CLYDE WISHAM
Caliban's War is the sequel to Leviathan Wakes. However there is enough backstory covered that you can read it stand alone. (Though why you would want to do that I don't know, as they are both crackin' good space opera.)
The story picks up a little over a year after the end of Leviathan Wakes. Jim Holden and the crew of the the Rocinante have spent that time chasing down pirates in the asteroid belt and beyond. But, something really strange and bad has started happening on Ganymede, and the Rocinante and crew are dispatched there to find out what is going on. Meanwhile, on Earth high level political maneuvering has started. The Ganymede disaster has precipitated a crisis, and a power struggle has started involving double-crossing and backstabbing of the highest order. On top of that the alien entity on Venus is stirring and it might have some connection with what's happening on Ganymede. Add in a distraught father and a clutch of children kidnapped by a gang of sociopaths with unknown motives and you have all the elements needed for a ripping good story. And that is what Caliban's War is.
One side note – the name of the book is somewhat of a mystery to me as there isn't a character named Caliban in the story. (Caliban of course is one of the primary characters in Shakespeare's The Tempest. Perhaps I should go back and re-read that to try to find what inspired the name.)
Highly recommended.
I was surprised to find that The Whitefire Crossing is Courtney Schafer's first book as it seems very polished for a first work.
Dev is an caravan outrider, a mountaineer, and a smuggler. When he takes the job of smuggling a man, Kiran, to a neighboring country, he finds that he has plunged himself squarely in the middle of a conflict between mages.
The Whitefire Crossing starts off as an adventure novel involving a lot of mountain climbing and then turns into a fantasy with powerful magic and lots of action. Recommended.
Jack the Bodiless is not a bad story overall. However, it suffers from too much filler. Had it been edited down to two-thirds its length (or even less), it would have been a much tighter story and a better read. I tired of it part-way through, but did manage to finish it.
(I doubt that I will read the remainder of Julian May's Galactic Milieu trilogy.)
I first read this book in the late 1980s and quite enjoyed it at the time. Now having re-read it years later (2012), I find that the story holds up very well. I think Team Yankee was originally intended to be a “what could happen” story, but it is now a “what could have happened” story. In other words, it is firmly in the speculative fiction genre.
That said, it is still one of the best novels about armored warfare available. Highly recommended.
Angel Of Skye is an interesting mixture of intrigue, action, and romance set in 16th century Scotland. I personally found the romance elements of the story a bit too dominant, though I quite enjoyed the intrigue and the action.
I recommend this book more to those looking for a romance than those looking for a historical novel.
This book is changing my life. I read it slowly, a few pages at a time, at breakfast every morning for several weeks in an attempt to absorb the message. The book includes a lot about human biology and especially metabolic balance and the endocrine system. Fortunately, however, the basic message is quite simple. Humans are not well adapted to the high carbohydrate load of the modern diet. Continued heavy consumption of refined carbohydrates and sugars causes us to get fat. It can also lead to a condition called metabolic syndrome which is associated with a cluster of diseases including diabetes and heart disease.
The solution, restrict consumption of refined carbohydrates and sugars. That means avoid foods such as bread, pasta, potatoes, and sweets (especially sweet drinks).
Investments is a nice codicil to Walter Jon William's Dread Empire's Fall trilogy, taking place just a few years after the end of Conventions of War. It continues the story of Martinez and reintroduces us to the unconventional thinker, Severin. Lots of intrigue, political maneuvering, danger, and action. Quite enjoyable.
Update: Even better on a re-read. And now I am ready for The Accidental War.
Citadel is the second novel in John Ringo's Troy Rising series. Humanity still faces relentless foes that intend to exterminate the human race. Under the leadership of Tyler Vernon the race must rise to the challenge. It is still a case of live free or die. This is good space opera.
Don't skip the afterward. In his writing, Ringo goes against current literary trends somewhat by creating characters that are competent, honorable, and courageous. Many of those are women. In an afterward to the book, Ringo explains exactly why he frequently creates strong women characters and he introduces the real-life models that have inspired those characters.
This is a very powerful book – simultaneously uplifting and sad. Prior to reading it, I had no idea of how relentless the fighting is in Afghanistan. Fierce, proud, courageous, and professional warriors – the men of the Outlaw platoon demonstrated that the manly virtues are still strong in American men.
Whether we should be in Afghanistan or not is a political question. For the men who are out at the tip of the spear, it is as it always has been – the only important things are your brothers in arms and survival. And, that is what Parnell vividly describes.
This book prompts me to re-eread Charles MacDonald's classic book, Company Commander to help me compare the experience in Afghanistan to what our fathers faced in WW2.
