Emperor's Mercy by Henry Zou

In the world of Warhammer 40,000 the big stars always seem to be the marines. The armor-encased Space Marines take up the largest number of books, fight on the front lines, and look the coolest. However, as part of the under-pinning of this shared universe, there is a very small but very vital section following the exploits of the Inquisitors of the Emperor. Given all the power they need to accomplish the Emperor's needs, these inquisitors work on any number of missions.

Originally written about only in Dan Abnett's two trilogies (collected in Eisenhorn and Ravenor: The Omnibus, the latter of which will be reviewed on this site in the not-too-distant future), and acting in a supporting role in a few other books, Henry Zou finally makes his mark on the inquisitors with the first book in his new Bastion Wars series.

Inquisitor Obadiah Roth has been called to the Medina Corridor to search for the Old Kings, a mysterious ancient artifact that most don't believe exists. At the same time, the Ironclads, a group of Chaos warriors, begin a system-wide assault on the Medina Corridor, ravaging the planets and their populations. It quickly becomes apparent that these two events are linked.

Roth, along with his side kick Silverstein, head to the Medina system and begin the search, fighting the forces of Chaos the whole way, at the same time dealing with a traitor in their own midst and an admiral who doesn't want the Inquisition's help. Moving from planet to planet, the mystery unfolds as the casualty list grows higher.

Zou packs in a huge amount of action, somehow fitting a very solid plot into the midst of it all. Roth has a very believable demeanour, as he struggles with the losses and the many difficult decisions he has to make. The minor characters also feel well fleshed out. The action never flags through the book.

I have read a number of the Space Marines novels in a number of series, and almost always loved them. However, I never had any interest in the Inquisition part of the Warhammer 40,000 universe. Zou changed my mind. His fast-paced, high action novel left me with a high desire to read the sequel, as soon as it comes out. I see great things in the future for this new author.

9/10

Y: The Last Man, Volume 2: Cycles by Brian K. Vaughan

After far too long a break since the first excursion into Y: The Last Man (see my review of the first volume, Unmanned) I return with volume 2 of this series. I was extremely impressed with the first book, and I had really high hopes for the second one.

After the explosive (literally) conclusion to the first volume, Yorick, Ampersand, Dr. Mann, and Agent 355 head west. The trip is difficult, and in an attempt to save time, the group hops onto a train. Things become difficult, and our heroes land in a small town in Ohio, where things seem a bit too perfect.

Vaughan ratchets the action up further, as more and more pieces of this strange new world come to the fore. The art continues to be excellent as well, as the characters and the situation are depicted accurately, and not too far over the top. The conclusion leaves huge mysteries for the future, and I for one can't wait to get to the next volume. Expect more soon.

9/10

Across the Sky by Mark Rich

I had never heard of Mark Rich prior to this collection, but it was published by Fairwood Press, and based on their masterful collection of stories by Ken Scholes, Long Walks, Last Flights, and Other Strange Journeys (see my review), I had very high hopes for this book. While not as consistently great as the Scholes book, this one was still worth reading.

“Across the Sky”—The collection starts off with a nice tale of alien-human relations, and the beginnings of a brighter future. A fun tale, with more seeming to be under the surface than above it.

“The Real Thing”—A slightly gimmicky idea that leads to an otherwise entertaining tale. Rich creates interesting characters, even if the basis of the story seems a little too unlikely. In a land of distance and credit, can a man who wants “the real thing” find what he is looking for?

“Foggery”—Another tale of contact between humans and aliens, in this one Rich creates the character of Benny Fogg, reporter and human, who just wants to do something heroic so he can win the girl. One of the best tales of the bunch.

“They Arrived”—One of a few poems in the collection. A fun idea, well written.

“The Beauty Monster”—Another story that just seemed a little too gimmicky for me. The irony of the ending seemed a little overdone as well. Rich wrote fun characters and an okay story around an idea that I just don’t find interesting in the way it is presented.

“Smoking Gun”—Another of the excellent tales, this one is a murder mystery without a disappearing body, few clues, and a very well-thought out ending. Excellent.

“Fifty Cents”—Poems either work for me or they don’t. This one didn’t.

“Overdue”—This tale was a little too artsy for me, but it was still readable, without doubt. As people are checked out of a human library, their disappearance leads to repercussions on Earth.

“The Suckers”—A very entertaining tale in the “too much technology is bad” vein. In a world where so much is a part of a virtual reality existence, how does one find love and happiness, and how real can it be?

“Forever Down the Ringing Grooves”—This is another of Rich’s assortment of more literary, artsy tale. I found this one just a little too artsy and not enough solid story. This tale of communication tried too hard to be literary.

“Souvenir”—Another poem. Another that didn’t work for me.

“Impossible Alone”—When two old friends who have been out of touch find themselves together again, what secrets might come out? This story attempts to play with that, to mixed results.

“The Never-Winner”—A very interesting and intriguing tale of a future space race, and just who might end up winning. This one shows Rich at his best, and is worth every minute.

“Whenever They Go Out”—A fluff piece that was worth the time it took to read all two of its pages, but not much more.

“Spindle-Legs”—The best of the poems in this collection, Rich’s piece tells a tale that is both interesting and unpredictable.

“The Asking Place”—Another artsy story that I wanted to like, that I felt I could have liked, if it hadn’t sacrificed the story for literary merit. I wanted this one to be so much more than it was.

“To Hunt in Fields”—A solid tale from Rich, this extrapolation of the increase in marketing of medicinal devices, and how it can be taken to an extreme, was fun and thought provoking. Very good.

“Staying the Course”—The last poem. Again, didn’t do much for me.

And there I stopped. I don’t know why, but all my push to finish this book died. There is one more story, “The Apples of Venus,” which is getting great reviews, but for whatever reason it is that drives my subconscious, I lost my desire to read the very last story. Haven’t started it, just can’t make myself, not any time soon. I think I just hit my limit of more artsy SF, and needed to move onto new things. I’m sure my overload of “good literature” while working at my literature degree didn’t help.

I did still read most of it, all except for about 40 pages, so I still feel I can fairly judge the overall grade for the collection. This book would definitely be for the fan who is looking for more literary-aspiring science fiction, but I feel like the casual fan, looking for just a few stories to entertain and to sit down for an afternoon of enjoyment, would find about half of these stories not quite to their enjoyment. As I am working on this site to rate books of that sort, and get enough artsy literary works from my course load, I just don’t feel like this one lived up to the enjoyment I had hoped for it. If you are looking for a serious read, look no further. If you want something that you can sit down with and find fun, exciting, and engaging, you may want to pass. A couple stories were work to finish.

6/10

Luke Is Back From His Moving Trip, So What Is With the Delay?

Well. Soon after getting back, I managed to break my ankle, and have been a little out of it the past few days. I am back on track now (I think/hope), so, minus work taking reading time, look for the usual time for reviews again, at least two a week. Tomorrow evening will bring a review of the Mark Rich collection out from Fairwood Press, Across the Sky, and a few days after that look for Emperor's Mercy, the new book out later this summer by new author Henry Zou. Thanks for the patience; I have returned!

The Web: GulliverZone by Stephen Baxter

Moving away from the media-tie ins for what may turn out to be a very short while, I turned to a book that I found at a very small bookshop at a bus station. Despite it being a novel for children or very young adults, The Web: GulliverZone's author, Stephen Baxter, is one well known for his adult science fiction novels and stories. Having read some of them, I was very curious to see how his foray into the much younger age groups progressed.

In 2027, the world is at peace. Conflict has stopped, and people live in a harmony we can only dream of. To celebrate this, every February 7 is World Peace Day, in which the entire globe rejoices their peace, and among other things, access to The Web, and all of the amusement parks contained within, is free. This isn't the Internet, but a virtual reality world in which people can immerse themselves in "real" situations, from the safety of their home.

Our main character, Metaphor, along with her brother, Byte, and school mate Wire (No, not real names, but aliases. In this world, they seem to hold almost as much importance, however) travel into The Web on World Peace Day, with the sole focus of getting to the newest theme park, GulliverZone. Once they arrive there, they enter the world of Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels, and meet the Lilliputians, tiny people who fit in the palm of your hand. Things seem to be going great, until Metaphor learns that these tiny people may be more than just data, and that far more may be going on behind the scenes. World Peace Day hasn't yet reached the digital world.

While obviously very light fare, this book still managed to be fun and entertaining. The content was obviously geared towards children, but there was a lot of extra stuff in there that only adults would pick up on, such as names (the President of the United States was named Samuel Jackson. Coincidence? I think not). The foreshadowing was also nicely done, as was the extensive use of Swift's famous novel. All around, Baxter did an impressive job. For the average adult, this won't be your favorite book, but it was entertaining enough while on the bus ride. While the first part of a series, this book has a full end, and can be read as a stand alone.

6/10

Resistance: The Gathering Storm by William C. Dietz

After a very busy time packing for a move, a very long bus ride was uncomfortable, but a good time to get some reading done and get back on track with this site. The third of three back-to-back media tie-ins, Resistance: The Gathering Storm by William C. Dietz is based on a video game for the Playstation 3, Resistance: Fall of Man. I don't own a Playstation 3, nor have I ever played the game, or even read a novelization of a video game before, so this was an all around new experience.

In Resistance: The Gathering Storm we follow the character of Nathan Hale, a soldier in the United States Army in an alternate 1951. He is a member of an elite group of soldiers known as Sentinels, who were tested on to become stronger, faster, and far more durable, among much else. The United States is fighting an invading alien threat, known as the Chimera, who use a virus to take over the populace, and transform them into more Chimeran troops. The world has begun to fall to these invaders, and the USA is one of the last countries standing, but it is falling before the onslaught as well, with northern states controlled by the aliens.

Nathan Hale is a veteran of the conflict with these invaders, and as such plays an active role in the fight against them. He leads multiple missions, while struggling with the loss of his family, and a government that isn't nearly as pristine as the cover it uses. The conflict is bloody, and many characters don't make it to the end of the book, which has twists galore.

This novel achieves multiple things. First, it creates a believable alternate world, one with a believable environment. Second, it is host to characters that are very intriguing and easy to relate to. Third, it tells a story that you just can't put down. I could not have asked for much more from a novel that I was reading over the long days of a Greyhound ride. This book was worth every penny paid, and more than worth the time. An excellent alternate history, military SF novel.

9/10

About This Long Delay...

I'm finishing up the move, and will be unable to get enough computer access to put up any new reviews for the next couple of days, on top of being extremely busy. But after a long bus ride for the next couple days, look for reviews to return, along with some other exciting stuff. Keep peeled, the best is yet to come!