John Carter: Barsoom Series (7 Novels) by Edgar Rice Burroughs

Description:  When John Carter goes to sleep in a mysterious cave in the Arizona dessert, he wakes up on the planet Mars. There he meets the fifteen foot tall, four armed, green men of mars, with horse-like dragons, and watch dogs like oversized frogs with ten legs. His adventures continue as he battles great white apes, fights plant men, defies the Goddess of Death, and braves the frozen wastes of Polar Mars. In other adventures, the Prince of Helium encounters a race of telepathic warriors, the Princess of Helium confronts the headless men of Mars, Captain Ulysses Paxton learns the secret of human immortality, and Tan Hadron's idealized notion of love is tested as he fights off gigantic spiders and cannibals.

Note: Due to my own inattentiveness to what I had bought, this review includes the first seven books in the series, which are: A Princess of Mars; Gods of Mars; Warlord of Mars; Thuvia, Maid of Mars; Chessmen of Mars; Master Mind of Mars; and, Fighting Man of Mars.

Review 5 of 5 Stars

Growing up, when I thought of Edgar Rice Burroughs I always thought of Tarzan books. Since these novels first appeared around 100 years ago I just hadn't ever read them, but after seeing the John Carter movie and knowing that the books are generally better than the movies that are made from them I thought it would be fun to see what the original story was. As I expected there were quite a few differences between the film version and the novels which were definitely the better story.  I had to give this group of novels five stars as I didn't pause at all in the reading of all seven of them and greatly enjoyed the adventure as a whole for the 99 cents I spent to buy it (what a bargain).  From reading these I'm also led to believe that Mr. Burroughs didn't know what a defeatist attitude was as even in the most dire of circumstances his characters always seem to push aside the hardships and impossibility of their situations with an upbeat attitude and light heart because as the mantra for Mr. Burroughs' books goes, "I still live."

The first books are about John Carter's experiences.  Later books move on to cover his children and finally others from Mars and another human transplant to the red planet. It was a really fun read and it was interesting to see things that were only science fiction then, but that we use every day now such as 'wireless telephony'. I know I generally try to read and share more recent material by independent authors, but it was a great story and I thoroughly enjoyed the adventure as a whole.

It's a series about striving forward, honor, loyalty and the will to go on which I think is timeless. I admit that I enjoyed some of the novels a little more than others, but as I read it on my e-reader it was really just like one really long, sweeping adventure. So if you have some spare time and want to step back 100 years to some really great early science fiction, I think I can confidently say that any true science fiction buff would enjoy the trip. It's not like there aren't plenty of good reviews about these books over the last century to make you feel confident as you step out on Mr. Burroughs' path to Mars, but if you haven't read them or thought about it you might want to reconsider.

Lodestone Book One: The Sea of Storms by Mark Whiteway

Book Description: On the planet Kelanni, life is cheap.

With the aid of the fearsome "Keltar" enforcers,
in their flying cloaks, a ruthless invader is forcing the native people to mine
the colloquially named "lodestone" - a substance from another universe with
infinitely destructive power.

The only ones who can stop him are a tiny girl with fiery disposition, a
former Keltar, a failed revolutionary, a musician and the mysterious creature,
Boxx, who seems to speak only in riddles.

Review 4 of 5 Stars

Having just come off reading a favorite series I was a little hesitant to start this book. I had just had a fabulous reading experience and didn't want that to affect my review of the next book I read by an as yet unknown to me author, but I'd been curious about this one and it had been hanging around on my Kindle for a while so off I went to a new world. 

I must say that I was more than pleasantly surprised. I really enjoyed it.  It was little dark in places, but I still consider it a fun read.  There was action and there were tender moments, but mostly there was a good ensemble cast of characters that carried it off. There were some rough patches so it gets a 4, but that just means that I really liked it instead of loving it because there were moments where things seemed a little too familiar, but heroes do need adventure and obstacles to overcome and there are only so many. I'll happily read the next book in the series and who knows by the second or third book I may love it. The characters were interesting as was the overall story and all in all it was a good adventure.

The Kelanni are not human which is very obvious from the start of the book, but before long you're involved in the book, its characters and the flow of the story, easily forgetting this mundane detail until one of them swishes their tail or something. The Keltar are a menacing lot, but every adventure needs a bad guy to overcome. And then there's Boxx. I'm curious about Boxx who is a strange little character indeed, but it's obvious that finding out more about this character will come later in the series. I liked the varied uses for the lodestones throughout the story and how the story hinged around them in  its own way, without that detail being the only focus. On the whole it's a tale of friendship, hardship, adventure and the personal journeys we make where we may come out the other end as better people.  The world building for the Kelanni civilization was pretty well done and I readily admit that I enjoyed my journey with these characters as they set out to save the people of their world. I'm hoping the next book in the series is as good if not better. 

Forged in Flame (In Her Name: The First Empress, Book 2) by Michael R. Hicks

Book Description: This is the second book of the First Empress saga, following From Chaos Born.

Keel-Tath, the child who would unite her people as foretold by an ancient prophecy, has grown to be a young warrior in the confines of the Desh-Ka temple, where she has been sheltered by her old friend and mentor Ayan-Dar from the clutches of Syr-Nagath, the Dark Queen. But when Keel-Tath is forced to choose between sanctuary and her honor, she goes into exile, leaving behind a broken-hearted Ayan-Dar.

Captured and bound in chains by those who serve the Dark Queen, she is rescued from an unspeakable fate by a warrior from the shadows. Thus begins Keel-Tath’s perilous journey to the ends of her war-ravaged world, through deadly wastelands and even deadlier seas, unaware that some of those she holds most dear stand ready to betray her…

Review 5 of 5 Stars
This was a fantastic book. I don't know that I can give this book a better recommendation than that after I read it and was not ready for the story to be over, I reread the entire series and then read this book again before even writing the review for it.  It made for a long time between reviews for the blog, but I really enjoyed the time of self-indulgence that I took to bury myself in Mr. Hicks' universe. Long before the Redemption and The Last War trilogies, this story takes us back to the rise of the First Empress before humans are a consideration in the universe or story.  Keel-Tath's struggles in her bid to fulfill the prophecy that may save her people from destruction are fascinating, riveting and very well written.  The characters are flesh and blood and I love the story on many levels. I'm sure this series will remain with those others that I read again from time to time like visiting old friends. Michael R. Hicks has done an amazing job of world building in this series from the very start and I can't wait to read the next book. If you enjoy good fantasy/military science fiction this will be right up your alley.

The Third Side (Battle for the Solar System, #2) by Stephen Sweeney

Book Description: Simon Dodds has had his wings clipped. Shot down over the luxurious holiday planet Mythos and separated from his wingmates, he is quick to discover that the once-popular sun-soaked paradise has been transformed into a nightmarish war zone, swarming with armies of seemingly unstoppable black-suited soldiers. The Pandoran war machine is on the move, preparing to advance The Mission and deal to the rest of the galaxy the same fate it did the Mitikas Empire.

Unaware of what fate may have befallen his friends, the young pilot attempts to make his way through the dangerous streets of the war-torn city of New Malaga, as he waits for the CSN to rush to the rescue.

But from out of the chaos emerges something far more terrible; and if Dodds can somehow survive the next 24 hours, he might finally see beyond the lies he has been fed and hear a side to the story that no one wants him to: what really happened to the Imperium, who the black-suited warriors are, what the ATAFs were built for...

... and what his purpose in all of it is. Whether he likes it or not.

There are three sides to every story.
But sometimes the truth is the hardest side to believe.

Review 3 of 5 Stars

This is one of those books that I'm kind of torn about.  Some of the story is really good, but then other things kind of drag me out of it such as how some of the characters act.  For seasoned military people they seem to have a pretty high disregard for following orders (after a very slight bit of coercion from fellow teammates) and one in particular seems a little squeamish to be a crack fighter pilot. Another thing is that as I read through it, the major machine adversary has my brain screaming about replicators from Stargate in the background. There are times in the story when I'm really drawn in and at other times it seems like the author is just dragging things out for word count and I find myself wandering off.  The good news is that I was able to finish it so it's not horrible and I'm even kind of curious how it all may end in the third book. I just don't know if I can trudge my way through the third book just to satisfy that curiosity.  So I've given it three stars.  There are parts I really enjoyed and parts that completely snapped me out of the story due to the lack or realism.  Military science fiction has to have just the right mix for me and I'm not sure that the characters in this book are up to the task at hand.

Revisiting some favorite reads...

Every year around my birthday I try to go back and revisit some of my favorite books.  This year I thought I'd share my birthday picks for the year from some of my lifetime favorites. 

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett is a children's classic.  It's a beautifully written tale of friendship, believing in yourself, and how being positive not only garners you more friends, but makes you a more pleasant person inside and out as Mary and Colin both learn along the way. The imagery in this book is fantastic and I've always loved that you not only get to experience the tale from the viewpoint of the human characters, but also from Dickon's robin friend and his mate as they watch the children in the garden. It's no secret (no pun intended) that this is truly a magical book for children and full of good advice about getting outside, playing, being healthy and how generally wonderful it is to be alive. It's still a fantastic read when you're older as it's an uplifting and well-written story.

Crystal Singer by Anne McCaffrey is one of my all-time favorite books and I've read the cover off of more than one copy. The first in a trilogy, it is the beginning of Killashandra Ree's tale, a young woman who goes from being disappointed as a university music student on her home planet of Fuerte to being a member of the Heptite Guild on Ballybran, the home of "crystal singers" as they are nicknamed due to the need for perfect pitch to tune their infrasonic cutters. When I was younger I could think of no better job and story to be a part of than this one and would have gladly signed on for a chance at the adventure. The following books in this sci-fi trilogy are Killashandra and Crystal Line. I love the series as a whole, but Crystal Singer is my favorite from the group and the one I've purchased the most replacements for when the old ones have fallen apart from too much reading.

Darkover Landfall by Marion Zimmer Bradley.  This is the first book (chronologically) in the Darkover series.  The umpteen (20+) books in this series explore a fantastic world and it's culture and is a great sci-fi/fantasy blend. This is a short tale of how it all began and one of my all time favorites. As always, with any long-standing series there's some contention over which book is the best, but this is one of my favorites. I really like the concept of the Ghost Wind, etc.  Anyway, the series as a whole is fantastic and I suggest reading in its entirety.  Another favorite is Hawkmistress, but that wasn't a birthday choice this year.  There's so much story to be had in the Darkover universe. I definitely suggest a visit there if you haven't read these previously.

So there they are, the books I revisited for my birthday.  I hope everyone has had a great February and that you too take the time to revisit your favorite books when time allows or perhaps make some new favorites.

The Honour of the Knights (The Battle for the Solar System - Book 1) by Stephen Sweeney

Book Description:  When starfighter pilot Simon Dodds is enrolled in a top secret military project, he and his wingmates begin to suspect that there is a lot more to the theft of a legendary battleship and an Imperial nation's civil war than either the Confederation Stellar Navy or the government are willing to let on.

Within weeks of being reassigned to the Confederate border system of Temper, the five would begin to untangle a web of lies and a cover-up that seemed to span the length of the entire galaxy. And it would not be long before they themselves would come face to face with that which destroyed an empire: an unforgiving, unstoppable, and totally unrelenting foe.

There seemed to exist only one glimmer of hope of driving back the darkness: The ATAF Project - a secretly developed set of starfighters that may well just harbour some terrible secrets of their own.

Review 4 of 5 Stars

All in all I guess the best recommendation that can be given to a book is that I enjoyed, was entertained and intrigued enough by the book to buy the second one in the series.  It was pretty much a fighter (ATAF) pilot story and the only real land-based scenes take place at the beginning on the Dodds' apple farm.  Everything else is on a ship, space station, etc. so it's very much about the characters and the story unfolding. Even after reading the book I really don't know enough about the enemy or what's going on in Imperial space to satisfy my questions so I'm hoping the second book will provide me with more of those details. Never fear though, there's plenty to keep you interested as you move along through the story and lots of unanswered questions, which I appreciate in the first book of a series.  Simon (Dodds), Estelle, Chaz, Kelly and Enrique are the White Knights and after having not been chosen for the secret ATAF project they are later thrust into the middle of it with many questions of their own and not nearly enough answers from the brass.  Overall, I enjoyed the book and as I stated at the beginning I did buy the next one in the series as it caught my attention enough to make me want to know more.  There were some typos and incorrect word usage (and I don't mean the kind that's the difference between the US and UK) that tripped me up a couple of times (though not too bad), but the author suggests that if you're going to read the whole series that you start with the second edition of this book instead of the first.  I read the first version which may account for some of the editing issues, etc. Either way, no reason to pass up a good story for a few mistakes.  Just roll right over it and enjoy the show.

Monsters by Peter Cawdron

Book Description:  Monsters is a dystopian novel set against the backdrop of the collapse of civilization.

The fallout from a passing comet contains a biological pathogen, not a virus or a living organism, just a collection of amino acids, but these cause animals to revert to the age of the mega-fauna, when monsters roamed Earth.

Bruce Dobson is a reader. With the fall of civilization, reading has become outlawed. Superstitions prevail, and readers are persecuted like the witches and wizards of old. Bruce and his son James seek to overturn the prejudices of their day and restore the scientific knowledge central to their survival, but monsters lurk in the dark.

Review 4 of 5 Stars

Life has been busy and it took me forever to get around to reading Monsters, but I'm glad I did.  It was a good story. Generally I read more of the reaching and playing in the universe brand of stories, but I really enjoyed this story.  Monsters is a post-apocalyptic type of story, though civilization doesn't fall to nuclear weapons, zombies or anything of the type, which was refreshing. The destruction of civilization as we know it was much more subtle and leads to the theme for this book, which is really how much would we lose if we as a civilization lost the ability to read and how would our lives be affected through the generations. The beginning of the book was a little bit too much narrative for me, but it wasn't so much that I couldn't get through it.  It picked up nicely along the way in the battling of Monsters, both wild and human. I was really into by the end of the book and hated to see it end. If I had to be in this world I would surely take the risks that the characters do to get their hands on books, because I too am a reader. All in all it was a good read and a interesting way to pass a couple of evenings at home.