Off Armageddon Reef by David Weber. This is the first book in Weber's new science fiction series for Tor and it was very good. There were a few slow parts toward the beginning when he threw in his trademark infodumps, but once it gets going, it is very good. The book is science fiction, but much of it would be right at home in a naval adventure series ala Hornblower, Bolitho, etc.
Humanity has expanded to other planets and sees little need for an armed spaceforce until they come across the ruins of an alien civilization. They piece together that there is an 8000 year old race that systematically destroys emerging species when they show signs of advanced ability, such as space travel. Humanity starts building a space navy, but they are a little too late and are slowly destroyed after waging a valiant and long war. As a last ditch effort, they send out one last secret colony to a distant and hidden world, hoping that some remnant will survive. The planners set up this colony with limited technology hoping that it will save them from destruction. Then the book skips ahead 800 years and we see the results of this effort.
The book has a powerful, if perhaps somewhat predictable ending, but I'm looking forward to next year's entry in the series.
Book Reviews
Sisters Grimm #3 - The Problem Child - Red Riding Hood's problems with her grandmother being killed by the big bad wolf and the subsequent disappearance of her parents sent her over the edge into insanity long ago. Now she's trying to get her family back by stealing Sabrina and Daphne Grimm's parents, grandmother and 'doggy'. She has the aid of a Jabberwocky, a terrible monster from Alice in Wonderland and seems unstoppable. Sabrina and Daphne find help in the appearance of an uncle they didn't know existed. This was a fun read with different takes on storybook characters and Im looking forward to book four.
Endymion Spring by Matthew Skelton - Blake and his little sister Duck spend a lot of their time in one of the libraries in Oxford since their mother is a visiting professor spending much of her free time conducting research. Blake comes across a strange blank book in the library one day with the name 'Endymion Spring' on the cover. This leads to a search for the legendary 'Last Book' which is supposed to contain all knowledge, both good and forbidden. Blake has to keep the book from falling into the wrong hands. A parallel story tells the story of Endymion, who was a printer's devil for Johann Gutenberg and his escape from the clutches of a man named Fust, who may have been the basis for Doctor Faustus. This was an interesting debut novel by someone who clearly loves Oxford.
Endymion Spring by Matthew Skelton - Blake and his little sister Duck spend a lot of their time in one of the libraries in Oxford since their mother is a visiting professor spending much of her free time conducting research. Blake comes across a strange blank book in the library one day with the name 'Endymion Spring' on the cover. This leads to a search for the legendary 'Last Book' which is supposed to contain all knowledge, both good and forbidden. Blake has to keep the book from falling into the wrong hands. A parallel story tells the story of Endymion, who was a printer's devil for Johann Gutenberg and his escape from the clutches of a man named Fust, who may have been the basis for Doctor Faustus. This was an interesting debut novel by someone who clearly loves Oxford.
Command Decision by Elizabeth Moon - This is the fourth book in the Vatta's War series and was a fun read, but not the best place to start the series since it builds on previous events. Ky Vatta has pieced together a few ships to act as a space defense force against pirates and to help others. Stella is getting Vatta Transport back up and running. Rafe is visiting his homeworld and finds out his family has been kidnapped. Lots of action, but it is still building to a major battle in upcoming books.
Dragon and Thief by Timothy Zahn - This is the first book in Zahn's Dragonback series and deals with Jack Morgan, a 14 year old hiding on an out of the way planet since being charged with a crime he didn't commit. He comes across Draycos, the only survivor of a ship that crashlands on the same planet. Draycos decides to help Jack clear his name in exchange for Jack helping Draycos with a problem of his own. The book was a very fast read and was entertaining. It seemed a throwback in some ways to an older age of science fiction. I picked up the next three in the series and will probably read them relatively soon.
Crane by Jeff Stone - This is the fourth book in the series about five young warrior monks at the Cangzhen Temple in 17th Century China who are the only survivors when the temple is attacked. The five monks become outlaws as they try to escape their enemies and get to safety. This book is from the viewpoint of Hok, who uses Crane kung fu techniques. She is the only female monk of the five, though she has been disguised as a boy for much of her life. This series has been pretty good so far with each book covering some of the same territory, but from a different vantage point.
Command by Julian Stockwin - Tom Kydd finally gets command of his own vessel - a brig/sloop named Teazer that is fresh from the dockyard in Malta. His job is to carry dispatches and protect the trading vessels. However, peace is declared and he finds himself on the beach. He takes a position as captain of a ship transporting convicts to Australia for lack of a better job. I have been a fan of naval fiction for a while now and am really enjoying this series. Kydd started out as a pressed sailor and has worked his way up to the Quarterdeck as the series has progressed. I'll be reading it for many books to come, I'm sure.
Star-Crossed by Linda Collison - This is Collison's debut novel and it is a pretty entertaining book. It caught my eye because it deals with 18th century life aboard ship. Patricia Kelley is a 16 year old girl who slips on board a merchant ship bound for the West Indies in an attempt to reach Barbados, where her father recently died and she hopes to inherit his plantation. She is soon discovered and has to take a position as a surgeon's mate to avoid being thrown off the ship. She soon becomes acclimated to ship life. The novel starts in 1760 during one of the many wars between Britain and France.
The Lost Cities by Dale Peck - This is a sequel to Drift House and deals with a book which depicts various cities lost in time - Babylon, Roanoke, Troy, Pompeii, etc. They were lost due to a time jetty that was opened by people and which needs to be closed by Susan and Charles Oakenfeld and their friends. To do this, they travel to 15th Century Greenland, 18th Century Canada and ancient Babylon. I enjoyed the book - not as much as the first book in the series, but it was a good read.
Dragon and Soldier by Timothy Zahn - This is the second book in the Dragonback series and deals with Jack and Draycos signing up with a mercenary group in order to find out information about the Djinn-90 ships that attacked Draycos's people. This mercenary group recruits children, gives them a 10 day training course and then serves them up as cannon fodder. It was another entertaining installment in the series. Fast paced and well written.
Dragon and Slave by Timothy Zahn - Another nice entry in the Dragonback series. Jack sets himself up to be sold as a slave to the Chookoock family so that he can infiltrate their computer systems to gain information on the group trying to destroy Draycos's people. He finds that getting in is easy, but getting the info and getting out is hard. A good book with lots of action.
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick - This book is very well done and is told through words and through nearly 300 pages of drawings which give it a cinematic quality. The story is about Hugo, a 12 year old boy who is the son of a clockmaker. Hugo's father died in a fire and Hugo went to live with his uncle, a timekeeper at a train station. When his uncle disappears, Hugo secretly keeps the clocks in the station running properly, stealing food in order to eat. He also rescues an automaton from a ruined museum where his father worked and tries to repair it. The story takes place in Paris in 1931 and is a fast, but entertaining read.
Physik by Angie Sage. This is the third book in her very entertaining Septimus Heap series. In this book, Silas Heap opens up a Sealed Room in the attic, unknowingly letting loose the ghost of Queen Etheldredda the Awful who has been locked in there for 500 years. She decides that she wants to become queen again and starts taking steps. Meanwhile, a mysterious sickenesse starts spreading throughout the Castle. The only hope might be in the lost art of Physik, which Septimus is very interested in. This alternate world is richly described and filled with lots of fun things.
The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman. This is the first book in the "His Dark Materials" trilogy and is set on an alternate earth where every human is born with a daemon. The daemon is a companion and part of their soul and can never be too far away from them. Lyra is an orphan who has been raised at Jordan College. She is rough around the edges due to spending much of her time with various local gangs of kids, but is very intelligent and persistent. When children start disappearing, including her best friend, she decides to do something about it. This leads to an adventure in the north with Gyptians, witches, armored bears, and a mysterious substance called Dust. I've had the book on my shelf for a long time and finally got around to reading it. It is an excelllent fantasy novel and I am looking forward to the major motion picture scheduled for this December. I think it will be one of the biggest hits of the holiday season.
Into a Dark Realm by Raymond Feist. This is the second book in Feist's Darkwar cycle and takes place 100 years or so after the events in Magician (my favorite book). This book wasn't bad, but not a lot really happens. It all seems to be setting the stage for what is to come. Tad, Zane and Jommy are assigned to attend the University of Roldem and to train to be soldiers. Pug, Nakor, Magnus, and Bek travel to the second plane of reality in order to ascertain the threat to Midkemia. The first book in the series had a really good story and was very interesting. This one was a bit more boring, but probably necessary for future books. Not a good place to start reading Feist.
Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett. This is the third Tiffany Aching book and she has been living with Miss Treason, a 113 year old witch, for the past few months. When Tiffany witnesses the dance of the seasons, her feet decide to have her join the dance. This brings her to the attention of the Wintersmith, who falls in love with Tiffany and leads to a number of problems, including the possibility of an endless winter. This book is a typical Pratchett Discworld novel - funny, entertaining, and very well written. Highly recommended.