A longing for old friends, coupled with recent events at Kansas City’s Planet Comicon, and my anticipation for the upcoming film Star Trek Beyond, culminated in a non-stop read through the last 150 pages of Dayton Ward’ novel, Star Trek: From History’s Shadow. I had been enjoying spending time with Kirk and company, along with characters from the original series episode “Assignment: Earth”, in whatever stolen moments I could find to read over the last few weeks, but a last minute decision to start the long weekend early left me alone to immerse myself in the Star Trek universe and the results were immensely satisfying.

Dayton Ward, no stranger to penning new adventures for the beloved crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise, embarked on what he called a “pet project” in the novel’s Acknowledgements, blending real history with Star Trek history in a way that grounds the novel for those of us familiar from childhood with Cold War era fears and the televised adventures that took place in the “final frontier”.

Star Trek: From History’s Shadow finds its setting in our real past and our imagined future, jumping through time in such a way that the story compels one to keep reading while at the same time avoiding any confusion that might occur with a book spanning over three centuries. This was my first experience with Dayton Ward’s solo Star Trek work, and I must say that I am pleased that there are more of his titles on my shelf awaiting discovery, including the just-released companion book, Elusive Salvation.

Continue reading Star Trek: From History’s Shadow →

It is safe to say that you would have to be living under a rock (a particularly large one, with no access to TV or the internet) to be unaware that the first original Star Wars film in years has made quite the impression on fans the world over, both old and new.

With the stage set for Star Wars: The Force Awakens to top the 900 million dollar mark domestically, and the 2 billion dollar mark worldwide this weekend, the Star Wars craze continues in full swing, nearly two months after its debut.

And rightly so. It is a film that has revitalized that sense of wonder that we all felt the first time we saw A New Hope.

With a property like Star Wars in house, Disney has spared no expense to flood the marketplace with merchandise. And for those aching for more of the story of characters old and new, the real merchandising treasure is in your local bookstore.

Star Wars: Before the Awakening is certainly not a coy title. It boldly proclaims its aims and then boldly delivers, giving readers three vignettes, each focusing on one of three new characters in the Star Wars Universe–Finn, Rey and Poe–offering insight into who they were before the events of The Force Awakens.

On the strength of Jeff Smith‘s Facebook review I decided to pick up a copy of the book this morning, and over the course of the afternoon and early evening I traveled to that galaxy far, far away and enjoyed myself immensely.

Continue reading Star Wars: Before the Awakening ~Greg Rucka →

Jethri Gobelyn is a space-born Terran assistant trader on his family’s ship, Gobelyn’s Market, a life he loves despite the loss of his father and his mother’s growing hostility. Most of Jethri’s life is spent on ship, with his planet side time mercifully limited to off-loading and procuring items for trade.

With Gobelyn’s Market set to be sidelined for at least a standard year for refit, Captain Iza Gobelyn, Jethri’s mother, has contracted him to a mining vessel. Distraught over his circumstances, he convinces his mother to allow him to find another ship.

An inexperienced investment, and the negative consequences that ensue, find Jethri apprenticed to a Liaden Master Trader, a dream assignment that soon takes a turn as he discovers he will have to spend a great deal of his apprenticeship in the wide open spaces of a Liaden home world.

Balance of Trade is the third novel in the Sharon Lee and Steve Miller Liaden Universe series. It is set 200 years before the events that have been the focal point of the bulk of the series. The fascinating Liaden and Terran cultures that I have enjoyed in the handful of novels and short stories that I have read are on display here, woven into the story as skillfully as I have come to expect from this husband-wife writing team. But the greatest pleasure of these space operas is the interplay of the characters, and the attachments one makes with them as the story unfolds.

Continue reading Balance of Trade ~Sharon Lee, Steve Miller →

(Cover illustration for Second Foundation, by artist Michael Whelan)

“It is difficult to describe the sheer joy of finally being able to read a book whose cover has fascinated me for years. It is even more significant considering that it is part of an original trilogy of books that from my childhood I have viewed as inaccessible. It has been such a pleasure to discover just how unfounded my fears were.”

~from my January 2008 review of Second Foundation

Continue reading Second Foundation ~Isaac Asimov →