Book Probe: Deeplight by Frances Hardinge

RevolutionSF’s Book Probe helps you find good things to read. OR ELSE.

Deeplight by Frances Hardinge


This is an intensely imaginative fantasy adventure about dead gods and fanatic cults and you should read it right now.

Author Frances Hardinge has thought way too much about the world she has created here, and I mean that as a compliment. Only someone who obsesses over minuscule details could have constructed such an elaborate thing.

The story presents a complete pantheon of gods in a complex, inviting fantasy world. In that brilliantly detailed setting, the story involves a mystery about dead gods and a teen who gets in over his almost instantly.

I am just now, with this book, discovering Frances Hardinge. Luckily for all of us, Hardinge has written more books, which I have sought out after reading this one.

I suggest you likewise seek out her other books. I would also suggest creating Dungeons & Dragons game statistics for the gods herein because they are perfect for Dungeon Masters to kill your players with.

You could, of course, make D&D stats and read Hardinge’s other books. Both ways, you’re doing something valuable for yourself and for other humans.

The Book of Dragons

Anthologies by their nature are fickle creatures. Sometimes they are mostly delightful, while sometimes they can be irritatingly bad with maybe two good stories.

The Book of Dragons defies such anthological expectation. It’s really good throughout.

All the authors have interesting takes on the subject matter, from poetry to fables to swords and sorcery. My personal favorite is Scott Lynch’s “Maybe Just Go Up There and Talk To It.”

I must award points to the title, a bold proclamation. THE book of dragons! When I searched for it on the webs, I found a veritable plethora of books claiming to be the book of dragons, but none with such a large font. So there you have it.

But for those who don’t generally choose books based on cover font size, the luminaries within include Jane Yolen, Ken Liu, Kelly Barnhill, Beth Cato, Peter Beagle, Michael Swanwick, Theodora Goss, and more than a dozen more.

Corporate Gunslinger by Doug Engstrom

This one is a brilliant, Twilight Zone-style speculation about a future ruled by corporate greed. It’s brutal and violent, and it’s smart and deep, too. 

It’s tough to get into why this premise works so well without spoilers. It takes aim at a societal ill while also being a deeply personal story with a female hero. 

It’ll make you ask questions, and that’s the best stuff that speculative fiction does (besides exploding spaceships). 

Highly recommended. 

Heir of Ra by M. Sasinowski

This book is so fun. It’s an Indiana Jones movie and a National Treasure movie and The Mummy and tons of other fun action flick-style stories in convenient book form. 

The author clearly, absolutely loves what they’re doing. You can tell from the sparkling dialogue, the detailed storytelling, the crazy concepts. 

This book is number 1 in a series, so naturally, you should start here. Right now. Have you started yet? What about now? 

Book Probe: Illustrated World of Tolkien

Book Probe reviews sci-fi books so you don’t have to. Buy these. They’re good.

The Illustrated World of Tolkien by David Day

Good to read while enjoying second breakfast.

This is a  very cool hardcover where artists talk about Tolkien and how his work inspired their work. 

It’s also a handbook of Tolkien creatures and characters. 

Reading the artists’ insights and seeing their interpretations of these legendary figures is a joy, and their creativity is infectious. 

Like Gollum and the One Ring, you will need to grab this right away. 

It’s also possible that possessing this book will drive you bonkers like Gollum. But don’t throw it into a volcano. It’s too precious.

Dragon Age: Tevinter Nights

Dragon Age Tevinter Nights book cover.
Like the video game, but with words.

This is an anthology of fantasy adventure stories, and they are good stuff whether you play the game Dragon Age or not — it’s classic, good ol’ fashioned fantasy action, with elves and magic and monsters and such. 

This book could get newbies into playing Dragon Age, so then it would be doing its job. If you’re already playing the game, this book is tailor-made for you because you already know where Tevinter is. 

I have a tiny criticism of the book’s title. 

The book title, “Tevinter Nights,” seems to suggest that these stories will be dark and sexy, but they are not. Well, any more than usual for Dragon Age stories. Maybe I’m thinking of “Baywatch Nights” starring the legendary David Hasselhoff. 

Black Leviathan by Bernd Perplies

This one is Moby Dick, but with dragons. 

There. You just bought a copy. 

If you didn’t, dude, I don’t think I can help you. 

The fanatical ship captain hunts The Firstborn Gargantuan, which I have to say is a better name for Moby-Dick than “Moby-Dick.” Sorry, Herman Melville. 

Besides all that, this is an absolutely thrilling fantasy adventure, with dragons and fighting and more dragons. You know, the good stuff. 

Voice of the Sword by John Paul Catton

Voice of the Sword by John Paul Catton

This is the first book in a trilogy, and luckily, the other two books are already out, so you don’t have to wait for author John Paul Catton to eat, sleep, or spend time with his family while he’s writing them. 

It’s good stuff. It’s clearly inspired by some genres of anime, and Catton’s writing shows the affection he has for those works; here, he has made his own in book form. 

The female hero is an incredible character, a high school student caught in between a war between factions that include creatures from Japanese mythology. The story contains outlandish action, weirdness, and outlandishly weird action. 

Creating the tone of the visual medium of anime with just words, I would imagine, would be an uphill struggle, but the author makes it happen in excellent fashion here. 

I can’t wait to read more from this author; luckily, he has plenty of published works to keep me going. But that doesn’t get him off the hook. Back to work, Catton! 

Ruthless (Eye of the Beholder Book 3) by Sarah Tarkoff

Prophet by Sarah Tarkoff

You’ll need to read the first two books in this series first, but I recommend that you do that because they’re good. 

I’ll wait right here. 

Hey! See, what’d I tell you? Good stuff. 

This one is about a woman fighting against a government conspiracy that convince people that the Great Spirit saved humanity and now we’re living in a post-salvation world where you toe the line or you get got (I’m paraphrasing.) 

Author Sarah Tarkoff has done this style of awesomeness before and I did not know it until after I had finished the series — Tarkoff wrote for some of my favorite things: The TV show Arrow and the Arrowverse cartoons The Ray and Vixen

The story is mind-bending and thrilling, with deeply detailed characters. Book 3 is cathartic and exhilarating, a worthy conclusion and a terrific, satisfying finale. 

Puzzler’s War (Tarakan Chronicles #2) by Eyal Kless

Puzzler's War Eyal Kless



Author Eyal Kless is a classical violinist, but he can whomp up a sci-fi adventure novel, too. 

This one is a sequel to the first one, so you’ll need to read that one first. This one I like better. That is to say, the first one is really good, too — but this one ramps up the action and the adventure, and the motley crew of companions mucking about in a future where everything went into the pooper. 

(That’s the technical definition of a dystopia, by the way.) 

It’s fun, thrilling, and well worth a read.

Warlord (Makaum War #3) by Mel Odom

Warlord by Mel Odom

This story is the third in a series, but it’s not vital to read the first two. I recommend that you do, because they’re fun like this one is fun. 

This series reminds me of the Mack Bolan Stony Man series, the paperback action novels that 80s kiddos like me found in dog-eared copies from our libraries or in pristine, good-smelling copies from Waldenbooks. 

I mean that comparison as a high compliment. These books are sci-fi war novels with gritty intensity and bombastic action and quotable dialogue while the heroes blast aliens. 

I haven’t read much from the author Mel Odom, but now I need to. Preferably, while listening to an 80s movie soundtrack on cassette. 

EDIT: My mind is blown. After I finished writing this review, I looked up Mel Odom. He has FOR REAL written Mack Bolan books. That is awesome. Now I have even more books to dig up. 

Scarlet Odyssey by C.T. Rwizi

Scarlet Odyssey by CT Rwizi

This is a heroic quest story with a ragtag group of misfits, which is the best kind of misfit group. 

It’s the launch of a series by young African writer C. T. Rwizi, and the world here is inspired by cultures and myths of sub-saharan Africa (according to the book’s PR information). 

It’s a thrilling, fanciful debut, crammed full of imaginative world-building and excellent dialogue. You can tell that the author had a very fun time writing the book; the imagination positively leaps off the page. 

I look forward to seeing what’s next. But in the meantime, this one is worth re-reading. 


Book Probe: Body by Starfleet

Book Probe: We review books of geeky interest so you don’t have to. Our opinions are the correct ones. 

Body by Starfleet

Body by Starfleet
Today is a good day to diet.


This book is so good that it makes me want to be a healthy person.

Ha ha, that’s not true, Book Probe is already healthy. Ha. ha. ha. [abject weeping]

This book is crammed full of silliness, while also being a pretty good exercise book, no joke.

I’m almost positive this is not the first Star Trek tie-in product to include Discovery, but it was a pleasant surprise to see Tilly get a fun exercise: Tilly’s Command Training Program Sprints.

Writer Robb Pearlman digs deep for Trek references from all generations, and they are excellent: Riker’s Leg Extensions. Deanna Troi’s Active Listeners. Chekov’s Cossack Squats. Ambassador Collos’ Medusan Vessel Stretches. Why haven’t you bought this book yet?

Is it because you were hoping for Deep Space Nine exercises? Boom — Quark’s Odo-in-a-Bucket Walks.

Doing the exercises is optional, I suppose, but I’m doing them because I’ve never been so expertly targeted with a fitness program.

Also, Georgiou commands me to do so.

Book Probe: Up Against The Wall by David Hasselhoff

Book Probe seeks out this most Hasselhoffian experiences you can have, and provides links to them. Other books without Hasselhoff in them are also noted. 

Up Against the Wall by David Hasselhoff

Hasselhoff!

David Hasselhoff is on a shadowy flight into the dangerous world of a man who does not exist.

Is this the greatest thing you can ever listen to?

I’m saying, “Probably.”

This is an Audible exclusive, a novel read by Mr. David Hasselhoff, starring Hasselhoff as himself, as well as a CIA agent who looks like David Hasselhoff.

Listening to Hasselhoff deliver the precisely accurate amount of humor and drama is great fun. He leans into it, chewing scenery in audio form, just like he does in musical stylings in the “Kung Fury” soundtrack and on “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.”

It takes place in 1989, and Hasselhoff is on his way to perform on top of the Berlin Wall, when action-adventure hijinks ensue. The CIA agent who looks like him takes advantage of that fact to take on some bad guys. The story is so very 80s, and I mean that as the highest compliment.

Hasselhoff has set the bar pretty high for all audio dramas now. This one took me a long time to get through, because it was a challenge to withstand the barrage of Hasselhoffian excellence. At times I felt like I didn’t deserve it.

But I did.

We all do.

I will assume this is a true story, even if told otherwise. Listen now.

Get More Hasselhoff:

 

Book Probe: Becoming Superman by J. Michael Straczynski

Book Probe provides books that are good and you should read them right now, no fooling.

Becoming Superman, by J. Michael Straczynski

 

 

This book is really good, an autobiography about someone whose work I knew, but not his personal history.

Straczynski digs deep into both, discussing everything from his work on some of my favorite TV shows, Real Ghostbusters, He-Man, and his creation, Babylon 5.

He details his comic book work, including writing the issue of Spider-Man where the Marvel heroes (and villains) reacted to the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks.

JMS gets to all that, but first, he discusses how he rose from poverty and survived a rotten childhood, and how he dealt with horrible family secrets that he didn’t find out about until he was an adult.

His recollections of frankly awful things are stark and bleak, and his rise beyond them is terrifically inspiring.

The book is equal parts personal stuff and professional stuff. I came away with a desire to binge-watch Real Ghostbusters, which is an admirable goal for anyone.

Book Probe: Swords, Sorcery, and Self-Rescuing Damsels

Read this book. Come on. Do it. Get it at the link in the title. Are you doing it yet? 

Swords, Sorcery, and Self-Rescuing Damsels

 

In short, this is good stuff.

This is an epic gathering of authors for a collection of sword & sorcery short stories about women, and it is an absolute thrill.

Editor Lee French’s editor’s note says everything, noting that the term “damsels in distress” reduces women to poorly-dimensioned plot points “useful as nothing more than a prize for defeating the enemy.”

“This depiction sucks,” Lee adds.

The authors here include some of my personal favorites such as Jody Lynn Nye and Dawn Vogel. Like a properly good anthology, the book will introduce you to a plethora of writers that you can consume later. In my case, Elmdea Adams, who contributed “Yendy Loves Rattlescale,” my favorite story in the collection as of this writing.

It stars a dragon. Case closed. Buy the book. There are almost two dozen other stories, but this one stars a dragon.

The only drawback: Not enough room for maps of the fantasy realms at the beginning of each story. I’ll let this one slide because the book would be about a zillion pages longer. You have to make sacrifices sometimes.

All the stories are old-fashioned fantasy tales, and I mean that as a compliment. They’re cathartic, empowering, and frequently just plain hilarious.

Book Probe: Dead Moon, Phoenix Falling, Stray Moon

Book Probe knows you need new books. Here is a helpful list of such things, eliminating all that troublesome freedom of choice. Book Probe is your friend.

Dead Moon by Peter Clines

 

Audiobooks are the best. They eliminate the troublesome flipping of pages and thus, keep you safe from paper cuts.

I’m a big fan of Peter Clines’ Ex-Heroes books, about superheroes after a zombie outbreak. This one is about bad things who show up on the moon after we’ve been using it as a garbage dump. Naturally, hijinks ensue.

While listening to Ray Porter read the book, it appears that he’s having a difficult time containing his joy at performing the reading. is infectious.

The story is a combo package of a Western and Blade Runner, with a bleak hero and a gritty world and attempts to survive therein. Listen now. Your ears (and papercut-free fingers) will thank you.

 

Winds of Marque by Bennett R. Coles

This book is good for what ails you: pirates in space!

You can tell how much fun author Bennett R. Coles was having as he created the story. The book is just plain fun, worth plopping on the couch and enjoying.

It’s funny, thrilling, and worth rereading. I need more of this, as soon as possible.

 

Phoenix Falling by Laura Bickle

Wildlands has an incredible female hero who has a coyote for a sidekick.

I guess I need to write more about the book, but that would have sold me on it right there. COYOTE FOR A SIDEKICK.

If you have not yet read this series, you’ll need to read the rest before you read this one, but hey, new series. That’s always a good thing.

If you’re already a Wildlands fan, this story sticks the landing in a lot of ways. This one has sweet romantic stuff, supernatural evil stuff, and awesome world-building. Pick it up now, but since it’s the last in the series, you may want to savor it. Or just read it more than once, or seek out more from author Laura Bickle. All of these choices are good ones.

Stray Moon by Kelly Meding

This series (it’s book 2, so as of now it counts as a series) is plenty of fun, a cop drama wrapped up in supernatural shenanigans.

It’s technically an “urban fantasy,” I reckon, but at its heart, it’s a police adventure that happens to have werewolves in it (the first book had vampires.)

The story treats the supernatural as just another day at the office, which has been a plot point in some of my favorite things, such as Marvel’s “Damage Control” comic and Jim Butcher’s Harry Dresden stories.

My favorite quote: “Magic is a funny bitch.”

Stray Moon is a fun time. I can’t wait to read more from Kelly Meding.

Mythicals by Dennis Meredith

Fun. That’s what this is.

Fairy-tale creatures are real, but they’re aliens bent on wiping out puny humans. Except for some good fairy-tale creatures. Hijinks ensue.

This one goes all-in with a combo package of sci-fi and fantasy, and a surprising amount of emotional eloquence, as author Dennis Meredith goes right for our feelings.

Meredith has created a neat world here that he could probably write 20 more books about. He should get started doing that, right now.

It’s good stuff, as Meredith delivers action and drama with an equally expert touch. Give this one a shot.

The Shattered Sun by Rachel Dunne

This is book 3 in a series that reminds me a lot of playing Dungeons & Dragons. It’s a swords-and-sorcery action story with evil magic users, an intrepid party, and lots of bad die rolls.

You’ll need to read the first two books in this series, but that’s a feature, not a bug. It’s one big story, missing only a fantasy-world map at the beginning of the book. When there’s a map it’s an easy signal, in a good way, that authors think way too much about their stories. In this case, the rest of the book shows the author spent way too much time digging into the world she created.

In short, this is good stuff, and it’ll get you amped up to play more games or read more sword-and-sorcery. At the same time, if possible. I can’t wait to see the next thing that author Robin Dunne does.

Elk Riders by Ted Neill

Reading is fine, but maybe your ears get jealous.  Listening. That’s where it’s at.

That’s the same review I could start any audiobook with, and I just might. Ted Neill’s Elk Riders was a surprise treat — it’s an epic fantasy in an audiobook.

I haven’t yet completed the whole Elk Riders series at the time of this review,  but so far, this whole production is just fun. Listening to this improves drive time by a factor of a zillion.

Family and faith are interwoven in the book’s themes. The stories are cathartic, fun, and thrilling.

My favorite so far is book 3, where the hero is an epileptic. The story doesn’t make him a token or shy away from his challenges. This is not the struggle of a fantasy-adventure character; people I know face that challenge. This is great stuff.

Above and beyond all that, the stories feature magic elk. I should have led with that.

The Lost Puzzler by Eyal Kless

Author Eyal Kless is a classical violinist, but he can whomp up a sci-fi adventure novel, too.

It’s about a ragtag crowd of people in a dystopian society after everything got blowed up real good.

The press release says the book is a combo of “Mad Max: Fury Road” and “The Canterbury Tales,” and now I can’t un-compare the book to those two things. The author captures the energy and the craziness of “Fury Road” in the world he creates, while the depth of the characters shows that he has thought way too much about the world he has created (I mean that as a compliment.)

This one is the first book in a series, and you will need need the next part, right now. Or sooner.

Political Comedy Bonus: Donald and the Golden Crayon

I’m all in for figuratively flipping the bird at authority figures, and this one takes aim at one Donald Trump himself.

It’s a parody of “Harold and the Purple Crayon,” the classic book for kiddos. As such, it nails the tone and the style of the source material.

As political funniness, the book is pretty good. It pokes PG-13 fun at the prez, going all-in on references to a few dozen of the zillions of Trump-centric things that have happened during the Trump presidency.

A concern of mine is how well this book will age. That’s not a big concern for its makers, probably — it makes fun of a moment in time, like a “Saturday Night Live” sketch.

The book takes good shots at the prez, but not in a mean-spirited way — the book is more Jimmy Fallon instead of John Oliver.

The book ends in a rush, trying to cram in a bunch of Trump references that the book had not yet hit on. However, the final page is a deep pop culture reference that I really liked.

There will be enough material to make a sequel, maybe by the time I’m finished writing this review.

It’s difficult to laugh at some of this stuff, but we have to give it a shot.

Book Probe: The Future is Female! 25 Classic Sci-Fi Stories By Women

Book Probe presents things you need to buy, recommended by people who know what you need to buy. Book Probe is Your Friend. 

The Future is Female! edited by Lisa Yaszek

You need this book. Right now. I don’t say that about everything I like, but I’m saying it now about this.

This book contains 25 stories from Hall of Fame-level female SF authors such as Ursula K. Le Guin, James Tiptree Jr., and Marion Zimmer Bradley to people whose names you might be unfamiliar with.

Editor Lisa Yaszek includes a terrific foreword that talks about the history of women in science fiction. The TL;DR of it is that women were foundational to the beginning of the genre and to its rise.

Editor Lisa Yaszek was not messing around when she put together this collection. Although many of the stories are decades old, I discovered at least seven authors that I have never encountered before. You will, too.

More Stuff

Here’s an interview with Ms. Yaszek about the book.

Sci-Fi Book Probe: Drizzt, Pathogen Protocol, Secret Scouts

RevolutionSF’s Sci-Fi and Fantasy Book Probe provides you with new books, eliminating all that troublesome freedom of choice. Book Probe’s choices are best. Book Probe is your friend. 

Timeless: A Drizzt Novel by R.A. Salvatore

RA Salvatore has done more for Dungeons & Dragons than the 20-sided dice industry, and now he’s doing more with his most famous character, the dark elf Drizzt.

These stories are epic fantasies, with all that the genre requires: magic, monsters, fighting. All good things. The immense world of D&D’s Forgotten Realms is put to excellent use, again, and I found myself flipping through player’s handbooks, DM’s guides, and Monster Manuals as I read.

These books will make you want to start up a D&D campaign. If you already are playing or running one, they will make you want to stop what you’re doing and get back to it.

For veterans of the Drizzt stories, this one is a welcome return. All the parts still work great.

For folks reading the Drizzt character for the first time, the book works great, too, which is nice. Also nice: Those folks will now have a few dozen other Drizzt appearances to catch up on, once they get pulled in.

 

 

A Deep Horror That Was Very Nearly Awe by JR Hamantaschen

You need more weird fiction, and this book has it. This one is a collection of 11 short stories, all of them crammed with horror, suspense, humor, and an underlying sense of disquietude. I mean that as a compliment.

Hamantaschen also has a particular skill with story titles that I wish others would emulate. Far from using one word (“Dark,” or “The Tunnel” are two books I just made up but probably exist) or from clearly describing what is going to happen in the book, Hamantaschen gets goofy. And by that I mean, excellent.

For example, “No One Cares But I Tried.” “I’ve Read With Some Interest About…” Here is my personal favorite: “Story Title Revealed About Halfway Through.”

My favorite story is “I Will Soon Be Home and Never Need Anyone Ever Again.” I hope it’s embarrassing for Hamantaschen to hear this: but this story is sweet. Its characters are outright charming. So, unlike many stories that call themselves “weird fiction,” not every story here ends with staring into the gibbous moon while the abyss consumes your mortal soul.

Just give it a read. You’ll dig it.

Secret Scouts and the Lost Leonardo by Mr. and Mrs. Kind

This book both made me feel smarter and reminded me of 1980s movies, so that’s a double-thumbs up from me.

It’s about a gaggle of kids, who, as kids in 80s movies were prone to do, stumbled onto a mystery. In this case, it’s a mystery about Leonardo Da Vinci, and the book proceeded to school me on Da Vinci stuff that I did not know about.

Sure, Dan Brown named a whole code after Da Vinci, but there’s more. Da Vinci kept busy.

The story’s setup is very much in the style of Explorers, or even E.T., and I mean that as a compliment. It’s also crammed full of factual stuff, which is a good way to cram education into a book about kids and historical mysteries.

This book, the first in a series, is fun for the young ones and the old ones and any variety of age, really. It’s just fun.

For more about the series, check out Secret Scouts. 

Pathogen Protocol by Darren Beyer

This one is a hard-science space adventure story, crammed with true-to-life space science details by someone who would know: Author Darren Beyer, has been a Space Shuttle experiment engineer, who worked on the Hubble Space Telescope launch and was part of Shuttle recovery crews.

Beyer knows his stuff, but also can tell a terrific story. That’s a drawback that faces some folks with real science experience: how do you translate the one thing into the other? Beyer does it by having the real science parts as the launch pad for the sci-fi adventure parts.

It’s part 2 of a series, so you’ll need to pick up part 1. But that’s a good thing in this case. It’s just more neat stuff for you to read. I’m anxious to see what’s next.

Barren by Peter V. Brett

 

This one is a novella set in the author’s “Demon Cycle” storyline. You need to check those out for the covers alone, but inside the covers are cool stories about good guys fighting demons. “Barren” is also that, with an excellent female hero and a story that could be a TV series. By that, I mean, I wish it was a TV series, right now.

If you’re just discovering Brett with this book, you’ve got lots more to read ahead of you. Get on that. If you’re a “Demon Cycle” fan already, well, I don’t need to tell you to pick this up.

Book Probe: The Wild Dead, Nuomenon Infinity, Metal Chest

You need new geek-centric books. These are the books you need. Get them at the linkage. No thanks necessary.

The Wild Dead by Carrie Vaughn


The Wild Dead is another book set in the post-apocalyptic world of Carrie Vaughn’s “Bannerless,” which I described as a “Reese’s Cup style combination of two great tastes… murder mystery and post-apocalypse.”

This one is a crime drama that happens to be set after the apocalypse. Amid the post-apocalypse, when do people find a space in their schedules for murder? That’s just not good time management.

In spite of all the murder and the post-apocalypse, this story is surprisingly optimistic and sweet. Author Carrie Vaughn digs into her heroes and finds goodness and persistence, not fatalism and pathos.

I admit, I was a little bummed out that my advance review copy promises “map TK.” I love maps of fantasy & sci-fi worlds. So this one will be even better when it goes on sale for normal humans, because of the maps, I’m sure of it.

Metal Chest by Chris Yee

Metal Chest is a story about a robot and a guy roaming an apocalyptic wasteland (that’s the best kind of wasteland.)

But it feels like a Western, and the characters behave like they’re in a Western. By that, I mean the characters and the setting are clearly established through dialogue, which is such a refreshing change from paragraphs and paragraphs of descriptions.

Here’s an example: “Clunkers like you won’t get very far if you stick to being friendly all the time. You got to look after yourself. Put everybody else second. They’ll all leave you dead in the dirt.”

That tells you everything you need to know about the speaker and the one he’s talking to. And it’s just one line. The book contains lots more than one line.

The whole thing is a terrific exercise in subverting tropes. More than that, it celebrates Westerns while also being a fine example of one.

I’m going to need to see more from author Chris Yee. But in the meantime, Metal Chest is worth a reread, preferably with your boots kicked off by a campfire.

Nuomenon Infinity by Marina Lostetter 

Nuomenon Infinity is a second book in a series of mosaic novels, containing shorter stories that all take place in the same world.

In this case, it’s about two space convoys, one launched by a space consortium and another a ragtag fleet thought lost, both of which address the story from different directions.

And now that 70s song “Convoy” is stuck in my head.

Both stories are thrilling and crammed with action, with echoes of “Firefly” and “Battlestar Galactica.” Like those shows, these books are surprisingly, effectively human. The story really sticks it to your emotions. I cried a time or two. Then I read in the author’s afterword that she named one character after the Orlando nightclub shooting victims, and cried again.

That’s good stuff, right there.