God Emperor of Didcot by Toby Frost

 This is the sequel to Space Captain Smith. It's not really necessary to read it to understand this book but there are several recurring characters from that book.

Plot

Since Smith and his crew succeeded in their mission in the last book someone considers them competent enough to be given a new mission. Meeting the spymaster W (yes it's a James Bond reference) they are told about the vital importance of tea to the war effort. When combined with milk it's apparently the source of moral fiber. 

Now it's threatened by a religious zealot, the grand Hyrax. He is gaining a following on Didcot 4 (also known as Urn) the empires main tea producer. With backing from the Republic of New Eden, the religious fanatics that tried to kill Smith in the last book, this could be a real problem. Clearly they are going, it doesn't hurt that Didcot 4 is the planet Rhianna is on, receiving training to use her Vorl heritage. Getting there they meet up with Ws agent on Urn to start their investigation.

I But Rhianna isn't the only person on Urn. Gilead is not as dead as they thought and neither is 462. They are once again plotting planing to invade urn and breaking the morals fiber of the British.

My thoughts

Clear dune references, with tea instead of spice, the order of saint Camilla the tactile instead of the Bene Geserit. And dragons instead of sandworns. And crusades instead of a jihad. That's mostly where it ends Hyrax is the Paul analog but the Teasmen are on the side of the empire. Which is good I have read Dune and a re-skinned copy would be boring.

Like the first book there are still plenty of references but they are more considered for the plot. More woven in to serve it. The James Bond references at the beginning when they get their mission and are gathering information about the Hyrax. Of course it's still a bit of a everything and the kitchen sink but the plot is more straight forward. With less detours and the ones makes sense for the over arching plot. But I did enjoy the trip to see Suruks family even though they are a bit of a continuity error. Mostly Suruk is a predator (like the movie) and live for fighting and collecting skulls, the ones we meet in the first book were the same. Now we find out that Suruks family and supposedly all the other M'laks on Didcot 6 are living in middle-class suburbia. Of course the M'laks there aren't all there is but still it's a big change for just a few years. 

There are still blink and you miss them references like when they land on a planet for repairs and run into a mix of Lovecraft and Enid Blyton. I did like the Lovecraft one since it focused on the exact things that annoy me about his writing.  

The tea puns are a bit much though like Sam O'varr the tea priestess of the Teasmen. 

The smith Rhiannan ....romance? is something. Smith constantly thinks of having sex with her but also runs away when she tried to kiss him. I don't particularly think they would be good together but not to any point that it bothers me. Apart from sex I'm not sure what either sees in the other. 

If you have read it what did you think? Leave a comment. If you haven't read it you can check it out here Didcot.

A Review of Space captain Smith by Toby Frost

Captain Isambard smith has finally after far to long working behind a desk been given a mission and can do his part to protect the British space empire against aliens and foreigners. Bringing with him his long time friend Suruk the slayer a Molok (think the  predator who speaks like old theater) who is excited for the chance to add to his head collection. The pilot Carveth who unbeknownst to Smith is an escaped sex bot. Whose "owner" wants  her dead. And last but not least is Gerard the hamster. 

He is disappointed to learn that the ship Jon Pym is not a warship and is more rust than he'd have wanted. Also the mission, picking up Rhianna Mitchell from the New Francisco space station and delivering her to the empire, is not as exciting as he'd hoped. But between fighting void sharks, Ghast storm troopers (nazi ants), and Republic of Eden fanatics evidence start to pile up that Mitchell perhaps is more important for the war effort than they thought. Which would be fine until they realize that they were not chosen for this mission for their skill. Rather they are the lure in a trap. But with the ship sent to swoop in and save them destroyed they are truly alone stranded on a backwater planet.

My thoughts

This book is a lot of  funny and very weird. 

I wouldn't call it fast paced so much as problems appear and gets solved within just one or two chapters. Someone gets kidnapped in the next chapter they are rescued, staring down a Ghast Warship some Moloks Suruk befriended shows up and kills them. Thinking about it usually the answer to their problems is violence. This may sound like a bad thing but it's to charming for me to be annoyed at it. It's very turn your brain of and enjoy the ride sort of thing.

Similar to the plot the setting is... everything, as long as it's a reference. So every planet or people is almost a new setting; the British is in the 19th century, New Francisco is 70s hippie era. But plenty is inspired by fiction, Rick Dreckitt a stimulant hitman who's horrified that he can no longer tell the difference between humans and robots and worrying that he might accidentally kill a fellow robot. It's clearly a reversed Bladerunner situation, but there are also quick glimpses or war of the worlds, the matrix and a clockwork orange (the youths gets beat up by a predator). Despite all this it feels cohesive if only because everything is equally as out of place. 

Victorian England wasn't known for being progressive not really about anything but here that mostly manifests as Smith saying he dislikes foreigners and aliens. Though he shows no actual dislike for any he meet and neither does his superior have any problem with Suruk tagging along. When it comes to women it's mostly shown by Smiths inexperience with sex. Instead the Republic of Eden (right wing USA) gets to be evil for their patriarchal ways. It's an interesting choice. 

Now don't get me wrong I don't want my main characters to be upholding the patriarchy but it does feel like it's trying to have it's cake and eat it too.  

The book is a lot, but it's fun and the characters are...I hesitate to call them likable but entertaining. 

If you have read it what did you think? Leave a comment. If you haven't read it you can check it out here Space captain

The Android's Dream by John Scalzi

 Before I begin, I should say that yes the title does indeed refer to the Philip K. Dick novel. Though in this case it refers to a breed of genetically modified bright blue sheep.

Plot

Android's dream is a science fiction novel and it begins with a diplomatic incident between representatives of Earth and that of the alien race Nidu. Nidu has been Earth's ally, but relations have been strained for some time now as many on Earth feel exploited. To restore Nidu's goodwill, Harry Creek is tasked with finding a sheep needed in the coronation of Nidu's new ruler. This is made more difficult by the fact that there is only one sheep of that kind left. It is also complicated by conspirators from Earth, Nidu and a religious order.

And then the book gets really weird.

My thoughts

The book partly reminds me of the hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy or Terry Pratchett in that it constantly interrupts the plot to tell stories about the different characters, peoples, organizations and other things. It's the kind of absurd writing style that I quite enjoy when it's done correctly.

I have previously read Scalzi's book Redshirts (which I recommend to anyone who has seen the original Star Trek) and this is similar in many ways. Redshirts is definitely the weirder of them (especially at the end) but androids dream I'd say is more exciting and maybe even the funnier of them. Assuming you're into bizarre humor. 

If you have read it what did you think? Leave a comment. If you haven't read it you can check it out here Androids dream.

The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury

The book is something of a cross between a novel and a collection of about twenty chronological short
stories. 

Slowly they tell about how the first humans come to Mars and the reactions of the martians already living there. How expedition after expedition fails and the crews die, not by violence (the martians as a whole barely even notice they're there) but by situations that could have been completely avoidable. Until disease and apathy kills the martians leaving the planet open for human colonisation.

This is one of the most melancholic books I've read in a long time. About the collapse of two civilizations, the Martian, which have been slowly falling for a thousand years until, in a move reminiscent of the H.G Wells War of the Worlds, they are killed by chicken pox.

Or maybe it, like War of the Worlds, draws parallels to imperialism. Where the War of the Worlds draws parallels to how Europeans were long kept away from the interior of Africa by diseases like malaria. The Martian Chronicles refers to the colonization of the Americas where the indigenous population died of smallpox. 

While this is happening, people are fleeing Earth and the impending war there. A continuation of the cold war maybe the book was written in the 50's and takes place in the not too distant future. When the war erupts at the end only a few people manage to escape and settle on Mars becoming the new martians.

There is an interesting thought when old science fiction. books written in the 1950 set in the far of future of 2020 not just what they got write or wrong no space travel or aluminum foil clothes yet but the things they thought would remain unchanged. Or maybe things that was so common in their world that they didn't consider it. In the Martian chronicles gender roles is one such thing. Where the the women are mostly housewives something they interestingly enough share with the martian society. I find it interesting but I doubt the author considered it.

If you have read it what did you think? Leave a comment. If you haven't read it you can check it out here Martian chronicles. and since it's been around for so long so there's lots of different versions to pick from.

Locked Tomb series by Tamsyn Muir

 So far three books has been published in this series Gideon, Harrow and Nona the ninth and we are awaiting Alecto the ninth that is supposed to end the series. I'm mostly going to write about the first two partially to avoid spoilers but mostly because the books get weirder as you go and I don't think i can explain Nona in a way that makes sense.

Gideon the ninth

Ten thousand years from now humanity is spread out into space divided into and controlled by the nine necromantic houses. Sort of, the first house is mostly the emperor and god and his immortal lyctoral saints and the ninth house is a dying cult desperately trying to keep up appearances.

There's also a war happening but its not relevant to the plot and so its not explained, as in after three books I'm still not entirely sure who they are fighting. this book takes an unusual approach to exposition as in there are none figure it out from context.

Anyhow several of the lyctors have died and in order to fill out the ranks the emperor has called on the nine houses to each send a necromancer and their cavalier (swordfighter) to become new lyctors. the ninth house sending the Reverant daughter Harrowhark Nonagesimus (this is not the weirdest name in this series) and her cavalier Gideon Nav. They are chosen because they are literally the only people in the ninth house below retirement age. They arrive at the mostly empty planet and the research facility there the past lyctors worked were given access to their labs and told to figure it out. 

Then one by one the other chevaliers and necromancers are found dead. 

Harrow the ninth 

After the events of the first book Harrow isn't doing too well. She is a lyctor living with the emperor on his space station and being taught by the older lyctors. But her powers doesn't work the way they should and she keeps having flashbacks to the events of the first book. Except the flashbacks doesn't show the events as they happened. Most notable Gideon isn't there and having been replaced by Ortus as Harrows cavalier.

Don't remember Ortus? He died off screen in the beginning of the first book while harrow and Gideon were fighting.

To make matters worse Ortus is trying to kill her. Not flashback Ortus, there's a lyctor that's also named Ortus. Though the Emperor treats it all with exasperation so it's probably not too serious. Plot-wise we find out that there is something called resurrection beasts. These are mile long Lovecraftian horrors that they have spent the last 10 000 years fighting. The reason new lyctors were needed was that the others had all died fighting them and now one is approaching.

Also the Emperor undying and Necrolord prime is a nice if weird man named Jon and Harrow can't wrap her head around her god being a person.

What do I think

Do I like it? I don't know, I mostly spend most of the book trying to figure out what is even happening.

Will I read the next one? Definitely, these are the most unique books I've read in a long time and I plan on rereading them, hopefully by then I'll understand something.

An interesting part of Harrow the ninth is Jon and his remaining three lyctors. It explores the long term effect of immortality. They are all somewhat disconnected from time, they speak of things that happened thousands of years ago as if it happened last week and keep rehashing the same arguments again and again.

It's a very good and interesting series, I like both Gideon and Harrow as characters and I would recommend it to anyone who likes fantasy. But it's not an easy series, you can't just sit back and relax. You need to actually pay attention if you want to figure it out.

If you have read it what did you think? Leave a comment. If you haven't read it you can check it out here Locked Tomb.

The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells

The murderbot diaries is a science fiction series with seven books. The first four books are fairly short, less than two hundred pages each, but well worth the read. I assume the other three are good too but haven't read them yet.

 Murderbot is a security unit (Secunit) half robot and half cloned human rented out by the Company to provide security for various research expeditions. They named themself Murderbot after a disastrous mission. That mission was then deleted from their memory banks but they still have some memories of it in their neural tissue. Just enough to know something bad happened. To stop it from happening again they hack themself. Freeing them from the Company's control. 

But the world isn't kind to a lone rouge Secunit, even one who just want to watch their tv-series in peace. The books follow them as they first seek their deleted memories and then tries to find their place in the world. On the way they make friends with humans and bots alike and fight back against the evil corporations. 

Murderbot is the most adorable character. I just want to give them a blanket, a hug and tell them everything will be alright. But they are too antisocial to want that. They mostly just want to be left alone to watch their tv-series. As for the plots the books are focused on Murderbot investigating various corporate ploys while trying to keep their humans safe. All the books are liberally sprinkled with violence in a good way. Fast paced is how I'd describe the.

If you have read it what did you think? Leave a comment. 

If you haven't read it you can check it out here Murderbot.