California Bones by Greg Van Eekhout
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I actually heard a story by this author on a podcast. IF you haven’t heard of the podcasts from Escape Artists you should go and listen. Why? Because you’ll find authors of works like this. A really cool book. I enjoyed it and will track down other works by this author.

I liked the world building. Magic comes from bones. Dig them up or take them from other magicians – they’ve got magic. Put all this in an alternate California that has broken away from the United States. You get a number of familiar pieces along with all the new bits just waiting out there to be discovered. It was a fun, quick read for me.

Is this a book without problems? No. There are things I question. There are small things that don’t really work right in my mind. I’m sure there are parts that won’t add up if I give them more thought. The key is I *didn’t* think of them while I was reading. I just blasted right through to the end.

I definitely recommend picking this one up.

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Night Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko

It was really interesting to read something from a non-American author. It was very easy to see the Russian – particularly post cold war era – point of view. It is worth the read for that alone. Get a different perspective on the things.

The main character was difficult to pin down for me. I couldn’t get a grasp of his age. I also got (after many repetitions) that he wasn’t sure if he wanted to be on the side of the good guys. He wasn’t sure they really were the good guys – and neither was I.

This is a book that’s worth the time to check it out. Having said that, I got the book as part of a bundle with the next two and I’m not in a rush to read the other two. I might – they’re hanging out there – but one might just be enough.

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Iron & Blood by Gail Z. Martin
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book has a lot of stuff going for it. There’s a ton of action. There’s all kinds of cool steampunk inventions. It’s steampunk set in America – not just anywhere either – Pittsburgh. That’s cool. Bad guys that actually do bad things. A ton of interesting world building.

I really really wanted to love this book and I just didn’t. It’s got a ton of stuff in it, but it’s almost like all the parts didn’t completely form. There were parts of this that worked. There were really interesting characters. I’m actually having a hard time putting my finger on exactly what the issue is.

IF you’re a fan of action and steampunk, give it a shot.

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Going Dark by Linda Nagata
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This review is also posted at
IF you’ve gotten this far I suspect you’re on board no matter what my review says. This is the final book of The Red trilogy. We’ve followed Shelley on his journey and are along for the ride as the series comes to a dramatic, destructive conclusion.

My biggest struggle with this book (and to be honest most books like this) is the amount of physical damage the characters take along the way and yet continue to function at a higher than average level. I credit the author that she builds story time for recovery and maintenance, it’s more than many others do. There are still issues of how much a man can take in my mind, but if you can get past that you’re all good.

There are lots of excellent questions about fanaticism to be discussed in this book. I think if Shelley were shown to be working for the best interests of any country other than our own this book wouldn’t be nearly as successful. It’s better when the fanatic is on your side, right? It was nice to see doubts and changes in how characters acted.

This was a really well done wrap up to an exciting series. Solid action, good characters and a conclusion that should satisfy everyone. Once again worth the read. Fans of military science fiction will really enjoy this one.

An important side note – I really appreciated the way the publisher handled the release of these three books. I’m not as certain of the pricing scheme, but I think if I hadn’t gotten all three of these books at roughly the same time they would have been less successful.

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The Trials by Linda Nagata
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This review is also posted at MilSciFi.com

I looked at this book with trepidation. I had a fear that the story was going to slide into the land of courtroom drama. It did, but only for about a third of the book. I should have listened to my own review of Ms. Nagata’s previous book. She tells a compelling story.

The story of Lt. Shelley continues in this book. There are repercussions for his actions in the first book and all of that is reviewed early on. There was a lot of real world knowledge going into the court room portion of the story. I’m glad it didn’t go on longer than it did. This was an important piece of the story but I don’t believe it would have sustained an entire book.

After the political maneuvers are settled there is a brief glimpse of civilian life. Shelly shows characteristics of PTSD and it is not something treated lightly. Of course paranoia doesn’t mean you’re wrong either. The action ramps up again quickly.

Solid action, good characters and a really well thought out continuation of the world the author created.
Once again worth the read. Fans of military science fiction will really enjoy this one.

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Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto by Chuck Klosterman
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I have to admit that hearing the author speaking in a radio interview about something completely different failed to improve my mental image of him… using his method of comparison, he strikes me as the kid who got bullied and developed his intellect to compensate. This alone wouldn’t be an issue. I had a great many fistfights with bullies in my distant youth. The problem is that he is now relatively successful and gives the impression that deep in his core he believes he is super witty and important. I use the term believes on purpose. It’s a position to be stated and defended much like the agent in the movie Serenity without the gravitas. My feelings on the author are only important because this book is his ‘manifesto’ (still no gravitas).

I don’t normally read the cover blurbs because they are either paid or from a friend of the author and don’t actually help anyone decide a book is worth reading. I should have read the back cover material this time ~ particularly the part about “exasperating”.

I can’t recall how this book ended up on my reading list but I do remember being interested. I’m not sure I should have been and I’m very glad this was a loaner and not something I purchased. One of my biggest issues with this book is that it is tied so directly to pop culture it becomes tied to (directed at) a specific generation by default. It is unlikely that my daughter will ever watch Saved By The Bell and IF she does it is even less likely it will mean anything to her. For a manifesto this is a major flaw.

One other big issue I have is that I frequently disagree with the position forwarded by the author. Example: The only reason ‘The Real World’ matter is because it exists as a clear, distinct signpost at the end of MTV being culturally relevant. It is the moment they became the punchline “…when they used to play music”.

I will say there are small parts of the book I found amusing and useful as conversation starters. These were offset by my own juxtaposition with other vaguely similar material. I suspect it’s that particular comparison that doesn’t help. I watched a war documentary. In that a soldier discusses the mind numbing boredom that was everything between the shattering adrenaline spikes produced by combat. During those quiet times the men had explored any and all ‘getting to know you’ bits of discussion and stretched to find something ~anything~ to talk about. This lead directly to a six hour argument about who would win a fistfight, Fabio or George Clooney. Who would find this important or engaging? People right on the edge of insanity or people truly desperate for something to do. This author was clearly desperate for something to do.

One of the most maddening aspects of this whole thing is the language of your high school English class being levered into a conversation about cereal and how that directly relates to the meaning of life. It’s bad cereal too (I’ve never liked Cocoa Puffs, even as a kid). There are statements like, “…well suited for conventional moralizing…” when connected to media seem to support his position. All I could remember during these parts was my heartfelt desire to scream out in class, “ALL OF THIS TERRIBLE BOOK IS ABOUT TRYING TO KILL YOURSELF BY SLEDDING INTO A TREE! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! This is the stupidest thing ever”.

I think that’s really it – if you’re looking for dated material that thinks it’s funnier than it is, this book is for you. I’m left with the ‘are you kidding me’ feeling and I’m more than a bit relived that I can give the book back.

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Dead Spots by Melissa F. Olson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I tracked this book down based on a series of reviews I read praising the author’s work. I’m glad I did. It was fun and fast. I have seen the concept of a null in other places before (most recently in the work of Gail Carriger – if you don’t know her stuff, go look it up) but it was a very interesting take to use a null as a crime scene cleaner.

The main character, Scar as her friends call her, seems to be a very reactive person. It’s really the biggest weakness I see in her. I guess I see her as negotiating from a position of weakness and that is something that always troubles me with a protagonist. It didn’t slow me down much, but I worry that the next book (or books) will cause me to dislike her based on her not taking charge and causing things to happen. I know this is a personal thing for me – there are lots of folks out there that don’t have any trouble with a character like that – but it’s one of those things I have trouble getting around.

All in all I’d say if you’re looking for a light urban fantasy you’ll probably enjoy this one.

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The Grendel Affair by Lisa Shearin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this book. It was a light, fun, and fast. There was plenty of action and the characters were engaging. I didn’t feel put off by them. I could give or take the setting – lots of books use New York City as a backdrop. The nice thing was that it felt like the author had a solid concept of distance and the time it takes to get places (and if she really didn’t know NYC then very well done faking it for somebody that doesn’t know the city at all).

I have spent some time trying to figure out how not to compare this book to Monster Hunter International by Larry Correa and failed. I can’t escape the comparison. This book is decidedly lighter on the weapons chat and leans more toward the relationships, but they are very close to each other. If you liked MHI then you will probably like this book. If you like secret monster societies and clandestine quasi government operations with lots of action this book is for you.

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