Book Recommendations

I'm a voracious reader. But a terrible book reviewer. For an example of a great book reviewer, I would point you to Jeffro at the Castalia House Blog. On to the recommendations:

JACK CLOUDIE, by Stephen Hunt.

I've  been a fan of Hunt's Jackalian universe series from the beginning. I wish these books got more attention. And I wish he'd return to them! They're gonzo Steampunk. Hunt has the ability to throw everything but the kitchen sink into a story and somehow make it work.

HOLLYWOOD PHARAOHS, by Andrew Mayne.

I finally got around to reading this book after a friend's recommendation a few years back. As I turn away, more and more, from the traditional publishing powerhouses and their "Literary/Social Justice" agenda driven works, I am finally coming around to reading the independent stuff being kicked out by the biggest print revolution since Gutenberg happening at Amazon. This was a surprisingly entertaining book. My first forays into the self-published world were...blah. I could see why many of them were self-published. But that is changing! A very good thing, I think. HOLLYWOOD PHARAOHS is a modern day thriller written by a stage magician. And it's a lot of fun.

RIDING THE RED HORSE, Edited by Tom Kratman and Vox Day.

I purchased this one a few months back and finally got a chance to read it last month. And it was well worth it. First of all, the presence of Jerry Pournelle's story His Truth Goes Marching On is nearly worth the price alone. And there wasn't a bad story in the book. Besides Pournelle's, my other favorite was Shakedown Cruise by Rolf Nelson. I loved the way the A.I. was portrayed and can't wait to read more about Armadillo.

Another thing that makes this book special is the Non-fiction. From combat lasers to Fourth Generation war, which was a fascinating essay by William S. Lind, there was a lot of good stuff in this book.

THE MARTIAN by Andy Weir

Combine APOLLO 13 with the MACGYVER T.V. Series. Add liberal doses of humor to help the dry, cold martian terrain go down. Mix well.

THE MARTIAN is one of the best Science Fiction books I've had the pleasure of reading in a good long time. Hard science fiction, at that, which usually doesn't hold my interest for very long.

It's refreshing. The only agendas this book has is to A) Entertain you and B) Demonstrate that daring the impossible, odds be damned, is itself a worthy thing. If I took away any theme from the book, its that nothing worthwhile happens without risk. And we've become far too risk averse for our own good.

Highly Recommeded.

My how time flies...

It seems like just yesterday that I was posting on my love of the Guardians of the Galaxy movie. Then family crises and real world drama struck. I don't know how the big bloggers do it.

Anyway, I'm still here and still plugging away on my fiction. I hope to have some book and movie reviews up soon.