What I’m Reading: Into the Fire

A silhouette of a woman in front of an alien jungle landscape.

The second book in the Vatta’s Peace series (itself a follow up to the excellent Vatta’s War books) finds its hero, Admiral Kylara Vatta, in desperate straits. She and others maroon on an arctic island have escaped certain death, finding a secret base in the process. But now the shadowy organization who’d been exploiting that base is … Read more

What I’m Reading: A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe

Alex White’s A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe is a curious mixup of space opera and fantasy arcana, with a dash of military SF thrown in. I missed the “magic” bit when I was adding it to my Christmas wish list, and I was surprised when I read the first few pages in the … Read more

What I’m Reading: The Prefect

A close-up shot of a spherical data core from the novel.

I accidentally read the sequel to this book, Elysium Fire, as part of my 2018 Summer Reading list. That wasn’t a big problem; the book stood fine on its own and I’m already familiar with the larger “Revelation Space” universe in which it was set. That said, I wanted to go back and see what … Read more

What I’m Reading: Oathbringer

Cover art for the novel Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson

Oathbringer is the third book in Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight Archive series, a work of epic fantasy in the vein of The Wheel of Time … though with a tighter, better-focused narrative. As with the previous two books, I’m listening to the novel as an audiobook during my morning walks and workouts. I broke my right … Read more

What I’m Reading: The Stars Are Legion

Spaceships fly across the orange-red surface of a planet.

The teaser for this novel sold me instantly: “Somewhere on the outer rim of the universe, a mass of decaying world-ships known as the Legion is traveling in the seams between the stars. For generations, a war for control of the Legion has been waged, with no clear resolution.  As worlds continue to die, a desperate plan … Read more

What I’m Reading: Forsaken Skies

A t-shaped starship attacks a planet.

After spending two weeks in August reading Kim Stanley Robinson’s hard science fiction novel 2312, I returned to lighter fare with the space opera Forsaken Skies. It’s your standard aliens-invade-human-space-for-unknown-reasons story but that’s exactly what I’m looking for to wind down the summer. This is the last book on my Summer 2017 reading list; if I can finish … Read more

What I’m Reading: Blue at the Mizzen

A three-masted sailing ship sails across a turbulent blue ocean.

The final book in Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey/Mautrin series, which follows the adventures of the H.M.S. Surprise in the 1800s. It’s a bittersweet end that provides a satisfying conclusion to lead character Captain Jack Aubrey’s career, but it’s also the last book that O’Brian wrote before his untimely death.

What I’m Reading: Six Wakes

A human form falls through the black void of space

I don’t often get to say that I’m reading a book written by a friend but that’s the case with Mur Lafferty’s Six Wakes. I know Mur from back at the dawn of podcasting, when she podcast Geek Fu Action Grip and I did Nuketown Radio Active. We later wrote columns for Knights of the Dinner Table Magazine. I haven’t seen Mur in … Read more