebody’s underwear can only lead to wedgies.”

This is the first book of Strand’s that I’ve read but I can assure you it won’t be the last.

4 out of 5 stars

The Alternative

Southeast Wisconsin

Additional Reading:

1. Author's Blog
2. Google Books Excerpt
3. Jeff Strand Interview
4. Strand's Fantastic Fiction Page

Book Review – Orphanage by Robert Buettner

Orphanage

Robert Buettner

By the author’s own admission Orphanage is a conscious homage to Robert A. Heinlein's classic science-fiction shoot-em-up, Starship Troopers, but it is also much more than that. It is a modern telling of a style that I thought almost gone. Thankfully, the Golden Age of Science Fiction is revived in Buettner’s capable hands. Reminiscent of Joe Haldeman’s The Forever War and Mindbridge, Fred Pohl’s Gateway, and Robert H. Heinlein’s Have Spacesuit Will Travel, as well as the above-mention Starship Troopers Buettner certainly reveals his mastery of the military aspect of his stories. The action scenes and sequences are choreographed superbly and the battle scenes compelling and poignant. In addition, Orphanage, as well as all the other books in this series, contains everything that is good about excellent military science fiction. No, let me amend that. Orphanage contains everything that is good about excellent fiction, period. Buettner writes characters that you will care about, plots that are tight, dialogue that flows, and he has a grasp for spinning a tale that is always entertaining. Spending time with these brilliantly written works of mankind at war with a devious alien entity will not disappoint.

Buettner should be honored to be mentioned with the likes of Haldeman, Pohl, and Heinlein. I know I’m privileged to add him to my list of favorites.

Jason Wander Series

1. Orphanage (2004)

4 ½ stars out of 5

The Alternative’s Nutshell Recap: Evil aliens throw rocks at the Earth vaporizing many large cities. The world relies on one counterstrike in space led by soldiers left as orphans by the attack. Using outdated space craft and weapons the Orphans are ordered to invade the enemy on Ganymede.

2. Orphan's Destiny (2005)

4 ½ stars out of 5

The Alternative’s Nutshell Recap: Foot-soldier made General by losses in the Slug War Jason Wander returns home only to find that the real war has just begun. A full armada-sized invasion must be stopped by a single, ancient space craft and a suicide squad led by recently promoted General Wander.

3. Orphan's Journey (2008)

4 stars out of 5

The Alternative’s Nutshell Recap: Sent to the resort planet of New Moon Jason and crew are propelled into deep space when the test of a space ship goes wrong. Stranded on an alien planet Jason must save not only his friends but everyone else on the planet.

4. Orphan's Alliance (2008)

4 stars out of 5

The Alternative’s Nutshell Recap: Humans have been found in space. Jason Wander is sent as an emissary but finds that politics can be harder than leading men into battle. When mankind battles the Slugs for a strategic pieces of space Jason discovers that the most dangerous enemy is not always the one you expect.

5. Orphan's Triumph (2009)

4 stars out of 5

The Alternative’s Nutshell Recap: General Wander prepares for the final conflict as Earth and her allied forces organize to employ a doomsday weapon that can end the war. When a strategic reversal threatens mankind Jason Wander must confront the demons that turned him to the military in the first place and stripped away the innocence of his youth.

Additional Reading:

Orphanage Artwork

Author Site

Author's Blog

 Internet Speculative Fiction Database

SF World Review

The Alternative

Southeast Wisconsin

 

Book Review - Jesse James' Secret by Ron Pastore and John O'Melveny Woods

• Jesse James' Secret
• Ron Pastore and John O'Melveny Woods
• Intellect Publishing, 2010, Trade Paperback
• ISBN: 0972976167

I have to admit that I felt a certain piqued interest in this book when I first saw it offered for review. New evidence of historical value concerning Jesse James presented with a compelling argument and firm historical research was an exciting thought. The reality, however, was far from the promise I imagined. After reading through the first six or seven chapters my interest gave way to incredulousness and yes, a bit of annoyance. The term Genealogy bug, or the passion for family tree research, came to my mind as I continued reading. Pastore, while quite enthusiastic about the subject and invested in ways ill-defined, provides very little solid evidence to prove his hypothesis which is exactly the trap that many novice genealogist fall into. In plain terms, I don’t think there’s anything new or relevant presented here to change anyone’s mind. As such I’d have to categorize Jesse James’ Secret as pseudo-history at best with an emphasis on the word “pseudo.”

Historical research aside the book itself suffers on many other levels, as well. There is an obvious overuse of idiom and cliché. While I would probably be quite happy to find my way out of a cave after hours of being lost I certainly wouldn’t “kiss the ground” when I did. This was the most blatant and tedious cliché that I found but there are many others and they distracted from the message. That alone made me close this book well before I reached the halfway point. I remember thinking that the author presented the information in this book not so much as to illuminate the reader on a new theory or hypothesis but to win an argument with someone who disagreed with his notions. And while there may have been new information here, in the end, it was presented in such a way as to leave me confused over the point.

Did Jesse James fake his own death? Possibly. Did Jesse James and gang hide treasure in the caves of Missouri and Kansas? Probably. But this book does not present any clear evidence to support either theory.

 

2 1/2 out of 5 stars

The Alternative

Southeast Wisconsin