The Sea People by S. M. Stirling

This book is set in a post Apocalyptic world where technology has been truncated by some unknown source.  I have no idea what number in the series this is.   It is entirely too long since I have read anything in this series.  This is sometime after the initial characters have kids and those kids are sending out their own children into a world fraught with peril.  The peril is a dark, evil force trying to twist mankind to evil purposes.  The good guys have their own forces for good providing their champions with magic swords. 

I must have missed too many books because this book only made vague sense.  It jumps all over which I referred to in my last review of this series.

Polytheism is a staple throughout the series and some explanation of such is provided in this book.   I said in my last review based on the way the story jumped from one time and location to another, it often felt like a book of short stories.

I really enjoyed the first few books in this series but the last few have left me feeling cold at best.

Website          http://www.smstirling.com/

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

Skullsworn by Brian Staveley

This may offend the author but this was really a primer on the myriad meanings of love disguised as a fantasy novel.   It is not a romantic fantasy with heaving bosoms or sex starved virgins but a thought provoking look at what does love actually mean in the context of a medieval type of culture.

The skullsworn, a name they dislike, are pledged to the god of death.   They believe it is their duty to kill in the name of their god.  This isn’t religion by the sword but a more individual killing that seems to, in some cases, right some wrongs.  The main characters are Ela and Kossal, priestess and priest, and Pyrre their priestess to be.   Pyrre is on a quest to undergo her trial to be a priestess by killing seven people in fourteen days.  The victims are not just the first seven people she sees but chosen through the format of the trial.  

Ruc, who Pyrre decides will be one of her victims, is unaware of her religious leanings.  The interaction between the characters, the various gods and Pyrre’s drastic methods of achieving her goals provides the process of the story.

This was an interesting look at love and death.

I enjoyed it.

Web: http://brianstaveley.com/index/

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

Altered Starscape, Andromedan Dark: Book One by Ian Douglas

The  last book I read from Ian Douglas was Star Corpsman: Bloodstar back in 2012.  It was good, not great but good.  This book is the first in a new series and it is excellent.  It has obviously been impacted by other good Sci-Fi but how do you divorce you mind from your reading experiences. Earth has met aliens and is going to their capital.  Their arrival is fraught with peril and they find themselves far from where they had anticipated.

St.Clair is the military commander of the humans and Adler is the political leader.   Douglas illustrates a less than complimentary attitude regarding politicos and realistically with today’s political climate, how could he otherwise proceed.  The proliferation of AI adds a equal rights component to the book which is thought provoking.  As much as we would like to think that Asimov’s 3 laws of robotics actually might exist, Douglas thinks otherwise.

I found the author provide some interesting concepts to contemplate.   Gasp!, he actually encourages you to think! 

I really enjoyed the book and I recommend it.

Body of work of <a type="amzn"> Ian Douglas </a>

Web site: www.whkeith.com

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.