Three Time Travelers Walk Into... by Ian Randal Strock & Michael A. Ventrella

 

Three Time Travelers Walk Into... by Michael A. Ventrella
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Three Time Travelers Walk Into... was a successful Kickstarter funded project created by Ian Randal Strock and edited by Michael A. Ventrella and offers up a multitude of stories which have to simply build upon a seed idea of three well known individuals from different time frames interacting. From that simple premise we get eighteen tales of mystery, humour, adventure and well many other genres and hand on heart I enjoyed them all. As a Trek fan I really liked "The Man Who Broke Time" by David Gerrold but my favourite was probably "The Adventure of the Confounded Writer" by Jonathan Maberry.
I can not recommend this anthology enough, some very clever and imaginative writing and well I want them to sell lots of copies so maybe we can get more.

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Lineage by Joshua James

 

Lineage by Joshua James
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Unexpected alliances have been formed as humanity fights for its very survival as the balance of power tips precariously between those the seeded the universe and those that wish to use the power of the Stellar Key and Sparks to dominate and control life everywhere it is found. The conflict moves on to Titan and an "abandoned" Chinese facility but on Earth there is an almost unreal dash to gain the power the the planets spark and key offer despite the utter foolishness of that desire. Thankfully the bloodlines of the original defenders/protectors of these gifts are still active and there are those prepared to defend life and the Earth regardless of the cost to themselves.
Lineage really ramps up the threat to life across the universe in a macro form centered in the solar system as multiple vested interests fight to obtain, deny or destroy the power the Stellar Keys and Sparks present. We continue to follow the core characters but with get a major influx of Earth based people and their story rivals what we've been presented with so far and expands the narrative by leaps and bounds. Looking forward to the fourth novel in the series "The Creed" which is due out March 2023.


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Cascade by Joshua James

 

Cascade by Joshua James
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The catastrophic events surrounding Saturn and on its moon Enceladus has far reaching consequences, the military conflict between factions of humanity raises tensions on Earth but the arrival of an alien starship and their own goals has really caused a rethinking of mankind's place in the cosmos. Carpenter Lowell and Peter Chang now "captive" onboard the alien ship are privy to many of the secrets humankind have been unaware of and maybe just maybe our place in the universe may finally unify us to make the right decision when dealing with the Stellar Key and the Spark that is at the core of Earth and so many other worlds.
Cascade is the second novel in the series and continues the quite impressive world building (quite literally) that is at the core of Joshua's story. Our two main protagonists continue to be entertaining and handle the dire situations they find themselves in often with a healthy amount of luck. The scope of the narrative is definitely impressive and offers up an intriguing look at alien contact with humanity. Overall a strong second novel with the third already on my kindle.

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Artifact by Joshua James

 

Artifact by Joshua James
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The year is 2219 BCE in the kingdom of Ur-An in Mesopotamia. The King of all things looks to the heavens were ships from the depths of space are attacking and his calls for help from the other visitors who gave him knowledge and gifts go unanswered. Faced with the end of all things (from his point of view) the most precious object on Earth is sent away to be hidden and protected but this is not the end of the story nor the beginning.
I've read some of Joshua's work before so was more than willing to begin a new series (Saturn's Legacy which is currently three books and one due soon). Well the beginning of Artifact was different but we soon learn that humanity has had contact with alien intelligence for generations and the secrets of that contact continue to Mars and beyond. It is infact Mars where we meet the central character of Carpenter Lowell who is a member of the US Space Corp assigned to protect a science project which alas ends poorly and then some time later Lowell is assigned to Enceladus (Moon of Saturn) to babysit another science project but his past catches up to him and he finds himself in the middle of a mystery that has been hidden for thousands but will soon be revealed as various military powers race to uncover the secrets.
This was a strong start to the series of novels, as I said the beginning through me but adds the foundation the series requires to build upon as events take place in the near future. There is plenty of action, lots of well developed characters and the beginning of some solid narrative which will take us forward, highly recommended.

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A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher

 

A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In the city of Riverbraid both the weak and powerful folk who can harness magics are welcome, the warrior wizards serve the army while hundreds of others whose talents are small and varied live perfectly normal lives under the protection of the Duchess and the Council. However wizards are now being killed and when young Mona (a wizard who has a talent for dough and bread) discovers the body of a young woman in the bakery she is thrust into the mystery that puts her life at risk as well as every soul in the city. Well I wasn't sure what this book was going to be, the blurb sounded fun and while it may be aimed at the younger reader I enjoyed the story and the characters as well as the scope of the story from smalltime street levels events to the larger political and military aspects of the city itself. Highly recommended for someone looking for something a little different or maybe a youngster who expects their stories to have a bit more meat on the bone and have consequences.

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Prodigals by Alan Dean Foster

 

Prodigals by Alan Dean Foster
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

First contact is here and arrangements are made for a number for groups of people (with certain skills and capabilities) to meet the "aliens" in specific places across the globe. Devali Mukherjee is chosen to be part of the American group who meet the alien craft near Lake Surprise in Texas. The aliens make demands hand in hand with some threats but during a subsequent meeting the humans are allowed to visit the alien mothership but with no explanation the aliens declare an emergency and their ship leaves orbit and accelerates out of the solar system. Devali and his companions are now faced with understanding multiple aliens species who inhabit the ship as well as trying to understand the situation they are in with little help it seems for returning to Earth their survival may depend upon them being useful to the ship.
Prodigals is not a large and complex novel, the story is pretty compact but the scope is almost limitless. We are introduced to a good group of central characters which sets the narrative on a solid footing and offsets the fantastical nature of first contact and aliens who like humans are not all cut from the same cloth. A solid novel with a few surprising twists and revelations which are most satisfying.


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Omega Force: Unleashed by Joshua Dalzelle

 

Omega Force: Unleashed by Joshua Dalzelle
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Omega Force returns to its roots or getting back into Robin Hood mode as the team take on what appears to be a small time low profit job to aid in the exposure, suppression and extreme prejudice of a sentient being trafficking operation. As the existing structure of the this part of the galaxy collapses and law enforcement becomes a thing of the past the dark nature of sentients is emerging and part of this is the kidnapping and selling of being both old and young for simple labour tasks or more darker desires. This 14th novel feels a little "lighter" than those previously as it seems to be setting up a new chapter in the lives of the crew and in many ways this story is very different to the "machine" led narrative we've had for a few novels but when you get down to it we still have Omega Force kicking ass for all the right reasons. Of course not everything fits smoothly back into place, the team are out of practice dealing with threats with little back up and to put it bluntly they are not as young as they used to be. Omega Force Unleashed is a new beginning and there are a lot of situations to flesh out and explore in the next few novels, this should be a lot of fun.

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A Time for Freedom by Daniel Arenson

 

A Time for Freedom by Daniel Arenson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The warships and Marines of an united humanity along with allied sentient races who have felt the wrath of the Rah continue to defend Earth at a terrible cost but there is hope as intelligence is gathered on the Arakavish solar system. The risk of striking at the heart of the empire is high but a defence lead agenda will mean the end of humanity and thus the decision is made, the only way to save humanity and her allies is fly into the spider's web but even then that may not be enough.
The final novel in the Starship Freedom series is tasked with offering a viable narrative to conclude this intergalactic war, it doesn't really succeeded although not for the want of trying. Daniel puts an awful lot of action into this novel and while the combat is as good as always it all seemed just a little too much. Without spoiling anything the story did hit some solid emotional points which is always a good thing when you are supposed to become invested in long running characters but a few things that were happening I couldn't quite accept and a few others I think needed fleshing out a little. All said though the series as a whole was entertaining and fun to read, lots of action and some great characters to follow through out, highly recommended if light military scifi is your thing.

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Stingray

Stingray

I've been looking for a good model of Stingray for a while and the best is well too expensive so I find this little model on ebay and well it does look very nice so job done. 

The Guns of Freedom by Daniel Arenson

 

The Guns of Freedom by Daniel Arenson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A reborn Freedom has portaled back to the Solar System and to the ongoing Rah invasion led by The Atrocity along with thousands of Rah and Arachtaur warships. The combined Alliance, Desert Thorns and Red Dawn fleets along with numerous vessels from other nations are bathed in blood as they attempt to protect Earth but for the first time in its history every soul is reaching for one goal, the survival of humanity. Admiral King soon realises that a defensive stance will never protect Earth, the Rah fleet is simply too large even if spread across this part of the galaxy, it's only a matter of time before another five thousands ships could be sent to destroy Earth. The only long term solution is to hit the Arakavish Empire at its heart, they know where it is, the have stealth recon ability and now the means to portal directly there. Operation Gaia's Flame is given the green light.
The Guns Of Freedom was pretty much none stop action with theatres of war in the solar system and the Achernar system. The description of the alien star system was very well done, it made me think of what we saw in Star Trek with a Borg system but more fluid and dynamic. We are getting some good character set pieces (something Daniel has always done) but they seem more important now as life and death is figuratively at times a flip of a coin. We're nearing the end of this grand adventure, still lots to do but this novel lays down the groundwork.




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In Pursuit of Freedom by Daniel Arenson

 

In Pursuit of Freedom by Daniel Arenson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The dreadnaught Freedom now the last surviving member of the human fleet sent to find allies against the Rah encounters the last of the Aeolian race. What the humans find is not exactly what they expected but first contact is certainly more positive then with the Rah's. This novel is quite easily the best of the series, the introduction of this new element takes over reducing the reliance on oft repeated space battle and ship based narrative allowing the author to stretch himself. The result is a very entertaining look at humanity meeting a new sentient race and having to deal with suspicion and caution from the other side as well as from their own. The Aeolians themselves were an inspired creation by Daniel and I kinda loved one of them embracing nicknames and calling the Admiral "Bully Dog". Overall a good addition to the series which if I am honest needed a little kick in the pants.

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Failure Mode by Craig Alanson

 

Failure Mode by Craig Alanson
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Failure Mode is the final novel in the Expeditionary Force series which started so long ago with the awesome Columbus Day which for me begin my enjoyment of Skippy and the Merry Band of Pirates.
Alas we know from all forms of media closing a long running series is always difficult, you have an informed fanbase with so many expectations and opinions and rarely do you satisfy everyone.
For my sins I can not give this novel a respectable rating, it didn't fulfill my expectations but overall the series has been magnificent and this final installment has not significantly affected my willingness to recommend the Expeditionary Force novels to anyone looking for science fiction set in our current timeframe with humour and plenty of the fantastic.
Let's be honest though, if you've invested in Craig's story for so long you are going to read this book and may many indeed come away happy but more than anything I am grateful for a very enjoyable experience over the years and look forward to the spin off which will focus on the Ethics & Compliance Office and specifically Uhtavio Scorandum.


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Jaws Movie Poster 3D

JAWS

One of the my all time favourite movies is "Jaws" the original summer blockbuster that changed the way Hollywood looked at marketing and release schedules not to mention really cementing the reputation of a young Steven Spielberg. I've owned the movie on a number of formats as well as back in my youth having the movie poster on my wall thanks I recall it being part of a movie magazine I read back then. Now movie merchandising needs to grab my attention at this certainly did...

I had a little space on a shelf so what the hell, I've also added a LED backlight, alas no flickering but it kinda looks nice when lit up. I'm sure someone with some skill and technical knowledge could go to town with sound effects, music and various lighting effects.

Christmas Movies 2022 (Part 10)

 Christmas Movies 2022 (Part 10)

Gremlins

A strange creature is given to a young man for christmas with some provisions, do not get it wet, do not feed it after midnight and keep it out of the light. Naturally all three occur and the results are violent, aggressive yet mischievous creatures who go on a rampage in the small town.

The Nine Lives Of Christmas

Fireman Zachary Stone protects a homeless cat called "Ambrose" and try as he might it seems that these two are meant for eachother. His girlfriend however is not so keen but he meets a veterinary student (Marilee White) who has her own cat and well over the week a relationship develops.

The Nine Kittens Of Christmas

Seven years after the first movie we find that Zachary and Marilee broke up, she now has a veterinary practise in Florida and Zachery is not a Captain in the local fire service. Marilee returns to town (sans her boyfriend) only to find herself knee deep in kittens after they were abandoned at the fire station. Ambrose once again plays his part in bringing these two people together.

The Shepherd's Crown by Terry Pratchett

 

The Shepherd's Crown by Terry Pratchett
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

So here we are once again with the final novel of the Discworld series and I doubt I would be able to add anything new and insightful with Terrys final work, I've read quite a few of the reviews and opinion pieces myself and this novel isn't going to be used to sell anyone on the series so we can quietly step away without disturbing anyone. The story, well Discworld started with the witches and thus it ends with the witches, the circular narrative is not uncommon within the Discworld and it fits very well in the telling of change both for good and bad.
I will say I enjoyed the novel immensely being a fan of the Tiffany Aching books and while we all know this isn't the story Terry would have written if he was in his prime it still feels right and wraps so much up and gives us the feeling that all is well with the Discworld, ot at least as well as can be expected. I wasn't really surprised that aspects of the story continued to hit me with quite an emotional blow and maybe that indicates how long I have been invested in the Discworld, certain characters and the writing of Terry Pratchett but the turtle moves and all things end.
The Shepherd's Crown in worthy of the best of Discworld, although you will get more out of it if you are invested in the Witches subseries or the Tiffany Aching story but as a wrap to a wonderful adventure Terry continued to do us proud.

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Raising Steam by Terry Pratchett

 

Raising Steam by Terry Pratchett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The time has arrived for the idea of the Steam Engine to come to fruition on the Discworld (well this is the second time, the first the boat blew up and all involved thought sod this). However armed with cutting edge mathematics Dick Simnel the son of a Smith who died when his steam engine blew up has harnessed the power of Steam and invents the first reliable engine and the first train. Travelling to Ankh-Morpork Dick Simnel makes contact with Harry King for new financing and naturally the Patrician gets involved and he brings in Moist von Lipwig to coordinate matters. The grand undertaking which began with the Clacks, the Post Office, Banking and now transport is well underway mainly it seems to get fresh seafood from Quirm to the city before it turns.
However as with all new ideas there are those who are against them, sometimes their reasons are logical and valid but other times the source of their anger is just a tool to focus range and hatred and the latter is the case as those Deep Down Dwarves who feel betrayed by their King and the Koom Valley Accords attack clacks towers and now the burgeoning rail network.
Once again we have Terry playing heavily into the disenfranchised as the Goblins play a major part in the story, we know they are adept at Clacks technology but they truly come into their own with steam engines and the railways. The building of the railways and associated endeavours as seen through the eyes of many a familiar character is charming and countered by the far darker narrative of the Dwarf political situation again making sure we get to see familiar names alongside those new ones who alas for the obvious reason have only this novel to shine.
Raising Stream was an enjoyable read, the Goblins really come to the fore in this novel with strong support from Moist, Harry and the Patrician although Drumknott was a delight every time he made an appearance but as the final City specific Discworld novel I can't give it five stars, good but not great.

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Snuff by Terry Pratchett

 

Snuff by Terry Pratchett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sam Vimes and his family take a trip to the ancestral home of the Ramkin family where Sam has to adjust to being lord of the manor despite even now still in his soul being a normal everyday working man. His spider-sense (so to speak) is tingling though, something is not quite right and when he is offered information he finds himself accused of murder but there are far more darker crimes and deeds being done and Sam may not be in his actual jurisdiction then well the stubbornness of Sam and the power of the Lord come to the fore and slavery, murder, kidnapping and corruption are only the start. Meanwhile back in the city as taxation becomes more important the revenue on tobacco is vital and as always smuggling and tax dodging are a by product and are focused on my the Watch. In Snuff we get a continuation of the long established undesirables becoming part of the pack narrative that Terry has always been a proponent of, in this case the Goblins who are considered vermin by many are far more intelligent and worthy as Vimes finds out and as they cry out of Justice well they were asking the right man. Overall this is a dark story, in the same vein as Night Watch but without the city to wrap it all together but I still loved Vimes and Willikins is always a delight and well the action aspect of the novel worked very well as well as young Sam finally getting to see the elephant.

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I Shall Wear Midnight by Terry Pratchett

 

I Shall Wear Midnight by Terry Pratchett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I Shall Wear Midnight takes this series up another notch but for me it lost some of the joy that I took from the first three novels. That may not be an issue for many and it's by no means a deal breaker when it comes to the series rather a realisation that this may be working from some just not for me. That said we get Tiffany now clearly established as the Witch of The Chalk and respected in other regions but as her former "friend" Ronald is to be wed the speculation on choices made come to the fore. Of course as things start to go wrong and in some cases very very wrong beginning with the death of the Baron (Roland's Father) the locals begin to turn and echoes of the past (when witches were hunted and killed) surface among her people. A trip to Ankh-Morpork, advice from many a fellow witch and the realisation that this is a fight Tiffany has to face herself as a centuries old creature full of malevolence infects those around her.
As part of the Tiffany Aching series the story works but it loses a star from me just because there is a little unwelcomed effort required to get to the next novel in the series.

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Christmas Movies 2022 (Part 9)

 Christmas Movies 2022 (Part 9)

It's A Wonderful Life

One of the all time classics which surprisingly didn't initially perform well at the US box office but found its way into the hearts and souls of the people through television. James Stewart is perfection in the movie and Lionel Barrymore was spectacular as the two actors played opposing forces in this small American town.

Jingle All The Way

A first time watch for me as it never appealed but I gave it a go and while it is stupid and very much a 90's flick there are plenty of laughs to be had even if this is well below what Arnold is capable of. Oh and young Jake Lord can actually act, who knew.

The Long Kiss Goodnight

Geena Davis plays a run of the mill suburban wife and mother but with no memory of her past prior to eight years previously. A car accident initiates the slow trickle of her past which brings forth secret agents, assassins and a lowly PI (Samuel L. Jackson) who provides some clues to who she really is.

Donovan's Reef

A John Wayne christmas movie you say, yes indeed this comedy is set in December and the story is told through to christmas day. A romcom with a surprising cast and some dated (but not terribly so) ideas about class and status and the complexities of romance. 

Christmas Movies 2022 (Part 8)

 Christmas Movies 2022 (Part 8)

Under the Mistletoe

Under the Mistletoe stars Michael Shanks as Kevin Harrison and Jaime Ray Newman as Susan Chandler. Susan lost her husband in a car accident the year before and her son Jonathan (Burkely Duffield) claims that the ghost or spirit of his father has returned and talks to him, his snotty and smack worthy attitude combined with financial pressures has the first christmas without her husband becoming a bit of nightmare.

Klaus

An absolute delight when it premiered on Netflix a few years ago and the more traditional animation still holds up backed with some good voice acting riding on the back of a very beautiful story.

Bad Santa

Willie (Billy Bob Thornton) is one half of the Mall/Store heist gang who play a Santa and an Elf to case the target and then rob them on christmas eve. His partner in crime Marcus (Tony Cox) plays the sharp tongued Elf who is not only the brains behind the operation but continually has to pull his partners proverbial nuts out of the fire. After seven successful years of this annual crime splurge the duo are working at a mall outside of Phoenix and their paths cross with a handful of characters who will be their downfall or maybe salvation.