Waiting on Wednesday 11/12/14
Posted on November 12, 2014 9 Comments
“Waiting On Wednesday” is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine that lets us feature upcoming releases that we can’t wait to get our hands on!
Mogsy’s Pick:
The End of All Things by John Scalzi: August 11, 2015 (Tor)
Since it’s Sci-Fi Month and I really liked Tammy’s (from Books, Bones & Buffy) idea of only featuring upcoming science-fiction titles in WoWs in November, I was struck by the inspiration to try that too! Let’s see how that goes, though there’s always a bunch of science-fiction releases on my radar that I’m looking forward to. Anything by Scalzi, for example, immediately goes into my to-read list. And I couldn’t be more excited to discover this direct sequel to his 2013 serialized novel The Human Division, and it is technically the sixth book of the Old Man’s War sequence. Have I mentioned how much I love this series? I have? Many times? Well, I do!
“Hugo-award winning author, John Scalzi returns to his best-selling Old Man’s War universe with the direct sequel to 2013’s The Human Division
Humans expanded into space…only to find a universe populated with multiple alien species bent on their destruction. Thus was the Colonial Union formed, to help protect us from from a hostile universe. The Colonial Union used the Earth and its excess population for colonists and soldiers. It was a good arrangement…for the Colonial Union. Then the Earth said: no more.
Now the Colonial Union is living on borrowed time—a couple of decades at most, before the ranks of the Colonial Defense Forces are depleted and the struggling human colonies are vulnerable to the alien species who have been waiting for the first sign of weakness, to drive humanity to ruin. And there’s another problem: A group, lurking in the darkness of space, playing human and alien against each other—and against their own kind —for their own unknown reasons.
In this collapsing universe, CDF Lieutenant Harry Wilson and the Colonial Union diplomats he works with race against against the clock to discover who is behind attacks on the Union and on alien races, to seek peace with a suspicious, angry Earth, and keep humanity’s union intact…or else risk oblivion, and extinction—and the end of all things.”
Panels: Batgirl: Knightfall Descends
Posted on November 11, 2014 2 Comments
“Maybe I do know what a hero looks like, after all. And she wears black and red.”
After questioning whether there are still any heroes left in Gotham, including herself and the Bat family because she fears they’re upholding a status quo, Barbara Gordon decides that there are still heroes out there when she teams up with Batwoman.
Batgirl: Knightfall Descends
#RRSciFiMonth: Star Wars: A New Dawn by John Jackson Miller
Posted on November 11, 2014 20 Comments
Sci-Fi November is a month-long blog event hosted by Oh The Books and Rinn Reads this year, created to celebrate everything amazing about science fiction! From TV shows to movies, books to comics, and everything else in between, it is intended to help science fiction lovers share their love and passion for this genre and its many, many fandoms.
Star Wars: A New Dawn by John Jackson Miller
Genre: Science Fiction, Media Tie-In
Series: Star Wars Universe
Publisher: Del Rey (September 2, 2014)
Author Information: Website | Twitter
Mogsy’s Rating: 3 of 5 stars
Like many Star Wars fans, I was initially disappointed by the news earlier this year that Lucasfilm has pretty much nuked most of the franchise’s Expanded Universe, declaring all of it as no longer official canon. But after some thinking, I’ve come to terms with it and now actually believe that it was a wise decision. Having ballooned into this humongous bloated entity after all these years, if anything needed a hard reset it was the Star Wars EU. And having been a long time reader of Marvel and DC comics, I’ve grown more accustomed to stuff like retcons and massive wipes by now.
Besides, I can finally give up the New Jedi Order for good without feeling guilty about stalling halfway through the series since like forever. Move over, old school stuff, it’s time for new stories. Time for the very aptly named A New Dawn.
As the first Star Wars novel integrating input from the Lucasfilm Story Group, A New Dawn is set in the time between the movies Episode III and IV, not long after the fall of the Republic and the legendary Jedi.
It probably also behooves me to mention that I’m currently following the new animated series Star Wars Rebels, which had a role in motivating me to pick up this book. I’m enjoying what I’ve seen so far, so it was only natural that I was interested in reading this. It serves as a prequel to the show, taking place roughly six years before the events in the first episode, and two of the lead characters are featured as protagonist in the book as well. Essentially, it tells the story of how the former Jedi Kanan Jarrus and the Twi’lek rebel Hera Syndulla first met.
That said, you don’t need to know anything about the show to read the book. In fact, I find that the two are completely different in tone and vibe. The show feels geared more towards a younger audience; being on the Disney X-D channel and all, that’s perhaps not too surprising. The book, on the other hand, is more mature, and I’m guessing most people who read it will agree that John Jackson Miller did not dial anything down.
Still, I can’t describe A New Dawn as anything other than standard Star Wars fare, in terms of the quality of writing and story. This was a slight downer, given the publication significance of this book and the fact it marks a new beginning, I had hoped for something a little more…well, just MORE. But on the bright side, it should make readers of Star Wars fiction feel right at home. You have the very recognizable character types, such as the Jedi-in-exile and hotshot starship pilot. You have a ruthless villain and Imperial tyranny. You have sweeping battles in space and the spark of rebellion. So on second thought, being the same-old-same-old might not be such a bad thing.
I also loved the characters. They’re the best aspect of this book, and not just because I really like Kanan and Hera from the animated series (though that helped). John Jackson Miller goes into the background of both characters, giving us great insight into their personalities and motivations. On the show, they’re not only the leaders of their crew but almost like the father and mother figures, and I can appreciate the nature of their partnership so much more after reading this. Other supporting characters that I’ve only met for the first time in the novel were well-written as well, most notably the former Clone Wars veteran and conspiracy theorist Skelly, whose persona is as volatile as the incendiary devices he loves so much.
All told, this wasn’t a bad book, but it’s also unlikely that it’s going to end up on my shelf of favorite Star Wars novels. Still, I enjoyed it well enough. While A New Dawn had a decent story that was entertaining but not all that memorable, the strength really goes to the characters rather than plot, and that’s a huge redeeming factor. It would also make a great jumping on point for new fans, which is why I think all the more a shame that it wasn’t more special, but I think the majority of readers will like it just fine and won’t be too disappointed, which is where I’m standing.
#RRSciFiMonth: Skeptical About SciFi? Try These
Posted on November 10, 2014 18 Comments
Sci-Fi November is a month-long blog event hosted by Oh The Books and Rinn Reads this year, created to celebrate everything amazing about science fiction! From TV shows to movies, books to comics, and everything else in between, it is intended to help science fiction lovers share their love and passion for this genre and its many, many fandoms.
Science fiction is a tricky genre. Some people define it very specifically as fiction that contains actual, realistic science; everything else is fantasy. Some are more lenient and slot anything broadly space and technology-related into the category. According to the Wikipedia entry:
Science fiction is largely based on writing rationally about alternative possible worlds or futures. It is similar to, but differs from fantasy in that, within the context of the story, its imaginary elements are largely possible within scientifically established or scientifically postulated physical laws (though some elements in a story might still be pure imaginative speculation).
Here are ten examples of books that cover the wide spectrum that makes up science fiction. If you are skeptical of trying out the genre, perhaps one of these might inspire you.
The Time Machine by H.G. Wells
Considered the first time travel story, H.G. Wells introduces us to the Time Traveller and his Time Sled, which has, according to the narrator, taken him into a distant future where two unusual species exist, the Eloi and the Morlocks. He tells his tale in the present time to a learned group of scholars, scientists, and journalists, so he does speak in those terms, but the detailing of the adventures is quite intriguing as he speculates about what this future means for the present.
Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert E. Heinlein
A manned mission to Mars results in the crew going missing, however, years later, the offspring of one of the couples comes to earth as a Martian emissary. Valentine Michael Smith looks, in physical form, like a grown adult, but he is very much a child in both Martian terms, and in his knowledge of earth. The story takes the readers on a journey with Michael as he learns how grok humanity.
The Darwin Elevator by Jason M. Hough
Jason M. Hough’s debut novel involves alien devices landing on earth and spreading a disease that turns almost everyone into feral beasts. For some strange reason, Darwin, Australia is the only place left untouched, which is why everyone who could, has made their way there. Darwin is also the location of the elevator that, like everything else the mysterious aliens have left on earth, has yet to be figured out. It’s up to Skyler Luiken and his team of immunes to determine what is going on—and the clock is ticking.
You’ve probably heard of The Hunger Games by now, and maybe even heard that it was supposedly a rip off of Japan’s Battle Royale. Well, dystopian futures where children are made to fight each other isn’t a new concept. In fact, Shade’s Children was written before either of these books, and features children who, at the age of 13, are taken away, genetically modified, and made to fight for the amusement of the alien overlords that now rule the earth. But the enigmatic Shade has other plans, and enlists a group of youngsters to stop the aliens, even at the cost of their own lives.
Metahumans have appeared all over the world—super humans with the kind of powers you once read about in comic books. In this future world, Matthew Moxon must compete against several of these powerful beings in a deathmatch to earn prestige and enough money to save him from the tumour that is threatening his life.
Tuck is a robot. A robot with feelings. A robot with feelings that is afraid to die. After the robot uprising that saw the persecution of thousands of his kind, he has been on the run for decades, carefully trying to keep himself together and keep himself out of the hands of collectors and those who would try to do him harm. He comes into contact with a businessman who can offer him his dreams, but at a price. If there’s one thing Tuck fears more than death, it’s having to kill more humans.
Star Wars: Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn
Star Wars might be the closest some readers get to stepping into the scifi genre. Normally, I avoid novels based on movies, but in this case, I do recommend the original trilogy, especially The Empire Strikes Back. But if you want to dig into the expanded universe (with the understanding that Disney has decreed this is no longer canon—but they are still excellent reads), then check out the Thrawn Trilogy.
Lilith’s Brood by Octavia E. Butler
Butler did not particularly like having her work classified as science fiction, but understood the publisher’s need for labels for the sake of marketing. Still, there are definitely scifi elements involved in all of her writing, and she delves deeply into social science as she holds up a mirror to society. Lilith’s Brood collects three books, starting with Imago, and is the first of her works that I read. A race of aliens has come to earth to save the species from its own destruction by collecting Lilith and a few others. But saving humans means giving birth to an entirely new breed of creatures.
Ready Player One by Ernest Clines
This book is any gamer and child of the ‘80s dream. Put on your virtual gear and step into the world of OASIS, which the evil big corporation wants to control. But the creator of the game has something up his sleeve: a competition to find the secret treasure that wills the game to whomever unlocks it.
The Best of All Possible Worlds by Karen Lord
This is a sweet romance story disguised as science fiction. That is, there certainly are a lot of science fiction elements, what with the planet of Sadira being destroyed and its survivors seeking integration into the various taSadiri clans on the planet Cygnus Beta, but the focus is on the main character Grace Delarua, and the Sadiri counsellor, Dllenakh, who seem to be the last people to realize that they should be together.
Sunday Musings: Challenges
Posted on November 9, 2014 5 Comments
November is well under way, and it seems that I am not so well under way with the challenges I’ve set out for myself this year. I’ve read only 108 of the 150 books and comics I intended to read for my Goodreads challenge. I have written all of 2281 words for NaNoWriMo. And my Worlds Without End checker board still has a lot of incompletes.
With only two months left before the end of the year, I don’t think I’m going to make it. I’m not giving up though. I’ll do what I can when I can with what I can. And I’m not disappointed in the results, either. For one thing, a lot of my time has gone into a great new job, as well as several writing projects. One particular project has been ongoing for over a year now, but will finally be coming to fruition within the next few months. Very exciting… but I can’t tell you what it is just yet….
Lootz: Mogsy’s Book Haul
Posted on November 8, 2014 15 Comments
Welcome to this biweekly feature where I showcase all the books I bought/won/received for review in the past fortnight. First, the physical pile:
Radiant – I’ve heard great things about this book. My thanks to Talos Press/Skyhorse Publishing for sending this one along, I’m reading this now and pretty excited to be able to feature it for sci-fi month.
Touch – A surprise arrival from Orbit, I knew nothing about this book when I got it other than the fact the author Claire North is also the author of The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August released earlier this year. Looks interesting!
The City Stained Red – Courtesy of Orbit, I was also really excited to receive an ARC of this book. The print edition isn’t coming out until early next year but of course you can get the ebook now, which I also did for $1.99 (hope it’s still that price at the moment!) which is an awesome deal, obviously!
Your Servants and Your People – From Jo Fletcher Book, I received this sequel to last year’s Your Brother’s Blood by David Towsey. Yay for zombie westerns! I really enjoyed the first book, so I’m really looking forward to continuing with The Walkin’ Trilogy. My thanks to the publisher.
Willful Child – Courtesy of Tor, you might have already seen my review of this one earlier in the week. I loved this hilarious Star Trek spoof that also pokes fun at a bunch of sci-fi and pop culture tropes.
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories – I won this classic as part of a Halloween themed giveaway hosted by Beauty in Ruins!
Tainted Blood – As you know, I adore the Generation V series and had a blast with this book. I’ve got my finished copy now! My internet handle is also immortalized within its pages. Even-tempered and bred to herd/kill lions, that’s how M.L. Brennan thinks of me, RAWRRR!
And now the digital pile. I broke 90% on my NetGalley stats last week, so of course I did the reckless thing and went on a requesting spree.
The Eterna Files – From NetGalley. This had been on my watch list, so I didn’t hesitate to request.
Unbreakable – Maybe I’ve just got sci-fi on the brain now, but the more I learned about this book, the better it looked! Also from NetGalley.
Horrorstor – NetGalley again, and Quirk Books auto-approved me! I’ve heard such great things about this book. I missed my chance before release, so when I saw this up I jumped on it right away.
Tarkin – From NetGalley earlier last week when I got my stats up and felt confident enough to request again. I want to make a stronger effort to keep up with Star Wars novels now, and I really enjoyed Luceno’s last Star Wars “villain” book Darth Plagueis so I have high hopes for this.
The Garden of Stones – Kindle deal! Several bloggers I know have had great things to say about this series, so I couldn’t resist. Also will pick up the audiobook via Whispersync.
Thorn Jack – Harper Collins had (or still has?) a pretty good ebook sale going on, and I decided to pick up this Young Adult novel in the re-imagining genre which I’ve had my eye on for a while.
#RRSciFiMonth: In the Beginning, There Was H.G. Wells
Posted on November 7, 2014 18 Comments
Sci-Fi November is a month-long blog event hosted by Oh The Books and Rinn Reads this year, created to celebrate everything amazing about science fiction! From TV shows to movies, books to comics, and everything else in between, it is intended to help science fiction lovers share their love and passion for this genre and its many, many fandoms.
I’m making a point of reading the classics, and when it comes to science fiction, where better to start than with them an considered to be the father of the genre, H.G. Wells?
Published in 1895, The Time Machine is Wells’ first book, which I read in 2012. It was a difficult read for me initially, because of all the scientific and mathematical chatter in the first chapter. But I managed to trudge through, as this did not last long and the Time Traveller was off and returned from his adventure soon enough.
The narrative then became quite verbose and descriptive, as is to be expected since the Time Traveller was describing his experience. At times, it perhaps felt a bit over embellished, but not enough for me to truly claim that to be a negative in the story.
![The Time Traveller's Time Sled [Source]](https://bibliosanctum.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/time-machines-through-er-time-20100325065957774.jpeg)
The Time Traveller’s Time Sled [Source]
In light of this being considered by some to be the first true science fiction novel, I can see it being rather impressive at the time of its publication. A whole new world and the reader gets to listen to the Time Traveller’s story in the same manner as the journalists, medical men and scientists whom he tells it to. I imagine the reaction of the readers at that time was very similar to those in the book.
Speaking of reactions, Wells’ second book, The War of the Worlds, inspired quite an intense one when Orson Welles narrated the book on the radio in 1938, causing wide spread panic.
The fallout from Orson Welles’ narration of The War of the Worlds [Source]
While the Time Traveller went to a distant future, The War of the Worlds brings martians to earth. For what purpose? Why, our destruction of course!
Some say that true science fiction must involve real science. Wells set that precedent with his works. But while I had trouble with the influx of science in the first book, it is more organically used in this book, which is told from the point of view of a philosopher in the midst of writing when the first martian cylinder arrives. He survives the chaos wrought by the martians and their deadly heat rays. Through his eyes, we see the human struggle for survival — the fight, flight, or succumb instinct.
The most fascinating thing about Wells’ writing is that he spends no time on characterization. Indeed, characters aren’t even named, much less described. Those details are unimportant, yet through the narrator’s eyes, we gain so much.
Even more fascinating? Wells wrote all of these out-of-this-world tales long before humanity ever took to the skies.
Tough Traveling: Novices
Posted on November 6, 2014 16 Comments
The Thursday feature “Tough Traveling” is the brainchild of Nathan ofReview Barn, who has come up with the excellent idea of making a new list each week based on the most common tropes in fantasy, as seen in The Tough Guide to Fantasyland by Diana Wynn Jones. Nathan has invited anyone who is interested to come play along, so be sure to check out the first link for more information.
This week’s tour topic is: Novices
Novice is a term in frequent use. There are not only Novice Priests and Priestesses and nuns: you will also encounter novice healers and bards, and sometimes also novice mages…Novices are always young, frequently skinny and undernourished, and clad in robes.
Mogsy’s Picks:
Life has been a bit busy lately and I had a bit of trouble this week coming up with new titles I didn’t talk about back in Tough Traveling: Mentor. Here’s a few I wanted to feature, but otherwise, take it away, Wendy!
Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey
The Court of Night-Blooming Flowers is the formal name given to a group of thirteen houses dedicated to serving the goddess Naamah. Its members are respected courtesans and highly sought after companions. Each house has a different way of preparing and training their novices, some who come to them at a very young age. A servant of Naamah will be a novice until they have their debut, usually at age 16, and become an adept. Once they earn enough to pay off and complete their marque (a very large and intricate tattoo that all Night Court members bear) they will finally become full-fledged courtesans.
A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin
In the world of Westeros, maesters are an order of scholars, healers, scientists and advisers trained at the Citadel in Oldtown. Here, a young man (women are barred from joining the order) will enter as a novice and undergo training until they have achieved the status of maester, earning links of certain metals until he has a full chain and is no longer considered a student.
Shattering the Ley by Joshua Palmatier
Shattering they Ley takes place in a world where cities are powered by the Nexus and a system of magical ley lines. One of the main characters in this book is Kara, first introduced to us as a child, but later on in the book we see her grow into a young woman who joins the Wielders, a group of specialists who control this system of ley lines, before working her way up from novice to become a Prime.
Wendy’s Picks
Children of Fire by Drew Karpyshyn
Four unique children are born under the portents of Chaos. They are each raised in different environments and must learn to survive accordingly. At least one of them sports appropriate robe-y attire.
Wizard’s First Rule by Terry Goodkind
Richard Cypher is so new that he doesn’t even know he’s the seeker who must learn the secret of wielding the Sword of Truth to cleanse the land of the evil Darken Rhal. He’s not clad in robes, nor is he malnourished. But he is kinda skinny at least.
Hanani is a very skilled healer, but she is still only a Sharer Apprentice with much to learn. She’s also the only female that the Hetawa has permitted to learn the arts of narcomancy.
Dragon Flight by Anne Macaffrey
Lessa is seemingly nothing but a ragged kitchen girl when she regains her birthright and a place among the those dragonriders of Pern. She even gets to bond with a queen dragon and learn all the fun dragonrider stuff.
Vin is a skilled young thief when we meet her, but her “luck” actually turns out to be her skill in allomancy. When she meets Kelsier, she learns that she’s not only an allomancer, but a mistborn–one of the precious few able to use all of the metals to perform incredible feats.
The Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. LeGuin
A young boy uses his exceptional skills to aid his village, bringing him to the attention of a wizard who knows he is destined for even greater things. Master and apprentice go on a learning journey that eventually leads to wizard school.
The Way of Shadows by Brent Weeks
A young boy discards his old life as lackey to a petty crime lord to become apprentice to one of the deadliest assassins (a.k.a. wet boys) around.
Waiting on Wednesday 11/05/14
Posted on November 5, 2014 15 Comments
“Waiting On Wednesday” is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine that lets us feature upcoming releases that we can’t wait to get our hands on!
Mogsy’s Pick:
Echo 8 by Sharon Lynn Fisher: February 3, 2015 (Tor)
Well, it is Sci-Fi November, after all. I still regret missing out on Sharon Lynn Fisher’s The Ophelia Prophecy earlier this year, because I’ve heard some great things about it. Of course I’ve put the book on my list now and hoping to read it this month, and so I was also immediately interested when I found out she will have another sci-fi romance out early next year. Looks like Echo 8 is a separate stand alone too, so this time I probably won’t hesitate to jump on an ARC if the opportunity arises.
“As a parapsychologist working for Seattle Psi, Tess has devoted her life to studying psychic phenomena. But when doppelgangers begin appearing from a parallel world that’s been struck by an asteroid, nothing in her training will help her survive what’s to come.
After dislocating to Seattle Psi from the other Earth, Jake is confined by a special task force for study. But when he drains life energy from Tess, almost killing her, it causes a ripple effect across two worlds — and creates a bond neither of them expected.
Ross is an FBI agent ordered to protect Tess while she studies Jake. His assignment is not random — he and Tess have a history, and a connection the Bureau hopes to use to its own advantage. By the time Ross realizes his mission could be compromised, it’s already too late — he’ll have to choose between his love for Tess and his duty to protect the people of his own Earth.”
The BiblioSanctum 