The Book Plank

Unbreakable by W.C. Bauers, The Chronicles of Promise Paen #1 The colonists of the planet Montana are accustomed to being ignored. Situated in the buffer zone between two rival human empires, their world is a backwater: remote, provincial, independently minded. Even as a provisional member of the Republic of Aligned Worlds, Montana merits little consideration—until it becomes the flashpoint in an impending interstellar war. When pirate raids threaten to destabilize the region, the RAW deploys its mechanized armored infantry to deal with the situation. Leading the assault is Marine Corps Lieutenant and Montanan expatriate Promise Paen of Victor Company. Years earlier, Promise was driven to join the Marines after her father was killed by such a raid. Payback is sweet, but it comes at a tremendous and devastating cost. And Promise is in no way happy to be back on her birthworld, not even when she is hailed as a hero by the planet's populace, including its c...

Chapter Six by Stephen Graham Jones   "Chapter Six", by Stephen Graham Jones, is an anthropological zombie story about Crain, a grad student, who has a theory of mankind’s evolution. As he and his former professor scavenge on bone marrow left behind by the local zombie horde, he makes his well-reasoned argument. I was really in the mood for some scary fiction, browsing to my reading list for something in those lines and came across Chapter Six by Stephen Graham Jones,  I was really taken by the idea of something antropological. I have read plenty of stories and watched movies where you have a high focus on a zombie invasion but I felt that this story might just give me more. And it did. Very much. The story of Chapter Six picks up with Crain who is out and about with his professor Dr. Ormon. Yes his professor, Crain is a grad student who is doing research on zombies. It is still possible after an apocalytpic event. Crain and Dr. Ormon are out in the field gathering...

Prudence by Gail Carriger, The Custard Protocol #1 When Prudence Alessandra Maccon Akeldama (Rue to her friends) is given an unexpected dirigible, she does what any sensible female would under similar circumstances - names it the Spotted Custard and floats to India in pursuit of the perfect cup of tea. But India has more than just tea on offer. Rue stumbles upon a plot involving local dissidents, a kidnapped brigadier's wife, and some awfully familiar Scottish werewolves. Faced with a dire crisis and an embarrassing lack of bloomers, what else is a young lady of good breeding to do but turn metanatural and find out everyone's secrets, even thousand-year-old fuzzy ones? Gail Carriger is best known for her Parasol Protectorate series which has featured five full length books so far and some short stories, as well as being adapted into a manga series. Added to this Gail Garriger started to write prequel series called Finishing School which tells some of the events tha...

Dark Intelligence by Neal Asher, Transformation #1 Thorvald Spear wakes in hospital, where he finds he's been brought back from the dead. What's more, he died in a human vs. alien war which ended a whole century ago. But when he relives his traumatic final moments, he finds the spark to keep on living. That spark is vengeance. Trapped and desperate on a world surrounded by alien Prador forces, Spear had seen a rescue ship arriving. But instead of providing backup, Penny Royal, the AI within the destroyer turned rogue. It annihilated friendly forces in a frenzy of destruction, and, years later, it's still free. Spear vows to track it across worlds and do whatever it takes to bring it down. Isobel Satomi ran a successful crime syndicate. But after competitors attacked, she needed more power. Yet she got more than she bargained for when she negotiated with Penny Royal. She paid it to turn her part-AI herself, but the upgrades hid a horrifying secret. The Dark...

The Museum and the Music Box by Noah Keller A neglected museum gradually succumbs to the elements. A music box rusts beneath a bell of glass. Fragmented texts are pieced together which tell the history of a lost love, the destruction of a civilization, and the origin of the museum. I have been a big fan of Tor.com's short fiction supply as many who read my Short Fiction Friday feature. I actually just visited the site on a whim, felt like reading something and I was presented with a new story. Let me say this story gave me goosebumps and put a smile on my face at the same time. Yes this story falls in the category of "hauntingly beautiful ". The story never mentions a name of the character that you follow also in the narration you don't glimpse any name which only adds to great something of a more mythical feeling to the it. So the story picks up with the mentioning of the protagonist walking through a museum, not any museum but a abandoned museum where it i...

The Rain-Soaked Bride by Guy Adams, The Clown Service #2 A number of influential South Korean nationals are committing suicide on UK soil. In all cases they seem to simply drop whatever they're doing and swiftly -- almost vacantly -- end their own lives. An electronics importer falls from the top floor of his high-rise office, the ambassador to the UK shoots his chauffeur and drives his own car off London Bridge, an actor sets fire to himself during a movie premiere... August and Toby investigate and slowly uncover the ancient force of the Rain-Soaked Bride, a ghostly spirit of vengeance that drags her enemies to their deaths. Once summoned the spirit cannot be dismissed until it takes the life it is charged with, it will be unstoppable in its pursuit of the mortal it has in its sights. Unfortunately, after getting too close to the source of the spirit, that mortal is now Toby Greene.     About two years ago I was first introduced to Guy Adams' writing in the f...

The Hidden Masters of Marandur by Jack Campbell, The Pillars of Reality #2 Someone wants to kill Mari, a young Steam Mechanic in the Guild that controls all technology. She has learned that her world of Dematr is headed for a catastrophe that will destroy civilization, and that Mages really can alter reality for short periods. Someone also wants to kill Alain, a young Mage who has learned that Mechanics are not frauds as his Guild teaches, and that Mechanic Mari is the only person who can prevent the oncoming disaster. Narrowly escaping death, the Mechanic and the Mage stay alive thanks to their combined skills, an alliance never before seen. But it becomes clear that both of their Guilds, the most powerful forces in the world, are trying to destroy them. Other powers, like the great Empire and a mysterious secret Order, also seek to kill or capture them, using every weapon from Imperial Legions to Mage-created trolls, dragons, and rocs. Trying to survive and learn the t...

(p)review forecast March part two These are my selections for the second half of March, what will you be reading? Cheers, Jasper 1. The Rain-Soaked Bride by Guy Adams, Del Rey UK A number of influential South Korean nationals are committing suicide on UK soil. In all cases they seem to simply drop whatever they're doing and swiftly -- almost vacantly -- end their own lives. An electronics importer falls from the top floor of his high-rise office, the ambassador to the UK shoots his chauffeur and drives his own car off London Bridge, an actor sets fire to himself during a movie premiere... August and Toby investigate and slowly uncover the ancient force of the Rain-Soaked Bride, a ghostly spirit of vengeance that drags her enemies to their deaths. Once summoned the spirit cannot be dismissed until it takes the life it is charged with, it will be unstoppable in its pursuit of the mortal it has in its sights. Unfortunately, after getting too close to the source of ...

Knight's Shadow by Sebastien de Castell, Greatcoats #2 Tristia is a nation overcome by intrigue and corruption. The idealistic young King Paelis is dead and the Greatcoats – legendary travelling magistrates who brought justice to the Kingdom – have been branded as traitors. But just before his head was impaled on a spike, the King swore each of his hundred and forty-four Greatcoats to a different mission. Falcio Val Mond, First Cantor, with the help of fellow Greatcoats Kest and Brasti, has completed his King’s final task: he has found his Charoites – well, one at least, and she was not quite what they expected. Now they must protect the girl from the many who would see her dead, and place her on the throne of a lawless kingdom. That would be simple enough, if it weren’t for the Daishini, an equally legendary band of assassins, getting in their way, not to forget the Dukes who are determined to hold on to their fractured Kingdoms, or the fact that the heir to the th...

Bite by Nick Louth Tomorrow should be the greatest day of Erica Stroud-Jones's life. The brilliant young British scientist has found a revolutionary way to beat a deadly tropical disease. Millions of lives could be saved, a Nobel Prize beckons. She is in Amsterdam. Tomorrow she presents her secret research to a scientific conference. Watching her will be sceptics and rivals, admirers and enemies. Erica's own eyes will be on sculptor Max Carver, her new American love, to whom she wants to dedicate her achievement. Tomorrow never comes. Erica vanishes during the night. Max, a tough former coast guard, is determined to find her. As he digs for clues he finds jealousy, malice and cunning. But even he is shocked by the dark terror he finds at the heart of the woman he loves. If you come to me with books about gene technology or other biological engineering you are definitely at the right address, so when I was approached for reviewing Bite I couldn't refuse....

Cassandra by Ken Liu, Clarkesworld #102 [no synopsis available]   A while ago I read Ken Liu's The Paper Menagerie and was taken by the emotional and powerful story. It really put me to thinking. I have been following his recent short story publications and found that he recently featured in this Clarkesworld issue 102 , a SF/F magazine I only found out recently. So without any pre-knowledge about the story (no synopsis available), I jumped in. And again a winner. Believe me.  The first thing that I had when I started reading Cassandra was confusion. But confusion in a good way. Ken Liu begins his story with a quote followed by a current event on tv followed by the perspective of the main protagonist of the story. Which I think is called Cassandra, a her. On the tv there is a scene where a superhero (Yes a story about superheroes!) named "Showboat" mention specifically to Cassandra that villainy doesn't pay. Yup, you follow the perspective of a villain in th...

Finn Fancy Necromancy by Randy Henderson Finn Gramaraye was framed for the crime of dark necromancy at the age of 15, and exiled to the Other Realm for twenty five years.  But now that he’s free, someone—probably the same someone—is trying to get him sent back.  Finn has only a few days to discover who is so desperate to keep him out of the mortal world, and find evidence to prove it to the Arcane Enforcers.  They are going to be very hard to convince, since he’s already been convicted of trying to kill someone with dark magic. But Finn has his family: His brother Mort who is running the family necrotorium business now, his brother Pete who believes he’s a werewolf, though he is not, and his sister Samantha who is, unfortunately, allergic to magic.  And he’s got Zeke, a fellow exile and former enforcer, who doesn’t really believe in Finn’s innocence but is willing to follow along in hopes of getting his old job back. Sometimes I want to read a book j...

Headwater LLC by Sequoia Nagamatsu, Lightspeed Magazine #56  [no synopsis supplied] I have recently found out that there are several well reputed Science Fiction and Fantasy magazines out there that offer a great wealth of short fiction. Lightspeeds Magazine is just one of those magazines, I read a anthology by John Joseph Adams last year, Dead Man's Hand , that blew me away, I got the same feeling of some of the stories that I read in this magazine so far!  The story of Headwater LLC picks up directly with a very interesting introduction, the protagonist of the story, Yoko collects water from a special creature called a "kappa" these are creatures from Japanese folklore. Yes Yoko is collecting water from the head of a kappa as it is said to have special powers. She is currently Yoko grew up in a small town village and that has been transformed to serve as the base of operations for Headwater LLC, who bottles the magical water of the kappa and sells it for big pro...

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called "Le Cirque des Reves," and it is only open at night. But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway--a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love - a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands. True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of e...