The Red Baron.

A pilot of almost supernatural skill. Manfred Von Richthofen’s legend lives forever. But how did such an icon of war get his start? What made him different from his peers? And why was he so fond of the terribleness of war? Perhaps it all stems from a gift–the ability to read other people and discern their intentions. An addictive gift at that, and one that would drive Richthofen to great heights and terrible acts.

Author Pierre Veys and artist Carlos Puerta add a touch of the monster to The Red Baron: The Machine Gunners’ Ball. The story settles on three important vignettes: the discovery of Richthofen’s ability to read others, Richthofen seeking out street toughs to practice his newfound skill upon, and Richthofen’s first aerial duel. As the reader progresses through each, Richthofen’s lust for battle and control is illustrated with precise strokes.

For it is the watercolor art that carries this war story. Soft, idyllic, and impressionistic when portraying the illusions of a gilded society. Harsh and photorealistic when violence–or Manfried’s lust for control–smash those illusions. Stunning art only sparsely interrupted by dialogue. While many bandes dessinees revel in the high quality of the genre’s art and artists, few are confident enough to turn over storytelling to wordless action and reaction and the quiet majesty of ink and paint. The Red Baron plays to the strengths of the canvas, addressing harsh realities of war without reveling in gore and shock Read More

Dawn of Assassins – Jon Cronshaw

Two friends. A master assassin. One deadly choice.

Fedor and Lev are thieves…not killers.

They lead a desperate life in the tunnels of Nordturm, conning and stealing to buy their next meal.

But when an assassin recruits them against their will, they are forced into a life they do not want and cannot escape.

If they leave, they will die. But if they stay, they must kill.

Can they survive the master’s relentless evaluation?

Is loyalty stronger than the will to live?

Will their friendship last the ordeal?

I’m the Bad Guy!?: Arrival – Kenneth Arant

What if you found yourself in another world? In someone else’s body? And not as the hero of the story, but as its villain?

Our hero wakes to find himself in the body of one of his favorite Isekai anime characters. In this new world, the hero is a once-in-a-hundred-year prodigy, a master Arcanist, and is blessed by the god of magic himself. Renowned for his battle prowess, he has an empire under his control and access to the most powerful Arcana Spirits the world has ever seen.

Sounds great, right? Well, there’s just one problem… Our hero isn’t the hero.

Our hero is the bad guy with a tragic ending.

Can our hero, armed with only his knowledge of anime and the body of twelve-year-old Aren Ulvani, turn his life around? Or will the events of the anime come to pass regardless of what he does?

Politics Kills (White Ops #2) -Declan Finn

To fight the enemy in the shadows, Sean will put together a strike team to light up the darkness— with nukes if necessary.

They will get the job done at any cost.

They will be White Ops.

Sean Patrick Ryan’s White Ops team has taken on impossible odds and walked away unscathed. But when Earth President Douglas Wills turns Earth into a prison camp, they will fight an entire planet to save their loved ones.

Along the way, they must unite hundreds of alien races against the looming threat from another galaxy and recruit allies that can only be reached through hyperspace filled with hostile space jihadis.

War may be Hell, but politics may kill them first.

The Legend of Randidly Ghosthound 2 – Noret Flood

The System has taken the Earth, but all is not lost.

With the advantage of the mix-up of starting in the Dungeon, Randidly has been able to found a Village for survivors to gather. With their growing forces, they’ve begun to nurture other outposts of humanity, teaching them the hard-earned lessons he paid for in blood and sweat.

Yet the tests thrown at them by the System are not yet done.

The Village’s tribulation lurks in nearby Turtletown, fleeing a direct confrontation and wearing many faces. Hordes of monsters gather, preparing to strike when they least expect it. Most worryingly, unsavory characters begin to emerge from amongst the survivors, taking advantage of the chaos to benefit themselves.

Amidst this storm, a message comes from Shal. Randidly’s teacher needs his assistance to protect the legacy of his family. With the help of Lyra Silver, he hatches a daring plan to finally catch the slippery Tribulation, once and for all.

Because even if it takes him to an alien world and requires him to trust the safety of the Village to other survivors, Randidly Ghosthound always pays his debts. Read More

One of the quieter trends in independent fantasy has been the repurposing of young adult and light novel tropes to explore not the adventure, but what happens when the adventure is over. When the youthfulness of the hero’s journey fades into the responsibility, scars, losses, and weariness of the adult. Japanese light novels tend to show a desire to relive the glory days of youth in an escape from the cares of adult life. English-language light novels instead focus on rekindling that youthful purpose, tempered by the experience, understanding, and responsibilities of the adult. Today’s reviewed novels, The Antiheroes, by Jacob Peppers and The Retired S-Rank Adventurer, by Wolfe Locke and James Falcon, tackle the post-adventurer’s story with humor, melancholy, and a search for new purpose.

Widowed adventurer Dannen Ateran is content to drink away the rest of his life and never wield his blade ever again. But when the gods need an adventurer to fend off a rising evil that might engulf both the heavens and the earth, the drunk and downright fat Bloody Butcher is the only one left. Now Dannen must pick up his blade and gather his party to fulfill this divine quest. One problem, among many, is his companions: a brawling mage that throws fists before fireballs, an assassin that cannot endure the sight of blood, and a strange young druid with a bond to an irate squirrel goddess. But then, the gods do enjoy their jokes, especially at the expense of Dannen Ateran, the Bloody Butcher. Read More

Marines, houndsmen, alchemists, and combat frames. All arrayed against the cunning threats found in this week’s new releases.

Alchemist Mastery (The Alchemist #6) – D. K. Holmberg and Dan Michaelson

The discovery of a strange new power leads Sam to buried truths.

Now that Rasan Tel has escaped, Sam works with others within the Academy to make preparations for the coming war. Increasing attacks on the outskirts of Olway raise the urgency to learn when and where the next attack will come, but Sam is caught between fighting the war and his new responsibilities to the Academy.

A dangerous new form of magic leads Sam and Tara toward a discovery that will shake the foundation of what they believed about the war—and about how to stop it. If they fail to learn the truth in time, more than Olway will suffer an impossible fate.

Battle Orders – Toby Neighbors

Some people are born for battle…

Some people have war in their blood…

Moss LeFer is a Marine in a bad situation.  The battle for Elon Station is a lost cause, but he doesn’t know the meaning of surrender.  His dream of completing a full term of service with the Western Forces Marine Corps seems as far away as the stars overhead.  But if he can survive long enough, he wants to start a new life far away from fighting and conflict.  But for some people, war seems to follow them wherever they go.

When things go from bad to worse for his platoon, Moss will take matters into his own hands.  He may not get out alive, but he’s determined to take as many enemies out before he’s killed as possible.  One Marine, in the fight of his life, could be just what’s needed to turn the tide in a war spanning a galaxy.

Combat Frame XSeed Roleplaying Game – Brian Niemeier

Ripped from the hit novels, the Combat Frame XSeed Roleplaying Game puts you in control of history’s ultimate weapons.

Stage hit-and-run strikes across the FMAS-Coalition border in your trusty Grenzie. Defend the L1 Colonies from ZoDiaC incursions in your bleeding edge Ein Dolph. Or play a soldier of fortune raiding desert trade routes in your junkyard Grenzmark I.

The post-future is up to you. Forge your legend in a world of brutal mech combat.

Play the Combat Frame XSeed Roleplaying game now!

Hell Gate (Dungeon Heart #3) – David Sanchez-Ponton

Hell hath come and the horde rides in its shadow!

In the high stakes world of dungeon keeping, the price of success is the avarice of your peers. Smit has defeated those who would take over his home, and all he wants is a bit of peace and quiet with his family. But alas, fate has other plans in store. A demonic lord from the deepest pits of the underworld is ready to unleash every corrupted spirit and demon at her disposal to capture him.

Forced to fight an ancient entity that weaves plans within plans, Smit will have to use all his inventiveness and cunning to lure the demonic horde into a trap. By pushing himself to his core’s limit, he might convince others this rock is too tough to crack, but if he fails, an eternity of darkness and servitude awaits.

The Houndsman #2 – J. Pal

The walls might be high, but are they enough to protect the pack, his land, and its people?

Flint thought over a decade in the Iron Army’s Building Division gave him enough experience to complete the life quest. He was wrong. Restoring the Slumbering Fort and awakening proved no challenge for a man of his talents. However, protecting it and Lea’s Slumber from looming threats is an entirely different story.

The first two attacks were minor. Now more formidable threats are on the way.

Fortunately, Flint has his pack and the Woodson Council by his side. When the Iron Army returns and the Wyld inevitably arrives, they’ll need to work together. However, every faction has its own agenda and interests.

Flint must learn where to give ground and where to draw the line. Otherwise, if external threats don’t doom the Champion of Equilibrium’s future, someone on the inside will.

The Last Ditch (The Exiled Fleet #5) – Richard Fox

Betrayed by allies, Commodore Gage and the Exiled Fleet must break free before the Daegon strike.

The Cathay Empire holds Gage responsible for a sneak attack on its forces. A crime Albion’s last fleet did not commit. While Gage rots in the prison cell, the Daegon hunter Tiberian comes to collect him. Tolan, the Faceless spy, hatches a plan to smuggle Gage out of captivity, but risks an all-out war in the process.

With the Reich and the Daegon closing in, Albion’s Exiled Fleet must walk a narrow and dangerous path to free Gage and strike at the source of the invasion before all hope is lost.

Sharp Steel – William Alan Webb

He was exiled into a world of monsters, evil wizards, and mad gods…and they’d be well advised to stay out of his way!

What 21-year-old swordsman would choose the cloistered life of a priest over one of sharp steel and high adventure? Not Alden Havenwulf. As Prince of Corland, the mightiest kingdom on Reven, his world is driven by ancient traditions and rigid obligations.

Instead of the twisted politics of the Royal Court, though, Alden chooses exile, wandering the world in search of enough riches to buy his own estate. Along with his giant friend Dexter—and Dexter’s enormous axe—the Corlandishman leaves a wake of dead wizards, broken monsters, and angry gods.

Sunkiller: Legacy – J. N Chaney and Rick Partlow

They know the secret to saving humanity…if they can just live long enough to use it.

Chase Weston was a mercenary. Angel Cortez was an archaeologist. Neither one of them expected to be recruited to save the Earth by an ancient alien AI.

But a doomsday machine, the Sunkiller, is heading for Earth at close to the speed of light, and unless they gather the lost alien artifacts needed to destroy it, humanity will be extinct.

Unfortunately, those artifacts represent unlimited power–the kind that nations and corporations will kill to possess–and the next one they have to find just happens to be right in the middle of enemy territory.

With threats on all sides, the future of the galaxy rests on their shoulders. All they have to do is survive.

Originally posted in April 2018.

Ever since the Red Baron’s Flying Circus swept the skies clean of enemy planes, readers across the world have been captivated by the exploits of military aviators, real and fictional. When the newspapers weren’t singing the praises of Chuck Yeager, Eddie Rickenbacker, Robin Olds, and Duke Cunningham, the pulps churned out flying ace after flying ace, and the movies glorified the Right Stuff and the dogfight. Whether God is My Co-Pilot, The Flying Tigers, the Black Sheep Squadron, or even some whiny volleyball player named Maverick, audiences could not get enough of an impressive parade of tall, handsome fighter jocks. But overseas in France, unknown to many of his contemporaries, the greatest American ace is the comic hero Colonel Buck Danny, United States Navy.

I’ll wait a moment for all the old salts to regain their composure.

Despite the odd and distinctly un-naval rank, for seventy years Buck Danny has been flying everything from P-40 Warhawks with Chennault’s Flying Tigers, F-104 Starfighters, the X-15, F-14 Tomcats with the Navy, and most recently, F-22 Raptors with the Air Force, always with a Sergeant Major’s eye for realistic detail and procedure. A veteran of every American war from World War Two in the Pacific to today’s War in Afghanistan, Buck Danny’s career has been frequently split between the Navy and the Air Force in pursuit of adventure and the hottest airframes available. It’s easiest to think of this Navy recruit as an Air Force officer on loan to the Navy, just like his ever-present wingmen actually are. And in The Secrets of the Black Sea, the Navy sends Colonel Danny as a liaison to the Soviet Union in the last days of perestroika and glasnost, just before the coup attempt that signaled the end of the Soviet Union. Read More

Rangers, mercenaries, mages, and spies. All in this week’s new releases.

Attack From the Dark (Dark Angel Merchant Marines #1) – Michael Anderle

Daria was not having a good day, even before she found herself locked up.

Betrayed by her brothers-in-arms, Daria barely escaped being killed in the fallout. Without a friend in the galaxy, she finds herself dragged away for something those treacherous bastards did.

Help is coming, just not the kind Daria was expecting. A dapper gent she’s never met blasting the doors off her cell pulls Daria deeper into the rabbit hole. She must decide whether to fight the charges against her or make a run for her life with her rescuer.

Still, any port in a storm. For the down-on-her-luck merc and the gentleman smuggler whose hopes rest on her, the winds are a-blowing.

Daria comes on board with the motley crew of the Atlanta. Neither she nor Lombe has a clue what lies around the next bend, but fortune favors the bold, right?

Cloak of Iron (Cloak Mage #5) – Jonathan Moeller

A lost magical treasure might unleash catastrophic destruction.

My name’s Nadia, and I’m the shadow agent of the High Queen of the Elves.

When an Elven lord is assassinated with a bullet forged from magical iron, the High Queen sends me to track down the source.

But the bullet is just a small part of a much larger hoard.

And to claim that hoard, the enemies of humanity and the Elves will wipe out anyone who stands in their path.

Starting with me…

Deep Sleep (Devin Gray #1) -Steven Konkoly

Countersurveillance expert Devin Gray is unwittingly thrown headfirst into dangerous new territory after the death of his mother. Helen Gray, a paranoid and disgraced former CIA officer, believed she was on the verge of preventing a national catastrophe—a mission worth dying for. Others, including Devin, believe she was chasing delusions. Until he finds what she left behind.

With the help of longtime friend and former Marine helicopter pilot Marnie Young and a loyal team of covert operatives Helen summoned just before her death, Devin is propelled into a high-stakes chase across the country. What he uncovers, clue by clue, is a conspiracy more widespread and insidious than anyone could have imagined.

Now it’s Devin’s mission to destroy a covert network poised to deliver a fatal blow to the future of the United States. And also to vindicate his mother, by seeing the mission through to its treacherous end. Read More