Monday Book Pick: Alexander Outland: Space Pirate
Alexander Outland: Space Pirate by G.J. Koch
It’s a Space Opera! It’s a pulp Story! Humor, romance, sex robots, a princess on the lamb, and the best pilot in the Galaxy!
If want fun, adventure, and even more raw sewage that you swing a smugger’s space ship at, this is your book. It’s not high art, but a fun read!
Monday Book Pick: OSS Commando: Final Option
OSS Commando: Final Option by Charles Sasser
A military thriller set in the final days before the D-Day invasion in 1944. The hero is Captain James Cantrell, a former Chicago homicide detective, now a member of the OSS (Office of Strategic Services). His mission is to keep the secret of the D-Day landing location from the Germans. He has a landing craft sunk underneath him, survives a bombing attack in downtown London, parachutes into Nazi occupied France, breaks into a heavily guarded castle, and has not one, but two beautiful women to deal with. One a Nazi spy and other a member of the French resistance forces.
Monday Book Pick: The Jefferson Allegiance
The Jefferson Allegiance by Bob Mayer
A political thriller with conspiracies linked to secret branches of organizations founded by the Thomas Jefferson (author of the Declaration of Independane and the third President) and Alexander Hamilton (first Secretary of the Treasury). Plenty of action and lots of history. A tasty bit of reading for somebody like me, who likes thrillers, conspiracies and American history.
Monday Book Pick: The Martian Emperor
The Martian Emperor (A Chronological Man Adventure) by Andrew Mayne
Second in the series. The first was my pick back in early June. In this book, our hero and heroine pick up a number of months later. They travel to New York City by way of Smith’s private, and off the books, train, in order to face a new menance. The “Emperor of Mars” is blackmailing the Earth. They run into his old friend Theodore Roosevelt, and have a series of adventures. During the course of said adventures, we learn some more about Smith and his background. A ripping good yarn and well worth the $0.99.
Monday Book Pick: Red Shirts
Red Shirts by John Scalzi
Scalzi takes a humorous, and also deadly serious look at one of the most famous themes of Television SciFi. Why Ensign Ricky doesn’t beam back up with the ship’s command crew. At the same time, he has fun with the topic of his earlier book, “Agent to the Stars”, the day to day work of Hollywood. As the author points out in the book, the theme is not new, but he does have an interesting take on it. One thing I did find interesting was that in list of “world as myth” examples, he left out “Number of the Beast.”
Monday Book Pick: The Buntline Special: A Weird West Tale
The Buntline Special: A Weird West Tale by Mike Resnick
Executive Summary: Steampunk at the OK Corral, with Indian Medicine Men casting real Magick (for a dash of Shadowrun tossed in for flavor). Bonus points for a young Thomas Edison with a specially harded bronze mechanical arm. Other than that, it’s a pretty historically accurate recounting of the events leading up to, and the events after, the Gunfight at the OK Corral. It reminded me a lot of the movie Tombstone, to the point where I heard Val Kilmer’s Doc Holiday in my head while reading the book. This could be because both Resnick and the folks who did Tombstone did a lot of research on the topic. Even with the Steampunk Plus elements, it was a fun read.
Monday Book Pick: Condi vs. Hillary
Condi vs. Hillary: The Next Great Presidential Race by Dick Morris
With Drudge running the story that Dr. Rice is on the shortlist for a VP pick by Gov. Romney, I have to go with this 2005 book that details how then Secretary of State, Dr. Condoleezza Rice could beat then democrat frontrunner Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Monday Book Pick: Tax Payers’ Tea Party: How to Become Politically Active — and Why
Filed under: Monday Book Pick, Political Books, Politics, Tea Party
Tax Payers’ Tea Party: How to Become Politically Active — and Why by Sharon Cooper with illustrations by Chuck Asay
Since the vote for Independence was passed on July 2, 1776, I’m going with a political book the founders would have approved of. This book is about citizen government, i.e. a government that works for the citizens not the other way around. It is a manual on how to get involved in politics at a grass roots level. It encourages people to become knowledgeable on the current political issues and lists ways to effectively communicate with elected government representatives.
Monday Book Pick: Anno Dracula
Anno Dracula by Kim Newman
Mr. Newman starts with the premise that the so-called “heros” of Bram Stoker’s Dracula screwed the pooch and were slaughtered like the incompetent buffoons they appeared to be. With them out of the way, Dracula pretty much has his bloody way with England. This includes having his bloody way with Queen Victoria. Yup, Prince Consort Dracula. Being a vampire becomes fashionable in Jolly Old England. Causes a bit of an upheaval to the social order. Yup, the Vampires are out of the closet for good. I really enjoyed this book and even better, it is the first in series.
Monday Book Pick: Loose Cannon: The Tom Kelly Novels
Loose Cannon: The Tom Kelly Novels by David Drake
A pair of Cold War with Aliens thrillers sharing the same hero/anti-hero, Tom Kelly. Tom Kelly is a spy, and not the sauve, Vodka martini drinking type of spy that that era made famous. Nope, Kelly is a roll up your sleeves and get the job done, regardless of where the chips may fly type of spy. The ladies still love him, probably because is a seriously “bad boy.” Ok, not a bad “boy”, he is a man who lives by his rules, not the rules of the agencies that employ him. If you are looking for gritty action with a healthy dose of aliens, settle down in a comfortable chair and get to know Tom Kelly.