Destiny, Lightbringer and Dark Web by Declan Finn

 I just read three books in five days. I haven't done that in... 

Uhh...

Well, probably since before I got my driver's license, back in the early Nineties. I may have done it once since then, but I can't recall when it would have been. At any rate, this certainly isn't something that happens often. I don't really have that kind of time and I just can't, but this time I did. Don't ask me how it's possible. Also, don't ask me what's for dinner. I haven't got a clue. I haven't had time to cook. 

Of course, you'll want to know the names of the books. They are Destiny, Lightbringer and Dark Web, Books 9, 10 and 11 of the Saint Tommy, NYPD Series by Declan Finn. I'm pretty sure I've reviewed every one of the novels since Hell Spawn which, if you missed it, was Book 1. I've enjoyed them all, but these things just keep getting better. Tommy's network of allies and enemies keeps broadening. His characterization gets deeper. It almost feels like I could walk into the Nolan house and sit down for dinner with the family. Ya know, maybe Alex would be over and we'd have some spaghetti...

Yeah, these characters are that well drawn... err... written. Whatever. They're believable. 

So, I thought that since I was reviewing three books together, I'd give each a bit of space on it's own. They deserve it and so do my readers. So does the author for that matter. Even if he is a buttface. More on that in a bit.

Destiny

While I am one hundred percent certain that Tommy Nolan does not, under any circumstances, cave in to wrath, it seems that Declan Finn most certainly does. In this case, Finn got frustrated after the Italian government force him and his wife to pay an exorbitant fine while simulataneously having their travel plans cancelled because of an honest mistake. The Nolan family goes through basically the same thing and then...

It gets ugly.

Listen, I'm a history nerd with the degree to prove it. I've even got a couple of graduate credits in American History. I've always loved the history of both Ancient Rome and the Christian Church as well, but I never pursued those as a degree because I don't have the language skills. Seriously.

And what Finn does to some of the coolest historical architecture in Rome was kinda...

Well...

Were you a wrestling fan in the Nineties? Did you see the Undertaker/Mick Foley Hell in a Cell match? The one where Taker choke slammed Foley through the top of the cell into the thumbtacks? Do you remember running your fingers through your own hair, your eyes huge and your feet kicking? Do you remember the simultaneous feeling of "OH MY GOD THAT WAS SO COOL!!!!" mixed with "OH MY GOD THIS SUCKS!!!" with just a wee bit of "DID THAT REALLY JUST HAPPEN?!" Do you remember that feeling?

Yeah, I experienced that a few times with Destiny. Seriously, Hollywood needs to stop rebooting crap and make this into a movie. 

Err...

Just as long as I don't have to be the one to pay for the special effects.

So it's only fair to say that the action scenes were amazing. Saint Tommy with all of his charisms and quite a few allies up against the best that Hell has to send after him. It's amazing and believable. Tommy takes a beating a few times. When he's up against what he gets thrown at him, that makes sense. He even has to be reminded to take care of himself at times.

And that's one of the things I like about Tommy Nolan. He's strong physically, strong at heart, and strong spiritually but we're reminded that his very strength is also a great weakness. He tries to take too much on himself and not accept help. I wish this didn't make as much sense to me as it does, but at the end of the day it's horrifyingly realistic. 

Also, the physical effects of aging are pretty accurately portrayed as well. It seems that our St. Tommy isn't as young as he used to be. I get that. I'm forty-five and sometimes my recovery takes a while longer. Since St. Tommy is forty-five in Destiny as well, it makes sense that he would suffer some of the same probl...

Hey wait!

Finn just said I was getting too old for something! You're busted, buddy. That's a one-ten millionth of a point deduction for...

uhh...

Sumfin' 

Pretty sure it was sumfin'.

The rest of the family is on vacation with Tommy. This doesn't start out as a business trip. It's weird because I never thought I'd say this about a St. Tommy NYPD book, but there is a certain Scooby Doo element here. Not the stupid humor thing, because that would never work in a St. Tommy novel. But it does have kind of an air of "Look guys, we're on vacation! This is gonna be SOO fun!" that then turns into "Uh, oh."Seriously, this thing needs two "Zoiks" and a "Jinkies"before the action really gets going. Well either that, or maybe I'm just a nerd.

Okay, not really. What it really needed was for my dispatcher to shut up and stop sending me off to make money while I was trying to read. Seriously, don't become a cab driver. But if you ever do, don't start a good book on the first. Just don't do it. That's the busiest time of month and it can be hard to do your job when your body is in Michigan but your mind is in another country fighting demons. I would definitely recommend reading Destiny, but I would also try to find an open spot in my schedule if I were you. It's going to take up quite a bit of your time after all, because you're not going to want to put it down.

Bottom Line: 4.9999999 out of 5 Missed Fares

Destiny

Declan Finn

Tuscany Bay Books, 2022

Lightbringer

Okay, so this time we're back on our side of the Atlantic and there are no more priceless historical artifacts around to mercilessly slaughter. That's a good thing. I like my violence with a side of not destroying the ruins of an ancient society.  I mean, it's not like Ancient Rome wasn't a cesspit, but modern New York is not only a cesspit, it's one whose loony ideas I have to deal with on a regular basis. 

And once again, as much as Finn says he hates his hometown you can tell how much he loves his hometown by how well he writes it and Lightbringer is no different. Anne Rice may have had a bigger love affair with New Orleans than Finn has with New York, but it's a close run race. The city itself oozes off the pages. All of New York's features and all of its foibles can be found here. It really feels like Finn hates the local politics but loves the city for what it is when he's not dealing with politicians. I have an urban fantasy work in progress and a lot of the reason I put it in the Detroit area is so that I could do Detroit as well as Finn does New York. 

I really like Lightbringer because Tommy Nolan finally faces something he can't take head on. I mean that sincerely. I love the fact that Saint Tommy is, well, a saint, but really if you pulled the prayer and the emphasis on piety and good works as a spiritual concept out of the books, what you'd have left is a superhero. Don't misunderstand me. I love superheroes. I just think that Thomas Nolan has a little more to him than Captain America or Superman. I mean, spiritually powered lightsabers are awesome, but...

I mean...

You can't solve every problem by stabbing it, or blowing it up, sprinkling it with holy salt or..

You get the picture.

And, as a man of faith who has been through some things, I can tell you truly that while God does answer prayer, it's not always with the answer you want.

This time around the man who can bilocate, levitate, call on angels for backup and outshoot pretty much anything he faces goes up against something that none of that will work on. In a sense, a very real one, you could say that he's facing his worst fear. And it makes him seem much more human than he had before. 

Sometimes with heroes, and it doesn't matter whether we're talking Bruce Wayne or Chris Kyle, Hal Jordan or Saint Peter, it's easy to forget that these are human beings. You get so used to thinking about what they've done that you forget who they are. There are times during Lightbringer when we're reminded that one Thomas Nolan is a man, just like the rest of us. I've always found Finn's characterizations to be realistic but after reading this one, I feel closer to St. Tommy.

And it makes sense, because two of Nolan's kids are adults now, and they are hardcore. It does the heart good to see the babies all grown up following in their fathers footsteps, still seeing the old man on a regular basis, hanging out and doing some of the heavy lifting. The way they show their support for their daddy the best way they know how. And the youngest, not yet grown, is showing signs (I think) of being something special herself someday.

But don't let me get too sentimental on you. I guess I'm just getting soft in my old age. There is plenty of over the top action to keep you entertained. Things go boom. Things go pow. Things go bop, bang, zing.  There's a collision or two. Some special friends show up when needed. A hole appears that wasn't there before. And, well...

Listen, this isn't a spoiler. It's in the title. But the book lives up to its title. Either you get that or you don't. If you do you already knew what was going to happen. If you don't you have no clue what I'm talking about. I just know that I was prepared to get really upset if I didn't see something occur and it did. If you don't know what, go read the book. If you still don't get it, leave a comment and I'll try to explain it to you. Then again, if you don't get it, maybe Lightbringer isn't the only book you need to read.

Bottom Line: 5.0 out of 5 Soul Rings

Lightbringer

Declan Finn

Tuscany Bay Books, 2022

Dark Web

Holy Dichotomy, Batman! (Pun totally intended.) Dark Web is an awesome book but it shows one Lieutenant Nolan being torn in two directions. One is doing what he was born to do. Tommy fights evil like the champion that he is. But here again, he finds himself confronted with something he can't fight, and it's getting worse. I feel for the guy.

And it's weird because they always tell you not to meet your idols. The inference is that they won't live up to what you want them to be. Mr. Nolan finally comes up against a threat he has no defense against and it makes me like him more. There's nothing more humbling than watching someone go through something you can't help them with while wishing that you could. Tommy takes a metaphorical (and I think an actual) punch to the gut and it hurts.

I want to talk about this for a bit because it hit me pretty hard. Some authors do things better than others, right? Lots of people can write a book about friends and friendship but very few can do it like J.K. Rowling. Lots of authors write about battles in space but if anyone can do it better than David Weber I don't know who it is. Tom Kratman is the only human being on the planet who can write a training manual and make it entertaining. Declan Finn has always been the best writer I've read when it comes to combining spiritual matters with fun and action. I mean, who else can write a gun battle with a main character that prays the whole time and make it make sense? Finn is the only one I've seen.

What I never expected from a guy like Finn was for him to make me cry my own tears. I'm not that guy. Maybe as a kid I was, but I've been through some things since then. I got through a divorce without crying about losing my ex-wife. But Finn had me crying. I'm not going to tell you what happens, but once you figure it out for yourself, hold on. The part that really had me crying isn't quite here yet.

This is a big thing for me, because writing is art and art is all about evoking an emotional response. Sure, that might be excitement and aggression and with the Saint Tommy, NYPD Series it usually is. Tommy fights some really tough opponents and it's fun to watch him take them down a peg. That's why I like these books.

But I don't usually like things that make me cry. Crying comes from sadness and sadness sucks. I haven't shed tears of joy since...

Uhh...

I got a little choked up at my wedding I guess, but even then I didn't actually cry. There were no tears at either of my daughters' births...

It's just not me.

It is, therefore, a rare author that can make me cry and have me still enjoy their book. Finn managed to pull it off. Not to be that guy about it, but I didn't think he had it in him. His books are usually rollicking good fun, not the type of thing that would make me get all mushy. So kudos to one of my favorite authors for pulling off something I didn't believe possible.

And the thing is, this is NOT a tear-jerker. There is enough action in Dark Web to make a Rambo movie blush. It's almost non-stop. Finn brings out every monster he can think of. He leaves his hero weakened to face them in places. He pretty much (but not quite) drops a nuke from orbit. He brings back both old friends and old foes. Dark Web is the book where all of the things happen and nothing ever stops. Even when Tommy thinks things are boring, the rest of the crew would disagree.

Dark Web is the best St. Tommy, NYPD book yet and it's almost the last one as well. There's so much in here that I don't think I did it justice. Suffice it to say that I plan on re-reading this one soon. I went through Dark Web in one fell swoop on my day off because I couldn't stop reading it. I was so hooked into this one that I didn't want to do anything but rip through it as fast as I could. As a matter of fact, this one was so good, I think I give Finn a bonus one ten-millionth of a point to make up for the one I took away earlier.

Bottom Line: 5.0000001 out of 5 Shed Tears

Dark Web

Declan Finn

Tuscany Bay Books, 2022

And that's all three if you're keeping score at home. I'm a bit apprehensive about the next one. Blue Saint is the final book in the series and, if you know anything about the Catholic religion, you know there's no such thing as a living saint. We'll see how true that is on October Eleventh. I doubt Finn will make me cry two books straight though.

All three books are available at the links below. If you click a link and buy literally anything from Amazon, I get a small percentage at no additional cost to you.

Interview with author L.S. King

 

Jimbo: Welcome to Jimbo’s Awesome Science Fiction and Fantasy Reviews, where we’re all about promoting Science Fiction and Fantasy content creators. Seriously, if I didn’t love to tell you about  all aspects of Speculative Fiction I wouldn’t have put up over three hundred posts doing so. Today, we’re talking to author L.S. King, author of the new novel Raising the Stakes, the third installment of the Deuces Wild series. She’s very excited to share the news with all of us. Say hi, Lee. Drop a link to your author website and anywhere else you might tell the world about all of your work.

LS King: “Hi, Lee.” (Well, you said to say it!) Thanks for the interview! 

My website is https://loriendil.com

On the Contact page, all my social media, my newsletter, and my email are listed. So anyone who wishes to find me or my work can easily do so there.

I have two series at the minute. The one is space opera and the other is epic science fantasy. No magic, just forgotten ancient technology.

I do have a few stand-alone short stories in one series or the other, and a couple that are completely independent, although some of them are not currently available. That will change, eventually.

Jimbo: Great to see you Lee! So, before we get to the latest book in the series, tell us a bit about the first two, Beginner’s Luck and Stacking the Deck for those who may not have had the chance to read them yet. Try not to spoil too much for those that don’t like that kind of thing.

L.S. King: Beginners’ Luck is the story of how our two heroes meet and must work together to escape the bad guys. In the process, they end up getting in the way of more bad guys and some Very Bad Things happen. Spoiler: by the end of the novel, they have started to forge a friendship.

Stacking the Deck adds some flavor with some additional characters, some of whom cause headaches and some of whom are headaches. They are drawn unwillingly into various dangerous situations, such as attempting to break a planetary blockade with their lone ship.

Jimbo: Terrific. So tell us a little bit about each of your main characters, Slap and Tristan, and what makes them do what they do. I mean, a cowboy and a space pirate seem like a bit of an unlikely pair.

L.S. King: The two main characters are indeed complete opposites. One is altruistic despite the tragedies that have devastated him, while the other is cynical.

Slap is a rancher from a pioneer planet which uses “sustainable” ways rather than hi-tech. So when I say he’s a cowboy, I mean it. A gangster, in a drive for power, is trying for land grabs and kills his family, burns his ranch, leaving him for dead.

Tristan is a bit of a drifter from off-planet with a mysterious background. Is he a mercenary, pirate, assassin? Regardless, he proves he is a deadly adversary.

The two men discover this same gangster is after them both, and they are forced to work together to survive.

The idea for this broadly came from my favorite Western book, Shane.

Jimbo: Awesome. So I hear that the first novel, Beginners Luck, was serialized in Ray Gun Revival magazine. Tell us a little bit about how that works and what the experience of working with Ray Gun Revival was like.

L.S. King: I was involved (rather reluctantly at first, the phrase “dragged kicking and screaming” comes to mind LOL) in the creation of Ray Gun Revival. The idea was to bring back the old SF serial magazine with the fun of space ships, ray guns, and just fun science fiction stories. We had stand-alones we published every issue, but we wanted serial novels that would run a chapter a month, just like in the Old Days™.

Getting four people to do that was a bit of a problem. So my co-founder Johne Cook suggested I do one. I honestly wasn’t interested, but he hounded, er I mean, convinced me to do one of them as a proof-of-concept.

Sure. Just as a proof-of-concept. I guess I can do that. So I turned in the first three chapters and made it possible for the whole silly thing to end there if folks didn’t like it. 

And they did. So much so that when the storyline was finished a year and a half later, the publisher backing Ray Gun Revival released it as a novel.

The experience of working on Ray Gun Revival was extraordinary! I met so many talented writers and forged some amazing friendships that have lasted to this day. 

Jimbo: Thanks for that, Lee. Science Fiction owes so much of its success to the magazines that have promoted it since day one. It does my heart well to know that they’re still going strong. So, with Raising the Stakes recently released, tell me what Slap and Tristan are up to. How much trouble are they in this time? Remember not to ruin any big surprises.

L.S King: “Tell us about the novel, but no spoilers.” Oh sure, a piece of pie, as Carter would say! LOL

In this novel, several groups of bad guys are after our heroes (naturally). Some for obvious reasons, others...well, let’s just say it’s a bit of a problem when an entire galactic government is gunning for you.

An old friend of Tristan’s shows up, and causes some distractions in a manner only a woman among men can (for reference, see Heinlein’s Tunnel in the Sky), but they aren’t sure they can truly trust her.

In a strange twist, they discover that some planets are watched over by these strange beings with the ability to protect their planets. Tristan ponders if they are some sort of strange, noncorporeal aliens or something else. The natives of these planets claim these beings are not gods, but they certainly appear to have godlike powers. 

Slap and Tristan find themselves embroiled in a war between these ‘gods’ and the corrupt government that is trying to kill them.

Jimbo: That sounds like a lot of fun,but you have to picture this: I’ve read all about your books. I’m excited. I want them. But I don’t know what format they’re available in or where to get them. How about you save me from his galactic scale tragedy and fill me in on all of the relevant details.

L.S. King: All of my works can be accessed on my website, both in print and various ebook formats. From my site, you can click through to Amazon, Apple, Google, Kobo, Barnes and Noble, and also Smashwords.

https://loriendil.com

Jimbo: That’s all good to know, but here at Jimbo’s we don’t believe in letting authors off that easily. Why don’t you tell us about some of your older works? I particularly enjoyed your Sword’s Edge Trilogy. Don’t be shy, Lee. I know you can be a bit modest, but you’re a good author so feel free to go on a bit and fill us all in on what you’ve done prior to your latest series. 

L.S. King: Sword’s Edge started from a dream I had circa 1985. It simmered for years before I started writing it down. When I finally did, I ended up with a world that had thousands of years of backstory as well as what was happening in their present day. 

The series has an epic fantasy feel but with forgotten ancient technology being rediscovered instead of magic. The books have some danger and derring-do (I must get in my quota of swords and capes), but also some soul-crushing moments of internal reflection and decisions which impact their entire world.

Jimbo: Sounds amazing. Let’s get a bit personal. Why Speculative Fiction and not some other genre. Seriously, what led you to the world of rockets, ray guns, elves and trolls?

L.S. King: ahem There are no elves or trolls, thankyouverymuch! LOL I’ll leave them in Middle-earth!
I was heavily influenced by Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits as a wee lass, and then by Star Trek when it came out in 1966. I remember reading The Runaway Robot by Lester del Rey and Forgotten Door by Alexander Key while in elementary school, and then I discovered Heinlein’s juveniles. 

I read other genres too, everything from Enid Blyton to Zane Grey to Tolkien (of course) to C.S. Lewis (I’m partial to his space trilogy) to Agatha Christie to Edgar Allan Poe.

I was also heavily influenced by Zorro which I openly admit is the source of my love for capes and swords.

Jimbo: Thanks for sharing. And if I were to, say, already have all of the L.S King books and needed something else to read, what authors/series would you recommend and why?

L.S. King: I have many favorite authors in so many genres, but since your site is SF/F, I’ll stick to those. 

I know these are a given, but: Asimov, Heinlein, Clarke, Bradbury, Vonnegut, Philip K. Dick, Pohl, Sturgeon, van Vogt,  E.E. "Doc" Smith, Anne McCaffrey, Zelazny, Zahn, Cherryh, Le Guin—I could go on forever! And oh, yes, I cannot forget to mention Lois McMaster Bujold. Her Vorkosigan series is amazing! 

I have discovered some newer authors (or at least, they’re new to me, okay?):

P.A. Piatt. His Walter Bailey Misadventures are a hoot, and I love his space marine novels. I recommend starting with Honor Flight! DINLI! (Language warning, folks!)

Sarah A. Hoyt’s work is great. Her Darkship series is a delight. I think they’re only available in print right now, not ebook.

Larry Correia’s Monster Hunter series is fantastic (Language warning again!). He hooked me on the first book with his blurb about his protagonist tossing his boss out of a fourteenth story window!

Jimbo: I’ll have to check some of those out. Last question: I’m always afraid that I didn’t get to everything, so what did I forget to ask that you wish I had? Don’t forget to answer your own question, Lee.

L.S. King: I can’t really think of anything. I do have a couple of events coming up, and they can be found on my Events page for anyone local to the Mid-Atlantic area:
https://www.loriendil.com/events.php

And, thanks again, Jim, for this interview. 

Jimbo: Thank you! L.S. King, ladies and gentlemen! Don’t forget to pick up her book and show some love in the comments!

RIP Nichelle Nichols

 (Yes, I know I'm a day late and a dollar short, but I worked seventy hours last week and spent most of yesterday asleep.)

Growing up, one of the people I was closest to was my father. We fished together. We went shooting together. He coached my sports teams. (I'm afraid I may have been a bit of a disappointment there.) And we watched Star Trek: The Original Series together. It was super cool. There was one character that I shared a first name with (being Jim Kirk) and one that I shared a last name with (Dr. Leonard McCoy). Then there were Lieutenants Sulu, Chekov and Uhura. And let's not forget Scotty. 

We watched it a lot. I'll never forget the times that Star Trek was pre-empted by Detroit Red Wings games. My dad wasn't a fan until late in his life and, well, it got ugly. "THAT'S NOT EVEN A REAL SPORT!!" he'd yell. And we'd end up watching some old movie on a different channel. We didn't have cable yet and so there wasn't much choice.

Others have spoken of Nichelle Nichols and her contributions to the Civil Rights Movement, of her conversation with Martin Luther King, being a black person in an integrated crew...

And yes, she was a woman. People often compare Lieutenant Uhura to a telephone operator, as that was a common occupation for women at the time. I've often wondered if, perhaps, Gene Roddenberry didn't have a slightly different take on the situation. Women, after all, had served as auxiliary members of the Britain's Royal Air Force during World War II, and Roddenberry was a pilot in the US Air Force. 

Regardless, anyone was points to Ms. Nichols accomplishments is right. She did all of that. It's all true. I'm going to take a slightly different tack here though, and you'll see why shortly.

By the time I was born (December, 1976) Star Trek had been out for roughly a decade. Seeing black people on television was nothing new for a young Jimbo. Good Times, The Jeffersons, What's Happening, Different Strokes, Benson, I could go on. Let's just say that seeing black people on TV was no big deal for me. From the point of view of a guy born in the mid Seventies, black people have always been on TV. 

Think that through for a minute. 

They have always been there. It's no big deal. At least if you're my age or younger.

How many people said that BEFORE Nichelle Nichols popped up on screen with a speaker stuck in her ear? (I'll leave aside the fact that it was the first ever bluetooth speaker.) I mean, I'm FAR from being an expert on the subject but, realistically speaking, I am aware of precisely zero black characters in an American TV show prior to one Nyota Uhura. If they did exist, they didn't last long enough to make it as part of the black and white re-runs I used to watch. All of the shows I listed above came out AFTER Star Trek.

 And I have to wonder...

I grew up on Hip Hop. My cousin Ron threw a Run DMC's Raisin' Hell album into my tape deck one day and...

Yeah. I used to haunt the local records store on Tuesdays because that's when the new stuff came out. And before you start laughing, realize that Sean Combs, Dr. Dre and Master P have all stated for the record in live interviews that seventy percent of hip hop record sales have been to white people. 

None of that happens without Nichelle Nichols. Hip hop started in the late Seventies in Brooklyn New York, and you have to give credit to one Afrika Bambaataa because he invented it, but I honestly don't think it gets as big or lasts as long without Ms. Nichols.

And yet...

My memory of her is not the towering effect she had on civil rights and pop culture. My over-riding memory of Nichelle Nichols is and always will be as the first super-attractive woman on a television show. 

Now, don't get me wrong, there were very many beautiful ladies with acting careers before Nichelle. But, like, I wasn't around to see them. Maybe some on re-runs or whatever, but the first time I remember looking at a television set and being struck by the beauty of a woman, she was on the bridge of the Enterprise wearing a red dress. Seriously. Wow. It was a really weird experience too. Not because she was black, but because I had been watching the show for years at that point. When you can't remember a time before you started watching Star Trek you were too young to appreciate a beautiful woman when you started watching Star Trek.

And seriously...

I grew up in an era when it was NOT cool to be a geek. I was made fun of daily. There were no pretty ladies cosplaying as Power Girl in 1985. It just didn't happen. When I was a kid, the worst of the worst when it came to making fun of geeks were the pretty girls and their petty bullshit.  Seriously, they considered it some kind of status marker to dog the nerdish types and that's what I've always been.

But not Nichelle Nichols. I remember seeing commercials for Star Trek conventions when I was a kid. Sometimes they mentioned that Ms. Nichols was going to be there. At least there was one pretty lady on our side. It usually felt like she was the only one (and that may be because I never saw the other Star Trek women advertised as a kid) but one was something. It was what I needed.

So maybe I'm being selfish remembering as Civil Rights icon for what she meant to me personally. Frankly, I'm okay with that though. This is my blog and I'll write what I want to. I seriously doubt that I was the only one though. And, on a personal level, her being on the nerd side means more to me than all of her vastly more impressive accomplishments ever could.

And so, yes, Nichelle Nichols will always be what her supporters say she is. Sometimes it makes me sad that her lesser contributions go unnoticed.

So fair winds and following seas Ms. Nichols. I will see you when I get there. And if you can spare a hug for a huge nerd who has always, or at least for as long as he can remember, been a fan, it would be much appreciated.

Jon R Osborne's A Reluctant Druid

First off, the disclaimer: I'm a Christian who not only attends church regularly, even if I missed it this week, and has plans to eventually have a prison ministry. That's going to be a rough road, but I want the challenge because it's important. I can't quite believe that I found myself reading a book where the good guys are the pagans and their enemies are the Christians, but here we are. I liked it so much I'm actually going to promote it on my blog. Then, at some point, I'm going to read the rest of the series. 

Our hero is a dude name Liam Knox and he starts out way over his head. Like trying to stand on the bottom while swimming over the Marianas Trench kind of over his head. It's crazy. He has no clue what is going on or what is happening to him. I mean, we've all seen this before, right? It's kind of a trope. This one goes from Buck Rogers to Harry Potter and back again, only Knox seems to have it worse. 

I mean, with Harry Potter he takes everything in pretty quickly. I love the books, but it almost seems too convenient how quickly he adapts to his new surroundings when he goes from the cupboard under the stairs to the king of the freaking world. Knox takes a bit longer but, if you can believe it, his world is even further from where he started from Harry's. He gets to where he needs to be mentally slowly but surely, I think. There's more to this story than just this one book, and he seems to be getting what's been thrown at him. Then again, the kitchen sink has not quite been thrown yet, that I remember anyway, so there could very well be something he hasn't anticipated. Or at least that I haven't. 

I really got a kick out of the way Osborne worked in a lot of mythological figures. No, I'm not going to list them all but trust me, you'll recognize a lot of them. I sure did. I got a kick out of it. I'm hoping to find out more about who from the Christian side is working with their champion in future books. So far, not a lot has been revealed that I remember but that should be interesting. And it's not like a good author is going to give away everything in the first book of the series. If I don't want more, I won't read more and the author doesn't get paid. So not knowing everything is a good thing, I guess.

I'm tempted to believe that a lot of research went into including all of those mythological beings into A Reluctant Druid. I'm also half tempted to believe that Osborne might just be one of those guys who likes reading mythology and decided to throw a bunch of it into his book because he could. I'm not sure if it's one, or both, or something else entirely but either way I approve. He did a great job.

Sometimes trouble can come from unexpected directions and Osborne gets that. He sure gives his main character a lesson or two at the School of Hard...

Knox.

Get it?

Ok, so that was terrible. Please do not take my poor attempt at humor as being reflective of the quality of A Reluctant Druid. I'll accept the thrown tomatoes. Osborne deserves better than that, even if he let me review his book. 

*SIGH*

No system is perfect, I guess.

The supporting cast here is huge and lots of fun. As already mentioned some of them are major mythological figures, but not all. Some of them are just regular people. Some of them are just regular people, only with powers. I love the fact that you don't necessarily know who is who and what's what when someone walks in or something happens. It actually does drop in the pot at one point and we're all just cruising along like, "Yeah, sounds rough." for about two or three pages before we realize all hell has already broken out and we were just clueless.

No, not like the movie. I'm neither that young, nor that hot.

Anyway...

There is a lot of suspense here. I spent most of the time I couldn't read the book (listen, I've got a job, okay? And like, reading and driving don't mix and no, I don't do audiobooks.) trying to figure out what's coming next. Osborne seems to have found that weird middle ground between revealing too much and ruining interest and telling too little and getting your book launched against the wall at a high velocity because the reader is too frustrated.

Not that I'd ever do such a thing. At least, not if it were an e-book. I need my phone too much for that.

A Reluctant Druid is the perfect kind of book to knock out on a rainy day when you're stuck in the house. We all know the situation, right? Nowhere to go, nothing to do, oh wow how did I finish that book in one day? I mean, I remember that feeling at least. It's been a long time since I've been able to actually do it. 

Of course, you can still read it if you're busy. I read it while working sixty plus hours a week. I'm just saying that A Reluctant Druid is the kind of book that can keep your mind absorbed for an entire day and make you feel like you got something out of it. Actually, if I hadn't been writing all day (going on three thousand words today, it's my day off) I'd probably be reading the sequel right now. 

Wait?

Why are you asking ME what the title of the sequel is? 

WHY DO I HAVE TO DO ALL OF THE WORK?!??!??!?!?!

Okay, gimme a second.

...

...

...

...

It's called A Tempered Warrior. I just found it on Amazon. I'll be checking it out soon.

Bottom Line: 4.75 out of 5 Lightning Bolts

A Reluctant Druid
Jon Osborne,
New Mythology Press, 2017

P.A. Piatt's Cherry Drop

So I was kind of reluctant to read Cherry Drop. See, I had read and reviewed P.A. Piatt's Redcaps Rising and, while it was a very good book, it was very humorous. I was kind of concerned that Cherry Drop was some kind of weird allusion to a cold medication and that this was going to be some weird, humorous craziness. I mean, I like humor in my Urban Fantasy but well-written Military Science Fiction has this sort of feeling to this that the type of humorous atmosphere in Redcaps Rising is just not conducive to. I wasn't going to read it. It wasn't going to happen. Then one of my friends, who I don't believe has ever read Redcaps Rising, but reads lots of MilSF,  said something nice about it. I trust my buddy's judgment, so I thought I'd try it. 

I'm glad I did. Cherry Drop is every bit as well-written as Redcaps Rising, but it doesn't have that comedic feel. It has the military feel that it needs. I'm extremely happy to report that it works. I felt like I was there with these guys. Now, part of that may very well be that it's been hotter than the inside of Satan's armpit here in Michigan, but whatever works. They were in the jungle. I was baking my behind off in a cab in a hot, humid place. It just felt right. I will grant you that there were no crazed aliens trying to eat me, but I can feel comfortable thanking God for small favors there.

The story begins with our hero, one Second Lieutenant Abner Fortis, about to make his first drop into combat IE his Cherry Drop. He's been sent to lead a short platoon whose last platoon leader is no longer available for duty. His men don't trust him. His platoon sergeant is a corporal. Yes, you read that right. His troops are kind of cranky...

And they send him on a mission to a planet where he has no way to contact higher. So he's on his own, with a little help from a non-promotable subordinate and a mess lands in his lap. Granted, this SHOULD have been a milk run but it turns out that it wasn't. Fortis watches everything drop in the pot when he should have spent his deployment napping and waiting for his ride home to show.

There are a lot of action sequences in Cherry Drop and they are all well done. Piatt has a knack for keeping things moving and unpredictable. Fortis, being a cherry, has a tendency to do the dumb thing every once in awhile but that actually fits. There is a reason so few second lieutenants make it back from their first combat assignment in the real world. The fact remains that Fortis has just enough luck, enough brains and enough support from his NCOs that he makes it through and actually manages to get some stuff right. 

The initial enemy Fortis and his troops face is not all that creative or dangerous. I mean, the bugs can kill you but they rely on numbers and ferocity as opposed to tactics and strategy. The troops are missing a key piece of intel on them and they still manage to win some battles before they figure it out. 

Fortis's Marines face a situation that would not be familiar to many United States Marines in that they get hung out on a branch with no help and a jacked up situation. Fortunately for them they, also like real world Marines, manage to bring themselves through somehow. No matter what the odds, they seem to at least keep their integrity intact. 

Of course, every Corps has its traditions and the ISMC is no exception. Whether it's using slang terms (like DINLI, which stands for Do It, Not Like It and is a term I'd actually like to see pass into general usage because it works so well.) or brewing homemade hooch in violation of regulations (which, oddly enough, is called DINLI) the ISMC has things that need to happen and they do. I love that aspect of the story because it's part of what make the book work. Every military force has its own idiosyncrasies and that is one major part of what makes Cherry Drop work.

The enemy is not who it initially appears to be. This is a good thing, because it makes things more interesting. The reason I never liked Pern (and yes, I know that's heresy) is because thread sucks as an enemy. It is mindless, falls in sheets and has no real ability to fight smart or use tactics. I can't deal with that kind of an enemy. After awhile, we see someone new enter the fight, and they have a lot more intelligence and adaptability. Of course, none of that means that their superiors are going to see eye to eye with their decisions or that they're going to be exceedingly popular with the public afterward, but c'est la vie, right?

I like reading newer MilSF because the tech makes sense. There's so much that the modern military has that a writer forty years ago could never have imagined that it boggles the mind. Still, when I see troops in a far future story they should be using things like unmanned drones with webcams. It makes no sense if they're not. Now, maybe I'm wrong and at some point in the future we'll invent something that's man portable and works better. I'm not counting on it though, and until a better idea crops up, they need to be there. A lot of really well written older science fiction is missing concepts that your average Joe would come up with now simply because no one had thought of it then. I'm not blaming the authors. I get why it's not there. I'm just saying that as a fan reading a story now, some things need to be there and Piatt includes them. 

All in all, this one's a keeper. Also, I'm kind of bitter that I didn't realize that I could nominate it for a Dragon Award until it was too late.

Bottom Line: 4.5 out of 5 Lost Troopers

Cherry Drop: Book One of Abner Fortis, ISMC
P.A. Piatt
Theogony Books, 2021

Cherry Drop: Book One of Abner Fortis, ISMC 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.

Nathan Lowell's A Seeker's Tale From The Golden Age Of The Solar Clipper

Once upon a time there was an author named Nathan Lowell. He wrote Space Opera but it wasn't your typical Space Opera with flashy lasers and big time blowuptuations. No, very little explodes in a Nathan Lowell novel. The crazy thing is, Nathan Lowell's Space Opera is still some of the best I've ever read. I never thought I'd say that, but it's true.

When last we saw our hero, Ishmael Wang, he had rocketed through the ranks of the Merchant Marine, going from a quarter share apprentice to captaining his own ship. It was a rough ride in parts but rewarding for him as well as the reader. This time around it's a little different.

This time, Captain Wang owns his ship. This time, he has a murdered lover to avenge... if he can find the guy who killed her. And while he is searching, he's got some money to make (and a ship that can be repossessed if he doesn't) and some things to learn along the way. There's a whole side of the galaxy that he hasn't seen yet. A series of places where he can make a ton of cash. Places called the Toe-Holds that aren't regulated by the larger government of Confederated Planets. 

I love the concept of the Toe-Holds. Local governance and greater freedom have always been my thing. Less regulation equals more money and more possibilities. I've often stated that government sucks at everything it does and, while that's not totally true, I'm right more often than I'm wrong. My attitude has one hole in it though, and Lowell hits it head-on: Sometimes unregulated things break. That can be a very bad thing when you're on a space station and something critical breaks. Lowell doesn't shy away from the problems with lack of regulation though, and anyone who can remember the Challenger or Columbia explosions knows that the government's record on regulating spacecraft isn't exactly spotless either. 

I also like the way Lowell handles some of the crew members. Ishmael was always in a hurry to learn the new material, take the next exam and get the next promotion. Some of his crew members aren't like that. This is a good thing. We've all worked with someone who wanted to rise to the top, but not everyone is like that. Some people balk at the idea of extra responsibility, even if it means extra pay. To not desire more than one has is a legitimate right and it's one that I'm glad to see Lowell championing. Don't get me wrong. I'm not here hold anyone back. I'm just saying that it's not right to force someone to move forward if they don't want to.

I really need to re-read this and apply a lot of what's here to my own work (yes, I know I have nothing published. I'll get there.) because there is a lot of time spent on things that usually get lost in the novels with flashier setting and big space fights. I mean, at some point we all know that the crew needs to breathe, but how often do we get to see someone working with the oxygen purification gear? I love Honor Harrington. I have since the lady at the book store led me back to the appropriate shelf by hand and put On Basilisk Station in my hand, but how often do we get to see what happens in the galley? I mean, her steward is one of the finest in the fleet and has a service-wide reputation for serving the finest coffee around, but do we really know how he does it? (Shut up, Tom, he might use a different method than you do.) It is seriously the little things that make this series.

I've got to mention Pip, the captain's best friend and a guy Ishmael went to officer school with. Pip is a laid back dude, but he's got some serious brain power. A lot of the money that goes to keeping the ship and, indeed, the idea for buying it, came from Pip. He's got a big brain and a good head, even if he can be a bit pie in the sky sometimes. Add Pip to the list of characters I would like to hang out and have a drink with. My understanding of interstellar economics isn't as sharp as his, but I still feel like I could have a good time discussing his theories. 

You'd think that with the lack of battles and all the little details covered that these books would drag, but they don't. There is always something going on and, if it's not the run of the mill, it's still a good time. Seeing how Wang helps his crew learn their jobs and increase their earnings is a good time. He has a way about him that makes his crew better.

And maybe that's what I like most about Ishmael Wang. He's a guy I'd love to work for. He knows his stuff, communicates well and isn't afraid to get his hands dirty. Some of his crew express surprise that their captain started out as a lowly rating and did some of the scut work, but that shows how much they have to learn about their captain. That, in and of itself, is a good thing because there is always a mystique about a successful captain, and part of that is the mystery.

Ishmael's search for the murderer is kind of the point of this story and it's kind of not. It's always there, but sometimes it's just his struggle to succeed that comes to the fore. It's so easy to get caught up in the day to day and the changes in setting between Toe-Holds (and they do vary a lot) and forget that there is a dead woman out there who needs avenging and, I know this sounds weird, I like that. A Seeker's Tale from the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper isn't Mel Gibson screaming, "GIMME BACK MY SON!" It was never intended to be. It's a story about a man doing his best to succeed in life while helping others to succeed as well. That's why I love it.  

Bottom Line: 5.0 out of 5 Cases of Frozen Food

A Seeker's Tale From The Golden Age Of The Solar Clipper
In Ashes Born, To Fire Called, By Darkness Forged
Nathan Lowell
Self-Published 2015-2018

And folks, I've never done this, but Nathan Lowell is currently suffering from cancer. He could probably use some help offsetting the payments with increased sales of his books. They're worth the time and money. I mean it.

Copies of all three books in the series are available at the links below. If you click the link at Amazon and buy literally anything there, I get a small percentage at no extra cost to you.

Mask of the Vampire by Stormy McDonald and Jason McDonald

I don't usually comment on covers because "Don't judge a book by it's cover," but I really like that one.

So here we are once again with Damage, Inc. and their world spanning adventures. It's good to be back. Seriously, Dave, Hummingbird and crew (and I'm happy to see more of Jasper this time) are up to their usual shenanigans and that  makes me happy, because I'm a native Shenaniganian. 

Or sumfin'

Listen, it's not even noon yet.

Hopefully this isn't too much of a spoiler, but in part of the end matter it is revealed that Damage Inc. started off as a gaming group. This makes a lot of sense to me because Mask of the Vampire and the other related novels do kind of remind me of a really good night around a gaming table with my friends throwing dice and arguing. Only the books come with the added bonus of not having to pick popcorn out of your hair afterward. (Don't ask, it's ugly.)

I don't mean to say that you can't enjoy the book if you're not a tabletop role player, because you totally can. I'm just saying that so much of Mask of the Vampire feels so familiar if you have. You'll recognize the tropes if you don't play, but it's so much better when you've lived them. Well, sort of.  I mean, you don't really live the things you roleplay.  Thankfully. I mean, I'm sure my players would be pretty upset at me for that time I almost TPK'ed them. 

*SIGH*

I'm getting off topic.

Listen, just buy the book.

Mask of the Vampire is a story about friends dealing with some rough circumstances in the best manner possible, or at least the best way they can come up with. One plan, in particular, sounded a little janky to me when they hatched it. I'm not going to say what it was, or how it turned out but I wasn't wrong. Still though, that adds to the reality of the work, because people don't always come up with the best plans in situations when they're under pressure. At the end of the day, they did something when they needed to do something.

Yes, life would be simpler if they could just walk to Mordor. No, really. 

I'm fighting off the urge to make a Hardy Boys reference here, but I don't think it's going to work. There are a couple of different mysteries going on to go with the usual chaos and mayhem I expected in a Damage, Inc. novel. I detect a hint of Lord of the Rings here too, but only in a way. Let's just say that having a Mount Doom around might make things a wee bit simpler for our heroes.

I find myself liking our heroes more every time I read another installment in this series and this one is no exception. I find myself more drawn especially to the character of Hummingbird who, because reasons, seems to be easier to understand and relate to this time around. I feel like she's finally found her groove where maybe she hadn't before. There are still some things she needs to do and some obstacles she needs to overcome, but she's working here and she's moving forward. This could just be a personality thing on my part, but she seems to at least be making a better attempt to adapt to the world around her now.

Something I haven't commented on previously is the coolness of seeing characters for our planet in the books. The story takes place on a planet called Gaia (yes, I get the mythological reference) but a couple of the main characters are from the planet Terra (yep, that's us) and it's awesome. Every once in awhile you'll catch a reference back to our world and it's fun. Plus in a weird sort of way, Dave and friends are like the Vulcan/android in a Star Trek series: They exist to point out and analyze the strangeness of the people around them.  

The action sequences in Mask of the Vampire are amazing as always. Whether it's a straight up fight or something even bigger, the McDonald's deliver. I've never seen a character arc come quite so far in one fight as what happens here either, but it makes sense and was necessary. I was really impressed by that one scene and how it turned out. Something things aren't easy to do and never should be, but needs must when the devil drives. 

In short, I'd read it. I mean, I already did though. Let's just say if it's worth my time, I'd say it's worth yours. Like I just did. Or sumfin'

Bottom Line: 4.75 out of 5 Hidden Treasures

Mask of the Vampire
Stormy McDonald and Jason McDonald
Parlatheas Press, 2022

Mask of the Vampire 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 extra cost to you.

Mask of the Vampire