Book Probe reviews more than one book in a fraction of the space, to embiggen the chances of you finding something good to read. (Click on the links in the titles to find links to buy the books.)

Speculative Edge

This one is a monthly fiction and review magazine. The first issue has a pile of interviews, stories and reviews. It's more than 80 dad-gum pages, which is a metric ton compared to most publications.

D.L. Chance's story "Cosmic Stringbusters" is fun sci-fi. It's the main event in the first issue. The tone set by the editor and the reviewers is just like I personally like it; clever and witty. That's what we do here at RevolutionSF. So, naturally, Speculative Edge gets the thumbs up from me there.

The writers herein are all new to me. And maybe new to you. Here's a place to encounter new folks who are creating stuff that you haven't seen.

Hollow Victory , by Morgan Low

This is gritty military sci-fi. It's a grim look at a squad that breaks down amid betrayal, death, and corruption.

There is not a ton of sci-fi; that's a strength in this case. It's not about what the soldiers are fighting or where they are, it's about the personal drama.

Character names are my major complaint. They are extremely sci-fi, random mixes of letters such as Prak, Tva, and Jalk. I get that a writer wants a sci-fi world to seem sci-fi -- ish. Spending that many pages with unintelligible names can cause a brain-ache.

The story is really long, and doesn't let up. That is a great thing. It's one brutal fight after another.

A Day in the Life of Earth , by Mike Davies

This is a harrowing, tense short story about Earth right before half of it gets blown up.

Two religious factions control it, but they can't get along, so one decides to wipe out the other for good. The story follows a scientist, his wife, and the president as they race the clock against the whole thing.

The story has the bravery not to end well, but the writer tries too hard to cram in sci-fi world building. The human drama parts are compelling. The details about the sci-fi world as not as much. There are some good ideas there -- but then they get blow up.

The story is about 75 pages; it's a quick read, and reminds me of an episode of Twilight Zone.