Book Reviews

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Brotherband Chronicles Book 3: The Hunters by John Flanagan - The hunt for Zavac and the pirate ship Raven moves to the river Dan as Hal and his Heron crew try to retrieve the Andomal that Zavac stole. Along the way, there are encounters with pirates, corrupt officials and more. This was a fast paced and enjoyable conclusion to the trilogy with plenty of humor and action.

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Ranger's Apprentice 1: The Ruins of Gorlan - Will and the other castle wards are up for selection as apprentices. Will does not get his wish to join the Battle School, but is selected as an apprentice by one of the King's Rangers. He turns out to have an affinity for Ranger craft and learns quickly. The later books are better, but the first book in the series is still very entertaining as we are introduced to Will, Halt, Horace, Alice and others.

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Divide and Conquer by Carrie Ryan - The second book in the Infinity Ring series shifts to Paris in 1885 as Dak, Sera and Riq try to avert a Viking invasion of the medieval city. This series isn't as much fun as the 39 Clues series usually is, but it is a pretty quick read.

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Ruins by Orson Scott Card - The second book in the Pathfinder trilogy picks up where the first book leaves off. Rigg and his friends have made it into the neighboring wallfold, one that appears to be devoid of people. They learn to refine their timeshifting abilities and learn more about the history of their world, Garden, and what is known about the impending visit of people from Earth and the destroyers who are set to follow a year later. I thought it was just as entertaining as the first book and I'm looking forward to the conclusion.

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Assignment in Eternity by Robert Heinlein - Two novellas and two short stories from the 1940s are collected here. They were interesting, but I like Heinlein's novels more than his short stories.

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Tempest by Julie Cross - Jackson is a 19 year old college student who has recently developed the ability to time travel, though his powers work in such a way that nothing he does in the past has any lasting effect once he returns home. When two men show up at his girlfriend's room looking for him, things change as he makes a reflexive leap into the past and can't return to his normal time. I enjoyed the book a lot and am looking forward the the second book when it comes out next month.

Ranger's Apprentice 2: The Burning Bridge by John Flanagan - Will, Horace and Gilan are sent on a mission to Celtica to seek reinforcements. They stumble upon a plot by their enemies to build a bridge across a gorge and assault the king's army from behind. Getting word to the king and stopping the bridge from being completed become their new priorities. Along the way, an Araluen girl named Evanlyn joins their company after she escaped from a Wargal raiding party. A nice second book in the series and one that sets up the next couple of books.

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The Search for WondLa by Tony DiTerlizzi - A 12 year old girl named Eva Nine is raised in an underground sanctuary by a robot named Muthr. The girl wants to go outside and explore, but is not allowed to - until her sanctuary is raided by an alien and she is forced to flee. She finds that the world is not what she expected - it is filled with strange creatures and plants, not like the ones from Earth that she was trained to recognize. She makes a friend along the way and they travel to try and find more humans like her or at least what became of them. This is the start of a pretty good series, one that has a number of nice illustrations by the author to complement the story.

Firebird by Jack McDevitt - The latest Alex Benedict mystery starts when a woman comes to them to Alex and Chase to try and find a buyer for the effects of her brother-in-law, who was a famous physicist who mysteriously disappeared 41 years earlier. Alex and Chase start investigating the disappearance as a way to increase interest in the artifacts and make a few interesting discoveries, including a planet run by abandoned AIs and ships whose drives malfunction, causing them to travel through space and time. McDevitt's books usually have a good mystery and a good story and this one was no exception.

A Hero for WondLa by Tony DiTerlizzi - Eva finally locates the city of humans and discovers what has befallen her race and why she was raised in a sanctuary. However, her discoveries are not what she expected and there is a sinister secret underlying it all. An invasion is imminent and Eva and her friends must do what they can to avert disaster. A nice second book, though I am wanting to read the third one now and it is not out yet.

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Above World by Jenn Reese - Overpopulation in the distant future has led to a number of humans undergoing treatments that change them into creatures that can live under the oceans or in the air or in the desert. They still keep most of their humanity, but their bodies have been altered. When the tech that allows people to breathe underwater starts to fail, one girl is brave enough to seek answers in the above world, even though her city elders try to ignore the problem. I thought the adventure was a lot of fun and it was interesting meeting the various modified creatures.

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Ranger's Apprentice 3: The Icebound Land by John Flanagan - Will and Evanlyn are now slaves in Skandia. Halt and Horace set out overland from Araluen on their way to Skandia to try and free them. Another nice adventure in the Ranger's Apprentice series.

Trust No One by Linda Sue Park - Amy is getting very tired of running around the globe stealing things to try and save her kidnapped family members. Dan, Atticus and Jake are dealing with it a lot better. The endgame seems to be approaching and the group starts figuring out what the Vespers are really after. Another good entry in the 39 Clues series.

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Valor's Choice by Tanya Huff - Staff Sergeant Torin Kerr of the Confederation Marines is a tough and capable soldier. She is assigned to put together a platoon from her shorthanded company for what is supposed to be an honor guard mission. The Confederation is trying to get the reptilian Silsviss to join the Confederation and their battle against The Others and the duty is supposed to consist of a lot of 'showing the flag' activities. However, when the platoon gets ambushed, they find themselves in a fight for their lives. A very entertaining start to a very good military science fiction series that I am enjoying rereading.

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Ranger's Apprentice 4: The Battle for Skandia by John Flanagan - Will and Evanlyn are reunited with Halt and Horace, but a bigger threat appears in an invading Temujai army. Their best hope for survival and the survival of Araluen lies in helping their former enemies, the Skandians, thwart the Temujai invasion. Plenty of entertaining action as the first cycle in the Ranger's Apprentice series comes to a close.

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Growing Up Weightless by John M. Ford - Matt Ronay is a 13 year old boy who lives in Copernicus, one of the cities on the Moon. His family is a very old one by Lunar standards, but he wants nothing more than to get off the Moon and go to the stars aboard one of the many spaceships that stops near his home. Matt and his friends plan a trip to the far side of the moon without their parents knowledge. It is a chance for them to have an adventure and visit a place that is about as far from home as they can get without leaving the Moon. This is a nice coming of age tale and one that I have enjoyed reading several times over the years.

March Upcountry by David Weber and John Ringo - Prince Roger McClintock is a disgruntled and seemingly spoiled young man who is third in line for the throne of the Empire of Man in the distant future. His transport ship is sabotaged while en route to a 'show the flag' event in a distant system. He and approximately 100 marines are forced to land on a backwater planet filled with natives at a low tech level. Their plan is to march halfway across the world to the single spaceport that was built by their Empire and is almost unmanned. However, it has been taken over by their enemies and the trip will not be easy. This is the first book in the very entertaining Empire of Man series. Prince Roger slowly loses his spoiled behavior and becomes a true royal and soldier.

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March to the Sea by David Weber and John Ringo - Prince Roger and his marine guard continue their crossing of the continent in an effort to reach the sea so that they can cross to the other continent. Along the way they make a number of Mardukan allies, but also face threats from a large mass of natives who have invaded the southern lands. A nice continuation of the Empire of Man series.

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Saffy's Angel by Hilary McKay - Saffron Casson is the second oldest of the Casson children, though she was really adopted into the her aunt's family at the age of 3 when her parents died. When the Casson children's grandfather dies, Caddie, Indigo and Rose are all left items in his will while Saffy is left a stone angel that nobody seems to know anything about. She starts to plan a trip to Siena, Italy where she was born in hopes of finding out about the angel. A pretty quick and entertaining read about an eccentric and artistic family where all of the children are named after paint colors.

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Indigo's Star by Hilary McKay - Indigo isn't looking forward to returning to school after losing a semester to mono. He dreads the resumption of the bullying that he experienced before he became ill. He manages to make a new friend, though, in an American boy named Tom who is staying with his grandmother and enjoys playing the guitar. Another nice visit with the Casson family with this book focusing on Indigo and Rose, the two youngest Casson children.