On The Nightstand – Decisively Engaged – 5/13/2018

Posted on May 13, 2018 by admin

Here’s the last of the 4 Military Science Fiction titles I chose – the first entry in the “Warp Marine Corps” series – the third title in my reading order.  Let me start with a disclaimer:  My Dad is a Marine (there are no former / ex-marines).  I respect him and honor him for his service and I love him for the man he is and the Marine that will always be a part of him (Mom – I feel the same way about you but this is – after all – a book about Marines).  When we’re out socially meeting new people and my wife gets the chance – she like to jokingly say that I served under my father for the first 25 years of my life – not exactly how I feel but I never take issue with her.  I had the chance to work with more than one Marine when I was with the State Department and they are – by and large – the epitome of what you would want to find in anyone who has served our Country.  So….am I going to buy and read a series titled “Warp Marine Corps”?  You can bet your everloving *** I am.

This one was a pleasant surprise as well – putting me at 3 for 4.  It assumes a very hostile universe – populated with aggressive, unfriendly races locked in a perpetual battle for supremacy – with the price of defeat being all too high.  In this respect, itincorporates some aspects of David Brin’s “Uplift Series.  Terra is – of course – a relative newcomer to the party – having been uplifted by one of the less ravenously aggressive races due to a debt of honor incurred after leading a far less friendly race to the Solar System – resulting in a near genocidal attack.  After rebounding and rebuilding, Earth has projected itself into the universe and begun to carve out it’s own Empire – capitalizing on it’s unique ability to better tolerate the effects of warp travel than any of the other advanced races – earning us the nickname of “Warp Demons”.

This is a modest beginning to a more expansive series that currently contains the following additional titles:

  • No Price Too High
  • Advance To Contact
  • In Dread Silence
  • Havoc Of War

The 1st book was enjoyable enough so that I purchased these 4 additional installments as well.  I’ve assumed – eternal optimist that I am – that they’ll continue to be fun reads.

The story is based on a classic Rorke’s Drift scenario:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Rorke%27s_Drift

Small force of Marines and auxiliaries surprised and isolated on a backwater world – facing a local uprising fomented by one of those very unfriendly starfaring competitors.  Facing enormous odds, the objective is to hold until relieved and the Warp Marines – of course – do just that.

This isn’t “Empire Of Bones” with it’s more antiseptic fleet combat:

On The Nightstand – Empire Of Bones – 5/13/2018

It’s up close and personal static defense of a small perimeter – small group of defenders with superior technology facing an overwhelming force of local irregulars and regular military – punctuated by occasional sorties to either rescue isolated personnel or address localized threats.  It’s muddier and bloodier and the Marines are as gritty and real as you’d expect – fewer Officers and Gentlemen here – and definitely no Princesses.  It’s never pretty, mistakes are made, plenty of people die, not in a Medal Of Honor type of way but in the unpredictable, all too random way that I have to assume characterizes real combat.

Overall, it works well and it’s pretty enjoyable.  I do plan to read through the 2nd title in this series as soon as I’ve finished the final 3 and a half books in the “Empire Of Bones” series.  These don’t read as quickly as the books in the “Empire Of Bones” series – they’re longer and a bit more complex but – if you enjoy this genre – they’re worth the time.

I’ll let you know if the 2nd book holds up.  Semper Fi!

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On The Nightstand – Empire Of Bones – 5/13/2018

Posted on May 13, 2018 by admin

You never know what’s going to happen when you open a book.  I find myself being surprised all the time – both on the upside and the downside.  This was actually the 4th title I tackled as part of that Military Science Fiction Binge I kicked off two weeks ago to the day.  I’ve already posted on:

Standing The Final Watch

http://booksofbrian.com/on-the-nightstand-standing-the-last-watch-5-6-2018/

and

The Rods And The Axe

http://booksofbrian.com/on-the-nightstand-the-rods-and-the-axe-5-7-2018/

If you’ve read these two posts, you’ll know that one turned out to be a pleasant surprise and one not so much.

The third of four titles – which I’ll try to post on today – is:

Decisively Engaged

More on that one in a bit but to get back to Empire Of Bones, which turned out to be a pleasant surprise.  It’s pure Space Opera – very good vs. very bad guys, admirable Noble Houses vs. Evil Empires, virtuous constitutional monarchies and their militaries vs. evil AIs ruling enslaved human populations, brave Fleet Officers and Space Marines vs. thralled humans and autonomous killing machines, honorable Kings and Princesses vs. corruptible bureaucrats, politicians and rival claimants to the throne who mobilize them to no good end.  It’s full of action – small and large fleet engagements, up close and personal boarding actions, augmented humans and the ships and powered combat armor they employ – everything you could possibly want.

Don’t get me wrong – it wasn’t a great book – there are plenty of things to criticize here.  The writing was average, the plot’s simplistic, the characters are exaggerated – both good and bad – there are too many Dues Ex Machina events that help to secure victories for the good guys – everything that needs to go right – does.  Still, it was really fun.  In fact, it was so fun that I just pushed right on into the series.  I went straight from “Empire Of Bones” to”

Veil Of Shadows, Bones Of Empire #2

Then to:

Command Decisions, Empire Of Bones #3

On to:

Ghosts Of Empire, Empire Of Bones #4

Currently leaving me halfway through:

Paying The Price, Empire Of Bones #5

All of this in a week – moreover, I plan to finish this one and go on to the three other, currently available books in the series:

Reconnaissance In Force, Empire Of Bones #6

Behind Enemy Lines, Empire Of Bones #7

and The Terra Gambit, Empire Of Bones #8

Sorry for all the covers but one of the many things that make a series like this fun is the cover art – the colors, the ships the combat – it adds to the whole experience.

I’ve bought them all from the Kindle Store and I do plan to finish each and every one before going on to another choice or set of choices – something the books are making it surprisingly easy to do.  I’ve described these types of books in past posts as literary junk food and guilty pleasures and nothing could be more true in this case.  Starting one of these series’ is like opening a bag of Doritos or a bag of microwave popcorn – not necessarily good for you but so hard to stop until you get to the bottom of the bag – just like Lays…you can’t eat just one.  The fact that each book is easily finished in 4 – 5 hours makes it that much easier to do.

Reading this series brought me back to Middle School – jumping into a series like E.E. Doc Smith’s “Lensman” books – pure, unmitigated, unembarrassed pleasure.  I’m not reading the books with a critical eye.  I’m just plowing through them – one book at a time – reveling in the heroics and the explosions and the victories in the face of almost certain defeat and enjoying every page.  It’s almost like reading comic books.  They allow you to leave pretension and sophistication behind and just root for the good guys.

They’re not going to be for everyone but I’ll admit to a feeling of thankfulness to the Author for giving me some pure, unvarnished Space Opera fun.  Long Live the New Terran Empire!!!

Yes – I’m a closet nerd and a kid at heart – I feel for those who aren’t.

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On The Nightstand – The Rods And The Axe – 5/7/2018

Posted on May 8, 2018 by admin

Sunk Cost Fallacy

In economics, a sunk cost is any cost that has already been paid and cannot be recovered. The sunk cost fallacy is a mistake in reasoning in which the sunk costs of an activity – instead of the future costs and benefits – are considered when deciding whether to continue the activity.  The sunk cost fallacy makes it more likely that a person or an organization continues with an activity in which they have already invested money, time, or effort, even if they would not start the activity had they not already invested in it. The greater the size of the sunk investment, the more people tend to invest further, even when the return on added investment appears not to be worthwhile. 

I can’t think of any other explanation for why I bought both this book AND pre-ordered the next in the series – “A Pillar Of Fire By Night” – than that laid out in the quote above.  This is the sixth book in the series – preceded by:

  • A Desert Called Peace (2007)
  • Carnifex (2007)
  • The Lotus Eaters (2010)
  • The Amazon Legion (2011)
  • Come And Take Them (2013)

I thought I’d given up on this series after “Come And Take Them”.  The world Kratman has built is ridiculous.  It assumes a precursor race went to the trouble of terraforming a distant planet in such a way as to create a biological replica of Old Earth.  Once discovered, the Transnational Government of Old Earth colonizes the New World by transporting a representative sample of all the national populations of Old Earth – who promptly recreate their old countries on the new World.  You find the U.S., Russia, China, Japan, France, England, Spain, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Turkey, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Cuba, Vietnam, Colombia, Argentina, Somalia, Israel – of course – Panama – the ultimate protagonist nation in the book.  They also manage to conduct a repeat of Old Earth history – with a World War that ends with nuclear weapons being employed by the new U.S. against the new Japan and a second Iraq War.  You’d think that cascade of improbabilities would be enough to prompt me to walk away.

Then there’s the central character himself – Carrera – the Blue Djinn – who’s hard to characterize as anything but a psychopath.  The compounding atrocities he commits over the course of six books just start to wear you out.  By the sixth book, any sympathy you might have felt for the underdog nation – the new Panama – and the Government Carrera helps to build – which is hard to characterize as anything but a Fascist dictatorship unconvincingly clothed in the trappings of a Timocracy – is unsustainable when weighed against Carrera’s ruthlessness, the body count he racks up, the executions, the crucifixions, the torture and the formation and ruthless use of military units composed of women and the handicapped.  It goes on and on and it just gets to be too much.

There’s the contempt and disdain Kratman heaps upon the rest of the New World countries, the New World version of the E.U.  and their U.N. masters resident in orbit in the ships which brought the original colonists to the planet.  Journalists, politicians, lawyers, liberal democracy, transnationalists – all are painted black and evil with such a heavy, hate-filled brush.  Kratman treats the new U.S. less harshly than the rest of the New World states but it’s relative – they are portrayed as suffering from much of the same rot he layers onto everyone else in the New World he’s created.

Finally, there’s the premise in the second half of the series that this small country – the New Panama – is able to build a military and a militarized society that’s capable of standing against and defeating the combined militaries of all the major nations of the New World – with the single exception of an uninvolved New U.S.

Even with all that foolishness, I see this book and I think – I’ve come this far – I should carry on.  I consider myself a relatively educated and intelligent individual.  With so many good books to read – why do I waste my time.  The only explanation I can find is the Sunk Cost Fallacy.  My only consolation is that other, smarter individuals have fallen prey to the syndrome in situations where the stakes have been much higher.

This is my chance to encourage any who haven’t started down this road not to take the first step.  If you have, please turn back.  It only gets worse.

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On The Nightstand – Standing The Final Watch – 5/6/2018

Posted on May 7, 2018 by admin

This was the first title in my Military Science Fiction binge and it’s technically not military science fiction.  I think it should be characterized as Alternate History Military Fiction.  It’s only right to say that I’ve always loved this stuff.  There’s a lot of this stuff being written today – both alternate history and science fiction – and all too much of it – with some really notable exceptions – isn’t worth the paper it’s written on or the digital storage space it occupies.  Still, I’ve read a lot of it over the years and I always – from time to time – find myself putting the weightier stuff aside and just digging into a stack of this stuff.  I can’t explain it – except to say that I have fun with it.  There’s a good vs. evil – victory against all odds – martial virtue and values – honor and tradition aspect to it that I can’t help but enjoy.

This one starts in present day – a world falling apart – the United States fracturing and degrading politically.  The protagonist is a U.S. Army officer – one of the last of the true believers – committed to his men – committed to the mission – committed to a concept of the United States that seems to be disappearing or – in all too many cases – already gone.  His wife and one of his children are killed by domestic terrorists – leaving him with nothing but revenge.

Before being able to extract that revenge and – as he’s in the process of walking away from everything he’s committed his life to – he’s convinced by the last remnants of a government and armed forces determined to protect and preserve those aspects of the country to which they’ve committed their lives – to enter a covert program that recruits soldiers willing to submit to cryogenic hibernation – waiting for the day they’re needed – to be called upon in an emergency where their return might play a meaningful role in saving the country and re-establishing order.  It should come as no surprise that things go wrong – the sleepers are forgotten or never activated – the country and the government collapses – and they wake to a Mad Max version of North America.

There are plenty of things to quibble over with this book – the first being the premise that so much could fall apart in such a short period of time – another being that the U.S. Government would be capable of engineering such a massive and expensive project off the books and keeping it secret – a third being that every aspect of our society but the military is fragile, corruptible and not worth saving.  If you’re able to forget all that and more – and I was – it’s actually a pretty entertaining story.  This book spends most of its time building the concept and introducing the players but there was enough action to hold my attention.  It’s a very quick read, the characters are sympathetic and admirable enough to identify with and the base and all its capabilities is enough to make you wish that it’s something we might actually be capable of building.

One aspect of this book that worries me – and it’s a common element in a lot of these stories – is that the U.S. Military is the only organization manning the barricades – the only group working day in and day out to preserve the promise and purpose of the United States – that every other institution in the country is weak, corruptible, ill-intended and at odds with the principles at the heart of our constitutional democracy.  The military and those who serve are presented as individuals – not perfect or pure – but virtuous.  Journalists, politicians, lawyers, average citizens, law enforcement are always juxtaposed as groups against this collection of noble men and women and are always found wanting in contemptible ways.  To me, that’s a simplistic and potentially dangerous illusion.

I don’t call this out because I don’t respect the military – I do – in a very fundamental and thankful way – military service has been a consistent part of our family history – but I also respect journalists and politicians and lawyers and law enforcement officers and social workers and activists.  I’ve lived long enough to know that there are as many types of individuals in each of these professions or callings as there are people – they range from exceptionally good to exceptionally bad and most of them / us fall somewhere in the middle – imperfect but capable of goodness – sometimes even greatness – on any given day.  I’m an attorney, I’ve worked for the U.S. Government, I know a fair number of journalists and diplomats and federal law enforcement officers and service people and veterans and most of them – in all categories – are good, decent people who are capable of and committed to doing the right thing as they see it.

So…if you suspend disbelief, embrace the United States of Mad Max and buy into the concept that the U.S. Military could run a black program on a scale similar to the effort made to put a man on the moon – you may actually find yourself enjoying the story.  While I’m almost embarrassed to admit it – I did – enough to buy the next two titles in the series:  “Standing In The Storm” and “Standing At The Edge”.   I suspect I’ll have fun with them as well.

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On My Mind – Odds & Bits – 5/6/2018

Posted on May 7, 2018 by admin

Warning:  This one is going to drift and wander a bit – just capping off a very busy week and trying to transition to my writing from everything that came before.

Anyone who’s a regular reader has probably gotten a feel for the routine I’ve established.  My work leaves me with little time to write during the week – particularly given the fact that every post takes a good hour or more.  I can usually get my reading in during those hours after dinner and before lights out or when I travel.  My only time to write is on the weekends and I almost always manage to get a couple of new pieces up every Saturday while my wife is at work.  I’m running behind this week – Sunday evening and I’m only just sitting down at the keyboard – but it’s all for good reason.  Summer’s coming, colleges are letting out and the two parts of our lives that help make everything good and fun in the world are either home or are headed home.  Things get busy around here during summer break.

No way I can begin to describe how proud I am of these two.  My step-daughter – who came back home this Friday – just finished her Sophomore year and is doing everything right – great grades, working, active member of a really superb Sorority, involved in a really cool service organization – I honestly, truly don’t know how she does it all and it leaves me feeling a bit embarrassed about how I spent my college years.  She delights and amazes me and I love the chance to watch her succeed – doing so much in such a short period of time and doing it all so very well.

My son – who will be here soon – is also doing really well.  He stepped back from his first college after a hard year – smart enough to know it just wasn’t a good fit – and spent the last year working through as many college pre-requisites as possible in Community College while trying to figure out where he wanted to be and what he really wanted to do.  He put a lot of thought and effort into it – decided on a school that I’m sure is going to be right for him and worked really hard to get a transfer acceptance – which happened just this Friday.  He took control of his own process, made some great decisions, did the work to get what he wanted and will be starting back in next fall with a lot of credit hours in the bank and with a real plan for this part of his life.

To top it all of – both of them are headed overseas to work and study this summer.  Not to tempt fate but they’re on their way and my wife and I are starting suspect that we didn’t completely screw this whole thing up.

All of which is meant to be an excuse for being behind on my writing.  When you combine the kids’ coming home with the fact that the weather has finally turned and has given us the chance to do some gardening, there was just no time.

None of which kept me from reading – along the lines I’d mentioned in this post last weekend:

On The Shelf – Binge Week – Military Science Fiction – 4/29/2018

Finished 4 books – “Standing The Last Watch”, “The Rods And The Axe”, “Decisively Engaged” and “Empire Of Bones” – all of which I plan to post on tonight – assuming I don’t fall asleep at the keyboard.  What’s more – with one notable exception – I had a lot of fun plowing through them – enough so that I’ll probably continue this binge for another week or so.

I also changed my buying patterns a bit.  Ever since I purchased my 1st i-Pad, I’ve always used the iBook app for my e-book purchases.  I have a pretty extensive e-library of those books that were never important enough to purchase as a hard copy or as a collectible.

In attempting to purchase all those military science fiction titles, I found that only one of them was available through the i-Book app.  I made the mistake of buying those I couldn’t download to i-Books and having them shipped to the house – reading them as they arrived.  Unfortunately, the three I enjoyed – contrary to expectations – are all first entries in extended series and there was no way I was going to start filling the house up with paperbacks – particularly books that – without exception – fall into the guilty pleasure category.  There’s a ton of military science fiction being written – most of which is junk – and the stuff that’s not – the ones I wind up enjoying – is just not stuff that I’m going to hold onto.  Like I said in that earlier post – even the good stuff is literary junk food and there is no reason to keep it around once you’ve finished your binge.

The whole thing prompted me to – finally – download the Kindle app and start shopping the Amazon Kindle store.  Three comments:  1) every one of these series is available on the Kindle, 2) it was so easy AND cheap that I wound up buying all 13 additional entries across the three series and 3) why the h*ll have I not done this long ago.  It left me feeling both satisfied that I found a way to get readable copies of all those books at a really reasonable price and pretty stupid for not having done this before.

There you have it – a week in review – plenty of reading done – and ready to write.

Time to get started.

 

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On The Screen – Avengers: Infinity War – Epilogue – 5/1/2018

Posted on May 1, 2018 by admin

**Caution:  Spoilers**

Always interesting to see what occurs to you as you put some distance between yourself and a book or a movie.  I’ve spent some time digging through all the stuff that’s been posted online about the movie and I’ve seen some interesting stuff.  I’ve also seen some stuff that makes me shake my head.  What I haven’t seen is a thoughtful discussion about where the original 4 Avengers – Cap, Tony, Bruce and Thor – are in their personal journeys at the end of this movie.  That – to me – is the biggest tell of all with respect to what’s eventually going to happen in Avengers 4.

Here’s what occurs to me:

  • Cap:  He’s a man who’s outlived his own time.  All his friends – with the exception of those he’s made as an Avenger – are gone.  Even the relationship with Tony – his foil, friend, rival and, in many ways, his one true peer – is fractured.  The two institutions he’s devoted his life to – America and S.H.I.E.L.D. – are both broken – possibly beyond repair.  He’s one of only two Avengers who have shown a willingness to make the ultimate sacrifice for both his Team and for humanity in Captain America:  The First Avenger.  It’s sad to say but I know Cap’s journey has come to an end.  The only thing left for him to do is reconcile with Tony and give his life to the causes he has left – justice and the future of humanity.
  • Tony:  He’s finally reached the point in his life where he’s ready to settle down and build a normal life with Pepper.  He’s adopted a surrogate son in Peter Parker and obviously cares very deeply about the “Kid”.  He seems to be done with the Playboy / SuperHero / Avenger life and is ready for something different / more.  Very sad to say but…he’s getting old.  He’s the second of the two Avengers who has already demonstrated a willingness to make the ultimate sacrifice for humanity in the first Avengers.  One way or another, Tony is moving towards an evolution – all we have left is to wait and see whether Feige chooses to allow him to step away and create that life with Pepper – maybe giving him mentor / father figure / wise elder cameo roles in future movies – or in partnership with Cap – once again make the ultimate sacrifice.
  • Thor:  Thor’s story has been a coming of age tale – from brash, young adolescent exiled to learn some hard life lessons – to the final step of filling his father’s shoes and assuming leadership of Asgard.  Hard to forget Odin’s last bit of advice – “You’re not the God of Hammers – you’re the God of Thunder”.  After all that, I’m pretty sure that Thor’s journey isn’t done.  Valkyrie and Korg are noticeably absent when we get a view of the wrecked ship on which the remaining Asgardians had used for their escape.  I can only hope that they – along with some portion of the escaping Asgardians – were not present when Thanos destroyed everything and everyone.  With Stormbreaker, Thor may now have the ability to recreate the Bifrost Bridge.  Something tells me that Thor’s final chapter will involve the rebuilding of Asgard.
  • Bruce / Hulk:  Bruce and Hulk have been on a bit of a journey as well – trying to reconcile the two halves of their existence.  Avengers and Avengers:  Age Of Ultron were largely about Bruce.  Thor:  Ragnarok was all about the Hulk – he was persistent and semi-articulate.  He’d developed a personality that was not all about his rage.  In Avengers: Infinity War, the Hulk disappeared and Bruce finally walked onto the field as a man and, with the help of Tony’s Hulk Buster suit – satisfyingly ironic – actually became an Avenger independent of the Hulk.  I can’t help but think that Avengers 4 will be the opportunity to bring these two together and find some type of reconciliation and balance.

Just my two cents and nothing too original but I do think it hints at where #4 has to go.

Seriously – I can’t wait.  Just glad I have Deadpool 2, Ant Man and Wasp and Captain Marvel to tide me over.

Have a Great Week.

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On The Screen – Avengers: Infinity War – 4/30/2018

Posted on May 1, 2018 by admin

**Caution:  Spoilers**

I saw it last night – and I was both blown away and left at a total loss.  There were so many things I was ready for going into this movie – first among them losing either Cap or Tony – and none of my expectations were born out.  The movie left me stuck to my seat – watching the credits roll – wondering what the hell really happened – and how they were ever going to put Humpty Dumpty back together again.  The post credit scene only made it worse.  I’ve never, ever walked out of an MCU movie without having something to say before.  Last night was kind of a long walk back to the car.

I’ve watched every single one of these movies – all 19 now – but I met these guys long before I ever saw them on screen.  I first got to know them in the comics and I’ve always loved them.  I even used to read “Sergeant Fury and His Howling Commandos”.  I’m not completely sure but those comics – along with DC’s “Sergeant Rock” – may have been the ones that got me started – I was spending a lot of time reading about WWII back then.

I suspect everyone has their favorites – for me it’s always been Thor and Cap – but Cap first and foremost.  Cap has, for me, always been everything a hero – not a superhero – just a hero should be – and he’s very rarely let me down in that regard.  I’ve always enjoyed the X-Men (particularly Wolverine – which is kind of weird given that he’s so different in so many ways from Cap), the Fantastic Four, Spiderman and Iron Man – but Cap and Thor stood above the crowd for me.  I still have a whole box of old comics sleeved up and in pretty good shape – they’re the Thor story arcs that I particularly loved.

My wife laughs at me for this – but we decided one day to bring them over the the local Comic Shop to get them priced and sell them – I spent about an hour over there – talking to the guys – swapping stories.  I never actually sold a single issue – took them all home – they went back into storage – and actually spent the last 15 minutes at the store going through the boxes – looking for issues I might want to pick up.  I really do love these guys and I loved them before they were Movie Stars.

I did truly love the movie and I think Marvel Studios pulled off a cinematic miracle that no one will ever manage again.  19 movies – 23 main characters – 10 years of film – all brought together in a crazy and amazingly well orchestrated cross-over and…they’re not even done yet.  All they’ve really done is set us up for “The End Game”.  I’ve read reviews that complained about the fact that there is too much going on or that there are too many characters moving back and forth between new and different places.  I can appreciate the feeling but I find the criticism to be a just a bit petty.  What Anthony and Joe Russo have done with this movie and what Kevin Feige has done with the multiple franchises over the course of 10 years is a one of a kind artistic achievement and I truly do not think that anyone will ever accomplish something like this again.  For what they’ve done, they do truly deserve to be recognized in a pretty glorious way – independent of the money they’ve made for themselves and their studio.

One final word – Sincere thanks to the Russos and to Feige for giving me ONE MORE WONDERFUL movie with Cap.  I’m sure his time on screen is about to come to an end and – while I know someone else always picks up the Shield – there is no real substitute.  When he does leave, it’s going to break my heart.  I’m also pretty certain that when he leaves – he’s going to do so in a way that is completely consistent with all those things that have always made him my #1.

“WE NEVER TRADE LIVES”!!

Posted in On The Screen | 3 Comments

On The Shelf – Binge Week – Military Science Fiction – 4/29/2018

Posted on April 29, 2018 by admin

Not even sure how I got to this point but I finished “Redshirts” last week and was thumbing through my Amazon feed.  Lo and behold – the Big A had decided to offer up a slew of military science fiction titles.  It’s been a genre that I’ve invested time in over the years – not so much recently – but I’ve read through pretty much everything from David Weber, Tom Kratman, John Ringo, Michael Z. Williamson and so many others – Jerry Pournelle’s “Falkenberg’s Legion”, Gordon R. Dickson’s “Tactics Of Mistake”.  There actually are some very worthy reads in this genre.  I also pick up the odd title from time to time when I’m bored and need a change of pace.  This was different – I saw all those titles and decided – what the heck – in for a penny…in for a pound.

I started with this book from William Webb – ordered it first and read through it in a day.  I won’t review it today – I’m saving it for an omnibus review once I plow through everything I have lined up – I’ll only say that it was of minimal importance AND fairly entertaining.

Here are the other titles I ordered:

I’ve read the first five of the Carrera series:

  • A Desert Called Peace
  • Carnifex
  • The Lotus Eaters
  • The Amazon Legion
  • Come And Take Them

I do not recommend them to anyone who’s not deeply into this genre – or for anyone who believes there’s a place in geopolitics for things like diplomacy or soft power.  Not sure how best to say this but Kratman is relatively severe / harsh in his attitudes and opinions and it shines through in his writing.  Having said that, he writes about combat with a lot of power and intensity.  For that, I’ll stick with him until he finishes this series.  I noticed that the 7th book in the series – “A Pillar Of Fire By Night” – was scheduled for release in October and I hadn’t yet read #6 – “The Rods And The Axe.  I took the plunge – ordered it – and expect delivery this Wednesday.

One was not enough though – and I have all of the following coming on Wednesday as well – and I’ve included the Amazon links in case anyone wants to check them and decide for themselves if I’ve run off the rails:

https://www.amazon.com/Fiery-Sunset-Omega-War-Book-ebook/dp/B07CBCK45L/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1525040720&sr=1-1&keywords=a+fiery+sunset

 

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=empire+of+bones

https://www.amazon.com/Decisively-Engaged-Warp-Marine-Corps-ebook/dp/B019X88Y1G/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1525040855&sr=1-1&keywords=decisively+engaged

They’re all first entries in new series and none are available in Hardcover – which gives you some indication about the legs that the publishers feel they might have.  Honestly, I surprised myself on these – I can’t tell you how long it’s been since I’ve ordered a paperback book.  My normal approach for a new author is to order an e-copy and see how it reads.  If it’s worthy and I feel like the Author may be worth following, I’ll go back and try to find a Hardcover edition – thinking it might find its way into the Library.  With these, I guess I was just in the mood to go fishing.  I plan to binge on these over the course of the next week like they were a family size bag of Nacho Cheese Doritos – orange fingers and all – and see which authors are left standing at the end.  Once done, I’ll put them all side by side in a review to let you know if there’s anything worth reading here.

And…so you don’t thing I’m completely unmoored, I also ordered a pretty highly reviewed new fantasy title:

Thanks to MW for the recommendation – this one I do have high hopes for and am looking forward to reading.

With all that going on, it’s probably important to note that I still have several books that I’m currently in the middle of and will eventually finish:

I really enjoyed the 1st entries in both series:

  • “The Rook”:

http://booksofbrian.com/on-the-nightstand-the-thousand-names-4-14-2018/

  • “The Thousand Names”

http://booksofbrian.com/on-the-nightstand-the-thousand-names-4-14-2018/

Both were good enough to draw me in and convince me to move forward with the Author and the series.  I’m about halfway through both “Stiletto” and “The Shadow Throne” and am I’m really enjoying them both.

I’ll get back to both soon enough – I guess I just had a hankerin’ for literary junk food.

Let you know soon enough how it goes.

Have a Great Week.

Posted in On The Shelf | 2 Comments

On My Mind – Odds & Bits – 4/29/2018

Posted on April 29, 2018 by admin

Morning Folks and something a bit different today – over the course of the last week, I’ve picked up a few odds & bits that I found thought provoking, that were a source of satisfaction or that brought a smile to my face and thought I’d pass them on.

The first involves Jeff Bezos and the meeting culture at Amazon – I know…odd topic – but stay with me – I’ll bring it around.  I ran across an interesting article from Business Insider on LinkedIn and wanted to pass it along – link below:

http://www.businessinsider.com/bezos-admits-amazon-has-the-weirdest-meeting-culture-2018-4?utm_source=yahoo

After working within corporate cultures for 25+ years where PowerPoint reigns supreme, I found it encouraging that Bezos has taken a different approach at Amazon.  Long to short, Bezos has banned PowerPoint in all meetings at Amazon and instead requires presenters to generate thoughtful, well-written memos on the topic to be discussed.  He then carves out an appropriate amount of time at the start of the meeting to allow all participants to actually read the memo – a realistic appreciation for the fact that all too often – all too many of us don’t prepare and just fake it – then devotes the rest of the time to an indepth discussion.  His rationale – it leads to a more robust thought process and better preparation on the part of the leader of the discussion as well as deeper understanding of the topic on the part of the audience – all of which, in his opinion, leads to higher quality discussions and better decisions.  One other reason suggested by the author of the BI piece which I loved:  “There might be another reason for this “weird” meeting culture. Bezos is a book lover who started Amazon as an online book store. Reading is in the company’s DNA.”  As far as I’m concerned, props to Jeff on this one.

Here’s a second bit that my wife and I really are happy about.  Guess what opened up in our neighborhood this month:

We now have a brand spanking new Half Price Books.  It’s been open about 3 weeks now and we’ve been twice.  I’m going to be happy whenever a new bookstore opens but I’ve always liked the treasure hunting aspect of HPB.  I very rarely buy but – when I do – it’s usually because I run across a collectible in good shape that fills a hole in my Library.  There’s just something far more satisfying about finding buried treasure on a physical shelf than on the internet.  HPB – welcome and very happy to have you.

Finally, here’s one that just tickled both Sue and I.

I think Sue found this one at Whole Foods and we had to give it a try.  In addition to loving the label – excepting the fact that the books are placed over the fireplace – not recommended – the wine wasn’t that bad.  This one brought plenty of smiles to both our faces – both before, during and after. 🙂

Thought I’d share a few tidbits – hope they left you smiling.

Cheers,

Brian

Posted in On My Mind | Leave a comment

On The Nightstand – Redshirts – 4/28/2018

Posted on April 28, 2018 by admin

Anyone who grew up in the South knows that we have a saying for almost any occasion.  One of my favorites has always been “If there’s fog in the pulput – there’s gonna be mist in the pews”.  Probably goes without saying but the inference is – a speaker better be crystal clear about the message he’s trying to communicate or the lesson he’s trying to teach or he’s just going to leave his audience confused.  That’s how I feel about this book.  I just wasn’t sure – by the end – exactly what Scalzi was trying to accomplish and it all just seemed like a bit of a mash up.

If you’ve been with me for awhile, you’ll know I’ve reviewed several of Scalzi’s books:

  • The Collapsing Empire

http://booksofbrian.com/on-the-nightstand-the-collapsing-empire-1-8-2018/

  • Old Man’s War

http://booksofbrian.com/on-the-nightstand-old-mans-war-1-14-2018/

  • The Ghost Brigades

http://booksofbrian.com/on-the-nightstand-the-ghost-brigades-1-18-2018/

If you’ve read those posts, you’ll also know that I’m a little ambivalent about Scalzi’s writing.  He’s entertaining, he tells good tales, he sometimes finds novel concepts (geriatric rejuvenations as soldiers in “Old Man’s War”), he sometimes creates really engaging characters (Kiva Lagos in “The Collapsing Empire”) – but I’ve never had the feeling – at the end of any of his books – that I’ve read something truly worthy.  His work always strikes me as above average – nothing more – and I’m struggling with that a bit since the guy has one Hugo nomination for “Old Man’s War” in 2006 and a Hugo win in 2013 for “Redshirts”.

Redshirts is a perfect example.  This starts out as a straight up Star Trek satire – all the characters are there – it builds off an aspect of the show that has always been kind of a running joke – the expendability of / high mortality rate associated with the Security detachments assigned to Away Teams – and it provides some snappy dialogue and easy laughs.  In the second half of the book, however, it starts to focus on more serious themes and teaching points – particularly in the final three Codas.  It almost feels like Scalzi started out writing one book and decided – in mid-stream – to shift to another.

Compare that to these two books by Steven Erikson:

Both are shamelessly simple Star Trek satires – they make no pretensions – they’re written in a lovingly ridiculous way – and I found them to be far funnier than Redshirts.  Erikson goes for cheap laughs based on some admittedly low humor at times – but he keeps it simple and outrageous and funny.  With “Redshirts”, I felt like Scalzi was trying to do two very different things and neither of them worked as well as they should have.

There’s even a point in the book – the 1st Coda – when the screenwriter of the Star Trek knock off that drives much of the plot is blogging anonymously about his writing – where I almost felt like Scalzi was talking to himself – lecturing himself for his lazy approach to his writing – not putting the effort into it that he should and that his audience deserves.  I found it to be a revealing but disorienting chapter.

Overall, Redshirts is an entertaining read but I just do not understand how it could have been singled out as the Best Science Fiction novel of 2013 when there were so many other incredible books that might have / should have earned that distinction.  By way of example, “Ancillary Justice” by Ann Leckie won the Nebula Award for best Science Fiction Novel in 2013 – a book which I reviewed here:

http://booksofbrian.com/on-the-nightstand-ancillary-justice-2-3-2018/

Here’s a full list of the Nebula nominees for that year:

Best Novel

“Redshirts” wasn’t even nominated – not even in the running.  So – what am I missing?

It actually brings me to the last point I wanted to make in this post – the difference between the Nebulas and the Hugos.  As I’ve mentioned before, the Nebulas are chosen by other Science Fiction writers while the Hugos are selected by fans.  It’s analogous to the difference between the Oscars and The People’s Choice Awards.  I’m not saying that this lessens the legitimacy of the Hugos in any way.  I could cite a fair number of examples where I felt the professionals and the critics got it wrong.  I would just suggest that you’ll find greater consistency with respect to quality of writing, imagination, complexity and impact when it comes to those works recognized by the Nebulas than you would with the Hugos – different set of judges looking for very different things.

Read “Redshirts” – you’ll enjoy it – but let me know if you feel that I’m being too hard on the Author and his work.

Posted in On The Nightstand | 1 Comment