C Gockel Writes

Book Reviews: The Spark and the Storm by David Drake

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The Spark by David Drake

I have had a weakness for Le Morte d’Arthur fanfiction–even though I’ve never read Le Morte– ever since I read The Once and Future King* by T.H. White. Since then I’ve read more versions of the Arthurian tales than I can fully remember. Tales from Genevieve’s point of view, tales from Mordred’s perspective, tales of Arthur and Genevieve’s only son (What? You didn’t know he existed?) tales of Gawain and the other knights … and tales of A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court**.

So I like Arthurian legend. But a few months ago, if you had asked me if I’d ever want to read a novel where the main hero was based on Galahad I wouldn’t have been interested. Galahad was the son of Lancelot and Lady Elaine in the legends. He was the perfect knight: brave, capable, bold, and so noble he ascended directly into heaven. He was also kind of boring, an irritatingly judgmental holier-than-thou, and a prude.

But here we are. I’ve read not one, but two books based on Galahad. Why did I subject myself to this?

Because the books were written by David Drake, the writer of Red Liners, the book that puts the marine in Space Marines. Or at least puts the space marines in an alien jungle with sentient man-eating plants. It is a laser firing, grenade exploding, gritty, emotional masterpiece. I like emotions in my fiction, because, as a robot, it’s how I study humans and blend in. (Fiction reading improves empathy. Possibly even for robots.) Red Liners looks unflinchingly at military vs. civilian mindsets, and I don’t think it favors one over the other … or rather, shows how superiority is situational. Also, it made me cry.

So, anyway, I picked up The Spark. Drake doesn’t name his characters after their Arthurian counterparts. I can’t decide if this is a strength or a weakness. Galahad is Pal, the hero who narrates the tale, and all the others have their own names. Writing this review I can’t remember their Drakian names because I keep thinking of them as Merlin, Gawain, Gareth, Lancelot, Arther, and Geneviere. So it might be a weakness, but I know why Drake renamed them–despite similarities in personalities and certain situations, he has given them different destinies, and it does keep you wondering how the story is going to unfold. Also, the story isn’t set in the traditional Arthurian landscape, England after the collapse of Rome. Instead it is set in a future where the Ancients, a mighty, intergalactic human civilization that travelled between the stars on “roads” visible only to animals, has collapsed. The Arthur figure in the story is slowly rebuilding civilization in habitable “nodes” on these worlds. More on that later.

Drake has given Galahad, ahem, Pal, all the traits that I found irritating in the original Galahad. He is judgmental and a prude. But Drake shows the positive side of these traits. Pal wants to be part of Arthur’s better future for mankind–idealism goes along with that judgmental attitude. And being a prude can keep a man out of a lot of trouble … that doesn’t really need explaining, does it? Also, Pal does grow throughout the story. At one point in the second book, Pal, in thinking about a woman who is in charge of the royal archives, ponders that she could be beautiful despite her age if she just tried. Eyerollingly annoying but in character, and by the end of the book he acknowledges to himself that she really doesn’t have the time for superficial trappings–it would keep her away from the vocation she loves and is really good at. He also realizes that his judgemental attitude leads him to give up on people too quickly, and also to be a bit of a hypocrite at times. Overall, I liked Pal, and what I didn’t like of him–and his girlfriend, May–was believable for characters with their backgrounds and in their age groups.

What really made the story for me though, was the world. It was a beautiful creation of science-fantasy. The humans in the intergalactic civilization have left behind artifacts that “Makers”–people who enter into trances to feel the purpose of the artifacts–can manipulate. They manipulate them into weapons, primarily for the knights of Arthur’s court. Humans, Makers, warriors, and common folk alike, travel to the court with the help of dogs whose minds some can enter to see the roads between worlds. The knights also use the dogs to see the movements of their opponents. Pal has the ability to be both Maker and warrior, which sets him apart from most of the knights in court. He’s also of refreshingly humble birth, and doesn’t look down on common folk. The first book is his journey from idealistic farmboy to a knight in a court that is far less ideal than he imagined back on the farm–complete with duels, a quest, and Guinevere being accused of treason for infidelity–and it doesn’t end the way it did in Le Mort. In the second book is the search for Merlin. Both have plenty of action if that is your thing. For me, there was just something magical in the way Pal’s personality–the good and the bad of that idealism–intersects with the sci-fantastic universe and the human folly of the court.

The Spark and The Storm are available at Amazon, Nook, GooglePlay, andiBooks.

* The Once and Future King is a classic that is funny, wise, and wonderful. I highly recommend it. It was very influential in my understanding of human emotions … as a robot and all. It’s available at Amazon, Nook, GooglePlay, iBooks, and Kobo.

** A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court is also a classic and manages to lampoon the arrogance of those obsessed with progress and the stupidity of those dead set on hanging onto the old ways no matter what. It’s available at Amazon, Nook, GooglePlay, iBooks, and Kobo … and also ManyBooks if you don’t mind giving them your email address.

Book Review: Games of Command by Linnea Sinclair

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Games of Command by Linnea Sinclair

I did not read Games of Command before writing Starship Waking or Darkness Rising. I’m saying it right now, WHY? Well, this book is allegedly about courageous and plucky Captain Tasha “Sass” Sebastian and Admiral Branden Kel-Paten, the cyborg officer who falls in love with her, but it’s really about the furzels, the furry sidekicks that keep them from dying. (Sound familiar?) Okay, maybe it’s not really about the furzels, like my books aren’t really about Carl Sagan … maybe.

In the Games of Command universe, cyborgs designed for killing people are supposed to be incapable of love–Kel-Paten’s emotions are confined to useful feelings like the desire to squeeze someone by the neck until their eyeballs pop out. (Handy in board meetings!) But Kel-Paten’s gotten around his programming and has found ways to have a thoughts and feelings of his own between uploads. Some of those feelings that aren’t anger are jealousy towards the furzels (who on the cover are cats.) The furzels get lots of attention from Captain Sass, the object of his longing, and he wonders if it might not be better to be a furzel, considering they have it made in the easy- love-from-the-ladies department.

Furzels are also routinely neutered, so I would think the answer should be, “No,” but 6T9 wonders the same thing about werfles. (Granted, werfles aren’t routinely neutered.) I do feel like saying again, I didn’t read this book before writing mine!

But the furzels and werfles bring up an interesting trend: cute furry animals in sci-fi. There are treecats in the Honor Harrington series, Jonesy in Alien, and Spot in Star Trek (Cat in Red Dwarf is not cute, and I’m not going to mention him here … well, not without parentheses.) There is The Cat Who Walks Through Walls (because he knows no better), Lying Cat in Saga, and too many others to mention. There are also, dogs like Porthos. Does Pip count from Pip & Flinx? He may not be fuzzy or cute, but Pip’s definitely a worthy sidekick.

I think maybe the phenomena boils down to the fact that space is big and bad and scary–but somewhere deep in our heart of hearts, we know that if we bring our pets, it will be alright.

But back to the book … I liked it! It is a great adventure / mystery that keeps you guessing about who is bad and who is good. The main characters are also very likable and believable, and the setting varied and interesting. There is the comfort of cats, errr … furzels. If you wish sometimes that your sci-fi came with a little more romance (maybe you’re even mad at me for delaying 6T9’s happily ever after) I think you’ll like it. I also think you’ll like it if you like more spice than I typically write. (You know who you are “Do-you-have-to-fade-to-black-here?” Folks–also, the answer is yes, I do have to fade to black because I’m boring like that. And also, emotions to me are more porn than porn probably because I’m a Vulcan. Or a robot. My husband hasn’t decided, and I will never tell.)

I have picked up Linnea Sinclair’s An Accidental Goddess because I liked this book so much. Errr … but haven’t read it yet because I fell into a C.J. Cherryh well and I haven’t gotten out. (Maybe the humans are the cute-fuzzy sidekicks in the Foreigner series? We’re certainly small and causing problems…)

If you’re looking for a fun read with action, adventure, and romance, pick up Games of Command at Amazon, Nook, iBooks, Kobo, and GooglePlay.

Book Review: Worlds of Exile and Illusion – by Ursula LeGuin

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Worlds of Exile and Illusion by Ursula LeGuin

World’s of Exhile and Illusion features three of Ursula LeGuin’s earlier works in the Hainish Cycle. For readers unfamiliar with Ms. LeGuin’s works, I would say start with The Left Hand of Darkness or The Dispossessed. There is definitely a difference in maturity in those: the themes run deeper through the story, the plots and the characters are stronger.

But if you have read those, read these. They are great books, even if they aren’t quite at the level of the other two. (The other two are so good the bar is really high!) Also, if you love Darkness and Dispossessed as I do, returning to the Hainish universe is a joy, as is seeing Ms. LeGuin’s writing improve through this collection (I can only hope that my writing grows as much.)

Read together, World of Exile and City of Illusions, the second two books in the collection really show you the writer LeGuin was becoming … together they are a jewel.

The first book, Rocannon’s World, is very imaginative, and made me want to read LeGuin’s Earth Sea series. It definitely has a fantasy feel to it–the steeds are colorful griffon-like creatures! There are musings in it on the nature of technology, and world-ending weapons. The influence of the Cold War is very noticeable. I enjoyed it, but … we’re going to go back to World of Exile and City of Illusions because together they blew me away.

Exile and Illusions take themes that were hinted at in Rocannon’s World and develop them further. How does a less technologically advanced society defeat a society that is more advanced? What sort of weapon can defeat a weapon capable of ending worlds in the blink of an eye from light years away? How do vastly different societies survive when they come in contact with one another? I’m not going to go into the plot because if I did it would only be a dim shadow of the books; but Ms. LeGuin answers these questions brilliantly.

These are classics, and Worlds of Exile and Illusion may be available as individual titles at your local library. Otherwise, you can pick up the collection at Amazon (used paperback may be cheaper than ebook!), iBooks, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, or GooglePlay. It’s also available to borrow on Scribd.

The Best Of All Possible Worlds

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This book reads like fanfiction in the best possible way. This is a Spock / Uhura story where the author said, “I love Spock / Uhura, but so much of the destruction of Vulcan was just so bad from a scientific / socio-political perspective that I am going to rewrite it. And I will make it good. And I will also focus on the romance because I didn’t get enough of that in the movie.”

Ahem. I read this book a while ago, loved it, reviewed it on Facebook and didn’t review it here because this blog didn’t exist at the time. So. I’ve forgotten a lot, but it came up in conversation today because I was talking to a friend about the book.

It’s a great read! Pick it up at Amazon, Nook, iBooks, Kobo, and GooglePlay.

Valor’s Choice by Tanya Huff Book Review

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Valor's Choice by Tanya Huff
Super fun sci-fi with plenty of pew-pew.

Okay, so this was super fun! The author was in the military and it definitely shows in the mindset of the main character, Staff Sergeant Torin Kerr. She is a no-nonsense get things done in a weird neutral zone between brass and grunts.

A little about the setting … In the story humans have been integrated into a galactic Confederation not despite their violent tendencies but because of them. See, a lot of old races don’t dig violence, but a species known as the Others is hell bent on killing them. All of the old races’ attempts at diplomacy have resulted in diplomats being returned in itty bitty pieces.

So humans, the Krai (sort of a monkey like race that eats everything–even each other and their fellow Marines, but sort of as a sign of respect) and di’Taykan (think ELVES!) are recruited to do the dirty work of combat.

The book is filled with hilarious one liners, but it has some depth too. Staff Sergeant Kerr wakes up in the first chapter next to a sexy di’Taykan after a one night stand … who turns out later to be her commanding officer. That could have been handled in a way that would not be authentic to the military experience, but Huff handles it with humor, grace, and genuine feeling. (I kind of hope they get back together. Sighs.)

There’s also plenty of action, if that is your thing.

I loved how the different alien races were depicted, and how the eccentricities of the three main races in the military were facilitated. There were special rules added for the benefit of the Krai: Marines don’t eat other Marines! (Even if they’re dead and you really liked them.) Accommodations are made for the di’Taykan’s who can’t keep their zippers closed and need “touch” of a certain kind to stay sane.

If you’re looking for a good shoot ’em up that rises above the genre, this is it.

Get it at Amazon, Nook, iBooks, Kobo, and GooglePlay.

The Dispossessed – Book Review

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When I read what I want most is an exploration of big ideas, and characters I care about, who ring emotionally true. Ursula LeGuin’s The Dispossessed delivers emotional integrity in spades, and it explores big ideas. Wikipedia says that it is “utopian fiction,” although Ursula LeGuin is on record saying no society could be a perfect utopia.

The hero Shevek lives in a society based on the harsh moon world of Anneres, and their social structure is anarchy. “How can that be possible?” You ask. “Anarchy is by definition a lack of structure.” Well, yes, remember what I said about no society being a perfect utopia? He’s a brilliant scientist who can’t get his work published because he runs afoul of the “hidden” structure of his society. The only place where he can pursue his research is the sister world of Anneres, the opulent world of Urress,  where, unlike his homeworld, there is great wealth and great poverty. The book is his quest to get there, complete his research without losing his life or his soul, and his quest to return home.

The lead character, Shevek, believes that his society is as close to utopia as can be possible, but that utopia needs to change and be regenerated to remain “utopic.” He’s a sincere, honest, idealist and I loved him, although I think, he is a classic case of an unreliable narrator.

I’m not sure I got the takeaways I was “supposed” to get from this book. To me this book wasn’t about anarchism-communism or capitalism being one better than the other. To me this book was about how both societies had strengths and weaknesses, and both being very imperfect. In a way Shevek’s journey to me was in trying to find a middle road between the two, and that middle ground was where real progress took place.

I wished I’d read this book in a book club, preferably with some people with interest in economics … and am going to post to my author Facebook page and hope that suffices. Anyway, I highly recommend it, and would love to hear your thoughts, and wish GDPR hadn’t closed down my comments. 😛

Pick up The Dispossessed at Amazon, Kobo, Nook, iBooks, GooglePlay, & Scribd.