— by Wombat-socho





First, the obligatory commentary on the just-concluded Worldcon, which will be diminishing in importance from here on out with the advent of the Dragon Awards, from our Supreme Dark Lord and the International Lord of Hate. All I have to say is that I’m glad I didn’t waste $50 on a supporting membership, much less splurge on an attending membership, hotel costs, etc. With respect to the Dragon Awards, if you haven’t signed up and voted, why not? Don’t cost nuthin’.

The long-awaited John Ringo entry into Larry Correia’s Monster Hunter universe, Monster Hunter Memoirs: Grunge , is out, and while there’s a lot less sex than your average John Ringo novel, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. This novel is set in the 1980s, and its hero is an ex-Marine killed in the Beirut bombing – which is where the novel STARTS. If you liked Larry’s MHI novels, you’ll like this a lot. Two thumbs up and five stars.

It’s been out for a few years, but Tom Kratman’s A State Of Disobedience seems unpleasantly more timely these days; this tale of a (mostly) non-violent rebellion by Texas against a Federal Government headed by a President very reminiscent of Grandma Clinton reads like it might be ripped from next year’s headlines. If you’re too cheap (or too broke) to throw me a couple of shekels by buying it on Amazon, you can also find it for free at the Baen Free Library, which also has a lot of other good SF & fantasy by great authors, offered under the proposition that “the first taste is free”.

I also re-read Frank Herbert’s The Dosadi Experiment , a tale of forced evolution, human/alien experimentation, and the law which in my opinion is better than its prequel Whipping Star . YMMV. Also re-read: Tim Powers’ Last Call (ridiculously cheap at 99 cents) and Expiration Date . Also also, Geobreeders , a manga that crosses harem comedy and supernatural thriller genres. Desperate salaryman Yoichi Taba winds up hiring on with Kagura Security – and finds out too late their mission is to hunt the lethal “phantom cats”…but he can’t quite bring himself to resign. Amusing, and one wishes both that Akihiro Ito had finished the manga and Central Park Media hadn’t gone bankrupt so they could have finished translating it.



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