Daily Thoughts 8/17/2010 (Bitter Angels, Westerns, Programs, Graphic Novels )

Owen Wister friend of Theodore Roosevelt and author of the American Western-style novel, The Virginian photo from the Owen Wister Collection of the American Heritage Center at the University of Wyoming. 

Daily Thoughts 8/17/2010 

I finished reading The Outlaw Josey Wales by Forest Carter on the train to work today.  It looks like there might be a little bit of a resurgence in interest in westerns, especially Max Brand and Louis L'Amour who are still both very popular.  There is a set of reviews for westerns in Library Journal online.  http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/home/885858-264/collection_development_not_ready_for.html.csp




Another article How Libraries Ensure Ongoing Freedom In America by Martha Randolph Carr.
http://politicallyillustrated.com/index.php?/news_page/iw/1654/  I rather like the cartoon.




Today was a bit busier than usual.  We had the final Adult Summer Reading Game which is the first time we are doing this.  We talked about the books we read during the sumer, had punch or tea, raffled off a bag of books and bookish items, and gave away a few books to attendees.  It was a nice afternoon thing to do.



I also got ready for tomorrow, picking out a number of graphic novels for the program tomorrow.  This time I went into the storage area and pulled out some of our older material; Peter Arno, Chas Addams, Gary Trudeau, Herblock, Gahan Wilson, and a few other classic cartoonists.  We even had one of the old fashioned cartoon instruction books from the 1930s.  I like to pull material that is related to graphic novels, not just graphic novels, record cover art, illustration, fasion design, storyboarding, drawing comics, and writing comics.



I also finished going through the trade paperback fiction to make sure things were in the right place.  We now have a much expanded section for African American fiction.  I'll probably be going through the hardcover fiction section next.



I also have some work to do with BWI to check on the Electronic Data Interchange.  Our first orders are going through them soon. 



On the way home, I read some of Bitter Angels by C.L. Anderson which is a science fiction novel which mixes space opera and espionage.  There is a blurb by Linnea Sinclair on the cover who writes romantic science fiction.  Linnea Sinclair is an author which I like a lot.

Daily Thoughts 9/7/2009

Sherlock Holmes in "The Adventure of the Dying Detective"

Better to Beg Forgiveness by Michael Z. Williamson

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This is a military science fiction novel. An executive protection service has to protect an interim president during a planetary civil war. This is an action novel with lots of explosions, shooting, and narrow escapes. The point of the novel is the action.

Every other page, the mercenary bodyguards have to stop the president of Celadon from being killed. The locals attempt to shoot, blowup, ram, or dismember acting president Bishwanath. It eventually deteriorates to the point where the mercenaries have to get the president off planet.

Thus follows a series of daring escapes, hijackings, and intrigue. The good guys do not win in the end, but they do save their man.

The setting is the near future where earth has just begun colonizing the outer planets. The weapons are recognizable as things which we have today, machine guns, mortars, bombs, and explosives. The locals are decidedly low tech, coming from a back water world. The United Nations is still in existence and has sent peacekeepers and bureaucrats to keep things under control.

Plenty of action and lots of things get blown up. Plus, if you have a libertarian bent and don't like bureaucracy, you might like the politics in the novel. I read it for the action.

I have started reading a book called Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane. It is a thriller featuring two U.S. Marshalls who are visiting a prison for the criminally insane on an island. One of the inmates has escaped. The book is being turned into a movie starring Leonardo Di Caprio coming out in 2010.

Vorpal Blade by John Ringo and Travis S. Taylor

Vorpal Blade by John Ringo and Travis S. Taylor

This is a military science fiction story. The United States navy with the help of he Adar an allied alien race convert a nuclear submarine into a warp drive spaceship. It is the classic subs in space theme from science fiction. Man the torpedos.

The first part of the book is about training and selecting the crew for the ship, The Vorpal Blade. It goes over the specifications of the ship as well as the combat suits which the space marines wear called Wyverns. There are also a few other tropes from science fiction thrown in, the teenage genius girl with the alien pet, and the brilliant linguist. If you like military hardware it is kind of interesting.

The second part of the book is space exploration. The crew learns how to use the warp drive, they make some observations about astronomy, and they refuel water and oxygen from a gas giant. There is some science in this book. Travis S. Taylor, one of the writers, has several degrees including a Ph.D. in Optical Science and Engineering and a masters in Physics. The first half of the book is not that combat oriented

In the final part of the book, the space marines fight the tentacle crabs, then they save the bipedal space hamsters from the evil demons. The space hamsters, or as the author says, space chinchillas, need a lot of help. It is up to the marines to fight various beasties like armored insects, laser firing dragonflies, and dragon beasties. Of course the marines save the day, but not without some casualties. John Ringo who has written a lot of military science fiction novels does excellent combat descriptions.

This is a fun book to read. It is not particularly realistic, the space marines don't use any rocket launchers, flamethrowers or other very heavy ordinance in fights; it would end the battles too quickly. Just bullets, combat suites, grenades, and knives. It is a sequel to the book, The Looking Glass, but only references the Dreen, there are no actual evil alien Dreen in this book. The book already has a sequel which I plan on reading called The Claws That Catch.

Shadow Of The Scorpion A Novel of the Polity by Neal Asher

Shadow Of The Scorpion A Novel of the Polity by Neal Asher

This is a science fiction novel. It is about a spy, Ian Cormac, a remorseless man with a capacity for extreme violence and an ability to think on his feet. There is a lot of action and intrigue in this novel.

This story is the beginning of Ian Cormac's career. It starts wtih Ian Cormac's first tour of duty in the military. The setting is at the end of a war between the human Polity and the Prador, a vicious predatory alien carnivorous species who view humans as exotic cattle.

Not all of humanity likes being part of the Polity. Artificial intelligences have taken over creating an age of prosperity for humanity. People are better housed, clothed, and educated. Still, people want their freedom. Not everyone wants to be integrated into a machine society.

There are flashbacks to Ian's childhood. His mother reminds him that he should be an adult before he accepts any cybernetic enhancements. Part of the theme of this novel is the relation between man and machine and what keeps us human.

Ian Cormac finds himself at the wrong place at the right time. He is recruited by the artificial intelligences to investigate rebel activity next to a fallen Prador ship. His job is to prevent the rebels from getting access to alien weapons of mass destruction.

It is a trial by fire for Ian who must outthink the rebels and outfight them despite being untrained in espionage. Cormac demonstrates constant ruthlessness, biting sarcasm, willingness to tinker with deadly weapons, and the ability to mislead with the best.

There is a second thread with flashbacks to Ian's childhood. His mother has excised many of the memories which would have caused him pain or remorse. Many of these memories are about the war with the Prador. A rogue artificial intelligence helps him remember about his fathers death and other painful childhood memories. The removed memories are part of what make him so dangerous.

This novel is very dark. It asks a lot of philosophical questions. What divides humans from machines? How can we maintain our freedom and individuality in an artificial world? Combined with the philosophical questions are all out fast paced action sequences. The artificial intelligences come across as more human than humanity. I had a hard time putting this novel down.

Starstrike-- Taskforce Mars --Kevin Dockery and Douglas Niles-- Review

Starstrike Taskforce Mars by Kevin Dockery and Douglas Niles is a near future action thriller. The Shamani, benevolent aliens have come to earth and given us technology to help us become more civilized. It is the year 2050 and they have helped us build bases on mars as well as given us the technology for an interstellar drive.

To protect earth, a new special elite force is created from the navy SEALs, now they are more than sea, air, and land forces. You add the word space and get a super elite fighting force. This is none too soon because the mars base is attacked by hostile aliens, the Eluoi.

The aliens are classic cardboard cutouts. The Eluoi have solid green eyes and the Shamani have deep red eyes. Otherwise, they look like humans. You might call the Eluoi the evil, slaver, caste society of the galaxy. They are entertaining bad guys.

The hardware in the story is rather interesting. The book is hard science fiction. It is based on what might be possible 2050 with a little help from our magical friends the Shamani. The Seals have a few advantages, they have machine guns, a man portable railgun, explosives, and missiles. The aliens mainly use a mix of beam weapons and slug throwers, not explosives.

This is a story of how a highly trained elite force using small unit tactics defeats larger forces using cunning, deception, ambush, and strategy. The heros don't rush headlong into battle. It reads very much like a futuristic version of a Tom Clancy novel. You could also throw in a little Mack Bolan or Casca for effect.

Some of our heros die in combat, or are severely wounded. This makes it seem a bit more real. They are also captured and escape to wander around the Eluoi planet trying to find a way home. The heros use a backpack nuclear weapon to destroy a space defense platform. This novel isn't particularly politically correct.

The main character is a classic military commander figure who could have stepped out of a World War II novel, Master Chief, Raphael Ruiz.

Douglas Niles has written thirty five novels including the alternate history novel, Fox on the Rhine. Kevin Dockery has written nonfiction books including Future Weapons and Navy Seals: The Complete History. There is a sequel, Operation Orion, which I placed on reserve.

When The Tide Rises-- David Drake-- Review

When The Tide Rises by David Drake is military space opera. The book is part of a larger series, The Republic of Cinnabar Navy series. The main character, Lieutenant Leary is patriotic, astute, politically savvy, and willing to take risks. He is a gentleman adventurer much in the style of the historical Lord Cochrane who the character is based on. The book is an ode to the sailing ships of old. The space ships even use sails and rigging to travel through the matrix (hyperspace).

The setting is rather interesting. It is in a distant future. The Republic of Cinnabar, an imperial elitist republic, and the Alliance, a totalitarian government are at war. Both control many different worlds. The Cinnabar characters are jingoistic, patriotic, and class conscious. The naval men and women act like sailors, they fight, brawl, drink, and carry on with the native populations. The main character, Lieutenant Leary has a loyal servant, Hogg, and his freind, the spy, Adele Mundy, has a servant Tovera.

This is one of the few science fiction novels that describes the freindship between a male and female lead character well. Adele Mundy, spy for Cinnabar is a close freind of Lieutenant Leary, commander of the corvette Princess Cecile.

In this novel, Lieutenant Leary is sent to Bagaria to help the rebel government remain free from being taken over by the Alliance. The Bagarians are plagued by inept and corrupt leaders. By todays standard, they would be called a "banana republic."

Lieutenant Leary promptly starts a series of commerce raids, capturing prizes for the Republic of Cinnabar. He also attacks an Alliance base. One of the nice things about this book, is that it is not in the slightest bit politically correct. A spacer is a spacer, and Leary recruits naval troops from his captured ships, as well as calls some of the natives "wogs."

A lot of the action is based on deceiving the enemy. Leary uses the tactics of surprise, espionage, subterfuge, and first strike. On a few occassions, he poses as the enemy using captured ships.

The fights are fast and furious, but often unreal. This is of course a story. However, I find not enough people die or are wounded in the story. Leary loses a few of his allied ships, and one of his crew members Woetjans is injured. This is explained away by Adele Mundy's ability to penetrate the enemies communication networks and collect critical intelligence to turn the tide. She after all was a librarian and is a communications specialist and spy.

There is a political element to the story. Leary's father is a senator in the Cinnabar republic. Also, Admiral Vocaine views Leary as a potential enemy. Because of this, Leary is sent into the hot situations where he will have to be savvy or end up rotting in prison or dead.

Adele Mundy and Daniel Leary also help refine the environment of the science fiction worlds they visit. Daniel Leary is interested in the "natural history" of alien worlds. He observes the odd plants and animals. For example at one point in the novel he is watching a small tentacled flying creature the size of his thumb. Adele Mundy is interested in archaeology, literature, and librarianship. At the end of the book, she visits the megaliths of Diamondia.

I am looking forward to reading more of this excellent series. At the end of the book, Lieutenant Leary is to become Captain Leary. David Drake, the author is an interesting writer. He is best known for his series, Hammer's Slammers about a mercenary tank company in the far future. David Drake also served as an interrogation officer during Vietnam. He is described as often making very exacting descriptions of combat. The books in this series are With The Lightnings, Lieutent Leary Commanding, The Far Side of the Stars, The Way to Glory, Some Golden Harbor, and When The Tide Rises. With the Lightings is available for free from the Baen free library if you want to see what the series is about. http://www.baen.com/library/defaultTitles.htm