[Book review] Hull Zero Three by Greg Bear

Click image to purchase from Amazon

I should say up front that I’m not a fan of Greg Bear’s books.  And yet, I keep reading them.  I hear good things about his novels from other people and I keep wondering what they’re seeing that I’m not.  Perhaps his books just aren’t to my taste.  But his latest novel, Hull Zero Three, would most definitely have worked better as a novella.

The man who will come to call himself Teacher wakes, cold and naked, in the bowels of a seemingly dead spaceship.  He has no memory of how he got there or what his purpose in being there might be.  He sets off to find not only answers, but survival.

Along the way, he meets a few others with the same goals, and they slowly penetrate deep within the ship.  As they learn more, they come up with just as many questions as they answer.  What happened to this ship?  Why are they traveling the stars?  And what happened to Hull 03?

[Book review] Magic at the Gate by Devon Monk

Click image to purchase from Amazon

I’ve noticed that, over the past few years, I’ve begun reading a significant amount of paranormal fantasy.  Lots of magic, lots of action, usually a dollop (or more than a dollop) of romance.  And of course, as with any large sub-genre, you get good examples and bad examples.  Devon Monk’s Allie Beckstrom novels are, I’m happy to say, among the better ones out there.

Magic at the Gate picks up mere seconds after the end of the previous book: Allie has walked voluntarily into the realm of death to find the soul of her lover, Zayvion Jones.  Helping her is her father, whose soul has been taking up residence in her head for a good little while.  While they do find Zayvion and retrieve his soul, it costs Allie something extremely precious—the small magic that she’s always carried within her.

Bereft of her own unique magic, Allie returns to a world where magic is under siege.  The disks created by her father, used to store magical power temporarily, have been stolen by Jingo Jingo, a former member of the magical Authority.  And the disks are showing up wedded to ghosts that are distressingly solid… and angry. 

So few magic users remain to guard the remaining disks and the magical wells that it’s uncertain whether they can be protected at all.  And when it seems like someone has found a way to recharge the disks instead of them burning out after one use, Allie and the others may finally be outclassed in the magic department.

[Book review] The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin

Click image to purchase from Amazon

I have a fondness for fantasy that’s got a good, complicated plot.  Some of my favorite authors in that regard are Robin Hobb, Jacqueline Carey, and Fiona McIntosh.  But now I have to add another name to that list: N. K. Jemisin.  Her outstanding The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms combines intriguing characters, stellar worldbuilding, and enough beefy plot for the most ardent reader.

Yeine Darr has been called from her homeland to the court in the city of Sky.  But upon her arrival, she’s dumbfounded to realize that she’s been named as one of the heirs to the throne.  Just as shocking is the fact that she’s not expected to survive the experience.

She finds allies in the most unusual of places—among the cadre of fallen gods who exist as slaves to the royal family.  From them, she finds out about the circumstances of her own conception, the politics swirling around Sky, and the truth about the gods.  As the time to confirm her as heir looms closer, Yeine must use all her wits and knowledge to survive, but even all that she can muster may not be enough.

[Book review] I Shall Wear Midnight by Terry Pratchett

Click image to purchase from Amazon

Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels are among the most beloved in fantasy literature.  Since 1983, the tales of the witches, Rincewind the wizard, and the City Watch have continued to make readers laugh, cry and think.  In his thirty seventh Discworld novel, I Shall Wear Midnight, Pratchett rejoins Tiffany Aching, a young witch with a rather large problem.

Tiffany has been a witch long enough to know that her skills are usually, though not always, appreciated.   But the murmurs currently stirring against her are something new.  And they coincide with the appearance of an eyeless man in black that smells horribly of corruption. 

Unsure of what the creature is, Tiffany and her tiny blue guardians, the Feegles, journey to Ankh-Morpork in search of answers.  What she finds there is a hatred that goes back centuries, and it may destroy both her and the people that she cares about.

[Book review] Intrigues by Mercedes Lackey

Click image to purchase from Amazon

This review contains spoilers

Mercedes Lackey’s Valdemar books have been a staple in the fantasy genre for a long time.  I picked up my first Valdemar novel back in 1992, and I still occasionally go back and revisit the land and people that have given me so many hours of happy reading.  But after so many years in the same setting, can the newer books be as original as the earlier ones?

Mags, an orphan rescued from horrible conditions in a mine by being Chosen by the Companion Dallen, is settling into his new life at the Heralds’ Collegium.  Although inundated with lessons ranging from math to history to equitation, he works with the King’s Own Herald to learn the tricks of being a spy.  And such skills come in handy when Mags is in town and spots someone who infiltrated the Collegium the previous winter.

But all isn’t smooth sailing for Mags.  The Foreseers have begun to have disturbing visions of the King lying on the ground and Mags standing over him with blood on his hands.  Since Mags is an outsider of unknown parentage, suspicion falls squarely on him and begins to take a toll on his confidence.  Mags may be the only person able to clear his own name, but can he do that while everyone seems to be against him?

[Book review] Out of the Dark by David Weber

Click image to purchase from Amazon

This review contains spoilers

Before I picked up this book, I’d only read one other novel by David Weber. I know a few people who absolutely love his Honor Harrington series, and because of them, I plan to read them someday. When I saw what appeared to be a stand-alone novel by Weber, I picked it up in the hopes of getting more of a feel for Weber and his writing. I must say, I wish that I hadn’t.

Unbeknownst to humanity, a great and sprawling galactic empire exists, made up of dozens of different races. Most of them are peaceable and non-confrontational; however, there are a few that have expansionist leanings. To try to direct those who want to move out into the stars, prospective planets are scouted in advance to determine their suitability for colonization.One such survey observes Earth during the 1400s and concludes that we’re too bloodthirsty to be allowed into the empire, but we’re not technologically advanced enough to protect.

Hundreds of years later, in modern times, humanity is stunned when an alien fleet appears and uses kinetic weapons to systematically destroy all military power on Earth. Even though we’ve advanced in leaps and bounds, the warlike Shongairi are determined to either subvert humanity as a slave species or destroy us entirely. But the survivors aren’t prepared to go down without one heck of a fight…