Judgment Night - C. L. Moore

A fine collection of planetary romance style stories in the main. Brackett fans should like these, for sure. Not quite half the book is taken up by the lead short novel.

Two of the stories are set in the same future history explicity, referencing 'Thresholders' - humans that are altered to fit different environments in the Solar System. I can't think of any of her others that fit definitely here - or whether her planetary stories all (or part of) also fit into a particular Future History or not. It is certainly interesting, though.

Judgment Night : Judgement Night - C. L. Moore
Judgment Night : Paradise Street - C. L. Moore
Judgment Night : Promised Land - C. L. Moore
Judgment Night : The Code - C. L. Moore
Judgment Night : Heir Apparent - C. L. Moore

Amazon space princess.

Who does not see eye to eye with her father about how to run an empire that is under threat from a somewhere around equal strength barbarian force.

She favours a bit more of the shoot first and nuke them all approach than his rather more diplomatic style.

So, she goes on holiday to planets where the filthy rich and powerful do that sort of thing - and runs into her opposite number. A bloke that is suave and cultured - and one of the leaders of the barbarian forces.

They managed to pheromonally avoid bloodshed - but not when they return.

When betrayal and super weapon shenanigans reign in desperate battles.

3.5 out of 5


Drug stampede new frontier.

4 out of 5


Ganymede Threshold largescale centrifuge overlord heir rebellion.

4 out of 5


Rejuvenation worldline chessboard change.

3.5 out of 5


Round Table Integrator machine.

3 out of 5




4 out of 5

Heir Apparent - C. L. Moore

Round Table Integrator machine.


3 out of 5

Promised Land - C. L. Moore

Ganymede Threshold largescale centrigue overlord heir rebellion.


4 out of 5

Paradise Street - C. L. Moore

Drug stampede new frontier.


4 out of 5

Superluminal 12 - Vonda N. McIntyre

"Orca grinned. “They discovered I’m not quite human.” She laughed. “I don’t think any of the techs ever had a diver to work on before. One of them was as nervous as a barracuda. He must be one of those nuts who believes they can catch the carrier virus.” She bared her prominent canine teeth, then giggled. “Just like an old movie — zap! Transformed into a were-fish!” "


3 out of 5

http://www.bookviewcafe.com/index.php/Vonda-N.-McIntyre/Novels/McIntyre-Superluminal12

Judgement Night - C. L. Moore

Amazon space princess.


Who does not see eye to eye with her father about how to run an empire that is under threat from a somewhere around equal strength barbarian force.

She favours a bit more of the shoot first and nuke them all approach than his rather more diplomatic style.

So, she goes on holiday to planets where the filthy rich and powerful do that sort of thing - and runs into her opposite number. A bloke that is suave and cultured - and one of the leaders of the barbarian forces.

They managed to pheromonally avoid bloodshed - but not when they return.

When betrayal and super weapon shenanigans reign in desperate battles.


3.5 out of 5

The Spaceman's Van Gogh

Unimportant planet eating.


3 out of 5

Hunch - Clifford D. Simak

Just one Hannibal, but lots of Martian writings.


3.5 out of 5

Masquerade - Clifford D. Simak

Mercury Roman Candles, Creepy.


3 out of 5

Hermit Of Mars - Clifford D. Simak

Madman Canal beaver hunt Ghost study.


3.5 out of 5

Spacebred Generations - Clifford D. Simak

Book of Instruction purpose.


3 out of 5

Target Generation - Clifford D. Simak

Book of Instruction purpose.


3 out of 5

Seven Came Back - Clifford D. Simak

One more or die, Venerable.


3.5 out of 5

Mirage - Clifford D. Simak

One more or die, Venerable.


3.5 out of 5

Reunion On Ganymede - Clifford D. Simak

Fight the robot monsters, whichever planet you are from.


3 out of 5

Lady Be Good - John G. Hemry

Tramp Haven survival.


4 out of 5

Have You Any Wool - Alan De Niro

Story space shepherding prey.


4 out of 5

The Muse Of Empires Lost - Paul Berger

Ship beast priestess.


3.5 out of 5

Grand Central Arena 10 - Ryk Spoor

"DuQuesne continued. "I know exactly what I'm saying. I get fusion temperature and pressure, and exactly nothing happens. The stuff goes to plasma, but no fusion, no radiation, nothing." He shrugged. "You're right, it's impossible. But that's what's happening." DuQuesne looked over to Ariane. "That's also why you had to go to the chemicals for that emergency stop; the fusion pellets kicked out right on cue for the nuclear pulse, but didn't detonate.""


3 out of 5

http://seawasp.livejournal.com/154403.html#cutid1

Grand Central Arena 09 - Ryk Spoor

"Holy Grail drifted within a monstrous enclosure, in the shape of a somewhat flattened sphere, over twenty thousand kilometers across the wide axis, sharing that space only with a handful of other, spherical objects ranging in size from one at the exact center which was nearly three kilometers across to several only a few meters across; with the exception of the central object, none of them exceeded 300 meters.

Ariane studied the other objects. Featureless spheres as far as their radar could make out, and no more detailed by the few visible-light images acquired during the brilliant firing of the rocket, they were all clearly laid out along a plane that cut through the center of the enclosure, none more than a relatively few kilometers off of that imaginary surface. Judging by the minimal data left from the recorders during their emergency stop, they'd first entered this weird place at roughly a thousand kilometers from the center, maybe a little less, and then careened outward until they'd almost hit the … wall. Moving pretty much along the plane of the other objects, too –"


3.5 out of 5

http://seawasp.livejournal.com/154231.html

Grand Central Arena 08 - Ryk Spoor

"Why exactly did we design this experimental ship to be like a giant coffin?"


3.5 out of 5

http://seawasp.livejournal.com/153563.html

Grand Central Arena 07 - Ryk Spoor

"Simon floated in the zero-G observation lounge, looking straight "up" along the axis of Kanzaki-Three, staring at the long, slender shape of Holy Grail. The experimental vessel had the look of some delicate sea-dwelling creature, a streamlined torpedo with four exquisitely narrow tendrils – the magnetic guide ribs for its mass-beam drive – trailing far behind it. In a few days, he thought, they would all be on board, and only a few hours after that… he would know. One way or another, he would know.

Or, he admitted to himself and Mio, I may not know, if everything goes perfectly terribly and we explode or disappear."


3.5 out of 5

http://seawasp.livejournal.com/153039.html

Grand Central Arena 06 - Ryk Spoor

"In the past 40 years, no less than twelve interstellar probes were launched, using whatever was top-of-the-line in automation and nanodesign at the time. A couple of these were basically backyard fan projects, but most of them got quite a bit of interest and energy backing at their time. By now, more than half of them should have arrived at their destinations and started survey and possibly even nanoconstruction work.

"Not a single one of them has been heard from."


3 out of 5


http://seawasp.livejournal.com/152487.html

Grand Central Arena 05 - Ryk Spoor

"Your prior tests only lasted for a few seconds,Simon," DuQuesne pointed out. "If we stay in this … transition space for days, how far away will we have gone?"

"A question that's not quite as simple to answer as it sounds. Remember that the probes seemed to emerge at almost random locations. There was some correlation between how fast they were going and how far they had gone when they emerged, but it was not nearly so clear as I would have liked."


2.5 out of 5

http://seawasp.livejournal.com/151836.html

Grand Central Arena 04 - Ryk Spoor

"Yeah, he's definitely a Transcender; believes in the ultimate destiny of mankind to unify with the machines we created. Doesn't do the full Upload thing because it'd qualify him as an AI under current rules."


3 out of 5

http://seawasp.livejournal.com/151626.html

Grand Central Arena 03 - Ryk Spoor

" She tried to look as though she were thinking, then gave it up. "Much as I'd like to keep you hanging, Simon, I can't. The chance to be on the crew of the first FTL ship ever made? Even as a probably-useless supernumerary? You just try to keep me OUT of your ship!"

Simon's face relaxed slightly. "That's gratifying, I will admit. Now, I have to emphasize that there is a quite significant risk involved in this –"

She burst out laughing. "Risk? Doctor Sandrisson, I just ran a race where I tried – with my opponent – to get one of us run into a keyhole barrier at several klicks a second!" She laughed again. "One and a half percent chance of something going wrong? Without that, it wouldn't even be worth FLYING your little toy.""


3.5 out of 5

http://seawasp.livejournal.com/151409.html

Grand Central Arena 02 - Ryk Spoor

" That explained the casing. A Tayler-5 was the highest permitted AI rating outside of special research and even with modern equipment you weren't fitting a T-5 in ordinary headware. A T-1 was generally considered equal to an ordinary human, and Mio – just about top-of-the-line for a headware AISage – had a Tayler rating of 2.5.

What a racing pilot needed, or wanted, with a T-5 AISage, now that was a mystery. Simon liked mysteries – it was part of what had drawn him into physics, unravelling the mysteries of how and why the universe worked the way it did – and now Ariane Austin wasn't just a daredevil in a totally anachronistic sport, she was a puzzle."


3 out of 5

http://seawasp.livejournal.com/151202.html

Grand Central Arena 01 - Ryk Spoor

"She didn't mind matching scrapes with most people, but Hawke was a different matter. Scrape in a keyhole, that was even worse. The hundred kilometer long hollow obstacles were basically tunnels a hundred meters across and two hundred high -- something very, very narrow when you were in a craft with a 20-meter wingspan moving at several kilometers per second, and even narrower if you had another 20-meter craft with you. Even the fact that the keyholes were mostly made of aerogel and the racing craft of ring-carbon composite didn't make it comfortable; yes, many craft and their pilots had survived collision with the keyhole wall, but many hadn't, often by hitting one of the widely spaced, but much more solid, supports for the keyhole. Even if you survived, of course, you would have lost so much time that you might not even finish the race."


3 out of 5

http://seawasp.livejournal.com/150995.html

The Ten Books - Jack Vance

Maybe 12 solutions.


2.5 out of 5

The World-Thinker - Jack Vance

Isabel May retrieval.


3.5 out of 5

Night Watch - James Inglis

Automatic Stellar Observation Vehicle.


3.5 out of 5

Superluminal 10 - Vonda N. McIntyre

"“I could have misinterpreted the extra directions,” Radu said in a rush.

“Not directions,” Ramona-Teresa said, “dimensions.”

“Seven of them?”

“Seven spatial dimensions in theory, six in practice, until now.”

“Seventh doesn’t exist, Ramona,” Vasili said.

Ramona managed to smile. “True,” she said, “nor will it until someone perceives it.” "


3.5 out of 5


http://www.bookviewcafe.com/index.php/Vonda-N.-McIntyre/Novels/McIntyre-Superluminal10

Superluminal 11 - Vonda N. McIntyre

"He felt the radial acceleration as the linked ships slid into a slow, gentle spin. After half a turn, a counterthrust stopped them. Radu shut his eyes, then opened them again. With his eyes closed it was all too easy to let the petals of dimension open out onto an endless abyss.

Radu Dracul shivered."


3.5 out of 5

http://www.bookviewcafe.com/index.php/Vonda-N.-McIntyre/Novels/McIntyre-Superluminal11

The Best Of Planet Stories (virtually)

The Best Of Planet Stories #1 edited by Leigh Brackett was the supposed start of a series of anthologies in 1975. Planet Stories was a pulp magazine that had over 70 issues and well over 540 stories. Here is what she chose:

(My notes here if interested http://notfreesf.blogspot.com/2009/11/best-of-planet-stories-leigh-brackett.html)

Best of Planet Stories : Lorelei of the Red Mist - Leigh Brackett and Ray Bradbury
Best of Planet Stories : The Star Mouse - Fredric Brown
Best of Planet Stories : Return of a Legend - Raymond Z. Gallun
Best of Planet Stories : Quest of Thig - Basil Wells
Best of Planet Stories : The Rocketeers Have Shaggy Ears - Keith Bennett
Best of Planet Stories : The Diversifal - Ross Rocklynne
Best of Planet Stories : Duel on Syrtis - Poul Anderson

So, thanks to the fact that I put all the stories in a spreadsheet, I've read 26% or so of Planet Stories tales, thanks to various anthologies, collections and the internet.

That's close to 3/4 unread of course. There are definitely going to be other 3.5 type stories lukring in there like 'Return of a Legend' and quite a few 3's like 'The Rocketeers Have Shaggy Ears' There are some Poul Anderson stories here even I've never seen. Obviously he doesn't like 'em much.

Here are some virtual volumes then that could continue the series, based on stories I have read. I'll keep to the publisher rule of one Leigh Brackett story per volume, because it is a bloody good idea, and she was the most prolific teller of quality tales for that publication anyway. Will keep the same number of stories, too, and some more obscure work in the middle of the volume.

Best of Planet Stories #2

Black Amazon Of Mars - Leigh Brackett
A Sound Of Thunder - Ray Bradbury
Citadel Of the Green Death - Emmett McDowell
Survival - Basil Wells
The Star Saint - A. E. Van Vogt
Brooklyn Project - William Tenn
Sargasso Of Lost Starships - Poul Anderson

Best of Planet Stories #3

Queen Of the Martian Catacombs - Leigh Brackett
Dwellers In Silence - Ray Bradbury
Grandma Perkins and the Space Pirates - James McConnell
The Conjurer Of Venus - Conan T. Troy
Beyond Lies the Wub - Philip K. Dick
What Hath Me? - Henry Kuttner
Tiger By the Tail - Poul Anderson

Best of Planet Stories #4

Enchantress Of Venus - Leigh Brackett
Rocket Summer - Ray Bradbury
The Rebel Of Valkyr - Alfred Coppel
Black Priestess Of Varda - Erik Fennel
Black Friar Of the Flame - Isaac Asimov
The Eyes Of Thar - Henry Kuttner
The Virgin Of Valkarion - Poul Anderson

Best of Planet Stories #5

The Stellar Legion - Leigh Brackett
Forever and the Earth - Ray Bradbury
Sword Of Fire - Emmett McDowell
A Planet Named Joe - Evan Hunter
Captives Of the Thieve-Star - James H. Schmitz
The Crystal Crypt - Philip K. Dick
The Star Plunderer - Poul Anderson

The Best Of Planet Stories - Leigh Brackett

This is numbered as #1, so apparently supposed to be a series. Unfortunately there are no more.

There's a fine introduction on why she likes this particular type of story:

"“Planet, unashamedly, published ‘space opera’. Space opera, as every reader doubtless knows, is a pejorative term often applied to a story that has an element of adventure. Over the decades, brilliant and talented new writers appear, receiving great acclaim, and each and every one of them can be expected to write at least one article stating flatly that the day of space opera is over and done, thank goodness, and that henceforward these crude tales of interplanetary nonsense will be replaced by whatever type of story that writer happens to favor — closet dramas, psychological dramas, sex dramas, etc., but by God important dramas, containing nothing but Big Thinks. Ten years later, the writer in question may or may not still be around, but the space opera can be found right where it always was, sturdily driving its dark trade in heroes.”"

with a bit more:-

"“The tale of adventure — of great courage and daring, of battle against the forces of darkness and the unknown — has been with the human race since it first learned to talk. It began as a part of the primitive survival technique, interwoven with magic and ritual, to explain and propitiate the vast forces of nature with which man could not cope in any other fashion. The tales grew into religions. They became myth and legend. They became the Mabinogion and the Ulster Cycle and the Voluspa. They became Arthur and Robin Hood, and Tarzan of the Apes. The so-called space opera is the folk-tale, the hero-tale, of our particular niche in history.”"

and almost to finish:

"Who looks for a statement of any _Real Importance in a space opera? I won't tell you if any such are lurking among these stories--but if you happen to think you see one here and there you just might be right."

As to the stories themselves, unlike Brackett I have only read something over a quarter of the stories from this magazine. This will certainly include a bunch of the better and well known tales, but not all of them. As can be seen by some of the finds in Jean Marie Stine's Planets Of Adventure series. Which, if you like this, I recommend checking out.

Brackett also says that the publisher demanded one of her stories in each volume, when talking about the old putting yourself in your own anthology faux pas.

There is no doubt I would put Lorelei Of the Red Mist and Duel On Syrtis amidst the best stories.

Not much of a fan of Brown's mouse, though. Gallun's story is reasonable - a story of survival on Mars that trends a little more towards Robinson than Burroughs.

I have quite a bit of time for Wells' whacky imagination, even if not so talented. Stories about writers tend to bore me though, probably along with a lot of other people. However, he makes this one fun.

The Bennett story is a little reminiscent of a couple of Brackett's own, like The Stellar Legion, etc. and is ok, as is the Rocklynne.

The book is worth it for the Brackett team-up, Anderson and the intro alone, though - overall a 3.43.


Best of Planet Stories : Lorelei of the Red Mist - Leigh Brackett and Ray Bradbury
Best of Planet Stories : The Star Mouse - Fredric Brown
Best of Planet Stories : Return of a Legend - Raymond Z. Gallun
Best of Planet Stories : Quest of Thig - Basil Wells
Best of Planet Stories : The Rocketeers Have Shaggy Ears - Keith Bennett
Best of Planet Stories : The Diversifal - Ross Rocklynne
Best of Planet Stories : Duel on Syrtis - Poul Anderson

Power from the Seawitch
Zombie army from the sea,
All shall find victory at last
Starke's barbarity

4.5 out of 5


Mitkey Minnie escape velocity.

2.5 out of 5


Neo-Martian comeback.

3.5 out of 5


Not so bad this non-Horde writer thing.

3.5 out of 5


A military science fiction short novel. This particular group gets forced down thanks to a busted up ship, and to try and survive on Venus.

This includes dangerous plans and screaming lizard-men, so they get plenty of chances to use their military skills.

3 out of 5


Gamma Group man save, 8000th century style.

3 out of 5


Bagging a Martian is hard.

4 out of 5




3.5 out of 5

Quest Of Thig - Basil Wells

Not so bad this non-Horde writer thing.


3.5 out of 5

Return Of A Legend - Raymond Z. Gallun

Neo-Martian comeback.


3.5 out of 5

Monsters Of Mars - Edmond Hamilton

Matter transmissions a croc-Man!


2 out of 5

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/30452/30452-h/30452-h.htm#Monsters_of_Mars

The Red Hell Of Jupiter - Paul Ernst

Rogan tube men.


1.5 out of 5

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/30214/30214-h/30214-h.htm

Angel Stations - Gary Gibson

"Space twisted briefly around the probe as it emerged only a few thousand light years from the Galactic Core, the very weave and warp of the universe briefly exposed in a burst of exotic particles that destroyed themselves in minuscule flashes of energy. The probe was tiny, small enough to balance on the fingertip of one of the scientists who had designed it, a compact and powerful bundle of molecular circuitry that stored information on the deep quantum level, recording and collating everything it saw or detected.

It unfolded like a silver flower, a gossamer-leafed bauble catching the cosmic wind, at its heart a microscopic bud of molecular circuitry: the hub of a dizzying assortment of sensors directing their mindless yet infinite attention towards the stars of the Core."


3.5 out of 5

http://whitescreenofdespair.blogspot.com/2009/08/angel-stations-excerpt.html

Nova War Prologue - Gary Gibson

"Inside a Shoal reconnaissance corvette, lost and hunted through a dense tangle of stars and hydrogen clouds a thousand light-years wide, a Bandati spy was being tortured by having his wings pulled off one by one."


4 out of 5

http://whitescreenofdespair.blogspot.com/2000/01/nova-war-prologue-orion-perseus.html

Planet Stories 56 - Jack O'Sullivan

You have Anderson's rather good tense situation on a starship story, Dick's reasonable tale, and you can forget the rest apart from some amusement at some bad lines. Or, 2 good, 5 bad.

Planet Stories 1952 09 : Planet Stories 1952 09 - Jack O'Sullivan
Planet Stories 1952 09 : Evil Out of Onzar - Mark Ganes
Planet Stories 1952 09 : Zero Data - Charles Saphro
Planet Stories 1952 09 : The Gun - Philip K. Dick
Planet Stories 1952 09 : The Star Plunderer - Poul Anderson
Planet Stories 1952 09 : Thompson's Cat - Robert Moore Williams
Planet Stories 1952 09 : Big Pill - Raymond Z. Gallun
Planet Stories 1952 09 : The Slaves of Venus - James E. Gunn


Stop a bit of galactic domination.

2 out of 5


Crowning roasting.

2 out of 5


Not enough space veggies.

3.5 out of 5


'I don't fancy life as the slave of a barbarian outworlder.'

4 out of 5


It's not easy being green. Especially if an alien bug made you do it.

2 out of 5


Blast Titan.

1.5 out of 5


Gangster freedom, with hairy men.

2.5 out of 5




1.5 out of 5

The Slaves Of Venus - James Gunn

Gangster freedom, with hairy men.


2.5 out of 5

Big Pill - Raymond Z. Gallun

Blast Titan.


1.5 out of 5

Thompson's Cat - Robert Moore Williams

It's not easy being green. Especially if an alien bug made you do it.


2 out of 5

The Navigator Of Rhada - Alfred Coppel

The third Rhada novel takes a bigger jump forwards in time from thn the second did.

Rather than sons, we are taking great-grandsons. This time the Rhad involved is not related to Kier, though, but from another of the Rhad worlds. He is a foster-son of unknown parentage brought up by the king of this world. He has trained to be a Navigator.

There is an actual political party dedicated to the removal of the Navigators, and they are serious - having kill squads that ambush priests when they can. Which is around the first thing that happens in the book to our protagonist.

Interspersed with his story (and Gret the Vulk appears in this volume, too) is a thread that involves the machinations of an order of five powerful Navigators, who are plotting to change the Empire so that they have more influence over it. They finally have an opportunity as the current ruler of the universe is a weak one, who prefer poetry and dope to leading armies around and shouting orders.

The cover of this is one that perhaps makes the most sense, showing men in mail with archaic weapons. All the Rhad books have horses on the cover - but a lot more in the fantasy novel for girls pony pr0n style. In the actual books the Rhad horses - war-mares - have actually been bred to a level of intelligence so that they can talk to their riders about basic concepts like food, fighting, and go fetch Lassie, that sort of thing. However, they have padded feet and claws, and sharp teeth, as they are bred to fight, and are actually carnivorous and hunt their own prey if allowed.

The entire series actually has a consistent level of quality throughout, every book now having achieved the same score.


3.5 out of 5

Evil Out of Onzar - Mark Ganes

Stop a bit of galactic domination.


2 out of 5

The Rebel Of Rhada - Alfred Coppel

The Rebel of Rhada is an expansion and alteration of the old Planet Stories novella The Rebel Of Valkyr. It has been changed to fit this series and conform to the future history more readily. It isn't as good, either. It lacks the action and emotion of the shorter work.

The basic thrust of the plot is the same, and the main characters are the same - but the Vulk have been altered somewhat as has the role of the non-major character Star Kings. Kier the Rebel, Ariane, Tallan the cyborg, Landros, etc. Some ancillary characters are added, of course.

It is that old story of the a child emperor and a regent (who happens to be his wife) plotting to get rid of him for her own ends.

The kid is the son of the military genius protagonist of the Warlock Of Rhada.

The plotting wife makes a deal with a secret cyborg, thinking this will make her Queen of the Universe, once she gets rid of husbands and boyfriends.

The Rebel distinction is interesting here as Kier is interested in keeping the Empire how it is, and continuing the deceased Glamiss' interest in progressive ideals and technological improvement.


3.5 out of 5

Planet Stories 47 - Jerome Bixby

There's unlikely to be a better issue of Planet Stories than this one at 3.42 I'd imagine. Thanks to Brackett and Anderson, that is, with van Vogt and Rocklynne in the middle. The Fyfe story is ok, too.

The letters column continues to be highly entertaining.

Planet Stories 1951 03 : Duel on Syrtis - Poul Anderson
Planet Stories 1951 03 : The Star-Saint - A. E. van Vogt
Planet Stories 1951 03 : The Envoy Her - H. B. Fyfe
Planet Stories 1951 03 : Asteroid of Fear - Raymond Z. Gallun
Planet Stories 1951 03 : The Diversifal - Ross Rocklynne
Planet Stories 1951 03 : Black Amazon of Mars - Leigh Brackett

Bagging a Martian is hard.

4 out of 5


Busted up colony landing.

3 out of 5


The old perfect illusion of diplomacy.

3 out of 5


Tomato war.

2.5 out of 5


Gamma Group man save, 8000th scentury style.

3 out of 5


Lord Ciaran, distaff discovery and Stark decide to stop trying to kill each other to prevent bad things from coming back beyond the Gates Of Death.

5 out of 5




3 out of 5

Asteroid Of Fear - Raymond Z. Gallun

Tomato war.


2.5 out of 5

The Envoy Her - H. B. Fyfe

The old perfect illusion of diplomacy.


3 out of 5

The Warlock Of Rhada - Alfred Coppel

Galactic Empires fall - and new ones rise.

First, however, they have to get out of the barbaric current state of humanity. The only advanced technology is controlled under the guise of religion and the navigators. The only other known race in the galaxy, the Vulk, and treated badly and often as slave communicators thanks to their long distance telepathic abilities. Spaceships are operated by rote ritual, and life support systems have failed - meaning they are often used to carry men and horses around planets. Weapons are medieval.

This scenario is played out on a planet of one of the Vega stars. A more intelligent, ambitious warlord officer is seen as a threat by the ruler, and sent on a mission to take over a territory that has refused their usual tax/tribute. This has been done to split him from the herd and take him and his men out, as well as give the Navigator in charge access to ancient imperial technology available nearby.

The existence of a briefly revived from cryostasis high ranker from the old empire throws a wild card onto the table. Especially when our military genius and his intelligent and more progressive out of favour Navigator friend work out who he is and what they have stumbled across. Add in a mutant telepathic village chieftain's daughter, and they have a defensible position against the starship full of men and horses arriving to take them out.


3.5 out of 5

Manticore Reborn - Peter J. Evans

Got your time travel possibilities space opera here, complete with Big Dumb Object to go along with our favorite mutant Strontium Dog vampiress.

Red wants to find out what is up with the whole chrono-research thing her opponents are up to - particularly when it involves the corpse of her future self.

This particular future is somewhat Warhammer 40K for those that like that sort of thing.


3.5 out of 5

Black Dawn - Peter J. Evans

Red and company are stuck. First interdicted, and crashed, and a risky manoeuvre with a black hole is required to get away.

Which promptly involves 'crashing' again, depending on how harsh you are on the 'any landing you can walk away from' type thing.

Still, it means no spaceflight until they get it fixed. This is a problem given that the current planet, Purity, was technology stripped by Brite Red and her time tech - and the remnants left alive after this have gone all fanatically anti-technology, for admittedly some good reasons.

Reactions to offworlders needing powerups won't be so good, when their religion officially does not believe in any other planets.

So it is halberds, zealots and helots in this novel.


3 out of 5

Day Of the Dogs - Andrew Cartmel

An oddball ridiculously rich guy with a fetish for American West recreation wants to hire Johnny Alpha, Middenface, and a handful of other Strontium Dogs to hunt down the man who killed his wife and children.

A not so magnificent seven, if you like - even if one is a Siamese twin with the ability to separate and recombine.

The miscreant in question has a thing for the old fashioned as well, having set up on what is basically an historical recreation.

Being a Strontium Dog story, there are some treacherous varmints involved, of course.


3 out of 5

Ruthless - Jonathan Clements

The book begins with a flashback to Johnny Alpha's time at school, with his big sister looking after him.

Now, the tables are turned, as a scheme to get them to somewhere they could live anonymously by her husband has gone badly wrong.

Her cryofrozen body has been hijacked, and the spousal unit comes across Johnny - not having much luck on the bounty hunting front. Even if he was, he'd certainly drop it to try and save his sibling.

A couple of other not so salubrious types are also interested in the married couple - who are wanted for questioning, with a reward.

Space criminals, space pirates, spousicles and Strontium Dogs.


3 out of 5

The Starkahn Of Rhada - Alfred Coppel

The fourth in this particular future history.

Kier is a descendant of Kier the rebel - but no Star King - as Rhada is now a Republic, despite the dreams and plotting of his mother and her royalists.

He is actually in the fleet, paired with his friend Ariane, a 15 tonne manta-shaped space and sea adapted cyborg.

They, while on survey duty come across a ship the size and power of which no-one has seen before - 17,000 km long, with an inhabitant in cryostatis.

A girl with all silver eyes. Trying to get her out nearly gets them killed, and results in the ship destroying a star and leaving.

This leads to political infighting over who should have access to trying to revive the girl - the religious orders, the scientists, or whoever.

There is another interested part - the Vulk of Rhada - a telepathic alien and his wife, long time tutors to Kier and his ancestors.

Things become more urgent when the giant Death Ship appears again, and destroys another star, with no rhyme or reason. Luckily there were not many people in that area.

Kier and friends decide to act, to stop any more wholesale kablooey while the various planetary factions squabble.

A bit better than I thought it would be.


3.5 out of 5

Ysolde - Nathalie-Charles Henneberg

Spica storm Nyx.


3.5 out of 5

Planet For Sale - Niels E. Nielsen

If there are any available.


3 out of 5

The Fifth Time Out - Bertil Martensson

Dream ship trip end.


3.5 out of 5

I Was the First To Find You - Kirill Bulychev

Planet storm ball time lost.


3.5 out of 5

Superluminal 08 - Vonda N. McIntyre

"The cousins were more intelligent than human beings, though not as much more intelligent as were any of the great whales, about whom Orca felt too much awe for friendship. Yet they were naive as well. Thousands of years of predation by humans had done nothing to temper that quality into cynicism or doubt. Since the revolution, whales were no longer legal prey of humans. A few outlaw whalers had tried to defy the ban, but they disappeared and no one ever saw them again. Orca’s mother knew something about that, but seldom mentioned it unless she had had a long day undersea and one brandy too many after dinner. "


3.5 out of 5

http://www.bookviewcafe.com/index.php/Vonda-N.-McIntyre/Novels/McIntyre-Superluminal08

Superluminal 09 - Vonda N. McIntyre

"When he was younger, studying elementary mathematics, he had conquered three-dimensional geometry by brute force. Four spatial dimensions had fought him to a draw; he could manipulate the formulae but not visualize what they represented. Five dimensions had ambushed him and left him so bruised he did not even have an ambition for revenge. Yet he turned onto a fifth path, which again lay perpendicular to all the rest, and he navigated it quite easily.

How long could this go on? He had heard of, though never studied, geometries with an infinity of dimensions."


3.5 out of 5

http://www.bookviewcafe.com/index.php/Vonda-N.-McIntyre/Novels/McIntyre-Superluminal09

The Compass - Edd Vick

Skipspace baby.


3.5 out of 5

The Real Deal - Peter Friend

No monkey mutant collector.


3.5 out of 5

Dark Eden - Chris Beckett

Starbird noise, galactic.


3.5 out of 5

After the Fire - Aliette de Bodard

Earth guilt sleep.


3 out of 5

http://www.apexbookcompany.com/apex-online/2009/11/short-fiction-after-the-fire-by-aliette-de-bodard/

Brief Candle - Jason K. Chapman

Alpha Charley Bravo Tango reboot.


3.5 out of 5

http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/chapman_11_09/

The Halcyon Drift - Brian Stableford

The first of a series of six.

A man crashlands his ship on a planet - sort of a problem, that. He gets an alien parasite into the bargain.

Rescue comes with a price - contracted into servitude and hence undertaking some dodgy missions.

The first of which is an investigation of a Lost Star in an odd nebula.

Despite being a bit introductory I liked this more than I thought I would. Probably shouldn't surprise me as I do like Stableford.

A forgotten author, if a still a very prolific one in various areas, strange that.

Here's something else of his worth reading. I'll give the next one a go, too.


3.5 out of 5

Bad Matter - Alexandra Duncan

Footnote crewe.


3.5 out of 5

The Other Side Of the Hill - David Brin

Off this planet necessary, look at this good stuff here!


3 out of 5

Fortitude - David Brin

Galactic genealogy slumming.


3 out of 5

Bubbles - David Brin

I thought there was nothing outside Galaxies.


3.5 out of 5

Sublimation Angels - Jason Sanford

Low kid AI mom decay alien Handling.


4 out of 5

A Large Bucket And Accidental Godlike Mastery Of Spacetime - Benjamin Crowell

Galactic Bus diplomacy domination dealings.


3.5 out of 5

Ultima Thule - Mack Reynolds

Interplanetary Paine.


2.5 out of 5

http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/3/0/3/3/30334/30334-h/30334-h.html

Talents Incorporated - Murray Leinster

This wasn't what I thought it would be due to the title.

What you do get is a space war type story.

Big aggressive expansionist wants to add little guy to his planetary empire. Little guy being another planet, of course.

Outgunned, etc., however they have a small organisation that can take a shot at some ESP predictions of what is going to happen in the future. If you can pull that off, you certainly get a rather interesting military advantage.


2.5 out of 5

http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/23845

The Centauri Device - M. John Harrison

Truck you, retrieval.


A powerful artifact, a leftover, is discovered.

It inspires some frantic attempts to retrieve it and gain its power.

You know, the usual.

The LibraryThing rating for this is very poor, and it is not surprising.

It is pretty much dyed-in-the-wool average or mediocre, or whatever other adjective you may care to come up with that describes extremely middle of the road.

A few dodgy characters that don't ring particularly true.

Nothing new here, to be sure.


3 out of 5

The Passing Of Ku Sui - Anthony Gilmore

Hawk Carse, and your brain transplanting mad scientist type.


2.5 out of 5

http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/3/0/3/0/30303/30303-h/30303-h.htm

Excession - Iain M. Banks

One of the more entertaining Banks outings, that is, if you don't mind the usual tendency to Mind suicide he has a thing for.

A young (for this setting) woman who aspires to Culture Contact and Special Circumstancesness is given an opportunity by a drone long involved with their family to get involved.

A strange alien Big Not So Dumb Object in a strange part of space is involved. Also an alien race called the Affront. (Yes, they liked their nickname).

Plenty of appropriately named ships for this strange in space action, too.


3.5 out 5

Superluminal - Vonda N. McIntyre

"Pilots had the reputation of being not completely stable. Radu had never paid the idea much attention. He did not know why talented people often fostered rumors of madness; truly insane people were unpleasant to be around. The only pilot Radu knew at all closely was Laenea Trevelyan, and she was exceptionally sane. Vasili was a bit eccentric, surely, but — mad? Radu tried to dismiss the pilot’s threat to kill him. No one had ever threatened him before. Back on Twilight, people lucky enough to escape the plague had resented him for contracting it and recovering. He was marked by his scars, and some people hated him for living while their own families died. But even in grief and fury, no one back home had ever threatened his life."


3.5 out of 5

http://www.bookviewcafe.com/index.php/Vonda-N.-McIntyre/Novels/McIntyre-Superluminal06

Starship Rebel - Mike Resnick

The fourth in a series, and again rather similar in style and content.

Here Wilson Cole is slowly gathering a mercenary fleet so that he has dozens of ships. Too many for most of the jobs that require such. He also draws the intention of a crimelord, The Octopus, working on a much large scale.

However, when an event really pisses him off - something the Republic Navy does - he decides to put his ships to what he sees is a better use. The aim to eventually kick them out of the Inner Frontier.


3 out of 5

Ensign Flandry 1-8 - Poul Anderson

"Ensign Dominic Flandry, Imperial Naval Flight Corps, did not know whether he was alive through luck or management. At the age of nineteen, with the encoding molecules hardly settled down on your commission, it was natural to think the latter. But had a single one of the factors he had used to save himself been absent—He didn't care to dwell on that.

Besides, his troubles were far from over. As a merchant ship belonging to the Sisterhood of Kursoviki, the Archer had been given a radio by the helpful Terrans. But it was crapout; some thimblewit had exercised some Iron Age notion of maintenance. Dragoika had agreed to put back for her home. But with a foul wind, they'd be days at sea in this damned wallowing bathtub before they were even likely to speak a boat with a transmitter in working order. That wasn't fatal per se. Flandry could shovel local rations through the chowlock of his helmet; Starkadian biochemistry was sufficiently like Terran that most foods wouldn't poison him, and he carried vitamin supplements. The taste, though, my God, the taste!

Most ominous was the fact that he had been shot down, and at no large distance from here. Perhaps the Seatrolls, and Merseians, would let this Tigery craft alone. If they weren't yet ready to show their hand, they probably would. However, his misfortune indicated their preparations were more or less complete. When he chanced to pass above their latest kettle of mischief, they'd felt so confident they opened fire."


3.5 out of 5

http://www.webscription.net/chapters/1439133271/1439133271.htm

Superluminal 06 - Vonda N. McIntyre

"Radu pushed himself up on one elbow and took her foot in his other hand. Her toenails were like claws, cat claws, tiger claws, retractable and heavy and quit sharp. Orca flexed her foot and the claws extended. One dimpled the flesh of his hand, very gently.

“Good protection,” she said. “You need it sometimes, in the sea. They aren’t much against sharks, but then there aren’t many dangerous sharks where I live.” She retracted her claws and reached for her shoes."


3 out of 5

http://www.bookviewcafe.com/index.php/Vonda-N.-McIntyre/Novels/McIntyre-Superluminal06

Green Mars - Kim Stanley Robinson

Quite a few years have passed since Red Mars, and a new generation of people have grown up, having lived only on Mars. This young Martians form the backbone of a resistance movement to the current development of Mars, wanting to do the whole areoforming thing their own way.

The youth are joined by some of the leading lights of the First Hundred that are still alive. Old age is not a problem for them, but they have been hunted by those who want them out of the picture.


3.5 out of 5

Green Mars - Kim Stanley Robinson

High point achieved.


4 out of 5

Blue Mars - Kim Stanley Robinson

Mars has been developed to such an extent that people can actually walk around outside for some periods of time with not a lot of technological assistance.

The First Hundred remnants are reaching the limits of their longevity treatments, and when they lose their psychological anchor due to old age, have some problems. They still have to keep low profile to avoid undue attention, and deal with how old they actually are.

Earth is collapsing, and Mars faces a huge influx of population. The two scientific camps, often violently opposed, are led by Sax on one Hand, and Ann on the other.


4 out of 5

Red Mars - Kim Stanley Robinson

http://a1018.g.akamai.net/f/1018/1902...

An outstanding novel. One hundred people are selected to go and establish a colony on Mars, and it looks at the physical, intellectual and psychological testing that is undergone to get into that group.

The main part of the book though is the travel and establishment of a base on Mars, and the relationships and conflicts that develop, particularly among the leaders of the group.

Research discovers a longevity treatment, and this has serious side effects on an Earth in crisis. Political factions develop on Mars on the best way to develop or not develop the planet, and whether to take any crap from the growing influence of Earth corporate power.


5 out of 5

Superluminal 05 - Vonda N. McIntyre

"“I’ve never heard of this happening before — but I’m sure they would,” Vasili said quickly. “If they can, they will…”

“But —?”

“I could take us home fairly easily if I had this system’s coordinates. I don’t. The first time we surfaced out of transit the system was charted. Just barely, but I found it. The second time I had to extrapolate — and I had my fingers crossed I’d done it right. I don’t even know if I did or not, we fell out too fast for me to get my bearings. Now… I don’t know where we are. There’s so much interstellar dust, I can’t find any of the standard markers. I can’t match up any of the star patterns or pulsars or anything else. This isn’t an exploration ship, it isn’t prepared for involved analysis. Even with an x ship, it’s safest to go in small steps. We’ve taken a couple of very large ones.” He sounded more and more tense. “Exploration isn’t as easy as going down a path and then turning around and coming back. You can’t do that because when you turn around it doesn’t look the same. Do you see?”

“No.” "


3.5 out of 5

http://www.bookviewcafe.com/index.php/Vonda-N.-McIntyre/Novels/McIntyre-Superluminal05

Bitter Angels 1 - C. L. Anderson

" War. The ancient, perverse, pervasive nightmare we’d banished from the solar system with the Pax Solaris, the Common Cause Covenant, and the Laws of Humanity. I’d dedicated my life to preventing its return as human beings spread themselves out into the living galaxy. The effort nearly took my sanity and my life. I’d tried to retire, to enjoy the peace I’d helped to keep, and now it had come down to find me. I looked up at the clouds, and wondered what was behind them.

“You could refuse,” said David. I didn’t even have to respond to that. David’s mouth twisted up. Distaste, or just frustration? I couldn’t tell, and that bothered me. "


2.5 out of 5

http://www.bookviewcafe.com/index.php/The-CL-Anderson-Bookshelf/Novels/Bitter-Angels-Preview

Fool's War 15 - Sarah Zettel

""Yes," said Havelock flatly. "That is exactly what we need. You have dealt from that position all your life. You have fought major corporations and succeeded. You have held your...faith up in the face of bigotry. You faced an organized conglomeration of AIs, and you won." He leaned forward. There was an intensity in his expression that reminded her of Dobbs when Dobbs was being serious. "We would like to offer you an ambassadorship, from us to the Banks and the Management Union, first of all, then to the colonies closest to the Guild Hall. We're not certain the peace is going to hold and we need..." He shook his head and sat back. "There's more that we need than I can talk about in the few minutes I have. But let me tell you that you could name your price. The Guild does have plenty of credit...if the banks don't decide to seize it from us," he added ruefully. "


3.5 out of 5

http://www.bookviewcafe.com/index.php/Sarah-Zettel/Long-Rich-Reads/15-Fool-s-War

Superluminal 04 - Vonda N. McIntyre

"Radu went reluctantly into the control room to speak to Vasili. The pilot lay back in his chair, watching the computer display as it changed in colors and waves before him.

“Are you all calmed down now?” he said, without looking around.

“I had good reason for being worried,” Radu said.

“Maybe someone should have warned you that the inhabitants of Ngthummulun can be quite strange. But I thought you knew Atna.”

“I’ve crewed with him before. Apparently I don’t know him as well as I thought.” "


3 out of 5

http://www.bookviewcafe.com/index.php/Vonda-N.-McIntyre/Novels/McIntyre-Superluminal04

John Grimes Rim World Commodore - A. Bertram Chandler

An omnibus collection of the last stage of John Grimes' career. Also the most interesting.

John Grimes Rim Worlds Commodore : The Way Back - A. Bertram Chandler
John Grimes Rim Worlds Commodore : Into the Alternate Universe - A. Bertram Chandler
John Grimes Rim Worlds Commodore : Contraband From Otherspace - A. Bertram Chandler
John Grimes Rim Worlds Commodore : Gateway to Never - A. Bertram Chandler
John Grimes Rim Worlds Commodore : The Rim Gods - A. Bertram Chandler
John Grimes Rim Worlds Commodore : Alternate Orbits - A. Bertram Chandler
John Grimes Rim Worlds Commodore : The Dark Dimensions - A. Bertram Chandler
John Grimes Rim Worlds Commodore : Catch the Star Winds - A. Bertram Chandler

Out from Kinsolving's planet still leaves John Grimes and Sonya Verrill a problem after leaving that strange joint.

Where do they go now?

Or if you want an easy trip, stay away from there :-

'Put the Macbeth and Kinsolving suns in line astern, thought Grimes, and keep them so. Run out fifty light years on the leads . . . He thought the words but refrained from saying them aloud. Those steering directions had been valid when Faraway Quest had lifted from Port Forlorn only a few weeks ago—as Time had been measured by her chronometers, experienced by her people. But the Clock had been put back—not by minutes, hours, days or even centuries, but by millennia. Faraway Quest was lost—in Time and Space. Grimes could envisage dimly the sluggish writhings of the matter-and-energy entity that was the Galaxy, the crawling extension of the spiral arms, the births and the deaths of suns and planets. Was there yet Earth, the womb and the cradle of Humanity? Did Man—in this Now—already walk upon the surface of the home world, or were the first mammals still scurrying in terror under the great, taloned feet of the dinosaurs?'

3 out of 5


John Grimes is pleased to see Sonya Verrill, although perhaps a little disappointed when she talks about looking for old flames and maybe settling down.

Of interest, however, is hunting for Rim Ghosts - and especially when you find more - an ancient, stranded ship from the early days of exploration.

Especially with the possible of information, or even revival of some of the frozen crew.

3.5 out of 5


Grimes and Verrill are now married, and are mostly aware of what they are going to be up to.

However, something strange appears - and it is up to the telepathic abilities of a psionic officer to try and found out what.

What appears to be somewhat scary - another race of spacefarers with technology levels that could provide competition.

Decidedly not monkeyboys - they have tails and sharp teeth.

3.5 out of 5


Grimes gets involved in some anti-drug activity. Where there is dodginess and crime likely you will find Drongo Kane, his enemy.

''I don't know what today's young people are coming to,' complained Captain Dunbar as he and Grimes left the jail. 'Drugs. Orgies.'

'I've never taken part in an orgy,' said Grimes rather wistfully. 'Have you?'

'Of course not!' snapped Dunbar, looking at his superior in a rather dubious manner. Then, apparently having decided that the Commodore must have been joking, he went on, 'Until now we've been clear of all this sort of thing on the Rim Worlds. I always said that it was a big mistake to open these planets to intergalactic trade.'

'Mphm. Where am I staying, by the way?'

'We've booked you into the Rimrock House, Commodore.'

Grimes sighed. There was a Rimrock House at Port Forlorn, on Lorn, another one at Port Farewell, on Faraway, yet another at Port Edgell, on Thule. From time to time he had stayed at them all. They were the most expensive hotels on the Rim Worlds—but by no means the best. He would have preferred some place with a less pretentious menu but far better food, with the staff not rigged out like Galactic High Admirals, but with far better service. But it would be only for a few days, until he had this Rim Caribou mess sorted out.'

2.5 out of 5


The Baen edition of the Rim Gods has added on five of the Kitty Kelly/John Grimes interview tales, rather than just doing a separate book for them perhaps when they didn't get Grimes and the Gaijin Daimyo as explained in Paul Collins' notes in Dreaming Again, wanting it to be published in dead tree format first. The Kitty Kelly stories are generally pretty amusing, although of course the Glenrowan time travel piece is a bit more serious.

Rim Gods : The Rim Gods - A. Bertram Chandler
Rim Gods : The Bird-Brained Navigator - A. Bertram Chandler
Rim Gods : The Tin Fishes - A. Bertram Chandler
Rim Gods : Last Dreamer - A. Bertram Chandler
Rim Gods : Grimes at Glenrowan - A. Bertram Chandler
Rim Gods : Grimes and the Great Race - A. Bertram Chandler
Rim Gods : Grimes Among the Gourmets - A. Bertram Chandler
Rim Gods : Grimes and the Odd Gods - A. Bertram Chandler
Rim Gods : Grimes and the Jailbirds - A. Bertram Chandler

None of that sanctimonious stuff please

3 out of 5

Machines can be easier to rig.

3.5 out of 5

A starfish fatale bust.

3.5 out of 5

Grimes gets a bit stuck in fantasyland.

3.5 out of 5

Grimes discovers he had an ancestor at Glenrowan on the fateful day, thanks to two blokes named Kelly and Byrne. A reporter that asks him for a story of a weird happening gets the tale. She is, of course, named Kitty.

4 out of 5

Nude airship competition impresses the brass slightly more if you win.

3.5 out of 5

Kitty Kelly is no fan of sushi, but does get another dodgy food story out of Grimes.

3 out of 5

Lady Bishop's morose bible-bashing bastich, post burn.

3.5 out of 5

The story Kitty Kelly gets this time is of mood opals and prison breaks.

3 out of 5



3.5 out of 5


A short collection, starting and finishing on that odd planet Kinsolving, which leaves Grimes in strange places.

Plus, Chandler slips in a bit of sailing stuff, of the on water, not in space variety.

Alternate Orbits : Hall Of Fame - A. Bertram Chandler
Alternate Orbits : The Sister Ships - A. Bertram Chandler
Alternate Orbits : The Man Who Sailed The Sky - A. Bertram Chandler
Alternate Orbits : The Rub - A. Bertram Chandler

The case of the kidnapped commodore fictional immortality.

3.5 out of 5

Some luddite sailing time for Grimes, after a trip.

2.5 out of 5

"“Because this world is the bitter end. I always thought that the Rim Worlds were bad enough, but I put up with them for your sake and, in any case, they’ve been improving enormously over the past few years. But Aquarius ... It’s way back in the twentieth century!”

That’s why you don’t squirm, as we do, every time that you hear one of these blown away Aussies drawl, ‘She’ll be right.’”

back into space, but more primitives at the other end of some Mannscheim driving:

"“Tell His Majesty, Commander Verrill, that if he has any ideas about seizing my pinnace he’d better forget ’em. Tell him that those odd-looking antennae poking out from their turrets are laser cannon, and that at the first sign of trouble this plateau will be one big, beautiful barbecue."

...

"Sonya snarled, “What the hell are you nattering about?” Grimes chuckled again. “How often, in thrillers, have the baddies tied up the goodies and then carelessly left them with something sharp or abrasive to rub their bonds against ... “You aren’t kidding?” she asked. Then—“And since when have you been a goodie?”"

3.5 out of 5

Kinsolving throws Grimes another curveball.

3 out of 5


3 out of 5



The Faraway Quest, Grimes, and Kinsolving's planet. Out on the edges of the rim where the crack of opening a cold tinnie might be enough to send you onto an alternate time track or into an alternate universe.

When that can happen, you can get crossover! Here we have Grimes and Verrill, the ex-Empress Irene from another series, and Poul Anderson's Dominic Flandry teaming up to take on some nogoodniks, even if this, plus a second Grimes instance constitutes a rather shaky alliance. Interesting to see Flandry from another major character's viewpoint for a fair amount of time to contrast to how he sees himself.

Plenty of fun and entertainment to be had here, complete with space witches.

Definitely one of the best of this series.

4 out of 5


Baen's collection called Catch the Star Winds obviously has the same Catch the Star Winds novel as the earlier book, but has five different stories, instead of Zoological Specimen, to avoid any confusion.

The stories centre around the development of Lightjammer technology, and a breakthrough a clever (or crazy) engineer marks when her modifications allow the weird sort of ship and its contraterrence iron based propulsion with sails to actually travel FTL, as opposed to the more timewarp manoeuvre of other drives.
They initially get their own time warp problem in the novel, though.

This enables them to reach a region of space no-one else has before.

Nautical and a bit of Australian flavored space opera crewed with your nuts and bolts ordinary spacemen and spacewomen can be found here.

Along with giving the orders, the Commmodore and his better half get some Grimes in on the action in some of the stories.
Catch the Star Winds : CHANCE ENCOUNTER - A. Bertram Chandler
Catch the Star Winds : CATCH THE STAR WINDS - A. Bertram Chandler
Catch the Star Winds : ON THE ACCOUNT - A. Bertram Chandler
Catch the Star Winds : THE DUTCHMAN - A. Bertram Chandler
Catch the Star Winds : THE LAST HUNT - A. Bertram Chandler
Catch the Star Winds : RIM CHANGE - A. Bertram Chandler

Fear Of the Dark. With purple octopi.

4 out of 5

A crew is given the chance to test a ship with a new sort of propulsion - a lightjammer.

Grimes wants this crew because one of them has actual sailing experience, which will come in handy when using sails in space.

What would seem to be a straightforward story gets a bit odd, given one of the key elements for this is antimatter.

Said crew ends up experiencing way more than one voyage on the way, and the various psychological permutations of who is pining for who in the crew gets played out.

3.5 out of 5

Space pirates and a broadside miscalculation.

3.5 out of 5

Grimes and Sonya get to go FTL with the original lightjammer crew, and a medium.

3 out of 5

Grimes Moebius energy eater obsession fight observation.

3.5 out of 5

Grimes, Sonya, a captain, his crew, and a couple of telepaths head for Kinsolving. Cue one weird city escape.

3.5 out of 5


4 out of 5




3.5 out of 5

The Widowmaker Unleashed - Mike Resnick

Third clone lucky, maybe.

The original Widowmaker may get to return shortly thanks to medical breakthroughs that may allow something to be done about his terminal disease.

However, in the interim he has had two clones out there bumping people off and causing even more people to want him dead.

He has to survive this, and also possible confrontation with his other selves if he is going to settle down anytime soon.

Quality is pretty similar to the other books, not too good.


2.5 out of 5

The Widowmaker Reborn - Mike Resnick

The Widowmaker still has the problem of being frozen - because a likely cure for his disease is still some years away.

He and his caretakers were also stiffed on the last job he took via clone, so he needs cash again.

This time a more mature version, so as not to be as emotionally 'unstable' as his freezers put it. Same sort of trouble and mayhem to get into, though.


2.5 out of 5

The Widowmaker - Mike Resnick

Jefferson Nighthawk is the Widowmaker, famous lawman/bounty hunter of the frontier - who, as the name suggested, favoured the forceful and terminal solutions to the problems of bringing in the bad guys.

However, he was struck down by a non-curable degenerative disease, and had himself frozen until such time as a cure could be found.

Unfortunately for him, inflation goes crazy, and the money for keeping him alive disappears - leaving those in charge of him with no choice but to clone a younger version of him, and send him out to do what he does best for a large fee.

The usual over the top named characters of the Birthright universe can be found here, but this is pretty mediocre stuff.


3 out of 5

The Dark Dimensions - A. Bertram Chandler

The Faraway Quest, Grimes, and Kinsolving's planet. Out on the edges of the rim where the crack of opening a cold tinnie might be enough to send you onto an alternate time track or into an alternate universe.

When that can happen, you can get crossover! Here we have Grimes and Verrill, the ex-Empress Irene from another series, and Poul Anderson's Dominic Flandry teaming up to take on some nogoodniks, even if this, plus a second Grimes instance constitutes a rather shaky alliance. Interesting to see Flandry from another major character's viewpoint for a fair amount of time to contrast to how he sees himself.

Plenty of fun and entertainment to be had here, complete with space witches.

Definitely one of the best of this series.


4 out of 5

The Gateway To Never 1-8 - A. Bertram Chandler

""A man called Adam. Rather before your time, and even mine. But go on."

"It was odd, sir. The smoke, I mean. She and I shared the pipe, passing it back and forth between us. It seemed that I was inhaling something of her, and that she was inhaling something of me. And it was like breathing in a fluid, a liquid, rather than a gas. A warm, sweet, very smooth liquid. And then, somehow, as we smoked we were . . . doing other things." Pleshoff blushed in embarrassment. "The people round us were . . . doing the same. But it wasn't always boys with girls. There were some boys with boys, and there were girls together. And the lights were dim, and dimmer all the time, and redder, and redder, like blood. But it wasn't frightening. It was all . . . warm, and . . . cozy. And there was a pulsing sound like a giant heartbeat. It must have been my own heart that I was hearing, or her heart, or the hearts of all of us. And we were very close, the two of us, all of us. And. . . .

"And we reached our climax. It's the usual way of putting it, sir, and the words are the right words, but . . . can you imagine an orgasm that's an implosion rather than an explosion? And after that there was the slow, slow falling into a deep velvety darkness, a warm darkness. . . .

"And. . . .

"And then it was morning. Most of the others were waking up too. It should have all looked very sordid in the first light, naked bodies sprawled everywhere, but it didn't. And I felt fine, just fine, as fine as everybody looked, as fine as I knew that I looked myself. Somebody had made coffee, and I'd never tasted coffee as good before. It tasted the way that coffee smells when it's being ground. And my cigarette tasted the way that somebody else's cigar usually smells. I'd have liked to have stayed for breakfast with the others, but I had to be getting back to the ship. After all, it was sailing day. So I got back to the ship. I was still feeling fine—on top of the world, on top of all the worlds. I just breezed through all the things I had to do."

"Including testing the gear," remarked Grimes.

Pleshoff's face lost its animation. "Yes, sir. The gear. I was there, by myself, in the control room. I saw that the inertial drive was already on Stand By. And then, quite suddenly, the thought came to me, 'Why shouldn't I show the old bastard—sorry, sir, the Old Man I mean-that he's not the only one who can handle a ship?' I knew that he was still in Captain Dunbar's office, and I thought it'd be a fine joke if he saw his precious Caribou lifting off without him."

"Mphm. A very fine joke," commented Grimes. "You may consider yourself highly fortunate that nobody was hurt or killed. Mphm. I suggest that you tell the authorities the name of your host on that unfortunate evening—although no doubt the local detective force is quite capable of finding it out for themselves. The real villain, of course, is the pusher. If you could name him you'd probably get off with a light sentence."

"I can't," said Pleshoff dully. "And if I could, I wouldn't.""


3 out of 5


http://www.webscription.net/chapters/0441370640/0441370640.htm

Gateway To Never - A. Bertram Chandler

Grimes gets involved in some anti-drug activity. Where there is dodginess and crime likely you will find Drongo Kane, his enemy.

""I don't know what today's young people are coming to," complained Captain Dunbar as he and Grimes left the jail. "Drugs. Orgies."

"I've never taken part in an orgy," said Grimes rather wistfully. "Have you?"

"Of course not!" snapped Dunbar, looking at his superior in a rather dubious manner. Then, apparently having decided that the Commodore must have been joking, he went on, "Until now we've been clear of all this sort of thing on the Rim Worlds. I always said that it was a big mistake to open these planets to intergalactic trade."

"Mphm. Where am I staying, by the way?"

"We've booked you into the Rimrock House, Commodore."

Grimes sighed. There was a Rimrock House at Port Forlorn, on Lorn, another one at Port Farewell, on Faraway, yet another at Port Edgell, on Thule. From time to time he had stayed at them all. They were the most expensive hotels on the Rim Worlds—but by no means the best. He would have preferred some place with a less pretentious menu but far better food, with the staff not rigged out like Galactic High Admirals, but with far better service. But it would be only for a few days, until he had this Rim Caribou mess sorted out."


2.5 out of 5

Contraband From Otherspace 1-6 - A. Bertram Chandler

""I seem to recall," Grimes told her, "that there was once a warship called Dreadnought—and the dreadnoughts have been a class of warship ever since the first ironclads were launched on Earth's seas."

"All right, Mr. amateur naval historian—but have you ever, in the course of your very wide reading on your favorite subject, come across mention of a ship called Destroyer—and spelled without a single 'E'? There are non-humans mixed up in this somewhere—and highly intelligent non-humans at that."

"And humans," said Grimes.

"But we'll never find out anything just by talking about it," grumbled the Mate. "An' the sooner we take this bitch in tow, the shorter the long drag back to Port Forlorn. I'd make fast alongside—but even here, in the blast shadow, that hull is too damn' hot. It'll have to be tow wires from the outriggers—an' keep our fingers crossed that they don't get cut by our exhaust . . ."

"Take her in tow, then board," said Sonya.

"O' course. First things first. There'll be nobody alive inside that radio-active can . . ."

The intercommunication telephone was buzzing furiously. Grimes picked up the instrument. "Commodore here."

"Mayhew, sir." The telepath's voice was oddly muffled. He sounded as though he had been crying. "It's Lassie, sir. She's dead. . . ."

A happy release, thought Grimes. But what am I supposed to do about it?

"One of her nightmares, sir," Mayhew babbled on. "I was inside her mind, and I tried to awaken her. But I couldn't. There was this huge rat—and there were the sharp yellow teeth of it, and the stink of it. . . . It was so . . . it was so real, so vivid. And it was the fear that killed her—I could feel her fear, and it was almost too much for me. . . ."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Mayhew," said Grimes inadequately. "I'm sorry. I will see you later. But we are just about to take the derelict in tow, and we are busy."

"I . . . I understand, sir.""


3.5 out of 5

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