I'd heard of this book (by Earnest Cline) off and on for years, but seeing a movie released caused me to actually pick it up and read it. Wade Watts, AKA Parzival, lives in the culmination, or perhaps nadir, of development of the trailer park – the "stacks", where trailers have been literally stacked to heights of twenty or more, sheltering the desperate and displaced in a world where a combination of climate change and energy depletion has caused the collapse of American society and most of the rest of the world. It is a dystopian, [ Continue reading... ]
On My Shelves: The Liaden Universe 1: Agents and Pilots and Trees, Oh My!
April 17, 2018 By 1 Comment
Sharon Lee and Steve Miller have been writing in the Liaden universe for a long time – since 1988, in fact. The series almost died at three books, but was revived by the internet – apparently on rec.arts.sf.written to begin with – demanding more. Possibly it's the first example of such a phenomenon; if not, it's certainly one of the first. I've heard of Liaden, therefore, for a long time. I've even been acquainted with the authors for a fair number of years (as Steve and Sharon both frequent conventions in my general area). But for one [ Continue reading... ]
On My Shelves: The Aeronaut’s Windlass
April 12, 2018 By Leave a Comment
I've previously reviewed the Dresden Files and the first couple of volumes of Jim Butcher's Codex Alera (both of which I enjoyed a lot). The Aeronaut's Windlass begins a new series, The Cinder Spires. This may be Jim Butcher's most ambitious series. Dresden's adventures take place in a world that looks very much like ours, and the basic setup is easily understood, even if the supernatural underbelly of the world is complicated and often obscured to the reader. Codex Alera takes place on a world that is at least generally Earthlike and with a [ Continue reading... ]
French Roast Apocalypse: Chapter 19
April 10, 2018 By 1 Comment
We learned a bit more about why the Blackwells are hated... in this chapter, we get to meet another one... ----- Chapter 19. New York City, 1980 “Congratulations, Dyl, you passed your second history exam,” Tina said, leaning against the Muffin House display case. “There actually is a brain in that head of yours.” She smiled and tapped her temple with a thin finger. In her other hand, she held out the purple-dittoed test sheet. A red-ink "85%" was circled at the top. On the table behind her was a stack of books and a binder. For [ Continue reading... ]
Demons of the Past:Revelation, Chapter 30
April 9, 2018 By 9 Comments
And we conclude our snippets of this volume of Demons with an extremely important chapter! ----- Chapter 30. Varan: Torline's Swords, it's been a long day. I thought. Now I get to rest. I headed wearily for my cabin. My Captain's cabin. That did manage to bring a faint smile to my lips still. Other things… I was still awfully conflicted. The depression at my loss wasn't going to go any time soon, that was for sure. I wondered if I'd managed to hide that from Taelin. It wasn't something I could talk about, so I had to hope so. [ Continue reading... ]
Demons of the Past:Revolution, Chapter 29
April 6, 2018 By Leave a Comment
Something had gone wrong with Sasham... ------ Chapter 29. Shagrath: Restraint. Restraint. Patience. Are these not the lessons I have learned over the years of my penance? Do not let them be lost. Shagrath repeated this to himself several times until he was sure he could maintain control. Such things were so contrary to his people's nature. Yet there was no choice. So much had been lost before due to impulsive actions. That was why he was still here, with these creatures, following their actions and mimicking their behaviors. He [ Continue reading... ]
French Roast Apocalypse: Chapter 18
April 5, 2018 By Leave a Comment
Another trip back in time, and we see some other characters when they were younger... and learn just how nasty Mr. Blackwell was.... ----- Chapter 18. New York City, 1980 Anna's Muffin Shop was a small shop, with a large display case filled with many different kinds of muffins ranging from corn to chocolate as well as cupcakes and cookies. The walls were painted pink as a background for black silhouette figures that danced across the wall, figures with finger-wave hair and zoot suits. Apparently the shop had started [ Continue reading... ]
Demons of the Past: Revelation, Chapter 28
April 4, 2018 By Leave a Comment
So Shagrath had said there was a test for Varan... ------ Chapter 28. Varan: I focused on the room beyond and muttered a tired curse. Like many of them the closer I got to the center, this area had a psi-damper. I'd found I could still function in rooms with a standard damper before, in my earlier training, but it was like fighting underwater, or in extra-heavy gravity; you just had a lot less to devote to the cause. Worse, the screens were more than sufficient to scramble even my best attempts to remote-view or listen. As [ Continue reading... ]
French Roast Apocalypse: Chapter 17
April 3, 2018 By Leave a Comment
Dylan's finally waking up to find out that even a Revenant can get badly hurt... ---- Chapter 17. New York City, 2010 When Dylan finally came to from the almost-endless dream, it took a while to understand where he was, what had happened. The only thing he knew for sure was that he'd been wrapped like a mummy – bandaged broken arm, skull fracture, chest wrapped for multiple broken ribs, and serious repair work to put his guts back where they belonged. He spent most of his time unconscious — if you could call that [ Continue reading... ]
Demons of the Past:Revelation, Chapter 27
April 2, 2018 By Leave a Comment
And after that last chapter, it's not so surprising that Varan's starting to sound a little... OFF now... ----- Chapter 27. Varan: Dr. Sooovickalassa gave a hiss combined with a chiming rattle as that fantastic golden crest rippled; this was, I'd come to learn, an R'Thann's equivalent of an exclamation of awe. "Stable your abilities two weeks have been," he said. You appear to have reached your peak – and an impressive peak it is. On a sideband which he probably didn't mean me to see, I could also hear Possibly as strong as one of [ Continue reading... ]
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