Publisher: Del Ray

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Red Rising

Red Rising

Red Rising is the story of a dystopian future and a lie that has been perpetuated against workers on Mars.  For those who love a good sci-fi novel set in a less then idyllic future this book really aims to hit all the points you would want. The plot itself is very well done.  The overall setup with multiple castes and the inherent tension that causes and a huge secret that could rock the very foundation of their society is well thought out.  That premise alone offers a lot of possibilities and on top of it a Brown does a good job living up to a lot of those possibilities.   This is further supported with excellent and well thought out world building, which helps give the rest of the story pretty solid bedrock. Unfortunately, while the story is good the pacing is only ok. It tends to drag in sections,… Read more »

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Death’s Head

Death’s Head

Review by Travis Starnes It’s been a while since I hit a sci-fi series I wasn’t already reading, and this one seems like the beginning of a pretty good military sci-fi series.  The book focuses on the journey of the main character from a barely functioning legionary to one of the most the elite of the empires military.  While it is straight up military fiction and adventure fodder, it is interesting to have a book which is almost a study in character progression.  Very unusual for a military fiction book. When it comes to the building of the world, it’s hard not to draw comparisons with the world of Starship Troopers, what with the futuristic fascist thing going on.  We have seen this kind of setting before, but Gunn does a good job not making it feel too much like a copy of previous books. While following the Journey of… Read more »

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1812: The Rivers of War

1812: The Rivers of War

Review by Travis Starnes I will start off by saying I am generally a fan of all of Flints works, he writes the happiest war stories you will find.  His writing tends to be fairly up-beat, he loves over the top characters, and he enjoys not only showing the action and drama beats of his stories but also exploring the larger political and cultural landscapes of the worlds he creates.  This last trait of Flint’s is both a blessing and a curse. Because he writes so much alternate history there are a lot of interesting points to examine however he also tends to get a bit “wander” in his writing.  Long tangents, dead end story treads, and convoluted setups that don’t really apply to the main story of the book can happen. That being said while this book is very typically Flint, although the flow and pacing is much better… Read more »

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