Don Grange and his engineer Frig are the crew of the Swift, an old Blevin-class Defender. They're part of the Grid Messenger Service. They become more than simple messengers when the impending war with the Milgari starts to heat up. Thing get quite hot for Don and Frig, but they can take the heat. They can dish some out too. This is a great science fiction tale. Very highly recommended.
Ceasar Wells is as successful as anyone is allowed to be under the Singularity, but Ceasar isn't happy. Ceasar is too smart to be satisfied with life under the Singularity, and that will prove to be fatal. That will turn Ceasar into a heretic. This book is amazing. It's reminiscent of several science fiction themes. The Matrix, Soylent Green, and The Terminator come to mind. The recent wave of red flags about artificial intelligence sets the stage for this book. This story makes me think of Herbert's Dune in its scope and style. Very highly recommended.
Spook and Thomas have their work cut out for them this time. The Bane is an ancient evil that is bound in the catacombs below the Priestown cathedral. Spook tried to kill it once and failed. The Bane is getting stronger and Spook and Thomas have to stop it's influence from spreading. When Alice becomes bound to the Bane, the situation becomes worse and better. According to the prophecy, one of the three "sort of" heroes is going to die. Which one? Very highly recommended.
Thomas Ward is the seventh son of a seventh son. Thomas is almost thirteen years old, and he can't inherit his family's farm, so Thomas is going to take a chance as the apprentice to the Spook. The Spook is the one person who protect farms and villages of the county from things that go bump in the night. The Spook handles witches, ghasts, boggarts, and all manner of wicked creatures. Thomas has a lot to learn. He'd better learn quick. Thomas is the 30th apprentice to the Spook, and 10 of the previous apprentices are dead. This is a great scary story for kids of all ages, but not too scary. Highly recommended.
The FBI is still trying to find Brand, and still failing miserably. There is some hope, but it is a desperate plan, and not even the FBI's plan at that. Brand is still riding Arthur's body, but Arthur is starting to wake up. It's a race to see if Brand can destroy the sun before Arthur destroys him, or the FBI finally catches him. Of course it's down to the wire. This is a great story. Very highly recommended.
At the end of the first book in this series, The Devil's Dream, Matthew Brand is killed most thoroughly, or not. Brand somehow managed to store his essence in the computers at The Wall. Now Brand has transferred himself into the first prisoner who was ever stored at The Wall. Arthur Morgant was a serial rapist, but Arthur was immune to the AIDS virus. So they stored Arthur for posterity. Posterity turned out to be Matthew Brand. Brand took Arthur over and broke him out of The Wall. Now Brand is riding the body of a rapist and hell bent on destroying the human race. Brand's dream has switch from resurrection to revenge. There is a wicked cliff hanger, but I'm reading the third and last book next. Very highly recommended.
Brendan Healy has only been a detective for a few months when Rebecca Heilshorn is murdered. Brendan is working Rebecca's murder and involved in a shooting all on the same day. Before this story is over Brendan will take more damage than Detective John McClane his worst day, but this is not Die Hard. There's plenty of action, but this is a murder mystery with lots of twists and turns. Brendan has to defeat his own demons and the killer too. Very highly recommended.
Thorgrin of the clan McCleod is the youngest of four sons at the age of 14. Thor tends to his father's sheep and dreams of joining the King's Legion. When he's not picked on conscription day, Thor takes the advice of a wise man, and heads off to the city of King's Court on his own. Thus begins the tale. Magic, knights, court intrigue, and fair maidens too. This is a great story if it wasn't for that cliff hanger. I may have to read the next in the series. Highly recommended.
Charles Duwain is still hanging on to what's left of a dying world. Charles is trying to survive in Michigan, living along the polluted shores of Lake Huron. As things continue to get worse, Charles decides to try and find his two adult daughters living in Florida. Of course the world is dying because a scientist made a mistake trying to increase plant growth, and killed all plants. If you're going to write post-apocalypse, this is as good a reason for the death of the planet as any. Why do they never blame politicians? As I started I told myself if there were zombies I was going to stop reading. There were rumors from the beginning, but they didn't show up until a third of the way through the book so I stopped. The review of the first third is a bleak story with more angst than an adult with two grown daughters should ever have had. I was almost looking forward to the zombies so I could quit. Not recommended.
Caina Amalas was a studious child of eleven years. Caina loved her father's library. She could already read in eight languages and was working on more. Then Caina's mother betrayed her and her father, and Caina's life changed forever. Caina became a child of the ghosts. This is a great story about a young girl overcoming evil. Caina grows up to fight against evil for the empire, but the evil facing the empire is formidable. Very highly recommended.
