Avatar: The Way of Water

 

Well, it's not as bad as the first one.  I had a serious dislike of the first Avatar film, and not just because I watched it with my ex-wife. Part of it, put bluntly, was political. The movie was a commentary on colonialism. It, being written with a liberal bent, failed to point out that literally every successful species in the history of the Planet Earth (think ant mounds, beehives,  and fields filled with wild flowers) is a colonizing species. It was full of stereotypes commonly bandied about by liberals: The oppressed minority, the warmongering military officer, the Noble Savage...

I could go on. It honestly didn't offend me. I mean, stereotypes come from somewhere, and just about any place you can find a stereotype you can find a member of the group that is being stereotyped that acts that way. Stereotypes, at their core are an easy way of communicating. I get it. I mean, even if I use the term "lazy" you don't have to. The thing is, in the first film, they pretty much substituted stereotypes for a story.  Avatar: The Way of Water contains all of the same stereotypes (even bringing back a dead man to keep up the pretense) but at least it has a bit of a story to it as well. I mean, there's even an actual character arc and everything.

One thing I will never take away from either one of these movies is their special effects. Both were beautiful. The reef was stunning. The aquatic life was amazing. The special effects team put some serious work into Avatar: The Way of Water. I seriously hope that the special effects team pulls down the Oscar this year. I haven't seen anything else that came close. Seriously, if this thing had been any more beautiful I'd have proposed to it. 

The actors did a decent job with a so-so script as well. Avatar beat the political drum for the whole movie and Avatar: The Way of Water does the same. It's all there, up to and including making the human race look racist because it wants to do what's necessary to survive. I guess I get the point of view that the ends don't justify the means, but I disagree in this case. It's weird how some people like to fantasize about their own extinction. Well, get to it, goofball. As for me and my house, we will see to our own survival while you're dying off because you don't want to offend anyone. Don't worry though. I recognize your right to not participate.

The politics of the Na'vi make sense, too. Sometimes a change is necessary at the top. Sometimes, it's not easy to manage a peaceful transition of power if the old guy is around. Exile, following a mock execution, is a smart way to clear out problems before they start. I liked his part. I got this part. I may just bogart it for my own work someday. Seriously, it's not necessary in every society but it works for the Na'vi. It also gives the movie the push it needs to really get started.

And, let's face it, the new guy comes to town is an effective story (ask my buddy Tom what the two types of stories are) for two reasons: One, because it provides the basis for a narrative. Two, because the audience can discover things about the society he has visited/joined and the audience gets taken along with them. It's a trope, but the reason it's a trope is because it works. The writers actually used the tool very effectively here. 

It's also possible to use that same tool to create tension when the new guy (in this case, new family) doesn't really know how to fit in right and are either persecuted or screw up. Sometimes it's both. In Avatar: The Way of Water it's definitely both. It works though, and the story actually moves here. I feel bad for the kid in this movie. He's a dork and gets picked on a lot. That works back to the politics, because it makes his father look bad...

Yeah, somebody passed their class at script writing school. They might've even gotten a B.

Of course, the antagonists were a bunch of humans cum Na'vi with military training and bad attitudes. They kind of sound like a villainous version of American GIs in World War II propaganda films. Think the troops in the Starship Troopers movie, only more stereotypical and with less personality. Seriously, the lack of command responsibility for the troops is deplorable, and I'm not even Hillary Clinton. The fact remains that they do, indeed, serve a purpose in the story. And that's about as good as anything in this flick.

I'm still trying to figure out why these movies make as much money as they do. Someone has to be a fan, right? I mean, I've watched them both, the first on DVD and the second on streaming but I didn't really love them. I've talked to a whole freaking bunch of people who saw the first one and didn't like it. I haven't spoken to anyone who has seen the new one. I haven't even seen anyone post about seeing it on social media and that's really weird. People love posting about things they enjoy. They get downright wicked and gleeful when posting about things that they hate. The silence around Avatar: The Way of Water has been deafening, at least in my little corner of the nerdiverse. So who, pray tell, is watching this movie?

In short, I wasn't mad about wasting two hours of my life the way I was when I saw the first one. I've definitely seen better movies, but I haven't seen worse. I am hereby sentencing myself to watch at least one Godfather movie on my next day off as a form of penance though. Or maybe it's redemption? I feel like I've earned it at least.

Bottom Line: 3.5 out of 5 Scratched Chests

Avatar: The Way of Water
James Cameron, 2023

Tom Kratman's A Desert Called Peace and Carnifex

(Welcome to Day Four of Jimbo's Memorial Day Extravaganza: You Can't Court Martial me for Being AWOL Because I'm A Civilian Edition. What's two weeks between friends, right? Seriously though, my apologies to both of the authors whose reviews came in late. 

Today, we honor Lieutenant Colonel Tom Kratman, US Army, retired. He served for a total of thirty-two years, primarily in the infantry but also in the Inspector General's Office and Public Affairs. He was deployed to Panama, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, and Egypt.If you don't follow him on Facebook for his stories of serving in Panama, you're dead wrong.  He was awarded both the Combat Infantry Badge and the Ranger Tab. He has also been married for forty-four years, has four daughters and a bunch of grandchildren.)

First off, the disclaimer: The Colonel, despite being an amazing author, has the tendency to put things into a story that will probably put about seventy-five percent of the populations knickers in a twist at some point. If it's not his blatant disregard for the point of view of Transnational Socialists (who he styles as "tranzies") it's the rampant sexuality often expressed by those same people in his books. Things can get pretty explicit. If we're being real with each other, I may be tempted to point out that I love his books for those reasons among others, but if you're the easily triggered type, I'm sure that there's a Sweet Valley High book out there for you somewhere.  My sister liked those when she was about thirteen. Or maybe you could go all Dumbledore and peruse some knitting patterns. Either way, buckle up when you pick up a Kratman novel, because things are always interesting and the man just Does. Not. Flinch.

Anyway...

I'm reviewing these two books together because when I contacted the Colonel for his interview (and thank you to him and all the other authors who have replied over the years. I really have been blessed.) he mentioned that they were intended to be one book but he went a little long. I'm okay with that. I had a lot of fun with them.

The series (I think it's called the Carrera-verse) starts out on a planet named Terra Nova on their version of September 11, 2001. It brought back a lot of that day for me, even if the details were (necessarily) different. What our hero, Patrick Henessy (later restyled as Patricio Carrera) goes through that day is unthinkable. It changes him, and he was already leaning on the harsh side as I remember it. He crawls into a bottle for a bit, but once he comes out, look out!

A Desert Called Peace and Carnifex are both books about training and equipping a force to fight a war and then actually fight the war. Kratman's military experience shows here. He has the expertise to know how to train a force to fight effectively. These novels live and breathe authenticity. They also live a breathe a certain attitude.

Kratman would not be a good guy to go to war against, and neither is Carrera. Some of the methods that Carrera's troops use, both in and out of combat, do not meet up to the standards of the Geneva Convention. That's okay with me though, because the people he's fighting are not privileged combatants under the Convention and don't enjoy it's protections.  A Desert Called Peace is one of the very few (maybe the only) books where I would encourage a reader to read the notes at the beginning. There is something there that is very pointed and which would be well taken. I know I went back and read it AGAIN to make sure I got it right the first time I read these books. And then I read it a third time when I re-read these for the review. Seriously, it's shorter than any of my blog posts, but it lets you into the head of the author.

Wait.

I feel like I'm forgetting something. Is there something else I should be writing about?

OH YEAH! THE PLOT OF THE BOOKS!!!

Listen, Carrera goes from a retired gentlemen to a general leading an army in all but name quickly. It works though. I really got the feeling that it was something he was born to do and it just took him longer than it should have to realize it. He has more than enough motivation to do so once he gets going after a shock worse than many people could have survived. Carrera comes up with a plan, finds people to help him bring it to life and moves with alacrity to get involved in a war that is maybe a little more personal to him than it should be for a leader.

Seriously, just about every decision Carrera makes sense in context but, taken as a whole, I'm not sure the guy is exactly sane. The thing is that he's crazy like a fox. He seems a bit obsessed at times and approves things that I'm not sure I ever could, but he gets the job done. I would compare Carrera to Ben Sisco from ST:DS9 on one of his worst days. I mean, Carrera never actually did anything that would kill every human on the planet, but he LIVED on the planet he was fighting on. 

Then there's his other side: Carrera does absolutely everything he can to take care of his troops. Granted, he's the commander of a mercenary unit and doesn't have to force things through the legislature ala the Veteran's Administration in the US,  and that does make it easier, but he does whatever he can. Whether it's medical care, a pension for those wounded in combat, or even an extended version of the GI Bill's educational benefits. Speaking as the guy with the history degree, the first US president to not do enough for his soldiers was Washington, and there hasn't been a president that got it right since. 

And Carrera, like Cisco, is not a heartless monster. He loves and protects not just his men, but his family. It's the loss of his wife and children that push him into action and lead him to found the Legio del Cid to begin with. Carrera is a more complicated, fully formed human being than almost any other protagonist I've read.

And I  haven't even touched the action in ADCP and Carnifex. I could read these books for the action sequences alone and be satisfied. They're gritty and realistic. What they are not is a World War II propaganda film. Kratman's action sequences are ugly and violent, they way they should be. He has been there and done that and doesn't spare the details. 

Of course, there's also the politics. Hennesy/Carrera starts out in the Republic of Balboa, which is totally not Panama. Obviously. It's on another planet, see? But when he starts a mercenary army in the heart of the country, he attracts some seriously negative attention. And then there's his relationship with the Federated States of Columbia, who should never be mistaken for the US. Nope. Not at all.  

And of course, there is politics on the other side, with the United Earth Peace Fleet (not the UN) and the actual enemy, an army of Islamofascists that may remind an uncharitable individual of Al Qaeda. Kratman does a good job of showing both sides, although he has an obvious rooting interest. I'm okay with that though. It matches mine.  

In short, if you want to read something that is entertaining, believable, action-packed and believable read A Desert Called Peace and Carnifex. It's that simple.

Bottom Line: 5.0 out of 5 Legitimate Reprisals

A Desert Called Peace
Tom Kratman
Baen Books, 2013

Carnifex
Tom Kratman
Baen Books, 2013

A Desert Called Peace and Carnifex are available for purchase at the following links. If you click the link and buy literally anything from Amazon, I get a small percentage at no additional cost to you.

D.T. Read's Ganwold's Child The Sergey Chronicles: Book One

(Author's Note: So I know I reviewed this previously, but a new edition just hit the 'Zon yesterday and I had to let everyone know.  Read had these self-published and resold the series to Chris Kennedy Publishing/ Theogony books. And yes, I've read the new edition. I got an Advance Review Copy awhile back. As much as I enjoyed it before, and I gave it five stars last time, it's better this time. The story is largely the same, but some of the language has been cleaned up and Ganwold's Child reads like it was written by a more experienced writer. If you've followed any writer for long enough, you either know what I mean, or you need to go back and read their first published book and their latest and tell me there's no difference. I'll wait....

Thank you for admitting that I'm right. Now, go read this book. And keep your eyes peeled, because books two and three of The Sergey Chronicles will be along here shortly.

I haven't changed much of the review below, except to update the cover (and OMG is that an awesome cover) buy links and bibliographical data, but it's a good review. Read it again. I would.)

(Welcome to the Third Day of Jimbo's Memorial Day Weekend Extravaganza! Yeah, I know I'm two weeks  late, but like Papa Heinlein once said, "I love deadlines. I love the whooshing sound they make as they go by." Yeah, I suck. I know. My apologies to both remaining authors. 

Anyway...

Today, we're honoring Lieutenant Colonel Diann Thornley Read, an Air Force Veteran with twenty-three years of service. She was an intelligence analyst, providing briefings to officers with much higher rank than hers. She served in Korea, Bosnia, Iraq, and Italy. She was awarded a Joint Service Medal Commendation and told that she "was the only American the multi-national coalition could understand."She says that, given the chance, she'd do it all again, too.

She states that she used a couple of locations where she was stationed for inspiration for her stories. I think that's probably where that air of authenticity comes from.)

Ganwold's Child by Diann Thornley Read (who can totally feel free to confuse with DT Read that I've reviewed previously, because they're the same person. You'd have to ask her why she uses both. Any confusion you may be feeling regarding that is totally my fault though, because Jimbo.) started off just a wee bit confusing for me. We're introduced to an alien race with its own language and idioms right off the top and I found myself scratching my head. It only lasted a few pages though, and then things got really, really good. 

Our main character is a guy named Tristan Sergey and he loves his mama. She's sick, the aliens he lives with don't have the tech to help her (based on symptoms, I'm guessing cancer but if the disease is ever mentioned by name, I missed it.) and so he sets off to save her due to a sense of Jwa'lai or duty to his mother. I find this concept fascinating, because it makes so much sense. One should always do as much as one can for his mother. On the other hand, although Read does a good job explaining what it is, I feel like I'm missing some kind of deeper cultural thing. If you've ever taken Anthropology, you know what I mean. That's really impressive. It hits just the right note. So off he goes to meet his father, who he can't remember because he's been stranded on this planet without contact with other humans since he was in diapers. He hopes that dad will help him - assuming Tristan can find the man in the first place.

Tristan is one impressive dude, too. The tech level he starts off at is basically stone age or a bit higher, and by the end of the first book (this is part of a trilogy) he's flying space fighters. He can also take a beating better than just about any other character I've read, and I loved Ben Raines from The Ashes series by William W. Johnstone. This is one bad dude. I don't want to give too much away, but don't give up on this kid. And a kid, by the standards of my forty-six year old self at least, he very much is. This works to his advantage at times. Young people recover from physical trauma more quickly. It can also sometimes work against him.

When Tristan finds his way (along with his friend/brother Pulou) from the alien village he was born in to the technologically superior human settlement nearby, he finds out how little he knows the hard way. He has not sense of history and knows nothing about politics. This is a dangerous situation for anyone, but even worse for him for reasons that would be spoilers. You'll have to trust me when I say it's not a good look for him, at least until you buy the book, which you should do immediately. I'll wait. 

...

...

...

...

Are you back yet? Good!

The political intrigue in Ganwold's Child is well done, layered and hints at a much bigger conflict than what we're shown here. I'm waiting to find out what's still out there, but I won't be waiting long. I'm going to buy the next book.

See how that works? SUPPORT YOUR AUTHORS PEOPLE!!

Anyway...

Tristan's quest starts off bad, gets worse and then, well..

Read the book.

Read has built an entire universe here and it kind of makes me sad that she's only written three books in it. Her worldbuilding is excellent. There are some things going on here that make sense in context and you learn a lot going through the book, but you hardly notice what's going on. I love that about it. Tristan is not stupid, but he is inexperienced and naive, and I learned a lot along with him. What I got ahead of time was necessary for the story and kept the intrigue level high.

And I guess that's the thing about Ganwold's Child. There is a lot of physical action. If you like fist fights, shooting, dog fights and, of course, splody stuff this is definitely a good book for you. The cool thing about Read though, is that she included all of that without turning it into a Michael Bay-esque disasterpiece with special effects and no story. When something happens in Ganwold's Child it matters. The reader cares, and not just because they have to, but because the characters get our attention and hold it.

Let's face it. Read knows more about building up a babyface than the WWE ever will. The other characters drew me in almost as much, though. Ganwold's Child is full of both heroes and villains. Some of the heroes are a little more likely than others, but they all deserve the title. And the main protagonist, the wolf in sheep's clothing, is very easy to hate. Read did a good job with him though. He thinks he's a hero and that everything he does is warranted.  

It's worth mentioning that I was a bit concerned about Ganwold's Child. I write a bit of fiction myself here and there and my older stuff is not as good as my newer stuff. That makes sense. Writing is like anything else. You get better at it with experience. This is Read's first (published) novel, and I was kind of thinking...

Yeah, nevermind. 

My mama told me I shouldn't think because thinking always gets me in trouble. She would've been right here, too, because Ganwold's Child is a damn good book. If I were to go searching for differences between GC and her Seventh Shaman series, I would only say that the language in the newer series feels a little more relaxed and, honestly, who gives a rip? A good book is a good book. 

I'll let you all know when I've gotten to the next two in the Sergey Chronicles, but I will be getting to them. I need to find out how this ends. The first hit may not have been free, but it got me hooked. Read is an author worth following and I'm glad I got on the bus early in her career. Let's see where she goes from here.

Bottom Line: 5.0 out of 5 Peimu

Ganwold's Child
D.T. Read
Theogony Books, 2023

Ganwold's Child is available for purchase at the following link. If you click the link and buy literally anything from Amazon, I get a small percentage at no additional cost to you.

Press Release from Tuscany Bay Books

I received this in my email today:

From the desk of Tuscany Bay Books.

Later this month, Amazon will be raising the costs of print books by around $1.00 each for both paperback and hardcover. Here at Tuscany Bay Books, we think things cost too much everywhere and it should not cost more to read a book.

To that end, we will not be raising our prices to match Amazon’s price increase on our paperback and hardcover offerings.

In fact, we just lowered our prices on all of our e-books by that very same $1.00 per title. Full novels are now $5.99. Novellas are $2.99. Each month one of our novels will be the featured book of the month and will be available for 50% off for that month.

You may have to pay more for gas, food and other items. But you shouldn’t have to pay more to enjoy a great read.

And we’ll be adding to our fine catalog of great reads in the weeks to come.

Lucca DeJardins’ novella - Far Away, The Pale Blue Dot – will be out on June 13th. Preorder it here: https://www.amazon.com/Far-Away-Pale-Blue-Dot-ebook/dp/B0C5H82LX6. Rob Jones’ The Hidden Work, Poems Inspired By The Writings Of C.S. Lewis will be out on July 11th. We will be re-releasing Ruth Ramsey’s young adult novels - A Far Journey and Candle Of Dreams – in the coming weeks as well.

The rest of 2023 will be filled with great reads too. Book 6 of Declan Finn’s White Ops series; Lori Janeski’s second book of The Carter Files series, Raven; and three books by Richard Paolinelli – Firstborn’s Curse, Seadragon, and Galen’s Heart (Starquest 4th Age #3).

And by the end of this year we will launch the first book of John C. Wright’s Starquest (12th Age) Series: Space Pirates Of Andromeda.

And all of the above for just $5.99 as e-books. We will offer paperback and hardcover editions as well for as low a price as we can under Amazon’s pricing rules.

~Richard Paolinelli, CEO

Stay tuned for our regular newsletter coming later this month.

Susan Catt

Editor

Tuscany Bay Books

If you wish to show your support for a publisher that refuses to raise their prices in sympathy for their readers, their entire catalog is availability at their website as listed below. Buy links can be found at the website.

https://tuscanybaybooks.com/science-fiction-fantasy/

https://tuscanybaybooks.com/mystery-thrillers/

https://tuscanybaybooks.com/westerns/

https://tuscanybaybooks.com/non-fiction/

Michael Z. Williamson's That Was Now, This is Then

(Welcome to Day Two of Jimbo's Memorial Day Extravaganza! Today we're featuring Michael Z. Williamson.  Mad Mike seems to think I know how to do math. He's done five years in the US Air Force, three years in the Army National Guard, twelve years in the Air National Guard, then another two in the Army National Guard and another three in the Air National Guard. I think. Any mistakes are mine.  He deployed for the Mississippi flood in 1993 and for Operation Desert Fox in 99, as well as Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2008, retiring as a Technical Sergeant. His army MOS was Untilities Equipment Repairer (52C30) and his Air Force MOS was Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration.

He got to play with some construction equipment and some small arms. 

He's married with a total of four kids from two marriages, three cats and some livestock.He is also the proprietor of sharppointythings.com and michaelzwilliamson.com, to go along with The Sacred Cow Slaughterhouse

 

Being a book geek (and I think I qualify, what with having a blog about books and all) there are few better feelings that finally getting a chance to read a book that you've been waiting on. You all know what I mean, right? It's a rush to finally crack that spine (okay, open the file on your Kindle, but work with me here, okay?) and get to readin'. It is, however, better when that book is everything you wanted it to be.  So when I got to read That Was Then, This is Now by Michael Z. Williamson, I was both excited and happy. That's a powerful combination. And if you're reading it a little late because you didn't realize that it had released, that's your bad, or mine, as the case may be. 

Those of you who remember the first book in the series, A Long Time Until Now, will find all of their old friends back, if not always for a long time. Some of our friends have decided to stay home this time. I can't say I blame them. As much fun as these books are to read, living them might not be the most enjoyable thing ever. Living in the dim, dark past isn't always all it's cracked up to be. Personal lives are a thing too, and not all of the old crew is still in the military, so they can't be ordered to go. All this to say that, if someone is missing, it makes sense that they're missing.

Of course, we have a couple of additions to the team as well. Both are females that have their Ph.D.s and neither has my phone number. The former is fine. The latter would be unacceptable if they actually existed. Ya'll need to stop hogging up all the brainy chicks. Anyway...

This time we're headed back to grab another squad that got stuck, and things didn't go so well for them. They didn't have the skills that the first squad had, and they've been there longer. Things are pretty grim. But not everyone wants to go home, and their reasons, while not always admirable, make sense. And that leads to one of the cruxes of the novel.

When is it okay to take people's lives over and tell them what to do? If someone has established a life in a place where they are welcome and doesn't want to leave, do you have the right to drag them away? What if they're being there could cause problems for someone else later? What if you want to kick the dude in the junk for the reason he wants to stay? Does that have any bearing?

And, without getting too far into spoiler territory, I think I might just kick that dude in his junk if I ever meet him. Seriously. Read the book, you'll get what I'm saying. Fortunately, dude doesn't actually exist so I get to stay out of prison, but some things I just don't countenance. Ick. Not that he's portrayed as a hero or anything, but still. Then again, it's something that comes from the real world, so I get why it's here.

Military conflict with the natives of the time they've gone back to is part and parcel of the series. It's about what you'd expect. Williamson has a knack for showing the adaptability of literal cavemen in the face of technology they can't match, too. It's not a situation where the primitives give up and it's not to a point where they do something stupid either. Certain situations lead to conflict and always will. They do their best with what they have and they don't waste their lives. I'l take it.

I want to take a camping trip with the gear they get to take to the past this time, too. Seriously, every year when I do this (at least for the last few after I got a better idea of how to do this right) I send the authors a questionnaire so I can do their bio, and I always ask about what cool toys they got to play with while they were serving. I frequently hear about a lot of cool stuff, but I've never heard about ANYTHING that comes close to some of the field gear the Bykos (not the Cogni) have.

All of that aside, That Was Now, This is Then was a very human novel. The speculative element is there in the technological sense but, honestly, Mad Mike does one of the best jobs about really getting things down to the people and emotions that I've ever read. I'm guessing dude has some education (maybe formal, maybe not) in psychology, sociology and anthropology. I have a bit (freshman level classes I took in college but I got A's in all of them) and I'm seeing some things in here that look awfully familiar. Williamson has considered things in early societies that most authors would miss. Kudos to him. 

I'm also a fan of Williamson's take on time travel. Too many times it's something that's either taken for granted (Dr. Who) or at the very least one hundred percent accurate (Back to the Future) but that doesn't really make sense in a lot of cases, especially with what, for the Bykos, is new technology. Things get wonky and they don't always go right. Longer gaps in time are less precise, it all makes sense. It's consistently inconsistent. I like that. Too much science fiction makes technology infallible. That is clearly not the case here. 

There is an obvious opening left for a third book. I've heard rumors that we'll see it, but nothing seems to be confirmed at this point. While I can't make any guarantees, I really hope to see more soon, because there is too much awesome here for this series to die early. If it comes, you'll get a review here. If not, I will personally stick my bottom lip out so far that I step on it. Test me if you think I'm playin'.

Bottom Line: 5.0 out of 5 Stun Guns

That Was Now, This Is Then

Michael Z. Williamson

Baen Books, 2021

That Was Now, This Is Then is available at the following link. If you click the link and buy literally anything from Amazon, I get a small percentage at no additional cost to you.

William S. Frisbee Jr.'s The Return: The Conglomerate Trilogy, Book One

(Author's Note: Welcome once again to Jimbo's Memorial Day Event,  where I publish four reviews of four science fiction or fantasy books written by veterans in four days, all over Memorial Day Weekend. It's my way of saying thank you to the people who risked their lives to protect mine. And yes, I get that Memorial Day is actually about those who fell in the line of service but I can't find an author who fits that description. 

Today'author is  William S. Frisbee. Corporal Frisbee served four years as Rifleman in the Marines. He says he got to play with ALL THE GUNS, including the M19, by which I think he means the Mk 19, a grenade machine gun. 

After growing up in Europe and living just two hours from the Soviet Union he was deployed to the Middle  East for Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Okinawa, South Korea and the Philippines, earning the Kuwait Liberation Medal, the Sea Service Deployment Ribbon and Southwest Asia Service Medal. Frisbee states that he got out of the military "Because he was stupid." Of course, being the nerd who stay in the barracks studying the tactics and techniques of other militaries on Friday nights.

Now-a-days he has a wife, a daughter, two dogs and a ferret. He also runs the website MilSF.com which you should totally check out. I'm disappointed that I didn't know about it sooner, but it's all about writing military science fiction and it's pretty awesome.) 

Somewhere out there, in the nerdiverse, there is a beginning more heartbreaking and poignant than a married couple on patrol in deep space that spots a task force that promises to end both of their lives and the lives of the people they're out there protecting. Somewhere out there is a story with a couple that is more endearing than a wife who won't swear, her husband who will and their absolute and utter dedication to each other and their cause. Somewhere out there, is an author who can make my heart bleed worse than William S. Frisbee did in the first couple chapters of The Return. I mean, I'm not sure who that person is, but they're almost certainly an asshole if they'd do that to their audience. I'll give Frisbee a pass just this once because The Return kicks ass, but the opening to this one hits pretty hard.

And it keeps rocking along. The Return is not for the faint of heart. The action is intense. It seems like there's always something happening. It could be human/alien, it could be human/human, I think at least once it was alien/alien, and well...

Whatever. Just know that boredom will not be a problem while reading The Return. Even down time can be exciting, because you never know what is going to happen when or from where. Or to whom for that matter. Seriously, keep your head on a swivel, because a feeling of safety is often misleading, especially in the beginning of the story, when you haven't really learned the rules yet.

Speaking of which, I'm pretty sure The Return is set in a new universe and I love that about it. We get to learn the rules and the characters as we go. And it's really cool because there is a lot here, and not a lot of bottom dragging while the author tries to make us understand his creation. Don't get me wrong, we learn a lot as we go along, but Frisbee does a damn good job of Heinleining in the details instead of navel gazing. 

Our hero is a guy named Luke, and he has been through some things. He fights for humanity in a part of the universe where there aren't many of us. He has a tactical style similar to that of Will Riker and the bedside manner of Dr. Gregory House. His ship is crewed by robots because he doesn't like having people around. Actually, that's not fair. His robots, some of them anyway, are people.

I'm guessing Frisbee read some Asimov at some point, because the robots in The Return are a lot like the robots in the Robots series, only without the Three Laws of Robotics and like ten thousand times the personality. Seriously, Daneel and Giskard were both brilliant and dynamic, but Frisbee's robots have pizzazz. Think HAL except not murderous, at least to humanity. Seriously, watch out for that martial arts instructor.

Of course, Luke is inevitably forced to work with fellow human beings and he does not like that turn of events at all. Apparently, emotions are hard for him to deal with and he's got heartbreak issues...

Yeah, he's in need of some counselling, I mean, I feel him. I've been there. I didn't get it when I needed it either.  And he ends up not really knowing how to deal with what he's got to deal with because he hasn't. Fortunately, things go a bit better for him than they did for me. 

It's when Luke and his group of human people encounter other human people that shouldn't be there (IE they're from Earth, which is on the other side of a wormhole) that things really start to pick up. It seems that bad things have happened back home, and if things don't go right humanity could end up being wiped out to the last person. So it's once more unto the breach with some people that he doesn't know all that well and doesn't want there and, oh yeah, his robot buddies. 

And Luke goes through a bit of a character arc. Training new subordinates, feelings starting to function again, he's caught off guard by all of it. It's like he's been on his own fighting for decades (and, since the world has an aging treatment similar in effect to prolong in The Honorverse, he has) and not dealing with human beings has stunted his emotional growth and made him unused to feeling much. It's almost like losing someone important and shutting out the rest of the world had a poor effect on him personally, even if it work for his career. Who woulda thunk it?

So he ends up taking on the real challenge: Fighting is easy. Emoting is not. Granted, I've never been a deep space warrior intent on saving the human race, but I did take karate as a kid and I've had to deal with feelings and, well...

Kicking something in the face is really a lot easier than dealing with a lot of what Luke has to deal with. I'm pretty sure he'd agree with that. Or course his workouts are a lot more intense than mine were, but he has better medical facilities than I did. I mean, humanity has colonized the Solar System and moved out into space through a wormhole, so obviously they have better medical tech than we had thirty years ago. This leads to him getting fixed up after some pretty serious hand to hand training sessions, which ends up putting him out in harm's way much faster.

Of course, this leads to more conflict, which leads to more action, which leads to...

The end of the book.

I wasn't ready for that. I mean, why didn't someone warn me that it was coming? I didn't want the book to be over. 

I was really kind of upset that there was no more to read. The good news is that there are two more books after this one. I can't wait to get to them, and I wouldn't have...

Except, yeah, Memorial Day. Three more veterans/authors to go!

Bottom Line: 5.0 out of 5 Rag Dolls

The Return: The Conglomerate Trilogy, Book One
William S. Frisbee, Jr
Chakram Publishing, 2014

The Return: The Conglomerate Trilogy, Book One is available for purchase at the following link. If you click the link and buy literally anything from Amazon, I get a small percentage at no additional cost to you,

Green Lantern: The Animated Series

So listen, your humble host, Jimbo, writer of Awesome reviews (in his own mind at least) is, and has been for closing in on forty years now, a Green Lantern mark. See, when I was a wee little Jimbo, much younger and thinner although not as good looking because, let's face it, I get better looking every day, one of my neighbors came over with a box of comics that his nephew was throwing out because he was too old, or too cool or some crap for them. I don't buy that, but thanks, guy! Because I had never read a comic before that. It's too bad I lost that box of comics along the way too, because it had some good stuff in it, most notably a Transformers #1 and a GI JOE #3, albeit both in well-loved condition. Also in that box, though, were a few Green Lantern Corps comics. I didn't learn about the much loved Green Lanterns of Sector 2814 until later, when I became old enough to ride my bike to The Antique Paper Shop in Hazel Park, Michigan. It's gone now, but they used to sell grab bags of back issues for a buck and I'd pick through them until I found one that had a Green Lantern comic visible from the outside. Sometimes I even got two.

I saw the Green Lantern movie. It was very pretty. The special effects crew did a damn good job. The writers tried to stuff two complete story arcs into one two hour movie when you'd have been lucky to do justice to either one in that much time. That didn't really work, but it was cool. I got a dirty look sitting in the audience and reciting the Green Lantern Oath during the movie, but hey, get over yourself kid. I've been reading this stuff since before you were born.

Anyway...

I was unaware of The Animated Series when it came out, probably because I was married and going to grad school at them time. I decided to take a look at it recently though, because I found it on streaming. And you know what? I loved it.

Okay, first off the disclaimer: Starting off with a fight with the Red Lanterns was a bit weird to me. I mean, I get the whole In Media Res thing, but I don't know if that was the way I'd have done things. Then again, they did a good job with it. We end up segueing into the War of the Light ala the Blackest Night crossover event (without, it has to be admitted, many of the crossovers) and they followed things fairly closely. They didn't get all the way through it, they didn't really even get into the Black Lanterns, but it was fun.

The animation was a little cheesy, but that's okay. It's a cartoon. It worked. And the constructs were cool. The best thing about a Green Lantern (other than the part where they can travel through space with no ship, and speak every language) is being able to build awesome stuff out of light just because you want to. Seriously. How freaking cool would that be?

And yes, they do all of the cool stuff with the ring and make all the things and go all the places...

And Larfleeze is still a turd. That's good though. It made me feel grounded when he was a stinkpot. I get the fact that he's an Orange Lantern and that greed is their thing, but hey, he still sucks and I hate him. That's okay though because he doesn't really exist. Or sumfin'.

Speaking of older characters:

Hail, hail, the gang's all here!

Kilowog is everywhere in The Animated Series and you're a poozer. Sinestro makes an appearance, although as a member of the Green Lantern Corps and not the Sinestro Corps which makes no sense for where they are in the timeline, since the Sinestro Corps War had already ended, but hey it was fun to see him. We got Ch'p, Tomar Re, Carol Ferris, Guy Gardner and more. I was really happy to see Ch'p because he's my favorite. It's too bad what happened to him in the comic, but that's the life of a Green Lantern I guess. Guy is still his annoying, cocky self. They got that character perfectly when they wrote and acted him.

Seeing Hal Jordan arguing with the Guardians was good for the soul as well. It's a part of his character that gets lost sometimes, but it's been part of the comics on and off for years and it needed to be there. I'm still trying to figure out why Paralax was there, as it was the wrong time for that as well. 

And that, my friends, is my biggest beef with comic book movies, and TV shows. Stop trying to cram in everything all at once! Let things play out, especially in a series. And, let's face it, Paralax killed Hal Jordan in the comics, there's no reason to show that in the first season of a TV show anyway. 

All in all though, it was a good binge. I had just finished The Sopranos and I was looking for something fun. I found it here and I'll probably binge it again at some point in the future. 

I read somewhere that the reason the show failed was because of poor toy sales, and I blame all of you for that. It wasn't my fault. I was still married when this came out and I got my ex-wife to buy a bunch of the stuff for Christmas. I had it set up all over my computer desk. It didn't really match. Most everything else was done in knights and mythological creatures, but no system is perfect and fandoms don't always go together. That's totes not my fault. At all. 

And anyway, I needed a bigger basement for my Battletech stuff and my GI JOE stuff, too. Unfortunately, I've lost it all since. But that's neither here nor there.

Whatever.

Just go watch the show.

Bottom Line:  5.0 out of 5 Power Rings

Green Lantern: The Animated Series
Warner Brothers, 2012

Some Green Lantern related items are available for purchase at the following links. If you click the link and buy literally anything from Amazon, I get a small percentage at no additional cost to you.