Category: V-Z Page 3 of 5

I Was Told It Would Get Easier

Paperback, 328 pg.
Berkley, 2020

Read: July 14, 2020
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

I sighed. “And I’m leaving day after tomorrow for the college tour.”

She laughed. “There you go, that’ll be a total freaking disaster and therefore for a great distraction from the impending end of your career.”

“Wow, that’s super supportive.”

“I scare because I care.”

“Thanks.”

“In other news this, this morning Sasha told me I make her want jump off a cliff.”

“What prompted that?”

“I said her uniform skirt was too short.”

“And that gave rise to suicidal ideation?”

“Teenagers are all about balance and reason.”

The Mother

The essence of this book is right there—Jessica (a lawyer in a pretty big law firm in L.A.) is taking her daughter, Emily, on a college tour days after leveling an ultimatum at her boss–make some serious changes to the way the firm treats female lawyers, and do it soon, or she walks.* Being jobless might not be the best way to prepare for her daughter’s college years, but you do what you have to. It should be stressed, that there’s no way that Jessica is going to mention this to Emily.

* Jessica’s efforts to change her firm from within, and the two associates she champions, would make a decent novel. I don’t know that it’s a very Waxman-esque novel, but she gives us enough of a flavor of the story that the reader can write that in their mind

The trip isn’t just about colleges—it’s about Jessica and Emily having a chance to reconnect. To bond a little before Emily moves to the next stage of her life. Jessica fears that she wasn’t around enough during Emily’s childhood, and now that she’s on the verge of leaving, the gulf between the two is too large, and she’s regretting many choices she made while Emily was growing up. That’s not precisely true, she’d make just about all of them again, she regrets the unintended consequences of those choices.

The Daughter

Everyone tells you middle school is fun, and then you get there and it sucks. Then high school is going to be fun, but you get there and it both sucks and is really hard. Now, apparently, college is going to be fun, but it really seems like one more hurdle standing between me and actual happiness. Whatever that is.

Emily, on the other hand, is not looking forward to this trip. She’s not sure she wants to go to college (but she knows that’s the expected next step and is planning on taking it), she isn’t looking forward to that much time with her mother—especially in Jessica’s “plan for the future” mode—and there’s something pretty big that happened at school recently. Emily isn’t going to be telling her mother about it, either, but she knows that at any moment, someone from the school will be calling to talk to her mother. What good is planning for college when you’re not even sure you’re going to survive high school? Still, anything’s better than being at school for the next few days, so the trip won’t be a total loss.

The Trip

This is a group tour—put together by some college prep group—ten students and their parents are flying from L.A. to Washington D. C. to begin a whirlwind tour of some of the bigger-named colleges on the East Coast (including one “Ivy”). The kids are all from top-tier private schools, and (most of) the parents have a decent amount of money. Waxman is able to take this situation and make it seem not all that different from a family stuffing themselves into a car to go check out a state college or two. Turns out that caring parents want the best for their kids and want a decent relationship with them, no matter the family’s social stratus. Who knew, right?

In addition to the schools they’re breezing through, there are a few excursions to take in some local culture and even have some free time. Emily’s prompted Jessica to reach out to some of her old college friends while they’re out there, so their free time features such diversions as: an old boyfriend (who is not subtle not even a little bit about wanting to rekindle that old flame—at least temporarily); an old friend who is now a professor of philosophy, and pushes both mother and daughter to look at things in a new light; Jessica’s father who drove her to be the best (read: most successful) she could be, and doesn’t quite get Emily’s way of thinking.

Then there are the people on the tour—the reader doesn’t really get to know all the students/parents, but we focus on a few—there’s the geology/math geek (and his equally geeky mother), the cute and thoughtful boy (and his cute and thoughtful single father), and then there’s Alice and Dani.

I think if either Jessica or Emily had known they were going to be along, they’d have rescheduled the trip. “Alice is [in Emily’s words] the kind of girl we’re all supposed to be, but I don’t want to want to be her, if you get me.” She’s super popular, super ambitious, “she arrived on the first day of ninth grade and assumed control ten days later.” The two were friends for a few weeks before Alice moved into a higher social group. Meanwhile, Jessica describes Alice’s mother, “Daniella—Call me Dani—is not the kind of mother I want to be, but I think she’s the kind of mother I’m supposed to want to be.” The wife of a studio exec, she spends her time mothering and volunteering. The presence of these two they know, but don’t want to; have to be nice to, but don’t want to; gives the pair a common cause (and shows the reader how similar they are, even if neither can see it).

I could probably say a lot about this part of the book, but all I’m going to say about the tour and the tour group is that I could’ve easily enjoyed another week of them hitting various educational institutions and discussing them internally. I enjoyed every second of the tour/tour group we got to see. Naturally, we got a little bit of the College Admissions Scandal of recent history mixed in—and I appreciated the way Waxman worked that in.

The Heart of the Matter

I swear…I’ll be graduating college and Mom will be on a call. I watched her nervously through the window at first, but it was clearly the office; she looked base-level stressed and didn’t throw any accusing glances my way. She’d missed pretty much everything I did in elementary school because of work, and though I totally support her, girl power and all that, it’s irritating. She complains about a work all the time, too, so I can’t help noticing I’m coming second to something she doesn’t even like.

(In her defense, Jessica notes (about having her phone on her and access to her email), “This is the problem with being able to work from anywhere… you end up working from everywhere.”)

The core of the book is the mother-daughter story. Imagine Gilmore Girls, if Lorelai and Rory didn’t know how to talk to each other without it quickly turning into an argument (yes, I know, they had their moments, but there was a friendship under-girding it). Their relationship was so frustrating, just a little bit of openness and/or bravery on the part of either one of them would enable them to talk—it made me sad. At the same time, I thoroughly enjoyed the book—and had a lot of fun with it.

I loved both characters—and was heavily invested in both of their stories and loved their voices. Seeing both events—and their fights—from both perspectives was a great way for Waxman to approach this. On those occasions when the two were on the same page? It was golden. Just a delight to read and spend time with them when they were that way.

So, What Did I Think About I Was Told It Would Get Easier?

Waxman’s writing is smart, funny, and full of heart. Her characters (even the less pleasant ones) leap off the page and you can hear them as clearly as I can hear my pug snoring at my feet. Between this book and The Bookish Life of Nina Hill, I think you can consider me a Waxman fan—and I’ll be getting to her backlist as soon as I can.

The word that comes closest to encapsulating my experience with this book is pleasant. I simply liked everything about reading the novel—it took me out of my circumstances and served as a pleasant oasis for a few hours. Sometimes—frequently—that’s the best gift an author can give, and Waxman delivered as surely as Old Saint Nick ever did.

4 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase; from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, opinions are my own.

The Silence by Luca Veste: A Chilling Look at Spiraling Consequences of One Fatal Night

By HCNewton

On July 21, 2020

In Fiction, Luca Veste, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

The Silence

by Luca Veste

eARC, 400 pg.
Sourcebooks Landmark, 2020

Read: July 17-20, 2020
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

This is one of those thrillers where it feels like if you say anything, you’ll ruin something. But, I’ve got to try (if only for the sake of my NetGally Feedback Ratio).

What’s The Silence About?

I’m going to borrow the blurb, because if that says too much, it’s on Sourcebooks, not me.

It was supposed to be our last weekend away as friends, before marriage and respectability beckoned. But what happened that Saturday changed everything.

We killed a stranger and covered it up.

In the middle of the night, someone died.

We didn’t know our victim was a serial killer.

The six of us promised each other we would not tell anyone about the body we buried.

But now the pact has been broken.

We don’t think he was working alone.

And the killing has started again …

The year following the killing of the serial killer was not easy on these six friends, the toll on them all is great. Then when the killing starts again, it’s even worse, the fragile hold that Matt (the narrator) has on his life and mental health is about to shatter. Sone of his friends are doing somewhat better, while others…well, you should read that for yourself.

While we what happens to these six around the one-year anniversary we get some quick glimpses at some of the formative experiences they shared through childhood, adolescence, and university that shaped who they are and how they reacted to the present crisis.

What can I talk about?

That borders on too much about the plot, and I really don’t think I can talk much about the characters for the same reason—almost everything we learn about them is tied to the story.

Let’s focus instead on the feel of the book, the atmosphere. Wow. The opening pages are upbeat, joyful—but you can tell that won’t last for long (and not just because you’ve read the blurb). Then it gets bad, and worse, and worse yet. And you can’t look away—like the proverbial car wreck you see coming. Not only can you not look away, you have to see more, you have to keep turning the pages to see just what kind of damage will be done. How these lives will be further shattered.

It’s horrible. It’s tragic. It’s compelling.

So, what did I think about The Silence?

I don’t know that I can honestly say that I enjoyed this book—I don’t think anyone can. It’s not that kind of book. It’s a serial killer novel like you’ve never read before. If for no other reason than the focus isn’t on the killer or the hunt for the killer. It’s about the victims, prospective victims, and those that are left behind. It’s about seeing the ripple effects of trauma.

It’s a great experience. An intense read. This will be lurking in my subconscious for a while. Veste tapped into something here, and you’ve gotta try it.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Sourcebooks Landmark via NetGalley in exchange for this post—thanks to both for this.

4 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, opinions are my own.

20 Books of Summer 2020: June Check-In

By HCNewton

On June 30, 2020

In Andy Carpenter, Books, Chet and Bernie, Currently Reading, David Rosenfelt, Don Winslow, Fantasy, Fiction, General Fiction/Literature, Ian Rankin, InCryptid, John Rebus, Kevin Hearne, Luca Veste, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, News/Misc., Non-Fiction, Spencer Quinn, Urban Fantasy

Here we are at the end of June, one-third of the way through the summer, and I’m roughly one-third of the way through the challenge. That worked out nicely. I’ve made one substitute because I had some trouble getting my hands on the one non-fiction book that was on the list. And, hey, I just read a non-fiction book, so might as well put that one in. Otherwise, I’m on track for finishing the list as originally conceived.

✔ 1. Nothing Is Wrong and Here Is Why by Alexandra Petri
2. The Last Smile in Sunder City by Luke Arnold
3. Screamcatcher: Dream Chasers by Christy J. Breedlove
✔ 4. The Finders by Jeffrey B. Burton
✔ 5. Fair Warning by Michael Connelly
6. One Man by Harry Connolly
7. The Curator by M. W. Craven
8. The Ninja Daughter by Tori Eldridge
9. The Rome of Fall by Chad Alan Gibbs
✔ 10. American Demon by Kim Harrison

11. A Blight of Blackwings by Kevin Hearne
12. Betty by Tiffany McDaniel
✔ 13. Imaginary Numbers by Seanan McGuire
14. Curse the Day by Judith O’Reilly
✔ 15. Of Mutts and Men by Spencer Quinn
16. Rather Be the Devil by Ian Rankin
✔ 17. Muzzled by David Rosenfelt
18. Bad Turn by Zoë Sharp
19. The Silence by Luca Veste
20. The Border by Don Winslow

20 Books of Summer Chart June

The Ghosts of Sherwood by Carrie Vaughn: Oo-de-lally, I had fun with this

By HCNewton

On June 10, 2020

In Carrie Vaughn, Fantasy

The Ghosts of Sherwood

by Carrie Vaughn
Series: The Locksley Chronicles, #1

Kindle Edition, 112 pg.
Tor.com, 2020

Read: June 9, 2020
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

“Can you tell how the mood is from here? How the journey went?”

“I won’t know how it went until I see Father’s face,” she said. “And see if he smiles or frowns?”

“No. And see if his smile is glad or wicked.” Her father would be smiling in any case.

That right there? That’s the line that sold me, I love that take on Robin Hood—between screen and print, all you can find lately is earnest, serious, Robin Hood as populist rebel with almost all the fun sucked out of it. Vaughn’s Locksley contains those elements, sure—but he’s also the outlaw in search of adventure, who enjoyed what he was doing. Always smiling–it’s just a matter of what kind of smile he wore.

We rejoin the Earl after the signing of the Magna Carta (which he was instrumental in getting that rascal King John to sign). He’s had to do the unthinkable—bowing the knee to John after Richard’s death—in order to protect his lands, his friends, and his wife. With Marian’s help to contain his impulses*, he’s become a responsible member of the nobility, doting father, and law abiding citizen.

* To be fair, Marian misses the adventures, too. But she’s not at that stage in her life anymore.

All that other stuff? Well, he’s content to leave that to the bards and storytellers. So much so that his own children aren’t sure how much to believe, “Everything about Father is stories.”

At least, that’s what his eldest daughter, Mary, says. But after she and her siblings are kidnapped, they’ll all get a better idea just what their father is capable of.

That’s all I’m going to say about that. This is very much a “pilot episode” of a novella. We meet the kids—Mary, John, and Eleanor—catch up with a couple of the Merry Men, see where Robin and Marian are in their lives and so on. Vaughn balances that with the kidnapping story.

The kidnapping is a quick and almost-too-neat story solely because of the space she has to tell it. If Vaughn hadn’t had to establish so much in these 112 pages, you get the feeling that the kidnapping wouldn’t have been resolved quite as neatly.

My sole complaint—and it’s a big one—is that this is a novella, and not a collection of novellas/short stories. I just needed more of everything—the kids, Robin, Marian, the other members of Robin’s band. This is a great introduction to this world and these characters, with a little bit of drama. But having been introduced, I want to read the next one. Or, the next five or so.

But no. Tor is making me wait until August for the second one. Which is simply unfair.

While my tongue is firmly in my cheek above, there is a kernel of truth to my gripe—I’m 97% sure that this thing has legs and that I’m in for several more (even if it’s currently slated to be a duology, but I’m hoping that changes), but I’m going to have to wait to really commit until August when The Heirs of Locksley is scheduled to be released. But in the meantime? This was a quick and fun read, full of promise, and one I heartily recommend.

4 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, opinions are my own.

20 Books of Summer 2020

By HCNewton

On June 1, 2020

One summer.

Three months.

93 Days.

20 books.

Here’s the kickoff post on 746 Books in case you want more details. I’ve seen people do this the last couple of years, and it seemed like fun. I’ll be reading more than 20 books over this period, anyway. I’ve found myself having a hard time staying focused lately when it comes to reading lately–although the WWW Wednesdays have helped a bit. I figure this is the same principle, just expanded over a few weeks rather than the next couple of days. Anyway, here’s my list (subject to change, but I’m going to resist the impulse to tweak as much as I can).

1. The Black Line by John Altson
2. The Last Smile in Sunder City by Luke Arnold
3. Screamcatcher: Dream Chasers by Christy J. Breedlove
4. The Finders by Jeffrey B. Burton
5. Fair Warning by Michael Connelly
6. One Man by Harry Connolly
7. The Curator by M. W. Craven
8. The Ninja Daughter by Tori Eldridge
9. The Rome of Fall by Chad Alan Gibbs
10. American Demon by Kim Harrison

11. A Blight of Blackwings by Kevin Hearne
12. Betty by Tiffany McDaniel
13. Imaginary Numbers by Seanan McGuire
14. Curse the Day by Judith O’Reilly
15. Of Mutts and Men by Spencer Quinn
16. Rather Be the Devil by Ian Rankin
17. Muzzled by David Rosenfelt
18. Bad Turn by Zoë Sharp
19. The Silence by Luca Veste
20. The Border by Don Winslow

20 Books of Summer Chart

The Immortal Conquistador by Carrie Vaughn: Just who is the Vampire Rick, Anyway?

By HCNewton

On April 3, 2020

In Carrie Vaughn, Fiction, Kitty Norville

I’ve been trying to get this out for over a week now (it was published last week), but I couldn’t seem to be able to—I’m a little surprised I’ve had the energy to post anything since I started telecommuting (odd that not going anywhere tires me out more than going to work does). Finally, with apologies to the publisher for getting this post up late.

The Immortal Conquistador

by Carrie Vaughn
Series: Kitty Norville

eARC, 192 pg.
Tachyon Publications, 2020

Read: March 20-23, 2020

I’ve been a fan of the Kitty Norville series since the debut in 2005, and one of the supporting characters that fans seem most enamored of—and are given the least information about—is Kitty’s vampire ally, Rick (the Master of Denver).

For those (like me) who need a little brushing up on some of what went on toward the end of the series, Rick leaves Denver for a while in order to explore a different way to take on Dux Bellorum (the series’ Big Bad).

This book gives the reader some insight into what Rick was up to during this time. The book stitches together four short stories about Rick’s origin (some previously published, some not) while Rick introduces himself to the Order of Saint Lazarus.

I’d already read the first story, “Conquistador de la Noche,” in the collection Kitty’s Greatest Hits—but it worked really well in this setting, too—this sets the stage for the rest of Rick’s history and tells about him becoming a vampire. The next two stories show what happens when he first encounters the Vampire sub-culture and is first exposed to the rules (most) Vampires live by and how Rick skirts the edges of those rules and starts to make both a name for himself and build his different kind of power base.

The fourth story is my favorite detailing what happens when Rick meets a legendary Old West character. It was just a great story with an element of fun. It’s also something the reader is told that Rick’s never told anyone about before. It’s precisely the kind of thing that Kitty would kill to hear, she’s constantly asking vampires and other supernatural types for stories like this. That Rick would go out of his way to deprive her of this story (but we get to read it) was a little extra dash of fun.

I don’t know that this gave me a much better picture of Rick—the novels had pretty much done that. We know his character, we may not understand his past and what he was—but we know who he is. But this book rounds out our understanding of the man and gives the reader a little hope for his future.

Once I cottoned on to what Vaughn was doing—stitching together short stories—I was a little skeptical of the format. But I came around pretty quickly and decided it worked really well. It’s better than a simple short story collection, essentially giving us a bonus story. The stories (including the framing device) feel different from the Kitty series, but not so much that it doesn’t feel like the same world.

A cool bonus of this—you can read it totally independent of the Kitty Norville series. It’s not dependent at all on the events or people of the series (there are references to certain antagonists, but not in any way that makes familiarity with the series necessary for understanding).

I do have to wonder about the timing of this—the series ended almost five years ago, so I’m not sure I get why we’re getting this material in this format now. But that’s just me being curious, not complaining. Did I (or the series) need The Immortal Conquistador? No. But I’m very glad I got it.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Tachyon Publications via NetGalley in exchange for this post —thanks to both for the opportunity.

3.5 Stars

System Failure by Joe Zieja: The Epic Failure Trilogy Concludes with a Big Success

By HCNewton

On October 14, 2019

In Epic Failure, Fiction, Joe Zieja, Science Fiction

System Failure

by Joe Zieja
Series: Epic Failure, #3

Paperback, 417 pg.
Saga Press, 2019

Read: October 1-2, 2019

“You are literally placing the fate of the galaxy in my hands.” [Rogers] thought for a moment. “Again. You need to stop doing this.”

Every author closing out a series—a trilogy or something longer running—has a daunting task (not that stand-alones or duology’s aren’t daunting themselves, but it seems easier to me). They have to tell a self-contained story; weaving in the character and story arcs that have been percolating since the first book; resolve the new and old arcs; leave the characters in a place that readers will find satisfying; and provide some sort of ending to all of that to leave everyone in a place where you can move onto the next thing. For writers like Joe Zieja there’s an additional challenge—you have to make the whole thing funny.

Thankfully, Zieja does all of that very, very well.

Rogers’ fleet (including the Thelicosans) arrive at the home base for the Free Systems to meet with their High Command. Fully aware that the only military commander that’s had any kind of success with this new enemy is Captain Rogers, he’s named the head of the Joint Force tasked with preventing Snaggardirs from destroying the galaxy.

They also realize that the only way Rogers has had any kind of success is by throwing out all the rule books—including The Art of War II: Now In Space by Sun Tzu Jr. So they tell him to do just that. They don’t care how ridiculous or uneducated his plans are, as long as they get the job done. Snaggardirs has given the Free Systems a very limited time to acquiesce or face the destruction of the galaxy. And they seem to be able to pull that off.

So with help from a very unexpected source, Rogers reaches out to the same space pirates we haven’t seen since the disastrous opening to Mechanical Failure and also is forced to accept help from a Thelicosan practitioner of something that’s a combination of horoscopes and astrophysics (you’ll have to read the book to understand it). These, um, unconventional tools are added to the rag-tag bunch that has come to help Rogers in a last-ditch effort to save reality as we know it.

As usual, Rogers is the focus. He’s been on a journey of personal growth since we first met him—despite his best intentions, it should be stressed. He really comes a long way just in these pages and it’s pretty cool to see.

Of course, I can’t go without talking about Deet—the droid that Rogers assembled from junk. He’s also on a journey of personal growth—just a different kind. In addition to trying to understand how to justify and explain his existence, he’s trying to learn to empathize, as well as lie convincingly (or at all), and he continues to improve his [EXPLETIVE] swearing. He does get better at it and made me laugh out loud several times (both in his successes and failures). There was one misstep that he made, and I re-read that sentence a few times to figure out what he may be trying to say. Naturally, after I gave up and moved on, I learned that no one understood what he was going for.

I should add a little something about Tunger. I found him amusing in Mechanical Failure, but I thought he was overused (and became a little annoying). In Communication Failure, I stopped finding him all that entertaining, mostly trying. Which is how he started in System Failure. But he soon became a very cool character and one of the real strengths of the book. He really might be the best thing that Zieja did throughout the series.

It seems like a bonus to me—not at all the kind of thing one expects from a book like this—we’re given an antagonist that the reader can almost sympathize with. Yes, their methods and strategies are wrong and harmful to innocents. But you can’t help but understand why a people would set off in this direction. I can’t imagine anyone reading about their plight will start hoping for a failure for Rogers and the rest, don’t get me wrong. But you just might see where the Jupiterians are coming from.

There’s a key acronym in the book that a. is fitting, b. is funny, c. took me far too long to get. Once I stopped feeling stupid, I realized it was a great example of this being one of those books where even if you don’t get the jokes, the book holds up as a story well enough that you won’t even notice there are jokes you don’t get until later.

There’s one figure with access to the top of Snaggardirs who isn’t on board with their destroying the galaxy plan. So they set out to sabotage it by helping Rogers. Their scheme was pretty clever, but with one giant flaw. Which made their sacrifice sad—and their attempts at success very funny. It’s a good mix for the reader (a pathetic one for the character).

I’m not sure it’s entirely fair (and I don’t mean to disparage any of the books I’m about to mention in any way), but while reading this, I couldn’t help but compare this to two other humorous series and their conclusions. I hate to compare any comedic SF to The Hitchhiker’s Trilogy, but how do you not? This series never got as funny as the best of Hitchhiker’s (maybe a couple of times it got pretty close, though), but it was a cohesive and believable story, populated with better characters and a solid ending — unlike Adams repeated attempts at a conclusion that never really felt satisfying. Similarly, Epic Failure trilogy went out strong, with its strongest material still working, unlike The Tales of Pell which went a little off-course in the final volume and didn’t stick the landing the way that System Failure managed to do.

Zieja successfully called back to elements of the first book (some I’d forgotten about, some I thought had fully served their purpose) and built on the developments of the second to give this volume a bit more heft and greater stakes. Then he added a great story new to this novel and wrapped up everything in a satisfying and definitive way. All while making me chortle, chuckle, grin and occasionally laugh. Who can ask for [EXPLETIVE] more? I don’t know what Zieja has planned next, but sign me up for whatever it is.

4 Stars

Opening Lines—System Failure by Joe Zieja

By HCNewton

On October 7, 2019

In Blog Series, Currently Reading, Epic Failure, Fiction, Joe Zieja, News/Misc., Opening Lines, Quotations, Science Fiction

Head & Shoulders used to tell us that, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” That’s true for wearing dark shirts, and it’s especially true for books. Sometimes the characters will hook the reader, sometimes the premise, sometimes it’s just knowing the author—but nothing beats a great opening for getting a reader to commit. This is one of the better openings I’ve read recently. I’m sure we can all relate to it.

Lucinda Hiri was pretty sure taking over the galaxy hadn’t been in the job description when she was offered this intern position six months ago. Then again, it wasn’t impossible. The Snaggardir corporation’s paperwork was notoriously long and detailed, vetted by droves of lawyers at every level of approval to make sure that the language had all the right loopholes in all the right places. Lucinda supposed that somewhere on page 356 there could have been a small asterisk that said “in the event a nascent people rise up after two hundred years of secret collusion, you will be required to take detailed notes at their strategy meetings.”

It had seemed like a dream come true at the time. Sal Snaggardir and his family’s company were arguably the most powerful economic force in the galaxy. The possibilities for her career as a businesswoman were endless. Not liking interning at some space technology company on Urp, where she would likely move laterally for the entirety of her disappointing, coffee-supported life. Snaggardir’s was the place to make it big.

In retrospect, though Lucinda should have noticed that Mr. Snaggardir was trying to conceal just how big his company had gotten. Subsidiary corporations literally thousands of banks all across the galaxy holding funds under different names, and that nondisclosure agreement she signed threatening to eradicate her family line if she ever told anyone anything about the company. The legal department said that was boilerplate, and, really, what did she know? She was just a thirty-year-old unpaid intern with three advanced degrees in business arts.

from System Failure by Joe Zieja

Reposting Just Cuz: Communication Failure by Joe Zieja

By HCNewton

On September 17, 2019

In Epic Failure, Joe Zieja, Science Fiction, Uncategorized

Communication Failure

by Joe Zieja
Series: Epic Failure, #2

ARC, 325 pg.
Saga Press, 2017

Read: October 31 – November 2, 2017

So, Captain Rogers has escaped with his life after saving the 331st Meridian Fleet from a takeover from almost all the droids on board, now he’s been made acting admiral and is faced with a potentially bigger threat: the Thelicosan fleet — the very fleet that Rogers’ ships are to keep on their side of the border — has informed him that they are about to invade. Given the size of the fleets facing off, this is an invasion that will not go well for the 331st.

So how is this would-be con-man, former engineer, and current CO going to survive this? He hasn’t the foggiest idea.

Clearly, for those who read Mechanical Failure (and those who haven’t have made a mistake that they need to rectify soon), whatever solution he comes up with is going to rely heavily on Deet and the Space Marines (the Viking/Captain Alsinbury and Sergeant Malin in particular) will be heavily involved. Malin has taken it upon herself to help Rogers learn some self-defense (even if that’s primarily various ways to duck), the Viking is questioning every decision her new CO is making, and Deet is continuing his exploration into human behavior/consciousness (he’s exploring philosophy and spirituality at the moment — which is pretty distracting). Basically, if Rogers is looking for a lot of support from them, he’s going to be disappointed.

It turns out that the Thelicosans didn’t intend to send that message at all, what they were supposed to communicate was very different, actually. But before Rogers and his counterpart can find a way to de-escalate the situation, shots are fired, milk is spilled, and events start to spiral out of control. Which isn’t to say that everyone is doomed and that war is inevitable, it’s just going to take some work to keep it from happening. There are forces, groups, entities — whatever you want to call them — hawkish individuals who are working behind the scenes to keep these cultures at odds with each other, hopefully spilling over into something catastrophic. Which is something too many of us are familiar with, I fear — and something that someone with Zieja’s military background is likely more familiar with. The Thelicosans and Meridians discover who these people are — and how they are attempting to manipulate the fleets — and the big question is how successful they’ll be.

We focus on three Thelicosans, but spend almost as much time on their flagship (The Limiter) as we do the Meridian flagship (Flagship). Grand Marshall Alandra Keffoule is the commander of the border fleet — at one time, she was a star in the special forces, and now she’s been assigned to the border fleet as a last chance. She fully intends on taking full advantage of this opportunity to make history and restore herself to her position of prominence in the military. Her deputy, Commodore Zergan, has fought alongside her since the special forces days and is now trying to help her rebuild her reputation. Secretary Vilia Quinn is the liaison between the Thelicosan government and the fleet. Quinn’s development through the book is a lot of fun to watch — and is probably a bigger surprise to her than it is to the reader, which just makes it better. Thelicosan culture is saturated in science and math, and is full of rituals that are incredibly binding and incredibly difficult for outsiders to understand. In many ways, the culture is hard to swallow — how a society develops along those lines seems impossible. But if you just accept that this is the way their society functions, it ends up working and stays consistent (and entertaining).

Lieutenant Lieutenant Nolan “Flash” “Chillster” “Snake” “Blade” Fisk, the best pilot the 331st has is a great addition to the cast — yeah, he’s probably the most cartoonish, least grounded, character in Rogers’ fleet — but man, he’s a lot of fun (and I think it’s pretty clear that Zieja enjoys writing him). think Ace Rimmer (what a guy!), but dumber. Mechanical Failure‘s most cartoonish character, Tunger, is back — the would-be spy/should-be zookeeper finds himself in the thick of things and is well-used (as a character) and is well-suited to his activities. Basically, I put up with him in the last book, and enjoyed him here. I’d like to talk more about Deet and the other characters here — I’ve barely said anything about Rogers (he develops in some ways no one would’ve expected) — but I can’t without ruining anything, so let’s just say that everyone you enjoyed in the previous installment you’ll continue to enjoy for the same reasons.

Mechanical Failure didn’t feature a lot of world-building outside life on the ship. Zieja takes care of that this time — we get a look at the political situation between the various governments, and the history behind the four powers. Which isn’t to say that we’re drowning in details like George R. R. Martin would give us, it’s still breezy and fast-paced. Still, there’s a handle you can grab on to, some context for the kind of madness that Rogers finds himself in the middle of.

One of my personal criteria for judging books that are heavy on the humor in the midst of the SF or mystery or fantasy story is judging what the book would be like without the jokes. The Hitchhiker’s Trilogy, for example, would fall apart in seconds (and few rival me for their devotion to that series). Magic 2.0 would hold up pretty well, on the other hand. The Epic Failure series would be another one that would hold up without the jokes. I’m not saying it’d be a masterpiece of SF, but the story would flow, there’d be enough intrigue and action to keep readers turning pages. However, you leave the humor, the jokes and the general whackiness in the books and they’re elevated to must-reads.

There are too many puns (technically, more than 1 qualifies for that), there’s a series of jokes about the space version of The Art of War that you’d think would get old very quickly, but doesn’t — at all; and Rogers has a couple of bridge officers that make the pilot Flash seem subtle. Somehow, Zieja makes all this excess work — I thought the humor worked wonderfully here, and I think it’ll hold up under repeated readings.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and can’t wait to see where Zieja takes us next.

Disclaimer: I received this book ARC from the author, and I can’t thank him enough for it, but my opinion is my own and wasn’t really influenced by that act (other than giving me something to have an opinion about).

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4 Stars

Reposting Just Cuz: Mechanical Failure by Joe Zieja

By HCNewton

On September 17, 2019

In Epic Failure, Fiction, Joe Zieja, Science Fiction

Oddly tired today, so I can’t get my post for 9/17 finished. So, I’ll dig up a couple of blasts from the past in honor of volume 3 of the Epic Failure trilogy’s release today. There are a few sentences here that I wish I could rewrite, but oh, well…This is one of the funniest books I’ve read in years, and I can’t wait to dive into System Failure.

Mechanical Failure

by Joe Zieja
Series: Epic Failure, #1

Hardcover, 343 pg.
Saga Press, 2016

Read: August 17 – 18, 2016

No duty was too great that R. Wilson Rogers couldn’t find a way to shirk it.

This is the essence of R. Wilson Rogers (don’t ask what the R. stands for) compressed into one sentence — an engineer for the Galactic Navy during the longest peacetime in Galactic Memory. As a result of all the peace, there’s not a whole lot for a Naval ship to do — nor for the men assigned to it. So, Rogers and his fellow crew members got up to a lot of nonsense — drinking, gambling and worse. Eventually, Rogers finds himself leaving under less than auspicious circumstances. Not long after that, under even less auspicious circumstances (which I’ll leave for you to read about and chuckle over) he finds himself back on the appropriately named Flagship which has transformed in his brief absence in to a serious-minded place, full of random inspections, wartime preparations (despite centuries of peace), and odd assignments.

Before long, Rogers finds himself getting promotions, leading a group of battle droids, and seriously considering suicide and desertion (favoring the the latter, I assure you) — and that’s when things really start to get interesting.

This is pretty decent Military SF with a twist of humor, a dollop of irony, a pinch of satire, and so on — I don’t want to compare it to Adams. But I’ll compare it to a mix of Scalzi, Harry Harrison, Jack Campbell, Grant Naylor and Peter David. There’s a sense of play, even when he’s not going for the comedy, which makes the whole thing fun to read.

Best ‘droid since Marvin, best malfunctioning human personality software since Marvin (or Lore — but not as creepy or murderous), funniest ‘droids since Kryten. I could keep those comparisons going — essentially, I really liked all of the Droids on Flagship (especially Deet). The CO that reminded me of some sort of hybrid between the pointy-haired boss and Douglas Reynholm is great comic relief, but there’s more to him than that.

Honestly, I could go on and on, Zieja assembled a great cast of characters — real enough that you can like them, outlandish enough that you don’t take them terribly seriously. Not just the obviously comedic characters either, there are a few “straight (wo)men” characters scattered throughout, keeping the rest grounded. Rogers is the best of the bunch — there’s a little personal growth to him (no one’s more surprised and dismayed by that than him), I enjoyed seeing that come out. I liked how despite himself he learns to set aside prejudices, take things seriously, and even act a little heroically. I as amused by (and occasionally disturbed by) his attraction to/fascination with the Amazonian Marine Captain. Rogers’ way of looking at the world is pretty relatable (I’m not saying that he’s the kind of guy you spend time with, he’s the guy you want to spend time with), and he’ll win you to his side pretty quickly.

One thing that I really appreciated was the respect that Zieja showed to the military personnel throughout this — too often everyone (with a maximum of a couple of exceptions) in a book like this is depicted as a moron — think of Richard Hooker’s classic for a moment. It’s just one example, but it’s a good one. You’ve got Jones, the Painless Pole, Hawkeye, Trapper, Duke, and a couple of nurses here and there who are competent, if not great, doctors. Who else? Everyone else is a “regular Army” schmuck ho shouldn’t be allowed in an operating theater or near anything where life and death decisions come into play.

Zieja doesn’t play it this way — these Navy and Marine men and women (with one or two exceptions, because there are always exceptions) are treated as competent, equipped and dedicated people whose greatest problem is that they have nothing to do, so things get a little loopy from time to time. But you give then an enemy, you give them a goal, you give them some way to target their talents and energy — good things happen. Even the really incompetent turn out to be quite competent when put in the right spot, doing what they’re good at (even if that’s not what they want to be good at). Problems are solved, crises averted, and enemies thwarted. That’s just not seen often enough, and I appreciate Zieja doing that.

That doesn’t mean he can’t find ways to make fun of the dedicated, the competent, and equipped — but he doesn’t make them into buffoons to do so (mostly).

I knew that I was going to like this book by page 3, I was audibly chuckling by page 4. The rest was just gravy. I laughed, chortled, and grinned my way through this — practically from beginning to end. The story as pretty good, the story plus the comedy made this gold. If I could think of stronger words to use to endorse this, I’d probably slap them here. But I can’t — just get your hands on this one. Meanwhile, I’m already looking forward to the sequel.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this from the Publisher in exchange for my honest comments on it — sorry for the delay, I greatly appreciate the book.

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4 Stars