Book Reviews

[Rusty]

Prison Ship by Paul Dowswell. Two young sailors are falsely accused of cowardice during the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801. They are sentenced to be transported to New South Wales (Australia) as punishment, a six month journey followed by the hardship of colony life. I thought the book was pretty interesting and I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.

[Rusty]

The Castaways by Iain Lawrence. This is the concluding volume in his trilogy about Tom Tin, who is trying to return to England in 1828 after escaping from a ship transporting him to Australia. A few similar themes to the last book I read, but a much different book.

[Hella]

I'm in the middle of Glammorama by Bret Easton Ellis. It took me a while to get into the story, but now that it picked up a little bit and isn't some guy spouting off celebrities he's inviting to his big club opening I'm really hooked.

I couldn't get into American Psycho (Ellis) for the same reason, but I may give it another shot after I finish this one.

Ellis is one of my favorite authors, I loved everything else I read by him. I never read him until I saw the Rules of Attraction movie and wanted to read the book. They are totally different, but I really love both. Roger Avery, the guy who wrote and directed Rules is supposed to be making a Glammorama movie and a prelude called Glitterati, but he is one of those guys who says he's going to work on project after project and never gets around to it much like Tartinto.

[Rusty]

The Midshipman Prince by Tom Grundner - The Midshipman Prince is part historical novel and part history text. We follow Lieutenant Sidney Smith from the Battle of the Capes to the Battle of the Saints, mostly through the eyes of the fictional character, Lucas Walker. Smith and Walker are assigned to rescue Midshipman William Henry Hanover, third son of George III, from Yorktown and their adventure continues from there.

At times, the story is interrupted slightly with an explanation that puts events into historical context, including things from the every day life of a sailor of the time. I found the book to be an interesting naval adventure, one that gets better as the story progresses. The author seems to find his footing after the characters have been established and I raced through the last half of the book.

[Rusty]

HMS Diamond by Tom Grundner - I enjoyed reading the second book in the Sidney Smith series quite a bit. It is more polished than the first book and the story is just as interesting. Smith and his friends, Lucas Walker and Susan Whitney, embark on a new adventure which takes them to the Mediterranean, the Netherlands and France. The story takes place some 10 years after the conclusion of The Midshipman Prince as the war between England and France is about to resume. As in the first book, there is a nice mix of real and fictional characters. I am looking forward to the next book in the series.

[Rusty]

Starship: Mercenary by Mike Resnick - This is the third book about Wilson Cole and the starship, Theodore Roosevelt. Cole and his crew are wanted by both sides in the was between the Republic and the Teroni, so he is now making a living on the Frontier as a mercenary. The book was fun, but it is more lightweight than many other military sf books, such as those written by David Weber and David Drake.

[Rusty]

Double Star by Robert Heinlein - An out of work actor is hired for a dangerous and important job. Peace with the Martians and the government itself could be at stake. I'm planning to revisit quite a few Heinlein classics this year and started with Double Star. This is a taut adventure and is very entertaining. It is also fairly short in comparison to many of today's lengthy tomes, but not one word is wasted. Heinlein was definitely a master of his craft.

[Psychotic_Carp]

I think my brother and my dad read some of his stuff from what i remember

[fluffy]

I'm in the middle of the first book of the Baraoque Cycle by Neal Stephenson.....it's elaborate, medieval and historical but craZY. I KEEP HAVING THE DESIRE TO GIVE UP ON IT! I rarely experience this with books but the friend who recommended it has really usually pretty good taste so I'm sticking in to see if it gets better.

The first book is called Quicksilver.

[Rusty]

I'm in the middle of the first book of the Baraoque Cycle by Neal Stephenson.....it's elaborate, medieval and historical but craZY. I KEEP HAVING THE DESIRE TO GIVE UP ON IT! I rarely experience this with books but the friend who recommended it has really usually pretty good taste so I'm sticking in to see if it gets better.

The first book is called Quicksilver.

I've seen those books and thought about getting them, but they are so huge and densely written that they would take forever to read. I know exactly how you feel.

[Rusty]

Rolling Thunder by John Varley - The third book in the series focuses on the next generation of the Strickland-Garcia clan. The first generation - Manny and Kelly were among the first pioneers of Mars. The second generation helped end a war. This book tells the story of Podkayne (yes, named after that Podkayne), a 19 year old lieutenant in the Martian Navy who enjoys singing and playing music and is busy enjoying life when she finds herself at the center of events, a family tradition. A very entertaining book that could serve either as the finale of the series or the setup for the next set of adventures.

Battle Fleet by Paul Dowswell - This novel tells how a young sailor returns home from New South Wales and later serves aboard the Victory in the Battle of Trafalgar. A nice series, though not as detailed as the Ramage, Kydd and Hornblower series.

[Rusty]

Victory Conditions by Elizabeth Moon - This book wraps up the Vatta series in solid fashion. It doesn't really go anywhere new, but it is an entertaining read and ties up the threads from the previous books. Ky Vatta is fighting a war against pirates and is leading a coalition of ships from various systems as they try to take care of the problem.

[Rusty]

The Admiral's Daughter by Julian Stockwin - Thomas Kydd has worked his way up from pressed man to Commander in the Royal Navy. Now he is starting to work his way into the upper levels of society. I enjoyed the book well enough, but the series seems to be losing steam as it goes along, becoming less action oriented and more philosophical.

[Rusty]

Cauldron by Jack McDevitt - The space age is winding down. Interest in exploration has waned and only a few missions are still going out. The only real hope for turning things around is the Locarno Drive which would revolutionize space travel, allowing travel of almost 300 light years per day. If successful, it will allow trips to places once deemed too far away to be practical. This novel concludes the Academy series and was very entertaining, as is usual for a McDevitt novel. The style is a lot more low key than your typical science fiction novel, but it works very well.

[Rusty]

Wrath of a Mad God by Raymond Feist - This is the latest volume in Feist's lengthy Midkemia series and it wraps up the Darkwar arc in a satisfactory fashion. I don't think there was anything really innovative in the book, but it had a solid story and a lot of the pieces from earlier books (some of them way earlier) fall into place. I'm guessing that the next arc will feature another jump in time and will focus on the creatures from the void who were some of the foes in this volume.