Review | Starship Winter by Eric Brown (PS Publishing)

Title: Starship Winter
Author: Eric Brown
Publisher: PS Publishing
Format: Hardback
Release Date: February 2012

Buy from: Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com, PS Publishing

That winter David Conway was enjoying a quiet life with his friends, not especially looking for love, but finding it anyway. The artist Matt Sommers was due to stage an exhibition of Epiphany Stones from Acrab IV, a show which attracted the attention of one Darius Dortmund, the famous empathy. Dortmund could see into the minds of men 'some said into their very souls' and when he met David and his friends, and looked into their minds, what he found there would lead to murder . . .

Starship Winter, the third volume in the Starship Seasons sequence, continues the quiet adventures of Conway and his friends on the backwater colony world of Addenbrooke, Delta Pavonis IV.

Starship Winter is set a couple of years after the events of Starship Fall, and once again we're back in Magenta Bay, on the Planet of Chalcedony, with David Conway and his friends: Matt, Maddie, Hawk, and Kee. Winter is a relatively short novella, focusing again on the events that befall the small group of friends we have followed through the previous novellas, with David Conway the medium through which we experience this tale.

As is Eric Brown's trademark, Starship Winter is easily readable, the prose flowing off the page with little effort. This makes the pages turn all too quickly for a story of its length and before long the end is drawing close. However, despite this - or perhaps because of it - Brown fills the text with vivid descriptions, planting the alien images in your mind without being overpowering. It's remarkable how easily he does this, and how well it ties into the story to pull off another emotional and fitting read.

While the story itself is not long, it does have a solid centre to it, and it also raises some interesting aspects about art, spirituality, and the interactions humans have with alien species. Darius Dortmund is perhaps central to this aspect, a human with empathetic and telepathic abilities with aliens and, to an extent, humans. His views and actions are strange and cold, but through these the story unfolds and revelations are made, and deeper truths uncovered.

Sometimes, when reading a novel, there is an aspect that hits home harder than anything else within. In Starship Winter it was the relationship that develops between David and Hannah. I had gone through the early stages of a relationship myself when I read this novella, and the way Brown conveyed David and Hannah's relationship was very easy to relate to, and added to my enjoyment of the story.

Brown is more than capable of delivering a story like this, and of asking deeper and more personal questions than many other authors writing in the genre. Even in such a small page count Eric Brown has crafted a deeply moving and emotional story, and one that captivated me entirely.

To finish I shall leave you with a quote from David Conway, our main character:

"No one is perfect. We live with our strengths, our weaknesses and imperfections—and we do our best with what fate has given us. It’s called being human—to try your best, and fail, and to go on despite everything..."

Review | Joyland by Stephen King (Hard Case Crime)

Title: Joyland
Author: Stephen King
Publisher: Hard Case Crime
Format: Paperback
Release Date: June 2013

Buy from: Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com

College student Devin Jones took the summer job at Joyland hoping to forget the girl who broke his heart. But he wound up facing something far more terrible: the legacy of a vicious murder, the fate of a dying child, and dark truths about life—and what comes after—that would change his world forever. 

A riveting story about love and loss, about growing up and growing old—and about those who don’t get to do either because death comes for them before their time—JOYLAND is Stephen King at the peak of his storytelling powers. With all the emotional impact of King masterpieces such as The Green Mile and The Shawshank Redemption, JOYLAND is at once a mystery, a horror story, and a bittersweet coming-of-age novel, one that will leave even the most hard-boiled reader profoundly moved.

Joyland, Stephen King's new novel, is a strange beast. Coming from Hard Case Crime and being billed as 'a mystery, a horror story, and a bittersweet coming-of-age novel', it appears to have a little of everything. Perhaps that's the main problem with Joyland - what, exactly, is it? It's a question I asked many times during my reading, because the story I found within the pages was so much more than the billing Joyland received.

In Joyland, King has written a novel that has many of his trademark story elements: coming-of-age, mystery, murder, and friends. It recognisable as a Stephen King story almost from the get-go, and the further in you read the more you realise just how King is able to weave a fairly simple story into something more than the sum of its parts.

The narrative is told from the point of view of Devin Jones, remembering his summer working at Joyland during his time at university. While events are recounted, the benefit of hindsight allows some comments to creep in here and there, giving the story more emotion and grounding, letting you believe that this truly is an old man telling a tale of his youth. His memory of his first love, the fall-out of the relationship, and his reaction all play a large part in the story, a seemingly central point around which most of his thoughts revolve, at least to begin with. It's fortunate that King doesn't dwell to much on these aspects of Devin, instead focusing on the main attraction of Joyland: the park itself.

Anyone that has been to an amusement park, or touring fair, will instantly recognise the vivid descriptions King employs in exploring Joyland. I suspect that even those that haven't will be hard pressed not to close their eyes and see the place come to life. The park is a character in itself, not simply a location in the novel to serve a purpose - although the purpose it serves certainly elevates its status. With a carny spirit and enjoyable characters, Joyland is every bit the perfect place for this story. The history of the murder plays a large part in the revelations we discover, but perhaps not as large as you may think.

Joyland is an exceptional novel. Not only does King deliver an interesting murder-mystery that will keep you guessing, but does so without it obviously being one. It's often heartfelt and emotional, with relationships playing a large part throughout, and never is it a chore to read. Perhaps one of King's best novels in recent memory, Joyland is a slow-burner that will not let you down. Highly recommended.

Review | The Planet Thieves by Dan Krokos (Starscape)

Title: The Planet Thieves
Author: Dan Krokos
Publisher: Starscape
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: May 2013

Buy from: Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com

Two weeks ago, thirteen-year-old Mason Stark and seventeen of his fellow cadets from the Academy for Earth Space Command boarded the SS Egypt. The trip was supposed to be a short routine voyage to log their required spacetime for summer quarter.

But routine goes out the airlock when they’re attacked by the Tremist, an alien race who have been at war with humanity for the last sixty years.

With the captain and crew dead, injured, or taken prisoner, Mason and the cadets are all that’s left to warn the ESC. And soon they find out exactly why the Tremist chose this ship to attack: the Egypt is carrying a weapon that could change the war forever.

Now Mason will have to lead the cadets in a daring assault to take back the ship, rescue the survivors, and recover the weapon. Before there isn’t a war left to fight.

I'm always on the look out for YA focused sci-fi novels because I love the genre and want to be able to recommend interesting and action packed books to the younger generation. The Planet Thieves is a novel that fits this perfectly - it's aimed at the younger end of the YA crowd, and in doing so offers a novel that an captivate and enthral the reader all the way through.

When the SS Egypt is captured by the Tremist while on a seemingly routine mission, with almost all officers held captive by the alien foe, it is left to a small group of cadets that are left to do what they can. With the situation apparently dire, Mason takes charge of the group and, along with his friends and the ship AI, they attempt to take the ship back while trying to discover just what the Tremist came for...

One of the things that instantly stands out about The Planet Thieves is the storytelling and the way Krokos lures the reader in, not bothering to hang around too much before getting right to the action. This works well for two reasons. Firstly, it gives the story some urgency, and makes you want to keep on reading to find out what's coming next. Secondly, it helps build the characters and setting without obviously doing so. Sure, there is the odd passage giving background information, but most of what we learn is through character discussions and the natural exposition of the narrative.

The story rolls along at a great pace, always leading from one point to another with ease. It really was a joy to read and, despite the younger level it was aimed at, I wanted to keep on reading to find out exactly what was going on. Krokos manages to add little things here and there throughout the text that piqued my interest about the Human/Tremist war, and about the history of both sides. It's points like this that make The Planet Thieves stand out above the crowd, and Krokos an author to keep an eye on.

While the seasoned sci-fi reader won't find much new here, or much to surprise them, they will find a thoroughly enjoyable tale with plenty to keep them hooked at every turn. As for the younger crowd, well... this is exactly the sort of sci-fi novel they should be reading: action, adventure, and well fleshed out and defined characters. Highly recommended.

Review | Starship: Flagship by Mike Resnick (Pyr)

Title: Starship: Flagship
Author: Mike Resnick
Publisher: Pyr
Format: Hardback
Release Date: December 2009

Buy from: Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com

The date is 1970 of the Galactic Era, almost three thousand years from now, and the Republic, created by the human race but not yet dominated by it, finds itself in an all-out war against the Teroni Federation, an alliance of races that resent Man's growing military and economic power.

The rebel starship, the Theodore Roosevelt, under the command of Wilson Cole, is preparing to lead Cole's ragtag armada into the Republic, even though he is outnumbered thousands to one. Cole is convinced that the government has become an arrogant and unfeeling political entity and must be overthrown.

The trick is to avoid armed conflict with the vast array of ships, numbering in the millions, in the Republic's Navy. For a time Cole's forces strike from cover and race off to safety, but he soon sees that is no way to conquer the mightiest political and military machine in the history of the galaxy. He realizes that he must reach Deluros VIII, the headquarters world of the Republic (and of the race of Man), in order to have any effect on the government at all—but Deluros VIII is the best-protected world in the Republic.

But a new threat looms on the horizon. Cole, the Valkyrie, David Copperfield, Sharon Blacksmith, Jacovic, and the rest of the crew of the Teddy R face their greatest challenge yet, and the outcome will determine the fate of the entire galaxy.

And so I reach the final book in the Starship series, Starship: Flagship. I've loved this series so far and enjoyed all the books to date - Mutiny, Pirate, Mercenary and Rebel - with very little reservations. To say I was anticipating this would be an understatement and I only hoped it could provide the same enjoyment that I had come to expect from the series. Did it hit the right notes? Well, not exactly, but it was still a very enjoyable novel.

In the aftermath of the Republic attack on Singapore Station Wilson Cole and his fleet of ships aims to do the unthinkable - take the fight to the Republic capital world. Leaving Singapore Station to the mercy of the next incoming Republic fleet leaves a bitter taste in many a mouth, but they know it is the right thing to do, hoping the Republic will leave it alone when they can't find Cole. With hundreds of ships under his command the effort to rid the Inner Frontier of the Republic is still underway and is slowly having an effect, and with allies from within the Republic helping their cause, and a surprise find, Cole is able to make strategic decisions that will help improve their chances to a great degree.

With the risk of sounding like a broken record, I'll once again say how well the characters Resnick writes work in Flagship. Cole is now focused on a course of action and his associates are helping him with what is needed, as is the crew of the Teddy R. His discussions with people like Sharron help flesh out his thinking and allow us to get the motivations and processes he's going through. All well and good, especially as this is one of the aspects of the series that has worked so well.

And to the story. Well, for the first two thirds of the novel the story was continuing at a good pace, logically following on from Rebel and taking the situations as they come, each time managing to think their way out of too much trouble. When Cole finally gets to the Republic's capital events take a very unexpected turn. Suddenly the planet is attacked by an alien race that appears from nowhere and Cole finds himself the only one that could save the Republic he's come disband. It just doesn't feel like a natural progression to me, more like this should have been two separate books but due to constraints everything was thrown in. A bit of a shame as the book was on course to wrap the series up very nicely indeed.

Starship: Flagship is a good book let down by a situation that just pops up to serve as a plot point, but it does leave the universe in a very interesting place, and if any follow up stories were done they'd certainly have plenty to go on. I'd definitely recommend this book if you've read the rest of the series, but don't jump in here - the four previous books are well worth the effort and all are a step above this one.

Review | The Warrior's Apprentice by Lois McMaster Bujold (Baen)

Title: The Warrior's Apprentice
Author: Lois McMaster Bujold
Publisher: Baen
Format: Ebook
Release Date: February 1991

Buy from: Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com

Discharged from the Barrayan Military Academy, Miles Vorkosigan chances on a jumpship with a rebellious pilot and arranges to take over the ship. Events escalate from there, and soon Miles is commander of a mercenary fleet and reinvents himself as Admiral Naismith of the Dendarii Mercenary Army.

While browsing through my kindle for something to read I came across the Miles Vorkosigan books. Deciding that I wasn't already reading enough multiple-novel series', I decided to give the first Miles book, The Warrior's Apprentice, a go. What I found was a quick paced and easily readable story that has much potential, and left me thinking where the story could go from here.

A cripple since birth, Miles is not your average Barrayan. He's also the grandson of a military genius and the heir to the house of Vorkosigan - more than enough to live up to. But Miles is intelligent and headstrong, determined to prove others wrong. However, while attempting the physical tests to pass his Officer's exams he breaks both legs and sees his chance disappear. At a loose end, he decides to visit his mother's side of the family on Beta colony, a colony that saw much fighting prior to his birth. Along with Sergeant Bothari, his personal bodyguard, and Bothari's daughter, Elena, Miles takes a trip that ends up being much more than he bargained for.

I enjoyed The Warrior's Apprentice, despite the setting and its history not really hitting the spot. It felt strange - a society that went from fighting with swords, to spaceflight between planets, in perhaps 70 years. There is some allusion in the novel to the 'Time of Isolation' after the colony was founded, but never in any detail, and it often left me wondering a little more about these things.

Fortunately, The Warrior's Apprentice is not about the finer points of world building, but about the characters. Mile Vorkosigan is our main man, and he's a completely intriguing character to follow. Despite his weak bones disability, or perhaps in spite of it, he's confident and, to be fair, a little arrogant. He can talk his way through many things, and in reality that's what this novel is about: Miles Vorkosigan. While the other characters add to the mix - particularly Sergeant Bothari with his dark and mysterious military past.

On the whole The Warrior's Apprentice does things well. It's a quick paced novel that leads the reader from one point to another, often leaving you blinking at the change of situation. The times that it does slow down and allows some deeper issues to be raised and dealt with are by far the highlight, showing that it's not all about moving the story forward at a breakneck pace.

Definitely recommended, and with Hugo winners in future volumes I'll be looking forward to what other adventures Miles has in store.