Science Fiction and Fantasy New Releases: 31 July 2021
Saturday , 31, July 2021 Uncategorized Leave a commentScotland Yard’s own demon hunter, a farmer fated to be a warrior, and a rookie space trooper on the drop from Hell shine in this week’s llist of new releases.
Cherry Drop (Abner Fortis, ISMC #1) – P. A. Piatt
Abner Fortis joined the International Space Marine Corps for two reasons: to escape a life of drudgery building biodomes for his father’s company and to pay off several billion credits in student loans, which the ISMC promised to do.
Every Space Marine starts out as a cherry, though, and Abner is no different. When he makes his first combat drop, or cherry drop, he’s a know-nothing second lieutenant added to the mission roster as an afterthought.
The Space Marines are tasked to support the Galactic Resource Conglomerate (GRC) while they test a revolution in military technology: Precision Crafted Soldiers (PCS). All the Space Marines have to do is kill bugs. Even when a tragic accident leaves Fortis in command, the mission is still an easy breather.
When the Space Marines discover proof of a long-buried betrayal, though, friends become enemies, and their mission goes awry. Does Fortis have what it takes to lead the Space Marines to survival in the face of overwhelming odds?
Cloak of Blades (Cloak Mage #4) – Jonathan Moeller
There is no honor among thieves.
My name is Nadia, and I’m a shadow agent of the High Queen of the Elves.
That means I use magic to steal things for her.
Now she wants me to steal a treasure from an Elven lord without him even realizing that it’s missing.
To pull it off, I’ll need a crew.
But there is no honor among thieves, and not even all the magic in the world can protect me from a blade in the back…
Don’t Feed the Trolls (The Antiheroes #2) – Jacob Peppers
The Hero’s Checklist for a long and happy life:
Step One: Don’t be a hero.
Dannen Ateran had never gone so far as to write the list out, but he knew it by heart. He ought to, as he had been telling it to himself for years and himself—fool that he was—had been ignoring it for just as long.
So it was that he found himself standing beside Fedder, Mariana, and Tesler, watching as an undead dragon soared toward them.
And if, by some feat of magic or luck—with undead dragons, skill rarely factored into it—they survived, there was only the little issue of a master swordsman and his necromancer brother to worry about, not to mention an undead horde.
Plenty of ways to die, then, if a man liked a little variety with his suffering.
And the week was just getting started.
Foresight (Forgotten Space #1) – M. R. Forbes
An experimental starship. An unprepared pilot. An unexpected crew. A fight for the fate of the future.
Captain Nicholas Shepherd is a test pilot for Grimmel Corporation’s latest experimental starship, Foresight. As a development platform for desperately needed advanced technology, a successful run of the ship’s systems is vital to enable humankind’s exodus from an alien-occupied Earth. After Foresight suffers a malfunction during its final scheduled flight, the lost opportunity provides the enemy the opening they need for one last attack.
With his family caught in the crossfire, Nicholas realizes that the flawed starship is their best chance to escape. But it isn’t long before what started as a desperate evacuation turns into something more.
Much more.
Joined by an unintended crew of survivors, Nicholas is about to embark on an impossible mission that will take them far beyond the outer reaches of known space. If he fails, the future of humankind will not only be lost…
It will be completely erased. Read More
Sensor Sweep: Runequest, Jewels of Gwalur, Steve Hickman
Monday , 26, July 2021 Sensor Sweep 2 CommentsReading (With Both Hands): As someone who really likes adventure books, and really likes to blog about adventure books, there is a fascinating tension in the whole field because it is fundamentally popular entertainment, but the people who like to create these stories and the people like me who like to talk about them often find these stories interesting for reasons at cross purposes with their being popular entertainment. There is a commercial or business aspect here that a vocal portion of the readers, people like me, are not necessarily representative of the bigger pool of readers and buyers.
D&D (Goodman Games): Did you know that ‘Vecna’—he of the disembodied hand and eyeball—is a deliberate anagram of ‘Vance?’ Gary Gygax made no secret of his love for the work, and person, of Jack Vance, and Vance’s Dying Earth stories in particular were often cited (see Appendix N) by Gygax as a major influence on the genesis of Dungeons & Dragons. Most prominently, of course, in what came to be known as the ‘Vancian magic system’—a term that emerged from the world of RPGs rather than any literary fandom—but there are many other elements, and indeed a prevailing tone, in D&D that are inspired in whole or in part by the works of Jack Vance.
Art (DMR Books): Word got out last weekend that the highly-respected SFF
artist, Stephen Hickman, had died of natural causes. Various causes, natural and otherwise, have prevented me posting until now. When it comes to Steve Hickman, respects must be paid. His professional career spanned five decades, which was exemplified by a consistently high level of quality.
Science Fiction Adventures: December 1957
Sunday , 25, July 2021 Science Fiction Magazines 1 Comment
The December 1957 issue of Science Fiction Adventures continued the trend away from three novella format. The cover by Ed Emsh was for Robert Silverberg’s “Valley Beyond Time.”
Sam Thornhill wakes up unexpectedly in a very pleasant valley on a planet with a double sun. There is a small group of humans and some aliens with the same story of waking up. They are from all over the galaxy. Food is dropped three times a day. The Watcher brought them here and takes care of them. One member of the group goes berserk and kills another. The dead human body regenerates and reanimates! They also begin to grow younger. They finally become bored and attempt to leave the zoo situation they are in. The Watcher appears as a cloud and one member grabs a serpent alien with a helmet that gives it god-like powers. Thornhill and company are successful in breaking free. Thornhill finds himself back on the space transport that he last remembered being on. “Valley Beyond Time” struck me as padded. I first read this in the Dell collection Valley Beyond Time around 25 years ago when I was searching out Robert Silverberg collections with Science Fiction Adventures reprints. Read More
In the Sacred Valley, sacred artists hone body, mind, and spirit to influence the world around them. All except for Lindon, who was born “Unsouled” and forbidden to learn any of the sacred arts. But when the heavens open up and give Lindon a glimpse into a future cataclysm, his path is decided. To save the Sacred Valley, he must leave the Sacred Valley and become strong enough to drive away giants. But just how powerful can a mere “Unsouled” become?
Thus begins the story of Will Wight’s Cradle, a chinoiserie epic fantasy blending Chinese xianxia cultivation magics with Western dramatic fantasy and even a touch of shounen manga’s royal road. Currently at nine volumes, with the final volume in the works, Cradle follows Lindon’s struggles to develop enough strength to catch the eye of those who might save his home: The Nine Cloud Court, The Eight Man Empire, maybe even a dragon. As Lindon races down rare cultivation paths to overcome his weak spirit, he learns that the schemes of civilization can be just as deadly as the untamed wilds outside of the Sacred Valley.
Fortunately, Lindon does not have to travel his path alone. Yerin, a blossoming sword saint with a blood curse, is always at his side, while the mysterious and jovial Eithan mentors both teens in matters of cultivation and intrigue. Of the three, Eithan is the most compelling, a strange, mischievous, and seemingly all-knowing older brother to Lindon, who may also be a king in disguise. Lindon may occasionally chafe under Eithan’s tutelage, but he learns to rely on his adopted elder brother. But not even Eithan can be everywhere at once, and the threats from rival schools and families are ever present. Read More
This week’s new releases feature the last stand of a museum ship, a game world affecting the real world, and the travails of a blind prince.
The Cost of Freedom (Starship Freedom #2) – Daniel Arenson
Not long ago, the starship Freedom was a museum ship. A relic of a bygone era. A rusty old warship converted into a tourist trap. Then the aliens attacked.
Now, once more, the legendary Freedom flies to war.
The war is brutal. The enemy is merciless. The rahs, vicious arachnids from deep space, crave only one thing. Human flesh. Before this terror, Earth’s fleet crumbles. Starships burn. Millions die.
But the Freedom still flies. James King, her gruff old commander, still fights.
The Freedom will never surrender. The Freedom will never flee. The long, cold night has come to Earth, but the Freedom shines bright.
The survivors of the fleet rally behind her. All brave souls heed her call. The Freedom sounds the cry of Earth: We will win
The Frontiers Saga: Fall of the Core – Ryk Brown
A freelance reporter struggling to get into the ‘big time’…
A rookie officer starting her career in public safety…
A cargo ship captain trying to outlive a terminal illness that has no cure…
A bounty hunter returning a long-hunted fugitive to Earth…
A terrible plague that threatens to destroy the human race…
The 25th century is not starting off very well.
“Fall of the Core” is a 150,000 word stand-alone novel in the Frontiers Saga Universe.”
Kingfall (The Kingfall Histories #1) – David Estes
Warring kingdoms. Ancient blades. Dragonriders and godlings. A growing evil that threatens to destroy the world. Don’t miss the highly anticipated follow up series to the #1 Amazon bestselling saga, The Fatemarked Epic.
Be bright but do not burn. Embrace the darkness but do not live in the shadows.
Infused with magic, shadows and starlight, the powerful godblades were believed to be lost nearly half a millennia ago, when the Godswar ended. Now, however, one has been found by the unlikeliest of wielders: Sampson Gaard, a blind but ambitious prince with something to prove. The only question is whether he controls the blade or the blade him. With an insidious evil lurking in the shadows, the answer may very well determine the fate of all Kingfall.
Play (Hexworld #2) – Kevin J. Anderson
It was written in the Rules—Save the World!
Over the past two years, a group of four players had given so much to their role-playing world that it had developed a magic of its own.
The creatures, warriors, sorcerers, thieves—all came alive.
Now, there is an odd connection between the gamers and their characters, splitting into factions to determine the fate of the Game itself, and both the inside and the outside worlds.
One thing is for certain. Hexworld will never be the same. Read More
Sensor Sweep: Mech Warrior, Commandos, Jim Shooter, Tomorrow War
Monday , 19, July 2021 Sensor Sweep 1 CommentReview (With Both Hands): Dark Operator, the first book in the five book
series by John “Doc” Spears, Jason Anspach, and Nick Cole [Amazon link] is the most thrilling example of careful planning, diligent preparation, and conscientious execution that I have ever read. And yes, I’m totally serious about that.
Games (The Wert Zone): AD 3022. The Inner Sphere of human space is embroiled in the closing stages of the Third Succession War, a series of conflicts between the Great Houses for 
power and territory. Largely unaffected by the conflict is the Aurigan Coalition, a minor power among the Periphery States which has flourished under the rule of House Arano. Lady Kamea Arano is about to take her place as the head of the house when her uncle launches a brutal coup. Kamea disappears and one of her guardians, a MechWarrior of impressive skill, is rescued by a band of mercenaries.
Writers (DMR Books): My first encounter with the fiction of Charles R.
Saunders occurred when I was in junior high. I found a copy of The Year’s Best Fantasy Stories: 3 in a used bookstore. That anthology was a revelation to me at the time and deserves its own blog entry…but I digress. Among the excellent stories within it was Saunders’ “The Pool of the Moon”, a tale of Imaro.* Read More
Science Fiction Adventures: October 1957
Sunday , 18, July 2021 Science Fiction Magazines Leave a comment
The October 1957 issue of Science Fiction Adventures had a new cover logo. Gone was title within a white rectangle. Barry Waldman was the cover artist for “Thunder Over Starhaven.”
Robert Silverberg was back as “Ivar Jorgenson” with “Thunder Over Starhaven.” Johnny Mantell has a stolen Space Patrol ship with the SP on his tail. He reaches the planet of Starhaven protected with a shield and a sanctuary for criminals. The defense system of Starhaven blasts the pursuing Space Patrol ships. Mantell is allowed sanctuary but undergoes a psychprobe which is a sifting of the brain to determine if someone is a bona fide criminal or a cop undercover.
Mantell was a weapons designer before a bout of alcoholism. Ben Thurdan, ruler of Starhaven, makes Mantell an offer to work for him. Before long, Mantell is drawn into a plot to kill Ben Thurdan. There is another wrinkle when revealed that Mantell is a Space Patrol man given a fake identity to infiltrate and overthrow Ben Thurdan. “Thunder Over Starhaven” is a hard-boiled story that just as easily could have been a crime novel set in a city with an undercover cop infiltrating a criminal organization. Silverberg was writing detective and crime stories for Sure Fire Detective, Murder, and Double-Action Detective at this time (also westerns and sports stories). The “Ivar Jorgenson” name appears to have been used for the more hard-boiled fare. Silverberg would expand and rewrite the novel from first to third person as Starhaven (Avalone Books, 1958; Ace Books, 1959). Read More
Science Fiction and Fantasy New Releases: 17 July, 2021
Saturday , 17, July 2021 Uncategorized 1 CommentThe Four Horsemen, the Ember War, and dinosaurs march across this week’s list of new releases.
Awakening (World of Magic #1) – Levi Werner
The future lies within our minds…
Paralyzed in a workplace accident, Lox’s life is looking bleak. He can’t even use the cutting-edge hardware that would allow him to play in the full-immersion-games that have become so popular. This all changes when he hears from New Universal Frontiers, the company with the best game out there: World of Magic.
They offer him the ability to use their hardware despite his injuries, but at a cost… he can never leave the game.
Once in the game world, Lox quickly realizes that there is a lot more to this new realm than just a game. Given a class that everyone thinks is useless due its inherent dangers, Lox begins a long and painful series of trials, some of them explosive, almost all of them dangerous as he masters his magical abilities.
As Lox explores the depths of this world’s magic system, he soon discovers there is a lot more going on here than anyone ever expected.
Cosmic Savior (Interstellar Gunrunner #3) – James Wolanyk
Welcome to the end-of-the-universe clearance sale. All life must go.
Trapped and tortured in the Halcius Hegemony’s reality-warping prison, arms dealer Bodhi Drezek has resigned himself to Kruthara’s galaxy-swallowing apocalypse. But for better or worse, his fortune changes in the wake of a daring jailbreak by an old nemesis.
Before long, he finds himself among the ranks of humanity’s scattered, broken remnants, who have organized a last-ditch effort to preserve reality. Their solution? The tomb of the Great Maker, an ancient site prophesized to contain the only weapons capable of halting Kruthara’s hellish tide. But the search for the tomb leads them into an uncharted, nightmarish dimension known as the Untraversed—and Bodhi’s ragtag band isn’t alone in it.
Kruthara’s eldritch terrors, bolstered by the entire fleet of the Halcius Hegemony, are hot on their trail. With every step forward, entire civilizations burn at their backs. Stars and planets are consumed by eternal darkness. With nowhere else to run, Bodhi plunges deeper into the madness, dodging time-twisting organisms, sun-devouring serpents, and dreaming gods.
In the Wings (Four Horsemen Sagas #7) – edited by Mark Wandrey and Chris Kennedy
Fifteen outstanding authors. Fourteen extraordinary stories. One bestselling universe.
It’s the Twenty-Second Century. The galaxy has opened up to humanity as a hyperactive beehive of stargates and new technologies, and we suddenly find ourselves in a vast playground of different races, environments, and cultures. There’s just one catch: we are pretty much at the bottom of the food chain.
Enter the Four Horsemen universe, where only a willingness to fight and die for money separates Humans from the majority of the other races. Enter a galaxy not only of mercenaries, but also of aliens, hired assassins, and accountants. Accountants?
Edited by bestselling authors and universe creators Mark Wandrey and Chris Kennedy, “In the Wings” brings you a variety of all-new stories in the Four Horsemen universe showcasing characters that—until now—have always been one step out of the lime light. The fifteen authors bring you looks at some of the universe’s minor characters, giving you additional insight into what truly makes the universe tick…and some additional information you won’t get anyplace else!
Path of the Flame (The Dragon Thief #1) – D. K. Holmberg
It will take a thief to stop a thief.
Zarinth is a dangerous city at the edge of the kingdom, illuminated by the constant fire of the nearby volcano Ishantil. For thief Ty, it’s more than a city filled with valuable ancient dragon relics. It’s the home he could never leave.
When Ishantil threatens to erupt, and the city descends into chaos, Ty wants one last score before finally leaving the city—and his past behind. All while the notorious Dragon Thief chases the same prize.
The Dragon Thief has a reputation for a reason, but Ty begins to think there’s more to the job than he ever expected.
Success means more than freedom. It means he can buy the answers he really wants. And it just might save the city from destruction. Read More
Sensor Sweep: Call of Cthulhu RPG, H. G. Wells, REH’s Boxing Stories, Philip Wylie
Monday , 12, July 2021 Sensor Sweep 1 CommentScience Fiction (Wasteland & Sky): It’s a bit hard to believe there has been five posts covering this book (ten if we’re including Mr. Lundwall’s other book, and thirteen if we’re including Mr. Goulart’s work) but we have finally reached the end of the road. Don’t think for a second, however, that this means our author has run out of steam. He very much has not. today’s post will be no less revealing than the others were.
Science Fiction (Arkhaven Comics): Wells really didn’t come up with
anything too original here. He stole like an artist. He took the Invasion trope and slapped it together with rabid public speculation about Lowell’s Martian Canals and created a new genre. Honestly, the man gets more credit than he deserves. Wells for his part always stated that he wasn’t a science fiction writer, he was a Socialist. The man wasn’t lying.
D&D (Brain Leakage): I ended up talking about Westerns with some buddies
of mine the other day. More specifically, we spent a great deal of time talking about Jack Schaefer’s classic novel Shane, and the 1953 film of the same name. If you’ve never read it or seen it, I highly encourage you to do so. It’s a story that deals with themes of courage, manhood, the morality of killing, and the struggle against an untamed wilderness. It’s not just a classic tale of the American West. It’s arguably the classic tale of the American West. Read More
Science Fiction Adventures: September 1957
Sunday , 11, July 2021 Science Fiction Magazines 2 Comments
Science Fiction Adventures went monthly with issue #6 for September 1957. Emsh was back with a cover for C. M. Kornbluth’s “The Slave.”
“To become a man again, ex-Special Agent Charles Barker had to be two men at the same time, fighting an alien enemy who had already conquered billions of others!”
Aliens have been using abducted humans for millennia using their psychic energy to power their ships. The aliens themselves got their technology from another species and innovate nothing. Charles Barker figures out their weaknesses and launches a revolt to bring the technology to Earth who will reverse engineer the technology.
This story was reprinted in the collection A Mile Beyond the Moon in 1959. It was never reprinted in paperback. It is also in The Complete Short Fiction of C. M. Kornbluth from NESFA Press. Read More
A godly, almost saintly, detective must hunt down a demoniac serial killer in Declan Finn’s Hell Spawn, the first novel in the Saint Tommy, NYPD series. Billed as Catholic action horror, it provides a thouroughly Christian backdrop for a police thriller that straddles the line of urban fantasy.
So, how does Hell Spawn work as a Christian novel? To be honest, it’s a bit of a failure. Where’s the shoehorned salvation scene? The cutaway to souls in Hell? The ecumenical approach to doctrine? The 1990s This Present Darkness angel and spiritual warfare retreads? The sanitized approach to violence and evil? Where are the sermons?
Granted, for many readers, the absence of the above is not a failure, but a roaring success. The clichés that killed Christian publishing aren’t here. There isn’t enough room for such silliness between the two-fisted action and hard-nosed detective work. And Finn writes in a consistent and unabashedly Catholic view of the universe, instead of the nondescript non-denominational pabulum served up by a Christian publishing industry that’s almost certainly run by its enemies. Tommy Nolan acts consistent with the beliefs and practices of the faithful Catholic, albeit in a muscular manner that shows that Good doesn’t mean goody-two-shoes. That also means that Nolan faces demons in a manner consistent with Catholic practice, and not the confrontations more familiar to those influenced by Pentecostal portrayals. Think more prayer, priests, and holy water than commands, confrontations, and orders. Read More
Science Fiction and Fantasy New Releases: 10 July 2021
Saturday , 10, July 2021 Uncategorized Leave a commentSecret histories, time-travelling billionaires, and seafaring assassins occupy this week’s new releases.
Alchemist Assault (The Alchemist #2) – Dan Michaelson and D. K. Holmberg
Alchemy is the key to stopping the Nighlan, but no Alchemists remain.
The dangerous alchemy key has bonded to Sam, giving him access to the almanac that is the key to the ancient power of true Alchemy. He’s made an enemy of the Nighlan, but it’s those inside of the Academy he worries more about. Though he has no magic, he has continued to excel, which puts a target on his back. He has allies inside of the Academy, but remains an outsider.
When the Nighlan attack in the city and Sam is targeted, his connection to the key is threatened. Without that and the almanac, the Academy lacks the defenses that can protect it. If Sam can’t find his connection to the key, not only might another claim it from him, but he could be permanently scarred.
This time, his knowledge of Alchemy and the arcane arts might not be enough. Sam must find real power within himself for failure means that more than the Academy will fall to the Nighlan.
Combat Frame XSeed: Classified Intel – Brian Niemeier
The post-future’s secrets revealed!
A freedom fighter returns from exile in space to liberate his people …
An outcast soldier defies a global regime to regain his honor …
A veteran pilot battles a ruthless foe to save the earth …
A noble pagan seeks immortality through glorious death in battle …
An ice-cold killer confronts his demons to secure humanity’s future …
A journalist pursues truth at all costs and learns the price of dissent …
These larger-than-life characters’ gripping stories reveal the secret history of Combat Frame XSeed.
E-Day – Nicholas Sansbury-Smith
The most advanced soldiers in human history are about to become obsolete.
Engines. Genetically modified warriors that keep the great Nova Alliance war machine churning against the enemy Coalition. Most days, Engines are all that stand between salvation and chaos. Led by legendary Engine, Captain Akira Hayashi, Shadow Squad has fought on the frontlines for a decade. They are on the brink of victory when the Coalition launches a series of desperate and devastating attacks that cripple the Nova Alliance restoration sites vital to save the dying planet.
As the sites burn and Earth’s hope of salvation fades, Shadow Squad is equipped with neural implants to connect them to Apeiron, the first hybrid-human-AI entity. She is coded for what Captain Hayashi believes is an impossible task—peace. But war isn’t the only threat to the Earth. Apeiron has uncovered a deadly secret with implications that could end all life. This rapidly approaching threat can be stopped only if humanity bands together on what will become known as E-Day, a pivotal moment that will determine the evolution—or the extinction—of the entire human race. Read More