Darkship Renegades (Darkship Book 2) - Sarah A. Hoyt

Title: Darkship Renegades (Darkship Book 2)
Author: Sarah A. Hoyt
Genre: Science Fiction
Published: 2012
Formats: Paperback/Ebook

Available at:
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The Book Depository
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Review:
“Darkship Renegades” by Sarah A. Hoyt is the sequel to her entertaining space opera novel “Darkship Thieves” which I previously reviewed here. In this book Kit & Athena return from their adventures and find Eden now under the control of one man and themselves on trial as traitors. There only hope is to return to Earth again and try to understand the technology and science behind growing powertrees which could free Eden from relying on risky harvest runs to Earth. However, before they leave Kit is badly injured an in attempt to save him Doc Bartholomew undertakes a risky procedure. The results are not as expected and when Kit regains consciousness it becomes clear that he is no longer the same man. However, the mission must go on even if it means the Kit we all know maybe lost forever.

This is a very different book from the previous novel in that a lot of it is given over to philosophising over political, sociological and psychological issues rather than focusing just on action and adventure. Yes there are elements of action interspersed throughout the novel but nothing like the fast paced mayhem that we saw in “Darkship Thieves”. I actually found it quite nice to experience something a little different and more complex this time. At times I found myself truly fascinated and enjoying following the overall journey that the story was taking me on. However, I do need to add that at times the pace seemed a bit too slow due to Hoyt sometimes going a bit too far in her philosophising. If she had found a better way of toning these thoughtful moments down and merging them better into the action and adventure it would probably have been an excellent book rather than just an average one.

One of the biggest flaws I found in this book though was in regards to the characters; in “Darkship Thieves” the big appeal was the fearless strong willed heroine Thena and her relationship with the ever sarcastic Kit. However, in this book both these elements have been reduced with Thena seemingly ineffective at doing anything these days and Kit suffering from a medical condition which means he isn’t the same man anymore thus affecting their relationship. Honestly, after all the work done in the previous novel to build these characters up it was a bit frustrating to see this all undone.

Overall, I found “Darkship Renegades” to be a reasonably enjoyable story but it didn’t entertain me to the same level as the previous novel in the series. The changes to the characters were a bit frustrating and the philosophising can slow down the plot but there was still enough there to keep me interested. If you have read the first book you are still likely to get something out of reading this one.

Star Trek: The Original Series: Seasons of Light and Darkness - Michael A. Martin

Title: Seasons of Light and Darkness
Author: Michael A. Martin
Genre: Sci-Fi
Published: 2014
Formats: Ebook

Available at:
Amazon
Amazon UK

Review:
“Seasons of Light and Darkness” by Michael A. Martin is an Original Series novella which focuses on part of Dr. McCoy’s life before he joined the Enterprise that was mentioned in the TV episode, “Friday's Child”. This period of his life is when he spent time on the planet Capella IV as part of time sent there to look at accessing a highly valued mineral. Whilst there he discovers that the natives have a rather warrior like ideology where people live and die by their own wits and it is wrong to interfere in that with medicine or other sciences. McCoy of course doesn’t appreciate this view point and must try to walk the line between his oath to Starfleet in regards to respecting other cultures and his oaths as a Doctor to try and save lives.

In addition to this main storyline there is also a framing story set in 2285 which focuses on McCoy trying to relate his own experiences to that of Kirk who was suffering from his time as a desk bound Admiral. This was actually one of things I didn’t really get with the novella to be honest. I saw the link between the two points but the story he tells just didn’t feel like something that McCoy would have only finally revealed at that point.

In regards to the Capella part of the story, well it was fun to follow and I found the titbits about Capellan culture rather interesting to follow. In addition McCoy felt in character and I appreciated that this novella was being used as a character piece rather than just trying to be a short version of standard Star Trek novels. Although I do have to say that whilst I did enjoy reading it I am not sure if really revealed anything new about the character.

Overall, this is a okay novella that acts an interesting character piece on McCoy. I do think the framing story didn’t work as well as it could have done and I am not sure if we really learned that much new about McCoy but I still enjoyed it and appreciated the way in which it reminded me of DeForest Kelly who created this great character.

Shapes in the Mist (The Vetala Cycle Book 2) - G.R. Yeates

Title: Shapes in the Mist (The Vetala Cycle Book 2)
Author: G.R. Yeates
Genre: Horror
Published: 2011
Formats: Ebook

Available at:
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Amazon UK

Review:
Horror novel “Shapes In the Mist” by G.R. Yeates is the second novel in his “Vetala Cycle” series of novels which was kicked off with the author’s debut novel “The Eyes Of The Dead” which I reviewed here. The story again starts during the horrors of WWI with American fighter-pilot Jerry Reinhart being the main character. Jerry is a master pilot but even he can’t survive a fight against notorious German ace, Baron Von Richtofen and is therefore forced to ditch in a forest. He manages to scramble from his downed aircraft but soon witnesses strange and haunting shapes in the most before finally losing consciousness. However, his return to London amongst the wounded coincides with the emergence of a number of horrifically gruesome murders that seem to imply the infamous Jack the Ripper has returned. Before long he is drawn into a nightmarish adventure where he attempts to understand what may have followed him from the Western Front.

Once again Yeates showcases his intensely dark and atmospheric writing abilities with this sequel. His descriptive and poetic phrasing which he uses to visualise some rather surreal and disturbing images really helps to increase the feeling of unease felt by the reader as they work through this depressing and chilling piece of literature. I think the actual gore and splatter is toned down a little bit when compared to the previous novel, “Eyes of the Dead” but that doesn’t reduce the feeling of horror which is brought out by the bleak and downbeat plot.

One of my biggest issues with the previous novel is that I wasn’t able to fully understand what was going on as the book flitted between reality and surreal hallucinations. This time I am happy to say that everything came together much better and I was able to follow the plot without getting lost. There is still the surreal dark imagery, bleak foreshadowing and oppressive atmosphere but this time everything is brought together in a much more satisfying experience.

Overall, this is an excellent example of oppressive, surreal and bleak horror fiction. The novel’s downbeat narrative continues to sap at the spirits of the reader right up to the intense final scene all ably enhanced by Yeates’ wonderful imaginative and poetic prose. If you want to get lost in dark imagery and surreal bleak storylines then this horror novel is something you should try to obtain.

Star Trek 1 - James Blish

Title: Star Trek 1
Author: James Blish
Genre: Sci-Fi
Published: 1967
Formats: Hardback/Paperback

Available at:
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Review:
“Star Trek 1” by James Blish was the first Star Trek novel ever released and is a collection of Original Series scripts adapted into short story form rather than being an original piece of work. The seven stories included in this collection are all from season one and are as follows:

Charlie's Law (Charlie X)
Dagger of the Mind
The Unreal McCoy (The Man Trap)
Balance of Terror
The Naked Time
Miri
The Conscience of the King

Reading this collection was an interesting experience for me as I was looking forward to reading the stories and refreshing my memories of the original episodes involved, especially as I felt these most of these were good episodes. To be honest, whilst the book did succeed in reminding me of the stories there were a few issues that affected my overall enjoyment of the collection.

For example, my favourite episode in this collection, “Balance of Terror” just feels downright flat and uninspiring. The novelization is badly missing the Romulan Commander’s point of view which really added to the story. In addition I just didn’t like how the entire crew, even Kirk to an extent decided they were going to distrust Spock. Basically my favourite episode on TV turned out to be least favourite in this collection. To be fair to Blish he was constrained by the short story length and he was working with the shooting scripts which at times varied quite a bit from what we finally see on the screen. Therefore I do understand why there would be some issues but readers should still be aware that there are some differences, some of which do weaken the stories.

However, it isn’t all bad and there are two stories in particular where I think Blish has actually added some really good elements. The first of these is within “The Unreal McCoy” (AKA The Man Trap) where Kirk knows realises that there is no way his officer would have eaten a strange alien root. In the actual episode everyone just seems to assume the redshirt is an idiot and doesn’t worry about it. The second was “Miri” which has been enhanced by the removal of silly sections like the planet being an “exact duplicate of Earth” and enhanced by some supplemental information on the virus itself. Whilst it could get a little bit dry at times it helped to ensure that things made a bit more sense and it would therefore have been nice for some of this explanation to have made it over into the episode.

Overall, this was a competent attempt at capturing the Star Trek episodes at a time when VCRs and DVDs weren't around. Some of the stories are enhanced and some are weakened by the adaptations but they were all readable in their own way and still highlight the fun of the Star Trek series. On a personal point, one thing this collection did highlight to me is how much the actors themselves really helped develop and enhance both the character interactions and stories.

Messenger (Behind The Walls of Sleep Book 1) - Scott Rhine

Title: Messenger (Behind The Walls of Sleep Book 1)
Author: Scott Rhine
Genre: Fantasy
Published: 2014
Formats: Paperback/Ebook

Available at:
Amazon
Amazon UK

Review:
“Messenger” by Scott Rhine is the first book in his YA fantasy series entitled “Behind the Walls of Sleep”. It is Rhine’s first attempt at writing for the YA market and I can easily see how it could tap into the mind-set of online game playing teens the world over. The story follows Daniel, a young teenager who has suffered a terrible accident in his past which led to his mother going to prison and his movement between foster families before his unknown relatives took him in. Whilst living with them, Daniel soon discovers that whilst he dreams he can pass through into another world reminiscent of a roleplaying video game where wizards and barbarians roam. However, before long it becomes clear that what he is doing in one world is upsetting people in the other and Daniel’s life is far from being safe in either place.

My first impressions of the book was that the sections in the dreaming world really did feel like I was following someone’s adventure in a game such as World of Warcraft with respawn points, loot, NPC style characters and quests clearly evident throughout. All you would have needed to was switch the going to sleep for powering on the PC and it would have easily fit. The interesting bit here is that I found most of the charters in this world to be rather flat and uninspiring but I actually found that this enhanced that online game feel and made it all feel very familiar.

The real meat of the story to me however was in the real world; it was here that I found some more development in the characters which contrasted wonderfully with the dream world. It is also here that Rhine really tries to tap into the YA writing elements of showing Daniel’s attempts at discovering who he is and what he wants to truly wants become.

It was actually nice to see Rhine slowdown his pacing with this book as many times in the past I have found his work to quickly launch the reader from one fast paced section to the other which can be fun to follow but does sometimes leave the reader feeling dizzy. Yes, the dream world still seems a bit madcap and fast but this worked due to the nature of the world itself and was again wonderfully contrasted by a slower and further developed real world story.

My biggest issue with the story is the ending which left me feeling rather disappointed as it is all rather sudden without any real resolutions. I know it is setting up for the sequel but I do still like to see some sort of reasoned ending to a book in any series and I felt that this was missing from this novel.

Overall, this was a very different book from what I have seen before from Rhine which was actually nice to see. I think he has done a great job in trying to reach the YA audience, especially those who enjoy online gaming and fantasy adventures. Personally, whilst I am not the target audience I still appreciated the story, helped along I am sure by my own love of gaming so I know that I will be picking up the sequel when it is released.

The Demolished Man - Alfred Bester

Title: The Demolished Man
Author: Alfred Bester
Genre: Science Fiction
Published: 1952
Formats: Hardback/Paperback/Ebook

Available at:
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The Book Depository
Amazon UK

Review:
As part of the 2014 Eclectic Reader Challenge I was required to read an award winning novel, therefore for a science fiction geek like me I thought this would be a good excuse to go back and read the first ever Hugo award winning novel. It turned out that the first ever winner was “The Demolished Man” by Alfred Bester back in 1953 and so I quickly picked up a 2nd hand copy from Amazon and started reading.

The story is set in 2301 and follows two characters, the first of which is Ben Reich, owner of Monarch Corporation who decides he must arrange for the death of a business rival. Unfortunately he now lives a in a society whereby telepaths can easily detect premeditated murder and therefore must enact a plan which will enable him to commit the crime and also get away with it. Against all odds he succeeds and thus the reader is introduced to the 2nd main character, Police Prefect Lincoln Powell who has an incredibly powerful telepath and identifies Reich as the culprit but can’t actually nail him down. And so the reader gets to follow a game of cat and mouse between the two.

It was an enjoyable enough read that combined a murder mystery with a science fiction environment to the point that it feels more like a mystery novel than a Science Fiction one. The basic premise of the novel about someone trying to commit murder in a society full of telepaths was actually very interesting and I did appreciate seeing how it played out. In addition the way in which Bester has extrapolated 1950’s technology was also rather fun to see. For example I loved how he introduced new powerful computers but they still used punch cards.

The age of the novel does of course result in some issues. Bester had some fresh and invigorating ideas when he put this book together in the 50’s but in today’s world some of them do appear rather tired and unexciting. In addition, the rather unflattering portrayal of women didn’t make for the best reading. I understand this is a sign of the misogyny inherent from the times but it is still pretty tough to wade through the clichéd bimbos and wimps who don’t do much beyond fawning after various men.

However, the biggest issue that affected my enjoyment though was some of the contradictions and weak plotting. For example, I found some of the various behaviours to be badly motivated and rather naïve. In addition the big premise of the novel is that premeditated murder is all but impossible yet after the first murder a few more occur that also manage to get missed by the telepaths. These types of things all conspired to reduce my overall appreciation of the novel.

My final note is positive and is in regards to the mindspeak that is conducted between the various telepaths. I loved how at times it seemed very reminiscent of the shorthand we now see via phone SMS and Instant Messenger programmes. Then there were the various mindgames that occurred between groups of Telepaths which I enjoyed reading through. It was all a quirky and fun attempt by Bester to highlight the different ways in which both communication and literature itself can occur.

Overall, this was an interesting novel that would have been rather innovative back in the 50’s and I can see why it was nominated and won the first Hugo award. It does suffer a bit from its age and I think contemporary readers may be less forgiving of its plotting flaws etc. than readers from the 50’s who were enjoying the creative boom of Science Fiction.

Star Trek Enterprise: Rise of the Federation: Tower of Babel - Christopher L. Bennett

Title: Rise of the Federation: Tower of Babel
Author: Christopher L. Bennett
Genre: Sci-Fi
Published: 2014
Formats: Paperback/Ebook

Available at:
Amazon
The Book Depository
Amazon UK

Review:
“Tower of Babel” by Christopher L. Bennett is the second novel in the “Birth of the Federation” series which continues the adventures of the crew from Star Trek Enterprise. I thoroughly enjoyed Bennett’s previous novel in the series and therefore I had been looking forward to this from the moment I heard about the release date.

The story picks up where “A Choice of Futures” finished off with the fledgling Federation still trying to understand what it really wants to be in the galaxy. This is highlighted by a presidential election which is being fought between two factions who have very different views on what the Federation’s future should entail. With this election in the background, Admiral Archer is undertaking negotiations to bring the Rigel system into the Federation although his attempts are being hampered by an alliance of criminals including Orions and Malurians who are determined to ensure the Federation fails.

Without doubt this is one of the busiest Star Trek books I have read in a while, there really is a lot going on and my summary above only briefly touches on it all. There are multiple plotlines on the go and Bennett has managed to find a role for pretty much every main character from the series which was nice to see. I was quite impressed that I didn’t actually feel lost at all even with so much going on, Bennett manages to blend all the pieces together into a well-paced, coherent and entertaining story. The only minor downside in utilising a wide array of characters and plotlines is that the novel felt like it was missing a powerful central plot that would have made me really care. Don’t get me wrong, it was still fun and entertaining but it just didn’t draw me in as much as other books have.

This was only a minor fault to be honest and it was easily overshadowed by some other elements of the novel such as the way in which Bennett has tried to create some depth to the villains. So often we get treated to a one dimensional villain but in this book we get some rounded characters whose motives and actions can be understood on some level if not necessarily agreed with. In addition, he has continued to flesh out some of the other minor characters such as Sam Kirk and Valeria Williams so that they interest me almost as much as the regular crew from the TV series.

One interesting observation I had about this book and in “A Choice of Futures” was the way in which various aspects of the plot relate to episodes of both the Enterprise and Original series. What I liked about this is that it was done in a manner which adds to the story and feels completely natural. I know some people don’t like “continuity porn” and I admit in the past I have seen links to various TV episodes that look forced and very much in your face, but with this series of novels Bennett has managed to seamlessly blend the various continuity points into the plot so this it should still make sense and be enjoyable for people who don’t know every TV episode.

Overall, “Tower of Babel” was another enjoyable novel in the Rise of the Federation series and it is always nice to return to this neglected era of Star Trek history. Bennett has done a good job in keeping the light burning for the Enterprise series and I am looking forward to seeing where we go next.