Fallen Dragon by Peter F. Hamilton

Cover by Jim Burns

From Amazon:

In the distant future, corporations have become sustainable communities with their own militaries, and corporate goals have essentially replaced political ideology. On a youthful, rebellious impulse, Lawrence joined the military of a corporation that he now recognizes to be ruthless and exploitative. His only hope for escape is to earn enough money to buy his place in a better corporation. When his platoon is sent to a distant colony to quell a local resistance effort, it seems like a stroke of amazing fortune, and Lawrence plans to rob the colony of their fabled gemstone, the Fallen Dragon, to get the money he needs. However, he soon discovers that the Fallen Dragon is not a gemstone at all, but an alien life form that the local colonists have been protecting since it crashed in their area. Now, Lawrence has to decide if he will steal the alien to exploit the use of its inherent biotechnical processes -- which far exceed anything humans are capable of -- or if he will help the Resistance get the alien home.

Hamilton is one of the British authors who I have been anxious to read.  Instead of starting one of his multi-book epics, I thought this would be a good one to try since it is a stand alone novel.

Fool Moon by Jim Butcher

“Fool Moon” is the second book in the Dresden Files series.  I enjoyed the first book (“Storm Front”) and decided to read this one for Carl’s “Once Upon a Time Challenge”.


Any time I pick up a fantasy book with the word “Moon” in the title it automatically makes me think of werewolves.  It was done intentionally by the author.  In this case, Harry Dresden-wizard for hire- is called in to help the police with what appears to be a murder committed by a werewolf.  Many of the characters from the first book are in this one.  Butcher includes a gang of werewolves for our heroes to fight.  He also reveals that there are more than one type of werewolf.  I found the different types to be an interesting addition.  Most stories I have read only have one way of becoming a werewolf.  I did not check up on it but it appears to me that Butcher researched various legends about how they came into being. 


Butcher knows how to write a page turner.  The action and revelations keep your interest.  The combination of the classic crime noir detective with the fantasy element makes for a different reading experience.  If you like wizards in the modern day and detective stories, this is the perfect book for you.

Short Story Sunday-January 24, 2010

Welcome to the first of my newly revived Short Story Sunday posts. This was inspired by Carl at Stainless Steel Droppings. Carl has been doing Short Story Sunday's for quite some time. In my version, I will review the short stories that I have read in the past week.

Let's take a look at the two stories I read.



1. "Misquoting the Star" by David Bartell
First printing: Analog, December 2008

"Misquoting the Star" was the cover story for the December 2008 issue of Analog. The image I included does not do justice to the David Hardy cover.

It tells the story of what happens when an asteroid crashes into the Earth. Bartell writes about the issues faced by refugees on the moon. His characterization is very good. When the refugees are selected they are put through a very thorough screening process to prevent diseases from infecting the colony. When one of the leaders finds out that one of the crew is not who they thought he was, problems begin. A father goes through the testing then switches places with his son. The son would not have passed the health screening. The leader falls for the son. The conflict of how to handle the crewman is the basis of this interesting tale.

A good, solid short story.

1. "The Ghost Pit" by Stephen Baxter
First printing: Isaac Asimov's SF Magazine July 2001

Baxter is one of the author's I had not tried yet. Based on this story, I will be reading more of his works.

From Wikipedia...
The story follows Raida, a young woman on a hunting expedition, who is teamed with her mother's old partner, L'Eesh. The two are investigating a large jovian planet for the presence of rare aliens known as Ghosts when their spacecraft is attacked and they crash land on one of the planet's moons. As they walk to the artificially constructed bridge that connects the two moons, Raida learns more about Ghosts, her mother and how much she can trust her partner.

Baxter describes an amazing environment for this story. I was very impressed to read about this world and the conflict that is taking place between the Ghosts and the humans. The conflict between the two hunters is interesting. The only shortcoming in this story was the mystery of who killed Raida's mother. Baxter leads the reader to think there will be a sequel to this story. It was aggravating to read this without knowing for sure.

Overall, a very good short story. Highly recommended.

The Chronoliths by Robert Charles Wilson

Did you ever hear about a book that sounded fantastic? Some books just jump out and grab my attention. The various comments I read about The Chronoliths really caught my interest. I was afraid that the book would not live up to my expectations. Call me old fashioned but I still like to go to used book stores and find treasures. Robert Charles Wilson's novels all sounded interesting but this one was the one I wanted to read first. So, of course, I found Spin, Axis, and Darwinia but no copies of The Chronoliths. The other day I stopped and looked at the sale rack at our library. Due to space limitations, they regularly pull some books and sell them to raise money for new books. What did I happen to stumble upon? You got it. This book turned out to be even better than I imagined.

A warlord in the future starts sending indestructable monoliths(the chronoliths of the title) back through time. Each one is a tribute to a victory he acheived 20 years and 3 months in the future. The mystery is can the future be changed? Did the warlord actually conquer the areas the monoliths claim or is he trying to create the image of an invincible leader in the minds of the people? What if the response of the people in the novel actually creates the warlord in the future? The amazing thing about this novel is the characters the author creates. In the face of these big questions, the characters come to life. When I finished the book, I came away with the feeling that I really knew the people in the story. If his other books are close to being this good, Robert Charles Wilson will become one of my favorite authors.

Highly recommended.

Rating: 5 out of 5.