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The Jevlir Caravansary

Tag: Books

  • Book: Retief’s Peace

    I’m a big fan of Keith Laumer. In different moods I like Retief and the Bolo series. William H. Keith, Jr. has now been extending that series, and this little book is great fun.

    Especially with humor, I’m really leery of a new author taking something over. Will the charm and fun still be there? Keith has managed to accomplish the near impossible–a new Retief book that is just as much fun as the old ones. We find Retief again avoiding promotion by being excessively competent and willing to point out the errors of others.

    There’s a new species intent on conquest, the mysterious Krll, who are apparently intent on conquering peaceful planets and generally creating havoc throughout the cluster. The question is, what do peace protests, drug lords, and disguised five-eyed, sticky fingered Groaci diplomats have to do with it all?

    Enjoy!

  • Book: A Gathering of Widowmakers

    This is the first Mike Resnick book I’ve read, and I must admit that it struck me as simple, straightforward, and really quite a lot of fun to read. This is actually well into the series, and I’ll have to make up the older volumes over time, but it’s a fun story. The original widowmaker now cured of the illness that once required that he be frozen to await a cure. There is a new, young, recently trained clone on the job. He’s better than the old widowmaker, but is he wise enough?

    I’m rating this book a 4. I plan to look at more works by this author.

    Energion.com Author page for Mike Resnick
    Energion.com Series page for the Widowmaker series

  • Book: Imitation in Death

    What more can I say about J. D. Robb and the various books about Eve Dallas? I just enjoy the character interaction. They’re not too over the top in forcing me to think, thus being good reading after I’ve read all the serious stuff for the day, and did I mention the characters? They’re just fun.

    In Imitation in Death, J. D. Robb/Nora Roberts brings us the summer of 2059 and a serial killer who imitates serial killers, but not the same one twice. This one will lead us through a walk through history (and the series fictional history) and a look at some of the things that just might make a murderer.

    In the meantime, Peabody is distracted by preparation for her detective exam, and also the terror of actually taking it. How will the pair work their way out of this one? At least Roarke and Eve aren’t fighting.

  • Book: Beyond the Gap

    I actually thought I was reading a book by an author I’d never read before, and I still can’t remember what book I read by Harry Turtledove before, but I have a feeling that I have.

    Beyond the Gap is what I call good fantasy writing. It’s not action packed from start to finish. It has some characters that are larger than life, but they’re not ridiculous. It has magic, but the magic doesn’t take the story over. There are individuals involved in adventures, but those adventures relate to cultures and politics.

    For those who like constant action, as I noted above, this will not be a favorite, but for those who enjoy strong characters with a good helping of action, this should fit. Particularly interesting is the clash of cultures with the Bizogot Jarl Trasamund vs the civilized Count Hamnet Thyssen.

    There’s a gap in the great glacier. Who wants to go through it?

    Rating: 4

  • Book: Maelstrom

    I begin to realize that this blog has been around for some time and isn’t just my little idea from a couple of days ago when I prepare to write a note on the second book in a series for which I blogged about the first book.

    I like Anne McCaffrey, and to a lesser, but still quite great extent Elizabeth Ann Scarborough. Their second book in The Twins of Petaybee series is available, and is titled Maelstrom (The Twins of Petaybee, Book 2).

    I look at this book very much like the first. It is lighter than the Dragonrider series, and I don’t find the cultural background anywhere near as interesting, but the characters are engaging, and the story is fun. That’s a lot to recommend a book, especially since I look for books to read when my mind wants to rest rather than be challenged. I’m glad there are books that fit the bill.

    As long as you don’t demand sophisticated politics or advanced military strategy, and also as long as you can enjoy a story where the key players are children, you’ll likely enjoy this. I would warn the unwary that this second book takes the tranditional trilogy view and leaves you in a tough place. I knew it was going to happen as I read and saw the number of pages remaining–they didn’t resolve a number of conflicts. That, of course, is promising for next time, but annoying for those who don’t really like unfinished series all that well.

  • Book: Innocent in Death

    OK, it’s another book. I’ll get around to writing another story or something soon. That’s what you were waiting for, right? No? I’m so disappointed!

    Anyhow, my wife brought home another J. D. Robb, and I had to read it. It’s pretty good. In this most recent book, Eve gets to feel her dislike of schools as she deals with murders that occur in a school. At the same time she’s dealing with jealousy over Roarke, but is it justified? Everything seems so confusing until she follows an unlikely track and fights her way through to the conclusion. Oh, and is it possible she’s making a truce with Summerset?

    This continues the interesting future world, and all the very interesting characters with which Roberts/Robb chooses to populate it. It’s honestly not my usual fair, because I find near future science fiction a bit troubling. Even Star Trek has been made somewhat obsolete by the advancement of actual science, but that’s part of the game. Near future seems to get me comparing the technology then and now more carefully, so even though it should be easier to be accurate, I’m more likely to quibble. Of course, I’m just as likely to be wrong.

    In any case, I find the cultural background of this series believable and enjoyable. I’ll continuing borrowing the copies my wife gets from the library on a pretty regular basis.

  • Book Series: Starwolves

    I was looking over a few of the older paperbacks in my library, and I enjoyed a bit of time with this series, so I thought I’d mention it here. Thorarinn Gunnarsson is one of the authors I enjoy as light reading, and Starwolves is one of her series that I enjoyed. Those who enjoy serious military fiction will not be overly excited by the battles and history in this series (I’m not), but the personalities are interesting and the stories are fun.

    You can still find copies around on Amazon.com, though in many cases only used. It is quick reading for when you want to rest your mind. I also have found her other Magic Words series interesting on the same basis. It’s not deep and serious, but light, fun, and humorous. I enjoy that type of reading for a certain percentage of the time.

    I think many readers would enjoy a detour into Gunnarsson’s fun writing.

  • Book: The Dragon Scroll

    I like historical mysteries, so I was fairly interested in trying this one, a mystery of ancient Japan, even though I have no acquaintance with Japanese history. In general, however, the book was a disappointment. I found the writing not too terribly engaging. It was simply a series of episodes set end to end. I solved the mystery too early, well before the lead character and got to wondering when he would catch on. To be fair (to a fictional character?) he did not have as much information as the reader of the story.

    Since I don’t know the culture and period of history involved, I can’t comment on how realistic the book is. I was disturbed by the number of exceptions to cultural norms that were allowed. The reader is repeatedly informed that some action of the main character is a terrible insult, and yet there never seem to be any consequences to such insults. He can do things that just aren’t done, and yet everything goes on as though that had not happened.

    Having criticized all of that, if one settles in to read this as a historical novel, and not a mystery or a novel of suspense, one can enjoy portions of the story. Most of the suspense failed to keep me in suspense.

    As it stands, I’m rating this book a 2 or 2.5. It’s possible I’ll read another in this series, but not all that likely.

  • Book: Off Armageddon Reef

    It no doubt surprises nobody that I am quick to read a new book by David Weber, who is one of my favorite authors of all time. In this case, our local library was quite helpful, because they had Off Armageddon Reef in almost immediately.

    This book is set in a completely new universe and promises to be fascinating. The first volume always requires a great deal of content just to allow the readers to get their bearings, but Weber manages to give us all that while fascinating with action and with politics. I know that some complain about the politics of the Honor Harrington series, and some about the detailed battle scenes, but I find both fascinating and excellent. Weber thinks through his battles and gives you specific strategies and tactics and the reasons that they work. At the same time, he has fasicnating characters who are part of fascinating cultures carrying out those tactics.

    One of the great features of this new series is the discussion of specific new elements of technology and how they impact strategy and tactics, which in turn impacts politics. I will be eagerly awaiting the next book in the series, while I continue to eagerly await the next Honor Harrington novel.

  • Book: Born in Death

    J. D. Robb continues the saga of Eve Dallas and Roark with this delightful action story with some mystery. I found myself guessing ahead correctly a bit too often, but the story moves well in any case.

    Eve finds herself handling two complex cases simultaneously. With the department insinuating that she might not be trustworthy because she’s dealing with substantial amounts of financial data that might get to Roark, who might use it for his own benefit, she and Roark decide to tackle the issue head on and challenge the department, the criminals, and some very powerful people.

    All of this is entwined with the preparations for Mavis to give birth with Roark and Eve serving as coaches. At some times, one wonders which will be more challenging, the criminal element or the baby element. Eve survives the attacks of criminals, but a baby shower seems more challenging.

    I confess that J. D. Robb grows on me as time goes on. She’s one of the rare contemporary authors that I truly enjoy.