Sungrazer. (2017) Jay Posey

Sungrazer (2017) Jay Posey

Outriders Number 2.  Lets see  -  Mars against Earth.  A novel concept in SF!  Way to go!  However, I actually like this novel.  Why?  Great characters!  I want to see what happens with Lincoln Suh, Amira Wright, Thumper, and the rest of the crew.  Imagine that – character development in a military SF book.  But there you are.  Some interesting angles.  Multiple clone backups for each of them with some potential problems in the transfer process.  An AI space ship which is not really developed – missed opportunity I think. The pace was spot on and the tech was very good.  If only we could get a more creative background plot.  “Can’t always get what you want…..”

All These Worlds - Bobiverse Book 3. (2017)

All These Worlds -Bobiverse Book 3  (2017) 

Dennis E. Taylor

Well here we are at the conclusion (?)  of the Bobiverse trilogy.  Bob, Bill, Will, Howard etc   need to wrap things up.  They better develop the android bodies so they can interact better with the short-lived humans.  I liked the series but have to admit that this was a little disappointing.  I thought another human would be scanned as a replicant and would have some new interactions and possibly mixing of ideas and maybe some baby replicants who were not just clones.  Oh well.

The story about “The Others” was exciting and ended ina satisfying way.  Maybe book 4 could follow original Bob as he travels out into the unknown and possibly meets a new type of alien life?

Super Sales on Super Heroes (2017) William D. Aurand

Super Sales on Super Heroes  (2017)   William D. Aurand

 I didn’t think I would like it.  Bought the audio book on a whim.  Amazingly found it pretty funny and enjoyed it not a little. 

There is one element that I find repellant and will describe that late in this review.

The basic premise is that the world is dominated by super heroes and villains  (with little separating them).  Our hero (Felix Campbell) is not much of one. The only “power”  he has is the ability to improve the things that he owns.  Unfortunately for him he does not have enough points to do anything with and these points reset every day.  He has saved up money to buy some metal in hopes to slowly convert it to gold but instead gets a mostly dead super hero.  He decides to keep the super hero and finds out since he “owns” it as a “slave” he gets to use their super hero points which are much higher than his. He gets the opportunity to buy two others that are equally damaged and uses their points to repair them.  Once this is done he goes on a hero / villain buying spree and develops an organization based on using his points and the powers of the group to create money and upgrade the “slaves” as rewards for services.    This group -  incorporated “We are Legion”  (see “We are Bob”) -  is on constant active from the Legion of Heroes.  Finally with his back against the wall Felix must his enemies himself to preserve his slaves and his way of life.

Lots of fun in here -  Andrea – who can multiply herself, is part wolf, and loves pancakes, Lily – the soul eating demon, and Kit – the mind reader are his chief companions and consultants in this venture.

My big problem with this book is the picture of the big-hearted slave owner.  I do not think they exist.  It trivializes the whole American nightmare that slave-holding brought over us.  I wish Aurand had found another conveyance such as indentured servant – which he does use.  Of course,  Felix is ultimately a villain (has the souls ripped out of his enemies before they are sent (still alive) to the sausage machine.  His slaves then eat the sausage to get increased power. Sounds like a villain to me. As long as the villains eventually loose or are sanctified and reborn. 

For We Are Many.  The Bobiverse Book 2 (2017)  Dennis E. Taylor

The Bobiverse expands!  There is now Bob, Bill, Will Ricker (Number 1), Homer, Howard, Mario, Hungry, Sleepy  - It goes on and on.  They are making significant progress.  Building androids, real-time communication over vast distances, new habitable worlds, and no budding civilizations. 

Unfortunately there are some significant obstacles.  There are some dissident elements in the Earth remnants that are causing havoc.  They don’t think any humans should remain to foul up universe.  Inconvenient concept when your purpose is to save humanity.   In outer space the “others” are becoming a BIG concern and will surely be the focus of Book 3.   The Others are a hive mind that are bent on consuming the universe.  Everything is either food, a pest, or to be ignored.  Humanity has become both so is the next dish on the menu. 

I wondered how Dennis Taylor would handle a second book.  I think adding the  ‘Others’ will really give this project some focus and serve as a test for the replicants.  The showdown loams in Book 3.

Killing Titan (2015) Greg Bear

Killing Titan (2015)  Greg Bear

This book follows -  War Dogs.  Our hero, Skyrine Michael Venn,  is back on Earth after getting exposed to Green “Ice Moon Tea” in the ancient artifact – The Drifter on Mars.  It left some of his comrades as black ice.   But not Venn and not DJ.  Now Venn can hear one of the former comrades as well as the bug Karnack -  ancient storage of bug knowledge. 

As he is getting interrogated and about to be executed for what they think he knows about the Antags, the gurus and what this war is really all about – he is swept back to Mars and on the Titan where he learns more.  Finally he must make a decision about who he trusts.  His fellow Skyrines and their puppet-masters – the Guru’s?  Or the Antag female that he mind melds with and who together receive tantalizing information from bug Karnack. 

I like the first person narrative.  It makes it more real to me.  Although, a bit hard to follow some times.  Reminds me a little of of John Scalzi’s Old Man’s War. I suspect that the next book – Take Back the Sky -  is going to get even weirder – we’ll see.