Tag: Science Fiction

Parasite

Parasite

Review by Travis Starnes Parasite really took me off guard.  It is the story of a future where humans have purposely made themselves hosts to a genetically modified species of Tapeworm.  Everything seems great until the parasites start getting restless, then things get interesting. I was really unsure what to make of this book.  Even after reading the back of the book I wasn’t sure if it was a mystery, sci-fi or horror story.  Turns out it is a little of all three.  Something I didn’t know going in, but I think most readers should be warned about before reading it, is this is part one of a larger story.  The book ends on a solid cliff hanger, which honestly killed me.  By the end of the book I was totally invested in what was going on and when I flipped the page and found the afterward and a “to… Read more »

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March UpCountry

March UpCountry

Review by Travis Starnes What starts off as a military space fiction in the vein of David Weber’s Honor Harrington series quickly become a high tech meets low tech style of military fiction.  I wasn’t sure what to expect after the first chapter but I really enjoyed the journey this book took me on.  It is an excellent start to a series. Let me start off by saying I felt more of Weber’s influence in this story that John Ringo’s, although I have been unable to find how much each writer contributed.  The overall story arc, character progression, and setting feel like pure Weber to me while the action beats have Ringo’s finger prints all over them. While there are a few things that could be said negatively about this title there are so many more things to like about it. There was a book I read years ago from… 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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The Honor of the Queen

The Honor of the Queen

Review by Travis Starnes This second book in the series has a lot right going for it and is a solid follow up to ‘On Basilisk Station’. While Honor of the Queen falls a little short of its progenitor, it is still a solid read.  I enjoy military fiction, whether contemporary or sci-fi, when it is well done; and ‘On Basilisk Station’ was done well.  This story is a bit less straight forward and has more drama attached to it with long standing personal relationships joining the butting head version of personal relationships initially seen in the previous installment. Honor, who is still a little one dimensional, continues to be the strong, hyper-capable commander that Weber seems to prefer. The white hat wearing do no wrong type of character sometimes seen in military fiction can get a bit tedious so the fact that he allows her a small misstep is… Read more »

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The Short Victorious War

The Short Victorious War

Review by Travis Starnes The third book in the Honor Harrington Series this installment keeps up the tradition set by the first two. Although it does have some points where it drops off The Short Victorious War is an all-around good read for fans of serial science fiction. Honor is back ship-side after having large portions of the last book set planet side.   It truly is nice to see Harrington back in her element.  There is almost as much intrigue and politics here as in the Honor of the Queen coupled with larger scale space combat. Honor continues to be one of the strongest and most interesting female characters I have read in a long time. With the addition of a love interest (from a rather unexpected location), Weber has fleshed her out from the competent military leader arch type into something more human.  One of my few complaints about her… Read more »

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