Agents of Chaos II: Jedi Eclipse by James Luceno

"Jedi Eclipse" continues not only the saga of "The New Jedi Order," it also is the sequel to "Hero's Trial." In "Hero's Trial" a large portion of the drama was centered on Han Solo who is grieving his best friend Chewbacca. He finally started to move forward from his drunken stupor, but his gallivanting around the galaxy doesn't exactly put Leia's heart at rest.

In "Jedi Eclipse" Han is still in the middle of galactic drama as he helps his new friend Droma search for his clansmen. This puts the two of them right in the middle of the battles with the Yuuzhan Vong, something Leia doesn't discover until later, but of course Han's legendary luck kicks in time and again. They will be lead on a merry chase before they find Droma's clansmen though.

Leia meanwhile is visiting Hapes in an attempt to gain their support in the war with the Yuuzhan Vong. It's a difficult time for her emotionally as she's missing Han and worried about him, and visiting her former suitor does NOT help her emotions calm any. Especially when she starts having visions of disaster.

The Yuuzhan Vong are manipulating a new alliance with the Hutts, using them to provide the New Republic with carefully planned intelligence. The Hutts don't realize they are being manipulated though, and they genuinely (for once) are trying to help. Of course this leaves the New Republic trying to decipher the Hutts motives versus the Yuuzhan Vong's motives, and it's a sticky political morass!

And we can't forget about the young Solo's in all of this! Jaina doesn't really make an appearance in this book, but Jacen and Anikan are sent to Centerpoint Station where their basic differences in beliefs on how the force should be used are brought to the fore. This bit of the book also really interested me because it alludes to a story arch that I haven't read, and that sounds really interesting! Ah well, one story arch at a time!

Damnation Alley by Roger Zelazny

"Damnation Alley" is a fast paced, but interesting, read by Roger Zelazny. It takes place in a world that has under gone nuclear war, and the result is a devastated landscape. As far as the people in Los Angeles know, they and the group of people on the East Coast are the only ones left alive in the world. It's possible that there are other places that still have life, but no one can contact them.


Now a deadly plaque has broken out in Boston, and the only hope to keep that population alive is to somehow get the stock pile of cure to them from Los Angeles. In order to do that someone is going to have to traverse Damnation Alley, a monster and hazard filled area that lies between the two. Few people would be insane enough to try, but Hell Tanner is one of them. Of course the fact that it gets him out of prison is a good motivator...

I couldn't help but think of my brother John as I read this book, it's very much his style of story! Lots of high adrenaline action, blood and guts, and even romance! You'll laugh along the way, and you'll cling to the edge of your seat. It's well worth the read.

Lirael by Garth Nix

"Lirael" is the sequel to "Sabriel" by Garth Nix. As we start this book Sabriel and Touchstone are married, and have been ruling in the Old Kingdom. Well, Touchstone rules, and Sabriel defends the kingdom from the dead and those who would seek to raise the dead. She is the Abhorsen, the one Necromancer pledged to stand against all others.

This book centers around two characters, Lirael and Sameth. Sameth, better known as Sam, is the younger child of Sabriel and Touchstone, and the one destined to follow in Sabriel's footsteps. In his last year at school over in Ancelestierre, he's at the top of his game, and on top of the world. Until, that is, his team is way laid and attacked near the wall by a bunch of undead. Trying to defend his friends, Sam enters into death to attack the Necromancer responsible for the attack, and finds himself over powered and nearly killed. This scares Sam so badly that he can't even look at the tools of the Abhorsen with out getting ill. Neither can he find the courage to tell his mother.

Lirael is a daughter of the Clayr, although she's never felt much like one, because she doesn't have the "sight" that the Clayr are known for. Each year that passes without her gaining the sight finds her sinking deeper into depression. That is, until one day when she comes to the attention of some of the older Clayr, who realize she needs a purpose to fill her days.

They put Lirael to work in the Library, a job that she finds fascinating and distracting. She still mourns her lack of sight, but it helps that she now has access to all this learning! Lirael has a talent for charter magic, and she quickly is learning things and accessing areas far beyond what she is supposed to. She even makes herself a construct of a friend, well she tries at least, the result (The Disreputable Dog) is a little beyond what she had originally intended.

Once again a great evil is attacking the Old Kingdom. Sabriel and Touchstone have gone to Ancelestierre to try and stop the flood of immigrants that are unwittingly being sent to their deaths (and subsequent enslavement). When Sam hears that his friend is trying to come visit him, in dubious company, he sets out across the land to try and save Nick. Around the same time the Clayr finally have a vision with Lirael in it, and she's sent off to find Nick as well, although they don't know each other. Eventually she will meet up with Sam and it will be up to the two of them to save the kingdom!

Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny

One of the reasons I love reading books by Roger Zelazny is that he had an incredible talent for coming up with stories that will twist your brain around. They are not only great science fiction and/or fantasy, they make you THINK, and I doubt two people ever come away from reading his books with the same impressions and thoughts. "Lord of Light" follows in this tradition of his works perfectly.

"Lord of Light" takes place on a planet that was colonized from earth. The leaders of this planet found a way to make themselves virtually immortal through technology, and now they rule the planet having stylized themselves as the gods of the Hindu pantheon. If they were just leaders, this might not be a problem, but they are definitely corrupt.

Nobody dares oppose the leaders though, they are gods after all! Well, except for the man who was once known as Siddhartha (among other names) and now he usually goes by Sam. He is known as the Binder of demons and the Lord of Light. He was one of the original colonists and he has just as much power as the self-stylized "gods" do.

Now Sam has begun a subversive mission to under mine the "gods" of his world. How he goes about it is rather complicated, you'll have to read the book, but its definitely one of the things that makes this a mind-twisting read! In fact I doubt I understood everything Zelazny put in the book, just like I did with his Amber books I'll probably read it again at some time so that I can get more from it!

Agents of Chaos: 1 Hero's Trial by James Luceno

I was talking about this story arch in the Star Wars pantheon recently with one of my close friends. Neither of us is thinks its the best story arch, and she's read the entire arch whereas I'm just getting started, but I at least liked this book a lot more than the last two! I think the difference is that the last two books focused a little too much on the Yuuzhan Vong and exploring their culture. The Yuuzhan Vong are very focused on pain, both inflicting it and enduring it themselves, so the last two books were rather dark and depressing.

This book, while it continues the story of the Yuuzhan Vong and their invasion, focuses more on the story of Han beginning to recover from Chewbacca's death. After Chewie's death Han spiraled into a deep depression and doused his sorrows with vats worth of alcohol. In this book Han finds a reason to begin to crawl out of that hole when he's approached by an old friend to pursue a smuggler who's now working for the Yuuzhan Vong.

Having a purpose, something he could actively do, helps Han a lot, but he still has a long way to go. Leia spends most of the book worried about Han, especially because he refuses to tell her what he's doing, but she realizes she needs to let him go and do his own thing. Letting him go doesn't work 100% though, because they end up in the same place!

This book was high on action, and I loved reading more about Han! Despite his abnormal amount of luck, I always love reading stories about him, especially when I need to just relax and not think too hard about what I'm reading. I'm looking forward to the next book in the story arch because it's also written by the author that wrote this book!

Dark Tide I: Onslaught by Michael A Stackpole

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Dark Tide I: Onslaught (Star Wars: The New Jedi Order, Book 2)

"Dark Tide I: Onslaught" continues the story of the New Jedi Order and their fight against the Yuuzhan Vong. They fought off the initial invasion, but now it's time to prepare for what's to come. Leia attempts to convince the Council of the danger they are in while Luke uses his Jedi to investigate.

There are several different story lines running through this book. All are intertwined, but we get to follow various members of the Jedi and the Skywalker family as they battle this new menace. In particular I enjoyed following the adventures of Jacen, Jaina, and Anakin Solo. Some time ago I read the young adult series about them, and I'm really enjoying watching them continue to grow and develop.

Anakin is struggling with guilt, thinking he is responsible for Chewie's death, but Luke sends him with Mara to protect her as she recuperates. During his time with Mara he will learn a lot about his own limits, both personally and with the force. Anakin also begins to move beyond his grief and guilt.

Jaina also grows a lot as she is given the opportunity to join the infamous Rogue Squadron!

Jacen continues to struggle with his philosophical differences with Luke. He thinks that he needs to go off on his own to mediate and connect with the Force, but Luke convinces him that he is needed right now to help the other Jedi. Jacen agrees to help, and along the way he learns a lot about himself, his beliefs, and what it means to truly be a jedi.

The Doors of His Face the Lamps of His Mouth by Roger Zelazny

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The Doors of His Face, The Lamp of His Mouth

"The Doors of His Face the Lamps of His Mouth" is a collection of short stories by Roger Zelazny. As with any series of stories, there were some that I liked more than others. However, the one advantage that this has over other anthologies, is that it only has one author, and I tend to like his work! So even with the one's that I wasn't as thrilled with, they we're still pretty good stories.

There are 17 stories in this collection. Some of them are very short, and some are pretty long! My favorites were "A Museum Piece" and "The Graveyard Heart." The first one simply entertained me, and the second one had a fascinating premise to it! We've all heard stories about putting people into a sort of cold sleep - or stasis right? Well what if, instead of doing that to travel between stars or something similar, people went into cold sleep just so they could periodically come out and party? And never be younger? Eternal youth, essentially, while the world around you stares and wonders. It was a pretty interesting story, especially because it's of course much deeper than what I just shared!

We Few by David Weber and John Ringo

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We Few

"We Few" concludes the series about Prince Roger McClintock and his Bronze Battalion. Well, actually, as the title suggests, there aren't very many of the battalion left. 12 in fact. Prince Roger, with these 12 warriors, and the barbarians who pledged their loyalty to him on Marduk, face the challenge of rescuing his mother, The Empress.

There are a number of overwhelming obstacles to over come however. The people do not realize that the Empress even needs to be rescued because her captors have her drugged, and she's still appearing before the people. Prince Roger and his men are fugitives because they have been blamed for the deaths of his siblings. Top that all off with the Imperial Palace being almost impossible to breach, and our friends have their hands full!

Prince Roger is more than up to the challenge though. If there is one thing he learned on Marduk it was how to over come over whelming odds. How does he do it? You'll have to read the book to find out!

March to the Stars by David Weber and John Ringo

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March to the Stars (Prince Roger Series, Book 3)

"March to the Stars" is the third book in this series about Prince Roger and the Bronze Battalion. I mentioned in my last review that I hadn't enjoyed book two as much as book one, but that I was going to keep reading the series because my evil twin said the authors redeemed themselves. She was right! I really enjoyed book three!

It's finally time for the crew to cross the ocean and take over the space port. As they cross the ocean they will have to face sea monsters and pirates, and when they reach land things aren't much better! The society they discover performs ritual cannibalism, something that shocks and appals both the humans and their Mardukan friends.

They also discover that they are going to have to cross yet another range of mountains to reach the space port, and that taking the space port may be the least of their problems! Once they receive news of the Galaxy at large they discover that there is an intricate plot against the Queen, and that Prince Roger has been implicated. Now they not only have to get home, they need to clear their names, and save the Queen!

There is one more book in the series, and I can hardly wait to see how they get out of all this mess!

Manna from Heaven by Roger Zelazny

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Manna From Heaven

I was first introduced to the writings of Roger Zelazny when my evil twin loaned me his "Chronicles of Amber." Someday I'll have to reread them again and review them for all of you, my friends, but for now let me just say that I love the series! Zelazny is an author who writes with depth, complexity, and a fair amount of humor.

In "Manna from Heaven" we have a collection of short stories by Zelazny. After having read the Amber books through twice it was really interesting to me to sit down and read some of his writing that was completely unrelated! Well, not completely, the last few stories are based in Amber. Sadly, these stories hint that he intended to add to the Amber saga, but he has since passed on and will not be writing anything else.

One thing I really enjoyed about reading these stories is that your often left thinking. It's always up to the reader to interpret what they've read, but how often do we walk away from a short story pondering what we've read and imagining the implications and where the story might go next? You'll find yourself doing that with many, if not all, of these stories. And the best part? You probably will walk away with very different thoughts than I would, and neither of us would be wrong.

DS9 - Season 1

I love to watch things while I'm creating. Often that means watching things on-line, but I'm also blessed with a best friend who's Dad collects science fiction television shows! Right now, that means that my brother and I have borrowed the entire Star Trek - Deep Space 9 collection! We'll be trading the discs back and forth.

Currently I'm watching the first season. It came out way back in 1993, so I would have been 11 when I first started watching the show! I remember there were some episodes I didn't get to watch, at 11 I still got kicked out of the room if there was too much sex in the show, and I don't mind that my parents did that one bit! Fortunately I got to watch quite a bit of it!

It's amusing to go back and watch the first season. Not only am I viewing this as an adult, which is very different, but it's funny to see all the characters looking so young and new to their stations! Some of them don't look or act that different, but many of them have different hair cuts, Jake Sisko is played by a different actor than in later seasons, and the crew is still settling into their different roles on the station.

One character that has always fascinated me is Jadzia Dax. Not only is she a strong female character, but she has the exotic characteristic of actually being two personalities joined as one. Jadzia, the woman, and Dax, the symbiot within her. The symbiot has lived for over 100 years, transferring from one Trill (Jadzia's race) to another. It's most recent host being a man named Curzon. A man with a close friendship to Jadzia's current supervisor, Captain Benjamin Sisko.

This creates many interesting complications in Jadzia Dax's life. For instance, her relationship with Sisko has necessarily changed. Also, through the memories of the symbiot, she has much more life experience than her physical years would normally allow for. They explore this topic in the episode "Dax" where Jadzia is brought to trial for the supposed crimes of Curzon Dax.

March to the Sea by David Weber and John Ringo

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March to the Sea (March Upcountry)

In "March to the Sea" we rejoin Prince Roger MaClintock and the Emperors Own as they struggle across the harsh planet of Marduk. Just like in "March Upcountry" you'll find lots of hilarious moments mixed in with the battles and struggles to survive! There's even some new crazy beasties to make things interesting.

I will admit though that I didn't like this book as much as the first one in the series. They get too bogged down in the details of weapon development and battle strategy. I ended skimming sections to get to the good stuff. However, I have it on good authority that this is the worst book in the series and book 3 is just as good if not better than book 1! So if you read my review on March Upcountry and were considering picking up the series, don't despair, it's still worth it!

One thing that was done really well in this book is the character development. Prince Roger continues to grow as both an individual and a leader. There are new developments in the romantic tension between Roger and Despraux. We also learn a lot more about Palmer, a deep character with a heavy load as he tries to balance protecting the Prince, and letting the Prince have enough freedom that he can be effective! After all, Prince Roger is the best shot of them all.

March Upcountry by David Weber and John Ringo

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March Upcountry

"March Upcountry" is the first in a series of military sci-fi books by David Weber. Now, while I love science fiction, I generally do not like the more military-orientated books. I'm not into the blood and gore and I don't have the type of mind that enjoys reading the tactics like some other people.

This, however, is one military sci-fi book that I really enjoyed reading. I'll admit I did "skim" over most of the battles, just reading enough to get the important details, but there was much more to the book than simply the fights! There is also a lot of political intrigue, laughter, and great character development.

In "March Upcountry" we meet Roger Ramius Sergei Chiang MacClintock, a foppish prince who is third in line to inherit the throne of man, and no one wants to imagine what would happen if he actually took the throne! His mother, the Empress, decides to send Roger on a mission that keeps him out of danger, and where he won't be able to cause much harm (hopefully). So he heads out with the Bronze Battalion for protection on what should be a simple, if annoying, trip.

Of course, life rarely goes as planned, and the trip is sabotaged, which forces Roger and his troops to land on a harsh planet. No one knows where they are, their resources are limited, and they are going to have to hike across the planet to get to the shuttle port where they will have to fight if they hope to ever get home. Fortunately the Bronze Battalion is made up of an elite fighting force, all of them chosen for their strength as soldiers, and for some of the interesting "other" talents that they often have.

Along the way they face incredible obstacles, and they come with solutions that aren't always what you'd expect. You'll love getting to know the characters in this book! Roger does grow to be more than a worthless fop, and there are many interesting people in the battalion. The armorer in particular will keep you laughing!

Yoda: Dark Rendezvous

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Yoda: Dark Rendezvous (Star Wars: Clone Wars)

I realized the other day that I've kind of abandoned my first love in reading, Science Fiction! I love fantasy, but I decided it was high time to work some Science Fiction back into my reading diet. Why did I start with Star Wars? I have no clue. I just was randomly looking for books and decided that a book about Yoda was a GREAT way to restart reading Science Fiction.

"Yoda - Dark Rendezvous" by Sean Stewart is a Clone Wars novel. I was a little nervous about it because I've never really liked the Clone Wars novels as much as the rest of Star Wars canon, but it's about Yoda! I'm glad I picked it up, because I definitely was not disappointed!

In this book Count Dooku has decided to try and take out Master Yoda by inviting him to his hideout under the guise of forming a treaty. Yoda, knowing this is probably a trick, decides to go anyway, and takes along two Jedi Masters and their Padawans.

Stewart took the time for us to get to know the young Padawans before they left for Dooku's hideout. We meet them as they prepare for a Force Tournament. Scout is nervous as she faces the tournament because, while she's always worked hard, the force has never been strong in her. This is her last chance to prove her worth, and if she doesn't she knows she will probably be reassigned to the Agricultural Corps.

Whie doesn't have as much to worry about. He has a close relationship with his Master, and the force has always been strong with him. He does, however, occasionally have prophetic dreams that can be well, disturbing, to say the least. One of his most recent one's has left him distractable, and that will affect his performance.

We learn a lot about both Padawans through the tournament, and Scout amazes everyone! But no one is more astounded than her when she's assigned a Master and told she's going on a trip with Master Yoda!

One thing Stewart did a magnificent job with was his portrayal of Yoda. He did an incredible job at recreating the beloved Master, and he threw in a great mix of laughter as well. Both from Yoda, and through out the rest of the book! If you like Star Wars at all, I recommend this book.