Blood Bound By Patricia Briggs.

I got this book several years ago along with a half dozen other Briggs books as I had read a very positive review on her writing.  Alas life got in the way of reading and I finally, just got around to reading three of them so far.   I am happy to report that whoever influenced me with their review was spot on!  Patricia Briggs rocks!  Mercedes who I introduced in my last review of Briggs is back with a new problem.  Sorcery doesn’t seem to play nicely with werewolves or vampires.  

I am enjoying the continuing characters.  Zee a fae mechanic, Samuel an old friend or possibly more, Bran the honcho and Adam the grumpy next door neighbor.  There is lots of action with excellent character interplay.

I really enjoyed this book as well as the first one and immediately jumped into the next one. 

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

Moon Called By Patricia Briggs.

  I got this book several years ago along with a half dozen other Briggs books as I had read a very positive review on her writing.  Alas life got in the way of reading and I finally, just got around to reading three of them so far.   I am happy to report that whoever influenced me with their review was spot on!  Patricia Briggs rocks!  This book introduced to me the character of Mercedes Thompson, the Mercedes that works on Volkswagens.   Mercedes is a walker, not a skin walker, a walker who can change into a coyote at will, no moon needed.

This book’s plot was absolutely clear until it wasn’t.   Due to adroit mis-direction Briggs led me down one path while setting up the true plot.  It was very well done.  The book had werewolves, vampires and fae.  

I really enjoyed the book and immediately jumped into the next one.

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

Target Rich Environment by Larry Correia

Correia has a great sense of humor.   I was not aware of this until I read this collection.  The guy is a hoot!  This is a collection of stories about monster hunters.

It is always interesting to try and review a collection of short stories.   One of my favorites were the one about the losers who faced Hammer’s Slammers.   There was several references to the idiots who canceled Firefly which I completely concur the people who canceled the series were idiots. 

Stranger Insurance was so tongue in cheek, I am surprised the author didn’t choke to death.  It had some hysterical references to comic con type conventions.

Overall I really enjoyed this book, in spite of my normal dislike of short story collections.

Web: https://larrycorreia.wordpress.com/mhi-sample/

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

Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman

A book of short stories is always hard to review.  My reaction is much like my reaction to his books, I like some and dislike others.   There are some stories that just didn’t make sense to me and others I enjoyed.

I enjoyed the homage to Sherlock Holmes but scratched my head over Strange Little Girls.  Dark stuff for the most part.

I read the other Gaiman reviews and wonder what I missed.  Beats me!

Web: http://www.neilgaiman.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.

Slow Bullets by Alastair Reynolds

Sometime in the future a war is fought where the soldiers have a “bullet” implanted that holds their personnel files as well as a charge that can blow apart their heart.  Picture swallowing a thumb drive holding an explosive charge.

Scur is a soldier implanted with a bullet.   The ceasefire is ignored by a war criminal and Scur anticipates death.   Later on a skip ship, Scur awakes to discover that she is not only not dead but has survived the war.   Pard is a ship technician she meets and together they help to determine why Scur and others are on the skip ship and why the skip ship is only partially functional.

The story has some interesting technological aspects as well as a commentary on war and resulting post war behavior.

I recommend the book.

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

Enemy of My Enemy by David Drake and Ben Ohlander

Enemy of My Enemy by David Drake and Ben Ohlander

This story is about a vendetta.   A planet with a clan based society has two warring clans as the setting.   The friction and death leads to all out war between the two clans. However there is a possibility that an outside influence is fanning the flames for their own purposes.

The authors show the waste and futility of personal animosity on a societal basis.   Hatred leading to excesses than then fuel the next atrocity.   It is a sobering look at revenge running amuck.  

The story is a fast read and has lots of action.  Ward, the main protagonist, is immature and untested but eventually shaped by forces out of his control.

This is a sad commentary on human nature.

It was still an exciting read.  There does not seem to be a follow up even though this was labeled #1 of a series. 

Web site: http://david-drake.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.