Space Viking- H. Beam Piper

This book was written in 1963. It is currently out of print. The story is about the private war between Prince Lucas Trask and Andray Dunnan, Nephew of King Angus I of Gram and is a pretender to the throne. Andray Dunnan murders Prince Trask's wife on their wedding day and Trask equips the ship "Nemesis" to go after him. He makes alliance with Prince Simon Bentrick, Crown Prince of Marduk after rescuing him from certain death at the hands of Dunnan and his cohort. To find out more of this sweeping story set against the backdrop of a rise from barbarism after the fall of the "Old Empire", and the political fallout of Prince Trask's vendetta, You will have to find a copy of the book! Believe me, it's worth the hunt!

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Lady Slings the Blues- Spider Robinson

What do you get if you take some Robert Heinlein, Mix in some Piers Anthony, add some little element of a Film Noir'? You get Spider Robinson. In lady slings the Blues you get an excellent story set in the Callahan's story universe. I read this book in one sitting last night. I could NOT put it down! I tried, believe me! Not because I didn't like the story, but because of urgent biological imperatives(GRIN)! Set in Lady Sally's House of Ill Repute, the story rollicks along through a mystery wrapped in an enigma wound around a puzzle with a climax of Earth shattering proportions. Puns abound and your sense of humor will suffer from overdrive syndrome as you get belly laugh after belly laugh til your gut hurts!

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Resonance- Chris Dolley

Keep your eye's open for the November release of Chris Dolley's new book, titled "Resonance"! He's a new author with Baen and lives in France. From the snippets I have read, this is probably the best book out of France since Robert Merles "Malevil"! Watch this author as I think he's bound for great things!

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Kiplings Science Fiction- Rudyard Kipling

Yes, Rudyard Kipling wrote Science Fiction! This was much to my surprise. I like Kipling, but had not known about his Science Fiction until I came across this anthology. The editor is John Brunner, and the book is published by Tor, a division of Tom Doherty Publishing. Mr. Kipling wrote about many subjects and exhibited a great understanding of technological trends, just not quite in the way he envisioned. For example, in the story "With the Night Mail", he envisioned a close paralell to modern nuclear power, initially published in 1905! I seriously enjoyed ALL of the stories in this collection. This book is a reccomended read by this reviewer!

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Scatterbrain- Larry Niven

I hate doing this! I read "Scatterbrain" and was BADLY disappointed! Basically, it's a revue of old material with excerpts of various novels("Saturns Race", Etc.") and older short stories. At least there were two good stories in there, a Beowulf Schaeffer story and a Draco Tavern Story. I regret however spending the money as I have those stories elsewhere. The rest of the material is fannish stuff, i/e background journals of conversations with co-authors. Larry, when are you bringing out something NEW?

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Have Space suit, Will Travel- Robert A Heinlein

This is one of Robert's "Juvenile Stories". In this story, Kip wins a space suit in a sweepstakes. He was trying to win a trip to the Moon! He is kidnapped by two humans working for an alien race and mayhem ensues! He and another younger girl are rescued by the "Motherthing", and are eventually the chief witnesses at humanities trial, with the possibility of Earth being rotated out of the Universe! Without the Sun! With the fate of Humanity at stake, Kip has to show us in a good light or else! Talk about pressure! To get more of the story, read the book. I highly recommend it.

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The Teeth of the Tiger- Tom Clancey

The Ryan's are at it again! This time, it's Jack, Jr and his cousin Dominic. They are recruited by a mysterious "company" to go after a terror cell and eliminate them! Typically, Tom Clancey's stories have more twists and plot turns than a 'Soap Opera" and "Teeth" is not an exception! I enjoyed the book. It's not Tom Clancey's best but still a good read.


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Targets of Opportunity- Mike Z. Williamson

This isn't really Science Fiction, but still; it's an excellent read. In "Targets", Mike explores the idea of setting a sniper team loose on terrorists in a former Soviet Block nation. The story follows the sniper team through various misadventures as they go after a group of terrorists to put pressure on the Terrorist cell and attempt to identify the leader. Mack Bolan it's not! The story is grittily realistic and suffused with Mike's Gallows humor as a relief to a pretty rough game! All in all, I highly recommend this book!


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Pulling Through- Dean Ing

Dean Ing is one of the best writers in the field as he teaches as well as entertains! In "Pulling Through", Bounty Hunter Harvey Rackham has a problem, how to survive a nuclear war and take care of his family; which has just grown by one member! A beautiful felon named Kate, who he had just arrested shortly before the attack. Will they pull through? Read the book to find out! By thew way, as a bonus, Dean inserted in the back of the book an essay on nuclear survival including improvised air filtration, an improvised air pump out of cardboard boxes that really does work, and a Fallout meter you can build out of household materials! That makes the book worth the money right there!

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Two Baen Books Releasing August First!

"The Weapon"- Mike Z. Williamson **Set in the "Freehold" Milieu
"The Watch on the Rhine" By Tom Kratman**See the review of 77 pages of snippets earlier on in this Blog ***Set in John Ringo's "Legacy of the Aldenata"(Pos'leen Wars) Series

Derelict For Trade- Andre Norton and Sherwood Smith

This is a 1997 publication as a collaborative effort between Andre Norton and Sherwood Smith. The story is in the "Solar Queen series", I/E "The Sargasso of Space" and Plague Ship". Sherwood Smith provides a more current look at technology, but the story is true to Andre Nortons vision. It does however, have a harder edge to it. I truly enjoyed the book and read it in 2 sittings. I had to force myself to put it down to get SOME sleep! This is a recommended read! Find it and enjoy! This book will appeal to readers of all ages. "Derelict for Trade" has a driving plotline centered around a wonderful mystery with a delightful twist!

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Andre Nortons Website

http://www.andre-norton.org Definately worth the visit!

Galactic Derelict- Andre Norton

This is the second book in the Time Trader series. This book introduces Travis Fox, an Apache ranch hand into the series. In this book, Travis Fox is caught up in events as he accidentally stumbles onto the site of the "Folsom Project", which is the attempt to transport forward in time a Starship which is intact and fully functional. As they arrive in the present day, the ship activates and takes off for home 12,000 years late with Murdock, Ashe, Fox and a technician named Renfry trapped aboard. Will they ever get home?

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ps: This is also the book that hooked me on Science Fiction at the tender age of 12! A love of the genre that has lasted 33 years now without losing it's luster!

The Time Traders- Andre Norton

Book one of the Time Trader series, The Time Traders is vintage science fiction. Andre Norton passed away March 17, 2005. we will miss her. This book is an excellent read with the story revolving around two main characters, Dr. Gordon Ashe; an Archeaologist, and Ross Murdock, a small time criminal. Murdock is offered a chance to work for the government in a secret project to go back in time and infiltrate primitive societies as a "Beaker Trader" looking for an alien technology source that the Russians are tapping into to win the technology race with the USA. The story is a bit dated politically, but is a wonderful read. I would encourage all fans to revisit Andre Nortons books and if you haven't read her work( What rock have you been hiding under?EVIL GRIN) I would definately encourage you to check her work out!

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