Declan Finn's Politics Kills

Oops. I almost started this review with a quote from The Godfather. It would have fit, but I don't wanna get sued. It should be noted however, that The Godfather 1-3 (and yes, I included number three in there. I love it and all who disagree with me are wrong.) is one of my favorite movie series and I probably thought of it because White Ops is becoming one of my favorite book series. 

Of course, this is Book Two. Politics Kills is perhaps the most appropriately titled book I've ever read in my life. Being the guy with a degree in history and an interest in both Military and Political history, I can assure you that there are no two human endeavors as closely linked as politics and war. Wars are, of course, fought by killing people. Sean P Ryan, leader of a group of Rangers, which is also a business venture owned by his family, is no stranger to wiping out enemy forces when he needs to. And his need is frequent. Dude basically goes through a battle a day, or at least it feels like it. 

Something you don't really get a great feel for with a lot of Finn's writing is the passage of time. There's usually so much going on that you don't have time to get bored and start wondering how long it's been since the last thing happened. The next thing is already happening, so why worry about it? I actually enjoy that aspect of it. Unless you're writing historical fiction and I'm picking it apart (and I'm not even one of the bad ones. I once had to read a thirty plus page paper about the historical inaccuracies in The Last Samurai for a Japanese history class) I don't really need to know what the date is. Just tell me what's going on and I'll take it from there.

I also like the fact that we get to see Ryan's shell crack just a bit. He's always (through the one whole book that came before this in the series) had this kind of unreachable quality to him. He was fiercely loyal, but there were times when it felt like his reaction to pretty much anything were either anger or loyalty. We get to see a lot of both in Politics Kills, but we get to see a softer side of the man himself and it's something that he has to come to grips with. The fact that he manages to do it adds a lot to his character.

It's kind of mentioning this, but it kind of stuck out at me. Most of Finn's characters are intensely Catholic. His long, and so far best, series is of course the Saint Tommy, NYPD series and if a man is going to be a Catholic saint, the intense Catholicism is necessarily part of the character's personality. The first book in his Love at First Bite series is entitled Honor at Stake: A Catholic Action Horror Novel. Sean Ryan is definitely a Catholic character, but White Ops is not as heavily Catholic as his other work. It didn't really matter to the quality of the story. I'm not Catholic myself so it's not like it had to be there for me to enjoy the book, but it's definitely something different. 

I also kind of figured I'd mention that for those of you who may have avoided Finn's earlier work because of its heavy emphasis on religion. I know some people don't care for that overly religious reading and so I thought I'd let everyone know that if that's how you feel (and you have every right to) that this is a good chance to try an awesome author without the overtones that you don't care for. 

One wonders if parts of Politics Kills are based on Finn's opinion of the United Nations. There is a governmental body with a similar function and it is indeed called the United Planets. I find myself underwhelmed by both the intelligence and competence levels of the members of the UP council. They waste time like champions, but forget about getting stuff done. Of course, that may be because of an undet...

Nevermind, that would've been a spoiler. We have a very strong policy against spoilers at Jimbo's and sometimes we even follow it. Like now. And maybe tomorrow. Probably.

Of course, as in any Declan Finn novel, we have both heroes and villains. This is not some boring halfway crap where everything is in shades of gray. The good guys are good. The bad guys are bad. We have someone to root for. We have someone to root against. The reasons for our rooting interests are sound. In short, this is entertainment with stakes. I love it when I can get behind the hero because he wants to defeat the villain.

Of course, that's why I never cared for Anne McCaffrey's Pern novels (I much prefer her Brainship series). Thread is just dumb and there's really no rooting interest. It's mindless. It falls from the sky. It has no motivation. It just exists. Give me a power seeking, money-grabbing antagonist every time and I'm happy. Finn is good at that. 

It'll be interesting to see where Finn takes this series next (there are three more currently out and I'm not sure if that's the whole series or if there are more coming. I'm a horrible fan, I guess) because most, if not all, of the horrible, terrible, not good, very bad people we've been rooting against are no longer threats. Of  course, there could be someone ever worst waiting in the wings. I guess I'll have to see.

I'm like that though. I made my daughter hate Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince because she fell asleep watching it (which was my plan all along) and I wouldn't tell her who the Half Blood Prince was. I told her to watch the movie.I guess I'm telling myself to read the book now. That's fine though. I plan to. 

But heed my warning: Beware the earworm. A force like that is hard to stop.

Bottom Line: 5.0 out of 5 Nuclear Space Mines

Politics Kills
Declan Finn
Tuscany Bay Books, 2022

Politics Kills 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.

D.T. Read's Apprentice to the Gods The Seventh Shaman, Book Four

 (Author's note: D.T Read will still be getting her review as part of my Memorial Day Event. I know that I had originally promised it would be this book but I got excited and jumped the gun. She has another series out, The Sergey Chronicles, and I'll be reviewing book one from that series instead. Oops.)

So I'm totally going to review D.T. Read's Apprentice to the Gods without every third word being a spoiler.

Totes.

Watch me go.

I'm all over this.

Well, at least "all over." 

Seriously, this is a REALLY good book but how do you not spoil too much?

Okay so I've reviewed the first three books. For purposes of this review, I'm going to assume you've read the first three. If you haven't. hie thee off to the two links listed above and then go read the books. I'll wait.

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Okay. ARE YOU DONE YET? Sheesh. I gave you at least five seconds there.

And I never, and I mean ever, put this this early in the review but don't read Apprentice to the Gods as a standalone. This book is part of a series and it really only works that way. That's not to say it's not a good book, because it's amazeballs,  It is to say that ATTG is awesome in large part because of how well it connects with what has come before. It also works (at least it feels like it does) as a bridge to the rest of the series.

There are certain moments in certain series where the entire story turns on that one moment. The death of Sturm Brightblade in The Dragonlance Chronicles comes to mind. So does "No Luke, I am your father." for the original Star Wars trilogy. Apprentice to the Gods contains that moment for this series, I think. I mean, the last three (at least! WHO ELSE IS EXCITED?!?!?!?!?!??) books of the Seventh Shaman haven't come out yet and I could be dead wrong, but it was definitely _a_ turning point even if it wasn't _the_ turning point.

Something big happens though, and it changes the trajectory of Ku's life. Maybe for the better, maybe for the worse, but it'll never be the same. It's definitely not all bad though. Ku is a man with a destiny and he knows it. Ku needs training outside of what he received from the military and he gets it but I'm damn sure that not everything he needed to know and learned can be termed as "training."

Ku, like many other men throughout history, became a father for the first time while serving a combat deployment. He ends up at home for his first extended period of time since that happen in Apprentice to the Gods. He honestly hadn't been married for all that long before he deployed either. What this translates into is a man who needs to learn how to live in a family as a husband and father. And the military, or so I've been told, doesn't do much to prepare its troops to deal with these kinds of tasks. He does about as well with his first diaper as I did though. I'll give him that much. Then again, there's a reason why my oldest daughter had the nicknames Stink and Poops while she was a baby.

She'll kill me if she reads that. 

Pray for me.

For what it's worth though, Ku is a good dad and does as much of the stuff that I've been told multiple times that men don't do as I did when I was married and lived with my kids. Well, except that we had disposable diapers. Thankfully, I didn't have to deal with THAT.

Things are going well for Ku in the sense of his immediate family, but not on the macro scale. There is a lot going on that may very well end up requiring his military skills. I'm only seventy percent sure of that at this point, but I'd be shocked if I'm wrong. There is a fight brewing and I'm not sure how big it's going to be, but I'm guessing somewhere between huge and gigundus. And yes, gingundus is a word. I just made it up.

And it's serious because Ku has some serious religious obligations coming up too, and they're likely to require a whole bunch of his family and military skills. There are shades of prophecy involved here and it's not always clear what is literal and what isn't. Ku has a lot riding on his shoulders. I don't think I'd want some of his responsibilities. I'm not sure he does. What he does have though is guts and to spare. He's a man that is stuck in a situation he can't get out of and does what is required of him BECAUSE it is required of him. That's all anyone can ask I guess, and I find it utterly realistic and understandable.

I'm thinking his religious training benefits from his military training in ways that may not be apparent until you think about it, but it makes sense. As a matter of fact, I think it might be the only way to make some of it make sense. Military training is conducted at a high rate of speed and things are condensed into the smallest amount of time they can take up and still be useful. Ku, and his wife Derry, get a lot of that in Apprentice to the Gods. That makes sense because she's military too, but they have to learn a lot in a short amount of time. Anyone who has been through Basic Training knows how that feels. 

And Ku also ends up being an imperfect human being. He makes one very serious mistake in the book that almost costs him one of the most important things in his life and it hurts him. It hurts him bad and it makes him do what he should have done previously. He learns from it though, and I'm thinking that will stand him as well in books to come as it does in this one. 

If you're annoyed by the fact that I keep bringing up future boks in The Seventh Shaman just know that it doesn't annoy me at all. That's because I'm geeked up on this series and can't wait to find out what's next. Unfortunately, I may have to wait longer for the next one as I'm told that it may be up to a year before it's out.

Don't worry about me though. I won't cry about it.

Much.

Probably.

Or at least not in public.

Bottom Line: 5.0 out of 5 Chants

Apprentice to the Gods The Seventh Shaman, Book Four

D.T. Read

Theogony Press, 2023

Apprentice to the Gods The Seventh Shaman, Book Four 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.

D.T. Read's Mountains of the Gods and Crucible of the Gods (The Seventh Shaman Books Two and Three)

Listen folks, go read these books!

REVIEW WRITTEN! PUT IT IN THE CAN!

*Takes celebratory gulp of Coca-Cola Classic*

Sorry to those who are disappointed by that statement but I don't really drink and Mountain Dew is the Hard Stuff, so...

Yeah.

Okay, so I'm not that lazy. Usually. That's not the whole review. Probably. 

Being dead serious though, D.T. Read has outdone herself with Mountain of the Gods and Crucible of the Gods. These books kick so much afterburner that I had to congratulate her on her Facebook page before I had finished Crucible.It and Mountains are that good. I thought Running from the Gods,  the first book, was amazeballs (and it is) but these two kick it up a notch. I guess I kind of expected that, but I didn't really expect that.

 I mean, the first book in a series like this is usually world-building and moves a bit slowly. This is especially true when the first book is basic military and Military Occupational Specialty training. Things take a minute to build to where they really take off. Starting with Mountains that's not really the case anymore.

Mountains of the Gods is the story of a young pilot's introduction to real-world combat. He serves in a military that is currently losing a war and needs him out and doing his job. He does his best to do it, too. Don't get me wrong Akuleh Masou (AKA Ku) is a terrific pilot and he's game for the fight, but things seem not to go the way he wants them to at times. The historian in me believes that this just might be because the other side gets a say in what happens, but it hurts Ku just the same.

And that is something that is missing in a lot of military fiction. I just had this conversation with a friend of mine on Sunday night while I was out with some friends from a fan organization that I'm part of. The author of the series is amazing and writes truly awesome books (that's why I joined the organization) but I hadn't really thought about that until recently and I wonder if it's his background as a history student that causes that. Historians, after all focus mostly on the Butcher's Bill and not as much on individual stories, unless they're talking about some general somewhere.

Ku faces war and all of its ugliness head on. I don't want to spoil too much here, but he faces the psychic shock of the experience in a very visceral way. Ku is not the hero of a World War II movie that was made during the 1950s. He goes through a lot and it beats him up sometimes. He has to deal with the flashbacks afterward. More than anything else I've read, with the possible exception of J.A. Sutherland's Alexis Carew series, Ku has to deal with the things they don't show on the recruiting poster. 

It almost feels paradoxical to say this, since military fiction is a lot older than I am and leaving that part out has always been part of a working formula that sells, but it adds a lot to the story. I've read a lot of heroes of a lot of works that don't seem as real as Ku and his friends do and it's because they deal with the parts that people don't want to talk about. Seriously. I'm a huge Mel Gibson fan and Hal Moore didn't feel this real in We Were Soldiers  and Hal Moore was a real guy who really did what they show on the screen. 

I guess that's what really drew me into these books. Ku acts like he would act in real life. He deals with problems as they come up, just like he would in real life. He struggles with a lot. I've been there. I haven't had the same problems, never having been anywhere near a combat environment, but struggling is a feeling that I'm a lot more familiar with than I wish I was.

Let me put this out there, too. It's spoiling but I can't help it. Ku has to seek out help for his mental issues at one point. His PTSD hits him hard and he find someone to lead him through it. Again, mine wasn't combat related but I've had to do the same. It wasn't easy for me. It wasn't easy for Ku. There probably aren't many people on the planet who find it easy to ask for help with mental issues. But he did it. I did it and so have many others. But we've endured and so has Ku. He also has a tendency to bounce back from physical trauma that is truly impressive. I'm wondering if a particular injury he suffers wasn't stolen from something that happened in the real world, because it feels realistic but has just a bit of "I don't think you could make that up" to it. 

Maybe I'm spending too much time on the protagonist and maybe I don't care. Ku is on my Top Ten List of Fictional Characters to Have a Drink With Someday, Except never, because he doesn't really exist, but you get the idea. It's not all just about what he does while in uniform either. I really have to tighten the snerk collar here, but Ku does things in an honorable manner in his personal life when it is very obviously hard for him to do it. He's a solid dude, the guy you want at your back when things go awry.

*SIGH*

Yes I'll have his babies, but only if he asks politely.

Something else I've noticed that I don't always see in Science Fiction: Read treats matters of faith with respect and reverence. It has happened elsewhere. I've reviewed Declan Finn's work here a lot and he's a man whose faith comes out in his work. J. Michael Strac, Straz, Stratz...

The guy who wrote Babylon 5, who I believe is an atheist, was also very respectful of religious beliefs but that's not always the case. Asimov wrote a planned future of the human race with no mention of religion or religious movements. Suzanne Collins never put so much as an "Oh God" in The Hunger Games. The organizers of David Weber's own con wouldn't let him hold a prayer meeting on a Sunday even though he's an actual deacon in his church. Seventh Shaman is so named because it involves a lot of religion which, in its own way, is closer to something you'd see in Dungeons and Dragons than what you'd get in a JMS work but I say that lovingly. I've been a D&D guy since Second Edition. I'm still trying to roll the stats to get a paladin. It's not just the way the religion feels either. It's the effects granted by its chanters which are considerable.

Speaking of religion, there are parts of what Ku deals with that remind me of things I've read in the Old Testament. I won't say what and I won't say how, but I have a feeling that Read may have done a bit of study in her time. I just get that feeling based on things. I don't want to reveal too much here so I'll move on. If you're familiar with the Old Testament though, I dare you to read Crucible and tell me I'm wrong. 

Ku, of course, is not the only character in the book. People like Hanuk, Gram, Derry, Kimmie, etc..

They make sense too. Pretty much anyone Ku comes in contact with has motivations and takes actions that make sense in their own mind. That doesn't mean that everyone is friendly or that it's all hunky-dory, but once you're immersed in Read's work you'll stay that way until your dispatcher calls and sends you on another call...

Oh, sorry. That's more of a 'me' thing I guess.

The action in both books is realistic and engaging. Things go bang and boom when they should and the actions taken by Ku and his fellow pilots are both realistic and believable. At times it almost feels like you're in the cockpit. As mentioned previously, the other side gets a vote in ways that matter and that makes the lives of Ku and his fellow pilots interesting in ways that they probably wished that it wouldn't but that's how it would work in the real world. 

There is a lot of foreshadowing going on here. In some ways it feels like the prophecy in Harry Potter. It's not quite the same though and the outcome doesn't seem quite as obvious. I'm pretty sure I know what's coming but not exactly when or how or what it will mean once it happens and I'm not sure the characters in the books do either. I'm okay with that because it adds a little more intrigue to an already tense series and I can't wait to see it resolved.

I got into this series too early. It's not done yet and I need to know where it's going. I know the fourth book will be out soon. I'm thinking there might be one or two more after that, but I'm not making any promises. I can hope though, right? It's not like I'm losing it or anything.

Probably?

Maybe?

Well, let's just say that shaving my head keeps me from pulling my hair out.

Bottom Line: 5.0 out of 5 Missiles Fired

Mountains of the Gods

D.T. Read
Theogony Books, 2022

Crucible of the Gods

D.T. Read
Theogony Books, 2022

Mountains of the Gods and Crucible of the Gods are available for purchase at the following links. If you click one of the links and buy literally anything from Amazon, I get a small percentage at no additional cost to you.

D.T. Read's Running From the Gods

 

So, listen: There are two types of geeks in the world: Pendantic Science Fantasy haters and super cool  Star Wars fans. I know which camp I fall into. I, therefore, was really excited when I picked up my copy of D.T. Read's Running From the Gods. Seriously, look at that cover and there had to be some fantasy in the work based on the title. Not only was I in no way disappointed, Running From the Gods exceeded my expectations. Seriously, I had a good time with this one. There's a bit of Space Opera here too. It's like a giant smorgasbord of Speculative Fiction Awesomeness.

Our main character, Ku, comes from an abusive background. He lost his father as a youngster and hasn't been fully trained as a chanter, which reads as kind of a priest cum physician with a dash of summoner added...

Yeah. I kind of got the feeling that there is a lot more potential than what we get to see in the first book. That's okay though, because it's clearly labeled as first in a series and it's best for an author not to show us everything in the first installment. I find myself already wondering where and how he's going to get his chanter training given the fact that he's a member of a military that's currently at war with a foreign power and apparently losing. I'm guessing he's got a lot on his plate with just that.

Running From the Gods is very much a Hero's Journey kind of book. More than that, it feels like the whole Seventh Shaman series is going to be a Hero's Journey. I like that. People have been telling stories in his vein for literal millennia because it's a good format. It's entertaining, it's easy to follow and the familiarity provides comfort to counter the anxiety when the main character runs into problem after problem. I'm starting to detect a bit of The Chosen One trope as well, but I'm not sure. Ku himself doesn't know what the future holds for him although, because of a ceremony shortly after he was born, the rest of his tribe seems to. Ku is worried that he might be a powerful force for evil. I'm not sold on that, but how would I know? Read hasn't seen fit to tell us and I gave up trying to predict this type of thing a long time ago. I mean, I write fiction and I'm a pantser. If I was the author here, there's at least a fifty percent chance that I wouldn't know. 

Most of Running From the Gods takes place at pilot training. Ku is a bush pilot who joins the military while still underage and snags himself a pilots slot in training. Whether he manages to complete his training and earn his wings is anyone's guess though, as he is immune to neither failure nor demerits.

There is a hint of politics here as well, and I look forward to seeing more in coming volumes. Things are just kind of setting up right now, but that's good. As an Honor Harrington fan, I've seen how this kind of thing can grow and it's just starting to set up nicely. I can't wait to see where Read can take it from here. What's clear is that he's thought this out and that there is more coming. I'm sure he'll let us all know soon enough.

The relationships in Running From the Gods can be a bit complicated at times, and that's a good thing as well. I don't know much about D.T. Read as a person, but I'm willing to bet he's spent some time in some kind of military training, because he gets the way things work. The trainers aren't always nice but they can't be. Ku's fellow recruits aren't always his best buddies either, and that sucks because they kind of need to be. The way Ku relates to his family is sometimes complicated as well, and well...

Nevermind, that would be spoiling.

There is a lot of action here. I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly things went south for Ku, in what way and what the outcome was. Once I found out that Running From the Gods took place mostly in a training environment, I figured there wouldn't be much life and death action. I was wrong. Things start out in a life and death crisis in the first few pages, followed by another one and then on and on...

Yeah, there is a lot of action to help move the plot along and keep people interested. It's well done, tightly paced and fun. Some of it is based on external threats, some on internal. What I don't see is anything that gets wasted. When Read wrote Running From the Gods, he very clearly had an idea of what he was trying to portray and how to use the events of his novel to accomplish that. I wouldn't mind sitting down with Read at some point and having a conversation with him. I'm guessing I could learn a thing or two and I'm working on a somewhat similar-ish story. 

I don't want to go too far down this road, but I feel like Running From the Gods did a really good job at two very closely related, but oddly opposite things: It gave us enough of a story to satisfy, but left a whole bunch of loose ends for the next however many books to tie up. I like that about it. I finished reading the book and wanted to download the next one.  I couldn't because it's not out yet, but that's hardly my fault. 

At the end of the day, and the book, Ku is a young guy with a promising future ahead of him. Read has been nice enough to invite all of us along for the ride, and I plan on fanboi'ing this entire series (yep, totes a word. I just made it up.) It's got a solid first book going for it and room for growth like you would not believe. Running From the Gods is the literary equivalent to a professional athlete who has just completed an awesome rookie season but still has plenty of upside.

Bottom Line: 4.75 out of 5 Merits

Running From the Gods (The Seventh Shaman Book One)

D.T. Read

Theogony Books, 2022

Running From the Gods (The Seventh Shaman 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.

Richard Hummel's Radioactive Evolution

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I like mashups. They make me happy. So, say, if someone were to cross some LitRPG with a bit of Post Apocalyptic Fiction and maybe toss in a medical technology angle, I think I'd probably enjoy that. Uhh..

Wait...

Richard Hummel already did that.

Radioactive Evolution is a successful mix of all of the above. I really enjoyed this one. And for more than one reason.

I'm a fan of zombie fiction (and I've got a review coming as part of my Memorial Day event that is exactly that) but sometimes I think that modern day authors have forgotten that it's possible to do PA Fic without zombies. I'm glad to note that Richard Hummel remembers.

The Earth of Radioactive Evolution is not a friendly place, even if Jared, our main character, is a pretty friendly dude when he can be. The fact remains that most of humanity lives in the ruins of what went before. Radiation is so pervasive that humans that live on the surface have to have regular boosters of nannites in order to protect themselves from the radiation. The good news here is that they energy provided by the nannites powers their bodies and they have no need for food as long as they're someplace with a high radiation count. I'd hate to be an unaugmented human there, but as long as a person gets the nannites they need, they're okay. Of course, it's not always easy to get the boosters...

So yeah, conflict happens and the people on the surface suffer. They people of the Cities, which are in the sky, appear to be much better off. People on the ground resent them, even though they're the ones who make the boosters. So far, we don't know much about the people of the Cities and they're kind of cardboard cutouts, but this is the first book in a series and I'm thinking that Hummel didn't want to give up all of his secrets in the initial volume. That makes sense. Keeping some things to reveal later is how an author keeps his readers interested. I approve.

Part of what really kept me in this book is the LitRPG angle. Players of just about any MMORPG will recognize the process of improving a character and gradually becoming immune to what were once deadly threats. It doesn't matter if we're talking about a Young Kodiak in the West Commons or a Gorilla in Stranglethorn Vale, at some point the deadly threat becomes chump change. That happens here. Radioactive Evolution is a story of survival. It is a story of character progression and accepting responsibility.

It is also, however, a story of RPG style progression and building a character through fighting and gaining experience. The book refers to the process as absorbing and assigning nannites, but that's basically how it works. I like the method of progression too. If you played World of Warcraft during Vanilla or Burning Crusade and can read Radioactive Evolution and not scream "OH MY GOD TALENT TREE" at least once you're either superhuman or not paying attention. New abilities get added as Jared and Scarlet level up. And get this: It's not an artifact that gets taken away at the end of the expansion either.

*SIGH*

Nope. Not bitter. Why are you asking?

I don't really like to do spoilers, but if I don't mention that Jared finds himself a dragon to bond with early in the story then I'm not doing my job here. Scarlet is just too much a part of the story to leave out of a review. She's more intelligent than a human. She can evolve using nannites as well and she does... a lot. She has this weird function, where she's the carrier of ancient lore, but also doesn't know much about humanity. She's Spock mixed with Kess, with a side of Worf and maybe just a touch of Odo.  (If you're not a Star Trek fan you don't get that. I feel bad for you.)

Fans of the Post Apocalyptic genre will be familiar with the Mad Max type thing where what's left of the world consists of only one type of environment. I'm happy to say that's not the case here. We see cityscapes, wilderness, military compounds, flight and even underground tunnels. There's a lot of variety in places and things. Jared and Scarlet are constantly moving and experiencing different things and different threats. The threats are great, but so are the rewards.

And there are most definitely threats. If you feel safe at just about any point in this story, you're not paying attention. Even some of the things that shouldn't be dangerous are. Jared and Scarlet can run. They can hide. They can fight. The one thing it never makes sense to do is relax. Something is always out there. Something is always watching. In the world of Radioactive Evolution, getting lazy means taking unnecessary risks.

It's fun to watch the two grow together too. They start off not knowing much about each other. They start off not knowing much about each others' species. By the end of the book, they're very much friends and, while they still don't understand each other perfectly, they're getting figuring things out between them. They're learning to relate to others better as well.  I can't wait to see how close they get in the future.

And there will be a future. Or, maybe it's closer to the truth to say there already IS a future. The next book is already out and, while I'm not real sure if I like the fact that the titles are so close together (I recently received a link to the book. It's called Radioactive Revolution and when I first looked at it, I thought it was the same book) I really am excited to read it. There is a lot of story left to be told. I'm guessing there will be more than one sequel, but I haven't read the new one yet so I can't say for sure.

Seriously folks, this one is worth your time and money (Although Kindle Unlimited users can get it for free as part of your subscription). I'd definitely encourage you all to check it out.

Bottom Line: 4.75 out of 5 Nannite Boosters

Radioactive Evolution
Richard Hummel
Hummel Books, 2018

Radioactive Evolution is available for purchase at the following link:

The Episode 9 Teaser is Here!

Listen, I know some of you didn't like The Last Jedi. I disagree. I thought it was excellent. I'm guessing that a lot of what went into TLJ was to set up the last movie. This is it.

I'm geeked to say the least. Did you hear what came at the end of the trailer? DID YOU HEAR PALPATINE LAUGH?

Hell yes, it's time for that. It's time to bring this thing full circle. All of you out there whining about how Palpatine's reappearance lessens Vader's sacrifice at the end of Return of the Jedi can pucker up and blow.

So yes, it appears that they may finally be depicting Rey as the badass she was always meant to be. I want to see her chop that TIE fighter in half, or maybe go through the cockpit and put her lightsaber into the pilot. What could be better?

I hate the fact that I have to wait for Christmas to see this.

OH, and by the way...

Disney as announced that Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is the end of the Skywalker saga. In some ways, that makes me sad. In others it makes me happy.

Listen, I was late to the party. I didn't go see Episode IV in the theater because I was still in diapers when it came out. I couldn't even walk yet. I wasn't much older when The Empire Strike Back hit. So, as a result of an accident of birth, I didn't get to see a Star Wars flick until Return of the Jedi. As a result, I've ONLY been watching Skywalkers dance across my screen since 1983. I'm a virtual n00b.

The fact remains that I've known this family for thirty-six years. We've hung out together in movie theaters, living rooms and bookstores for that whole time. I love these guys and I always will. I am, in short, a fanboi. Knowing that the line is ending and I won't be able to follow them into the future makes me sad.

That much having been said, I'm also kind of excited. I loved The Force Awakens, but I'll be the first to admit that it didn't really need to end with the destruction of another F(*&()&()()&*()*()ING Death Star. I loved The Last Jedi but the attempts to remake the Battle of Hoth weren't my favorite thing either.

Look, it's like this: The classics are the classics. They came about in my childhood and they'll always be a part of who I am. I love them. I don't, however, see a need to redo them. A new story with new heroes and new villains requires a new plot. The benefit of ending the Skywalker saga is that we can stop redoing the same old things and start a different story in the same universe.

I mean, I agree with many of my friends who state that Star Wars is, and should remain, more than just a propaganda tool for the social justice left. I'm not proposing taking things down that route. I'm just saying that it's a big galaxy and there are more people in it.

So let's get HYPE!!!! It's time to do what has never been done. It's time to show us all what might come next in the official canon. It's time! It's time! It's Star Wars TIME!!

Some Star Wars related objects are available for sale at the links below:

Image Comics Saga Volume One Written by Brian K Vaughn Art by Fiona Staples

When a person criticizes something, they should offer a solution. When someone else follows that solution they should be commended. And let's face it, I've done some criticizing.

Something I have stated repeatedly and to anyone who would listen is that I'm not against "representation" at all, but I believe it should be done right. I've had multiple conversations with people who believe that this is tantamount to not wanting representation, but they're wrong. I'm all for characters in books/movies/games/whatever else who happen to be of whatever race/gender/orientation/whatever else that anyone out there would like to be. I'm just not for stealing someone else's hard work and pissing off an entire fandom by altering an existing character to fit a political agenda.

People point to Star Trek: The Original Series as a leader in representation and they're right. At a time when integration just didn't exist on TV, Gene Roddenberry added an Asian man and a black woman to the bridge crew of the USS Enterprise. They went on that five year mission. But here's what the Social Justice Bullies in the world always miss: Roddenberry did it right.

Right how? Right by inventing new characters (Nyota Uhura and Hikaru Sulu were never seen before characters) and new stories .(It's hard to believe for a guy in his forties, but there was a time when ST:TOS was still putting out new episodes.) Seriously, when a rumor surfaced that Sulu would be gay in a Trek movie George Takei, the actor who played Sulu and is actually gay and married to another man in real life came out against it. (Google the wedding pics. They both looked fabulous.) His response was simple: Create another character. It's not that hard to get and it would have been easy to do: The Star Trek have introduced many new characters over the years. That's the way it should work. Seriously. You want it? You got it. Just do your own work to make it happen. If you're wondering, this is why Wonder Woman made ginormous piles of cash and the Ghostbusters reboot didn't. Wonder Woman has always been female.

So why am I bringing this up now?

When I was at a book fair (I guess that's what you'd call it)  over the summer at Detroit's own Eastern Market, I picked up a trade paperback. It was called Saga: Volume One. The woman working the table at the book fair was really excited when I bought it. I was attracted by the cover, which pictured a woman with faerie wings and a man with devil's horns. It wasn't until I got home that I realized that the reason she was so excited and thanking me so profusely for buying it was because they were both black and so was she. I guess she never realized that guys like me have been consuming entertainment with and by black people for decades. Seriously, if you had asked her I'd be she would've told you a guy like me had never seen a Blade comic or movie and never watched Independence Day either. Whatever, it's not like it was the first time I'd ever been stereotyped. I grabbed the book and headed home. Life happened and I didn't get a chance to read it until today. That sucks. I want those months back, because Saga is a good comic and I missed a chance to catch up on what comes up after this because I was screwing around reading other stuff.

Saga: Volume One is a good story in and of itself. Being the first trade means that you can easily read it by itself and enjoy it. Come to think of it, that's exactly what I did. I don't plan on stopping here by any stretch of the imagination, but it worked the first time. There is a lot in here. The book asks more questions than it answers, but that's what it's supposed to do. It's the first book and this has the potential to be a star spanning, galactic, epic magnum opus... But I'm getting ahead of myself.

The main characters of Saga are a committed couple  Marko, the demon horned father and Alana, the faerie winged mother and their daughter, Hazel who is apparently going to grow up to have both. As of the beginning of the comic though, Hazel is just being borned. It's weird though, because Hazel also narrates the story. It's like the whole thing is done in flashback. I like it.

The world of Saga is a rough place. It is a galaxy where pretty much everyone is at war with everyone else. Marko and Alana come from opposite sides of that war. They're on the run from both sides because they're considered to be traitors. This becomes obvious on like the fourth or fifth page. That works so well. This entire TPB is filled with action. There is never a dull moment. You're constantly glued to it because there's no let down, no waiting point. By the time I realized I had turned the first page, I was done with the first of the original issues. It flows that well.

The art is gorgeous. This is the part where the guy who can't draw a treble clef unaided is supposed to provide you with all of the technical details, but I don't work that way. I just don't have the technical knowledge to do so. What I can tell you is that I've seen Hollywood movies with huge budgets that don't look half this good. I can also say that the art, like all good comic book art, adds to the story instead of being a distraction from it. I could stare at this all day.

Being a story set in space, there are a lot of aliens. I like aliens. I'm not sure if Fiona Staples came up with these appearance all by herself or if she had help but whoever did it and however it worked, they look awesome. It's always kind of nice to see aliens in comics because the artist isn't stuck with something that looks like a human in a costume and Staples did a damn good job making her original artwork look original. The cool part about the fact that I've only read the first one so far is that I still get to find out what she came up with after this. I can't wait.

But it's not just science fiction. I mean, it'd still be awesome if it was but why stop when you can add in more awesome? Marko himself is capable of some kinds of magic. That already adds a lot to the story and it's just starting. It also appears to be a rare gift. I don't want to give away too much here but it's obvious that magic is both uncommon and feared. There is a lot of potential here and I can't wait to see what they do with it.

The language in Saga is real. Marko and Alana talk the like the people where I grew up talk. What I'm saying is that they sometimes use a couple of those words that your mama always told you not to when you were growing up. I approve. I use the same kind of language at times. Marko and Alana both served in the military of their cultures and military personal have a tendency to use a lot of bad language. I bring this up as a warning to those of you who can't handle honesty in fiction. If you're offended by the occasional swear word I'm sure there's an old issue of Archie Comics laying around somewhere that you can get your hands on. For those of us who don't get all worked up over something that is quite frankly realistic, Saga is a real treat.

And part of the reason Saga is so enjoyable is because the characters act like real people as well Marko and Alana are two people in love who really just want to be left alone but can't be because of who they are and where they came from. They're both deserters from their respective militaries but they left because they couldn't be together. The villains in the book are chasing them because they've been paid to. It makes sense. I mentioned how gorgeous the book was earlier and I meant it but that's not all there is to it. Saga is a good story as well as awesome art.

All in all, I'm really glad I picked up Saga Volume One at the book fair. I wish it had been a little longer, but that's just me whining because I'm not ready to be done with it yet. It's probably the highest honor you can give to a creator. Seriously. Next time you see someone whose work you enjoy tell them you were disappointed because it wasn't long enough and you wanted more. See how disappointed they're not. I had a similar experience about something I used to write called "The Rules". You get geeked up when people tell you they want more.

Here's the good news: I'll be heading out to Great Lakes Comic Con tomorrow, on the campus of Macomb Community College. That's my alma mater. There is a good chance I'll be able to run into the same people that were at the book fair. It's only like fifteen-ish miles away. I'll be looking for a copy of Saga Volume Two and maybe three depending on how things look otherwise. I'm sure it'll be a good investment.

Bottom Line: 4.75 out of 5 Swaddled Babies

Saga Volume One
Brian K Vaughan, Fiona Staples
Image Comics, 2012


Saga Volume One is available for purchase at the link below:

What Makes Us, Us

(Author's note: I'd give credit to whoever created the meme if I had any clue who they were. I have not done any research to confirm the veracity of the quote, but I like it.) 

So just today a momentous occasion of huge import occurred. It will change my life forever, or at least the next few days. No, I'm not getting married. No, I haven't reproduced again. That book contract I've always dreamed of? No, but I might have more luck with that if I actually finished one of my projects. Nope, no new job. Nope, not moving in, out or around. This event though, it was truly Earth shattering. Watch out underwater subduction zones, because this one is a doozie. What happened? What could possibly produce such an outpouring of emotion from a guy like me? What has me so worked up that I feel the need to write about it at two -freaking- thirty in the morning? (Granted, I probably won't post this till tomorrow, but it's legitimately almost two thirty.)

Would you like to know what it is? I'll tell you. I won't even make you guess like a certain sadistic twelve year old does.

Ready?

The new season of The Walking Dead came to Netflix. Well, actually it's the old season, but I haven't been able to see it because of circumstances only somewhat within my control. So now I get to spend a few days (actually probably about a week with my work schedule) not sleeping so that I can watch this totally awesome, if somewhat formulaic, show. And believe me, the big bad this season is the Best Villain EV-AR. I'm so geeked. Get it? Geeked?

See, as much as I'd like to think that my readers are all as cool as the Fonz, they're more probably a lot like me: Not as cool. Perhaps a bit introverted. Not the kind of person that just relaxes when their favorite thing shows up all over again. We're committed (or possibly should be). We're awesome. We're people who love what we love and don't care who knows it. We're geeks. We're nerds. We're the Fandom of Science Fiction and Fantasy in all of its forms and we rock.

We're so cool we could freeze a penguins belly feathers.  We love our hobbies with the passionate fire of a million suns. Some of us aren't as supportive of the hobbies of others as we should be (insert "sports-ball" references here) but we love what we love and we wish you did too.

Seriously. On February 15, 2015, I did my first post here at Jimbo's. I had three goals:

1.) Geek out about all of my favorite stuff
2.) Get Free Books
3.) Make Money

I'll admit that I haven't done so well with that last goal, but nobody's perfect. And hey, monetization tips are welcome. I keep doing this anyway because I love talking about what I love and what I love is books and I've gotten a bunch of those. That's not totally true. I love all things Science Fictional and I love to talk about that as well, so it's not just books.

I'm not saying you have to have a blog to be a geek or a nerd, etc. A lot of people like the same types of things we do and they're not going to take the time and effort away from other things in their life to spray words all over a computer screen. If that's their take, I support it. Do you people. That doesn't mean they won't talk about it though. If you don't believe me, go to a con.

I'm not an avid con goer because of my financial situation, but I have been to a couple. Actually one, but I've been there in two separate years, so that's two cons. It's not that expensive if you go to a local one so you don't have travel expenses. Day passes are cheap as well. Just to and enjoy. You know what you'll find? People just like you.

What? You've never been in an area where everyone gets the joke? Have you never seen a girl who looked to be five or six years old walk up to the guy next to you and pull on his shirt asking, "Are you a brony?" I don't know who was more excited. (Yes, it really was the guy next to me. No, I'm not a brony. I need more explosions than the ponies provide and the World's Most Awesome GF (TM) has enough pony love for the two of us.) I had never heard of Doctor Who until I went to my first con and stood in awe, gawking at a life-sized Dalek, complete with plunger arm and had someone explain it to me. I guess I looked as confused as I felt. The thing is, the people that helped me out were having the time of their lives. Especially since they said, "It's from Doctor Who." and I said, "Who?" It made their freaking day.

(Yes, I know who Doctor Who is now. I'm still learning about the show though because they took the razzle-frazzin' thing off of Netflix two days after I found out it was there. It's on Prime now though. I'm two whole episodes into whatever season came up first. It's the one with that one guy playing the doctor and the really hot love interest chick. Except I didn't call her hot. Seriously. I LOVE YOU STEPH!!! I'm not in trouble am I?)

For the record, yes it is okay to geek out in excitement over your lover too.

So be not afraid to let your geek flag fly. Lemme see you in your Star Wars T-shirt or your Tardis dress. Come to the con dressed as a Draenei. Walk around saying "Exterminate, exterminate." Get your Spock ears. Make your life sized replica of the Stargate. Float like a leaf on the wind. Cry over the death of Sturm Brightblade. Pass me a tissue on that one. While you're at it, roll some oddly shaped dice and pass me a Mountain Dew. Rock a power ring like it's nobody's business because it's not. Oh, and hand me a green one. I'm old school. You're enjoying yourself and you're not hurting anybody. Let the next generation know. One of the happiest moments of my life was when my daughter did a guest post. It doesn't get much better folks. Try it some time. Enjoy your hobby and enjoy each other because we are - we really are - the only ones who get it.

Some links to purchase some of my favorite stuff are included below.

Hank Quense's Contact: Book One of the Zaftan Troubles

What do you get when you cross ugly, smelly, dirty aliens in control of both spacefaring technology and magic with dwarves who own battleaxes and can toss spells of their own? No, not Spelljammer, as much as I enjoyed that. You get Hank Quense's Contact: Book One of the Zaftan Troubles. You also get a rocking good time.

One thing that has always driven me slightly bonkers in fantasy fiction, going back to Tolkein, is that dwarven society is often ignored. I mean, sure Gimli played a major role in The Lord of the Rings but  at no point do you really get to see him in his home setting. He is clearly excited to get to the Mines of Moria but, by the time the Fellowship gets there, everything is gone. Everyone is dead. There are no dwarves left to interact with.

Quense takes care of that problem right off the bat. His story is set in a dwarven society. In Contact we see the problems and advantages of a dwarven society. Dating is apparently even more of a problem than in human societies. Property rights are a big thing. Hard work is valued. Those who don't work don't get a whole lot of respect. It's the kind of society I would love to live in.

And make no mistake about it: Dwarves are, in my humble opinion, the greatest thing that ever happened to fantasy literature. I don't mean just Gimli, son of Gloin. Bruenor Battlehammer and Flint Fireforge are age old favorites. The Dwarven Nations Trilogy is one of a very few good series about dwarves being dwarves. Another good one is the series by Markus Heitz. Quense has a ways to go before I can add him to that list, but he's certainly taken a step in the right direction.

It also seems to say a lot about Mr. Quense's politics. His government is dominated by people looking out only for their own best interests. The local governor is a product of a political dynasty. Taxes are not necessarily seen as a good thing. The needs and wants of the people are viewed mainly as a way of getting re-elected. Just as I was about to label Contact a conservative work though, I get an eyeful of "pipe-weed" use and a hatred of corporations that wouldn't fit a classic conservative. Therefore, Contact must be a work that is Libertarian in nature.

This is a good thing.There is way too much leftist drivel on the market these days. It's good to see someone with some good old-fashioned values and not a bunch of preachy, incoherent, identity politics fueled crap being fed into my Kindle. The best part about it is that Quense shows instead of tells and I, for one, was not able to find anything that looked like a sermon. Quense did a good job here.

The Zaftan themselves, are vicious corporate industrialists. They either conquer places or use corporations to undermine their societies. I kind of don't like these guys, but then again I'm not supposed to. They're the evil foreign invaders out to take everything of value. In a way, they're almost a caricature of the great colonizers from history, to include Romans, Japanese, Ottomans, Mongols, the Moors and lots of others. In a way they're not though. Very rarely in history has a conqueror come to help the people they're conquering. The might makes right theory of conquest has historically been very popular because it works. When the Zaftan don't recognize property rights in the sequels (this is planned as a seven book series) it's going to get ugly. I'm sharpening my axe in anticipation.

The Zaftan are not exactly the universe's most lovable people otherwise either.  Some are cranky. Others are lazy. One may very well be the death of his crew in a most literal sense. They're all focused on personal advancement at the cost of everyone and everything other than themselves. These guys are less trustworthy than my ex-wife. The captain is a woman with an attitude problem, although she may very well have an excuse.

They also appear to be very hard to kill. I'm thinking of my Dungeons and Dragons party from the late Nineties and our first encounter with a troll. Fortunately, my DM allowed me to get away with some meta-gaming and our party didn't wipe, but I'm guessing that the characters in Contact won't be as lucky. The next book looks like it might just get ugly for our dwarves.

I don't do spoilers but I'm looking forward to the sequel (which I have already downloaded) for another very important reason as well. I'm not going to say what it is, but it's a reflection of something that either reflects pop culture or is made fun of by pop culture, depending on your point of view. I want to see how this turns out or if it changes over time. I have a sneaking suspicion it just might because reasons.

Contact is a work of humor but sometimes it can be hard to tell when Quense is being funny and when he's actually making a point. That's actually a good thing though, as it keeps things from getting too preachy and we all love to laugh, right? I mean, that's a great thing. There was a lot here story-wise but it's always good to have a good time.

My only complaint about Contact, if you haven't guessed it already, is that it's not as long as I'd like it to be. I get that many authors are starting to come out with books more quickly now. And with a price point of ninety-nine cents I've got no complaints there, but it seems to be over awfully quickly. It takes a bit of time to get started as well and by the time things start moving we're already a third of the way through the book. Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I just wish it was a bit longer. Then again, a good author leaves their audience wanting more.  I'm really looking forward to reading the sequel because the first one was so good. I just wish I hadn't gotten there so quickly.

Bottom Line: 4.5 out of 5 Braided Beards

Contact: Book One of the Zaftan Troubles
Hank Quense
Strange Worlds Publishing, 2018

Contact: Book One of the Zaftan Troubles is available for purchase at the following link:

The Janitor Must Die by John Fulton

(Author's Note: Due to the fact that I'm reviewing a book by John Fulton, I currently have a Jonathan Coulton song stuck in my head. If this post gets too zany, blame them.)

The janitor must die. That guy has got to go. There can be no sparing him. We got to get 'im, got-got to get 'im. (Oops. That's an old Tribe Called Quest song. Sorry. Sometimes I confuse janitors with wallets. Don't we all?) I mean, Josh is a pretty decent guy but he's got it coming. I think. Right? There sure are enough things out to get him that it doesn't look good. Who is after him? The stuff in the book. You do know this is a book, right? Are you paying attention? You're sure? Riiiight. Anyway...

Listen, my cousin Josh was a janitor and he never had a day like this Josh does. Things go from frustrating to bad to worse to... Well, I don't wanna spoil anything. Let's just say that out there somewhere there is a person who got into a car wreck and had a day ten thousand times better than the day that Josh has had. Seriously.

Part of the problem of reviewing The Janitor Must Die by John Fulton is that I don't like to include spoilers. At the beginning of the book Josh, our hero and janitor extraordinaire (or maybe averagedaire) has no idea how badly things are going to go that day or how his whole world is going to get turned upside down. I don't want to give up too much here.

What I will say is this: If you are

A.) a janitor

and

B.) You forget your wallet on the way to work and can't buy breakfast

just turn around and take yourself back home. Preferably at maximum warp.

Oops. That was a Star Trek reference and this isn't a space novel.

*SIGH*

Listen, I warned you that this was going to be a weird one, okay?

And really, warp speed may be a massive understatement of how quickly I'd run away if I knew my workplace was going to end up like THAT. Seriously. Either you agree with me or you haven't read the book. Thankfully, there is an easy fix for this problem: Read the book and agree with me. See! Piece of chicken. (Oh God, none of you got that one.)

Part of the problem here, if we're being honest as that as good as The Janitor Must Die is (and it is a damn good book) it is kind of an interesting combination. It's kind of a big mass of "HOLY SHIT!" mixed with a bit of "What the FUCK?" crossed with just a little "Wait, what?" The thing is that there really aren't a whole lot of major plot twists. Josh really had no clue what was going on around him until things got crazy. And they go from zero to Joker levels of insanity in less time than it takes to talk about it. He's learning about the world around him as he goes and so are we. It's a bumpy ride for all involved. Some things don't fit at first.

This is a good thing as there is a lot in this first book (there is a note about sequels at the end but no time table given except "soon") and it's either a clueless main character or a series of info dumps. Fulton made the right choice here. This thing moves. The Janitor Must Die is a story that lives, breathes, and creeps. (Wow, the Oxford comma really does work.)  I have a vision of Fulton sitting at his computer with his word processor on and his hands extended from him as living words fly from his fingers and onto the screen, arranging themselves into an awesome book...

That sounds like fun. Maybe he'll show me how to do that. Seriously, because I'm all in. How cool would that be? Wiggle, wiggle, woosh, story. Done. Awesome.

It's actually a really good thing that there is a sequel or six million coming. There are a lot of things that seem to fit but  aren't completely explained. I'm hoping that further reading will elucidate certain aspects of an occasionally opaque tome which, while thoroughly delightful, is, at times, moderately insufficient in backstory. (Sorry, I thought this goofy post needed a super serious moment. Did it work?)

All trash talk aside though, it would be nice to see a little more of what motivates certain characters in future books. I'm not naming names, but the actions of certain characters would make a bit more sense of why they're doing what they're doing. I'm not calling for endless pages of exposition and long soliloquies to long lost lovers. I don't need to see a musical production describing the existence of  some classified government agency. Actually, The Janitor Must Die is probably better off without the screeching pimple-faced teenagers (UGH. High school memories) but I'd like to see maybe a flashback or two at some point in the future.

I'm really thinking of a couple of characters in particular here. I don't want to name names or give details because that would be very spoiler-y and I'm not trying to be like the peaches in your grandma's cobbler. Let's just say there are some very loose ends a possibly a very deep mystery or two that could use some light shed on them. Like about three very large star's worth.

That's not to say that The Janitor Must Die is a bad book because it's a very good one. At the end of the day, I'm left wanting more, and that's a good thing. Trust me. I tried to read Twilight once. After a hundred and forty pages I didn't want - as in couldn't take - anymore. This is not that book. I just wish there would have been a bit more here. I guess I'll have to read the sequels to find out more. I'm okay with that. I'm looking forward to it.

But for now, I'm off on a mission. Granted, I've had breakfast, lunch and dinner today, but I'm going to go eat breakfast again. Twice. Just to make sure. And I'm taking my wallet with me when I leave too.

Bottom Line: 4.75 out of 5 Shotgun Shells

The Janitor Must Die
John Fulton
Full Ton Press, 2018


The Janitor Must Die is available for purchase at the following link:

Jon Del Arroz's The Stars Entwined

(Authors note: I'm not sure why, but I can't seem to write this review without spoilers. So advance and read at your own caution. You have been warned.)

When one receives a request for a review from The Leading Hispanic Voice in Science Fiction, one reviews the book. If it kicks ass, that's just a bonus. So, when I received an email from Jon Del Arroz requesting me to do a review of The Stars Entwined I did. And the fact that it kicked ass was just a bonus. See what I did there?

I had a bit of trouble slotting this one into subgenres. I mean, The Stars Entwined is kind of Science Fiction, but it's kind of Science Fantasy (I'll get into that in a bit.) It starts out looking like it's going to be a police procedural, then it turns into a spy novel. You can never get comfortable with this thing because it changes in an instant. There are lots of twists and turns, but they all make sense in the story.

Seriously, if I should ever have the good fortune to meet Mr. Del Arroz at a con I will, after having bought him a drink and congratulated him on writing such an awesome book, stick my tongue ALL the way out at him for making me chase my tail like this. I like to slot books into sub-genres and this one doesn't freaking fit. I guess I'll get over it. I mean, it was a good book.

Despite my problems fitting works into little boxes The Stars Entwined is, at its core, a story about learning and functioning in a foreign society. Our protagonist, Lieutenant Sean Barrows, first encounters a species of beings called the Aryshans in his space station. Barrows is a security officer and runs into a stunningly beautiful Aryshan named Tamar.

Before long, Barrows finds himself undergoing radical surgery to make him look like an Aryshan and sent off on a spying mission. There he makes friends and discovers things about both Aryshan capabilities (his true mission) and culture (not really his mission but potentially more useful). There is a lot to be said for both. His friends are important people in their own right as well. His lover is the well... not really captain... but... first among equals in command of the ship. There is a lot of depth to the other culture because there has to be. The majority of the story takes place within it.

The reason I labeled The Stars Entwined Science Fantasy is because, although it has strong elements of SF like starships and space travel, the aliens in it are different. The Aryshans have a strong empathic sense among members of their own clan, similar in some ways to the Betazoid empathic sense from the Star Trek universe, only more limited. The sense is more pronounced among “entwined” couples. When Sean entwines with Tamar, unless I'm hallucinating, he actually gets a more advanced connection that even most purely Aryshan couples get. It surprises Tamar too. It definitely sounds like they're able to communicate better than their entwined friends. It's more of a telepathic link than an empathic one. It leads me to believe that Aryshans and humanity might just have a shared ancestry somehow.

Don't get me wrong. The Stars Entwined isn't a book that focuses on anthropology. It actually includes my favorite scientific process, which I like to refer to as “blowuptuation.” There is a ton of action. This thing is actually action packed. Ok, so maybe one really scary moment was way too telegraphed, but it still made me say, “Oh shit.” so I'm gonna call it good. Generally speaking any oh shit moment is a good moment. Especially when it doesn't go the way I expected it to.

I've always wondered about spy novels where the protagonist doesn't identify at least a bit with the people they were spying on. It never sat right with me that a spy could just run along with no compunctions. I mean, sure they might not have any when they got there. They're spying on the enemy. But once they get to know they people they're spying on...

Yeah, it should get weird. I'm happy to say that in The Stars Entwined it does. Sean starts to feel weird about selling people out. The reaction of his new wife when he confesses to her is epic. The crazy part is that he doesn't realize that she can't allow him to come to harm. He just feels like he has to do it. It's not rational, but not everything a human being does is rational. He does it because he loves her.

*SNIFF*

It's just so beautiful!!!

Ok, so maybe I'm being a bit of a smartass but it's true. It makes sense. I like it when the actions of characters make sense in context, based on human emotion. Sean did the only thing he could here. He did what the vast majority of people would have done. It's almost like it's a universal human emotion and Mr. Del Arroz was acknowledging that his character might have something in common with all people. Even the ones who didn't look like him. Hmm...

Oddly enough, one of the things I also like about The Stars Entwined is that it really does have an actual villain. One of the Aryshans really is straight up crazy and out to cause problems regardless of the cost. He believes in his own cause, such as it is, but so does every bad guy. A story has to have someone to cheer for, but it really helps to have someone to root against as well. And I hate that guy. I'm just not going to try to spell his name from memory.

Other than my sub-genre confusion, there is nothing I can find to complain about here. The plot cooks. The characters feel real. I feel like I could have a drink with Sean. I feel like I could talk nerd stuff with his friend Tol. I want to walk through Tol's workshop. I want to tinker with his crap and offer impossible improvements because I have no knowledge of engineering and only a senioritis-infected knowledge of high school physics. Ok, so it has an almost, kinda, sorta cliffhangerish type ending but it's not as bad as it could be and honestly, I'm suffering from complaining-about-cliffhanger fatigue.

Bottom Line: 4.75 out of 5 Entwined Couples

The Stars Entwined
Jon Del Arroz
Superversive Press, 2018

The Stars Entwined is available at the following link: