Last week, armed with my Kindle, a lunch break and a desire to read short fiction, I settled on a couple of ebook shorter works from multiple award winning author Connie Willis.

In the novella All Seated on the Ground, aliens have landed in Denver, Colorado. Contrary to our long-held fears, they did not come to subjugate us, nor to steal our women; they don’t even seem particularly interested in being taken to our leader(s). What they do seem to be interested in, is nothing. A Commission is formed to attempt to communicate with the aliens, and after several months of failures, the membership is dwindling and those remaining are running out of ideas. With December 25th fast approaching, the Commission resorts to taking the aliens with them to experience the variety of an American Christmas. The results are quite surprising. My rating: 7.5/10

D.A. (which stands for something that matters in the story…thus no spoilers), is a novella that is reminiscent of the juvenile fiction of Robert A. Heinlein, particularly the story The Menace from Earth, in that it features a spirited teenage girl in a future where space travel is a reality. Theodora Baumgarten is an atypical teenager in that she is one of the few high school kids who has no desire to get into IASA’s space cadet program. When she is unexpectedly chosen, despite not applying, she will stop at nothing to determine how this cruel joke happened to her and what she can do to get her way. My rating: 8.5/10

Continue reading Two Short Fictions from Connie Willis →

Mark Watney was one of the first six people to set foot on the surface of Mars, and now six days later he may be the first person to ever die on the surface of Mars.

When a powerful dust storm cuts their mission short, the crew of the Ares 3 mission is forced to abort, and abort quickly, before the craft meant to launch them out of the grip of Mars and back to their ship is itself a casualty of the storm.

On the way to that craft, Mark Watney is hit by a piece of flying debris and is lost to the rest of his shipmates.

Mark Watney’s suit registers him as dead, circumstances dictate he must be left behind.

But Mark Watney is not dead…at least not yet…

Continue reading The Martian ~Andy Weir →

(In the interest of full disclosure, this is a belated review of a novel I finished in October 2014.)

Pilot-in-training Theo Waitley, whose young adult adventures were chronicled in the novel, Fledgling, continues to learn about her innate abilities and the complexities of being a pilot in this follow-up novel, Saltation.

After breaking free of the rigors of her strict homeworld, Delgado, Theo Waitley is accepted to the prestigious piloting academy, Anlingdin, where she will discover much about herself and the greater universe into which she has been thrust.

The majority of Saltation takes place in an academic setting, so it will not be surprising to readers familiar with that setting to find that, in addition to rigorous lessons, Theo Waitley will discover friends, and enemies, drawn into her orbit.

Fledgling introduced readers to an engaging, likeable character in Theo Waitley, while weaving in elements of the greater Liaden Universe revealed in the many previous novels and short stories written by the married writing team of Sharon Lee and Steve Miller. Once you meet Theo Waitley, you are going to want to continue to see how her adventures play out, and Saltation gives readers a chance to spend more time with this young lady while also ratcheting up the suspense of the greater universal events into which Theo is being drawn.

I experienced Saltation via unabridged audio, narrated by Eileen Stevens. While I had a few minor issues with the overall story, which I will discuss after the jump, I thoroughly enjoyed Eileen Stevens’ narration and the climactic events of the novel compelled me to immediately purchase and begin listening to the next novel featuring Theo Waitley,  Ghost Ship.

Continue reading Saltation: An Audio Book Review →

Travis Uriah Long craved order, something his neglectful mother made no effort to provide. When he comes of age, it seems like the most logical thing in the world to join the Royal Manticoran Navy, the military is built on the concepts of structure and order. So without even a farewell to his mother, Long becomes the newest volunteer in the RMN.

For Travis Uriah Long, order is a mixed blessing. Long desires order and he quickly becomes a very strict rules and procedures navy man, only to discover that not everyone is as dedicated to following the rules as he is, nor is everyone appreciative of a team member who knows the rules inside and out and expects them to be fully honored.

Adding to Long’s difficulties is the fact that he has enlisted in a time when various political factions are viewing the Royal Manticoran Navy as increasingly obsolete and are working behind the scenes to shift the focus of the Star Kingdom of Manticore’s budget to areas domestic, rather than foreign.

David Weber, creator and author of the best-selling Honor Harrington series, teams up with award-winning author Timothy Zahn to explore a time period in the Honorverse several hundred years earlier than time time in which Honor lives. In so doing they create a great jumping-on point for new readers while giving fans of Honor Harrington a new set of characters to root for.

A Call to Duty is an accessible, engaging military science fiction novel with interesting characters, political intrigue, and the kind of life-in-space adventure that makes fans of science fiction long for a future in which mankind ventures out among the stars.

9/10 stars

Continue reading A Call to Duty ~David Weber and Timothy Zahn →