Malasz

Trust is the second book in the Trang series. The story picks up two weeks after the first novel ends. The shape-shifting alien known as "The Magic Man" has completed his conquest of the planet of the aggressive Cyclopes. Due to his world's experience with many forms of government, Trang has been tasked by the Magic Man to establish a government for the Cyclopes. Despite queasy feelings about imposing his political views upon another race, Trang reluctantly accepts. If he fails, the Magic Man may perceive that the entire race of Cyclopes are "diseased" and kill them all. Sisson has retained her soft sci-fi feel, but made Trust stronger than its predecessor. While dialogue continues to drive the story, she has added action and built up suspense to avoid lulls in the story's pace. Although this book is just as long as the first one, at no point did I feel it was dragging. While the first novel introduced us to all of the aliens on the space station, the...

Harruq and Qurrah Tun are half-elf/half-orc brothers who've been mocked and beaten their whole lives for their mixed blood. They eke out a living in squalid conditions through odd jobs and thievery, only wanting to be left alone. But trouble always finds them in the form of silent scowls on the street, drunken fools eager for a fight, or corrupt guardsmen tossing them out of the city for being "elfies." One day they meet a mysterious dark mage named Velixar who promises them respect and wealth in exchange for their allegiance. With nothing to lose, the brothers accept the bargain and gain more power then they ever dreamed. Harruq had always desired strength and martial prowess to fight back against those who would bully him and his brother—Velixar grants him two magical swords, magical armor, and thirty extra pounds of muscle. Qurrah had always desired arcane knowledge so he could rule, rather than be ruled—Velixar teaches him to wield dark magic, enabling him to ha...

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Shaman, Friend, Enemy is the second book in the Olivia Lawson: Techno-Shaman series from M. Terry Green. As Shaman, Friend, Enemy opens, Olivia Lawson ("Livvy") has been rewarded for her heroic deeds in Shaman, Healer, Heretic . Shamans are no longer scorned, in fact, they are sought after. Livvy's client list now includes celebrities, who pay her handsomely for her healing powers. This new found prosperity has enabled her to move out of her rat trap and into a luxury apartment. She no longer has to buy her clothes from Goodwill. Her friend and fellow shaman, Min, drives her around in a Porsche. Life is good. Unfortunately, success has brought its share of trouble. The paparazzi hound Livvy whenever possible, particularly when she's visiting one of her celebrity clients. Worse still, her success has earned her the enmity of a dark shaman, Dominique. Green doesn't waste any time establishing the conflict between these two. Dominique is a well-crafted villain. An...

Ray Bradbury passed away last week at the grand old age of 91. He was the author to some of the 20th century's greatest stories: Fahrenheit 451 , The Martian Chronicles , Dandelion Wine and Something Wicked This Way Comes . He wrote an untold number of fantastic short stories like "A Sound of Thunder", "Frost and Fire", "The Illustrated Man" and "I Sing the Body Electric". But despite his age, he never lost touch with his inner twelve-year old. Bradbury professed that his love of stories arose during his early childhood . He hung out in public libraries reading as many books as he could. When he scraped up enough money (this was the Depression after all), he went to the movies. This constant feeding of his imagination eventually reached critical mass and he could no longer contain it. He had to share it with the rest of us. That sense of wonder was the wellspring from which his stories came. Rob and I each have some thoughts to share about ...

Peter Darrach's Second Skin is set in 2125. Humanity is out and about in the solar system, living in self-sustaining colonies on Mars, mining the asteroid belt, and building massive space stations that process the raw materials. But the solar system is a dangerous place. Tensions mount as Earth tightens its control over an increasingly independent Mars, and “pirates” steal the minerals and ice mined from the asteroid belt in ever bolder raids. Add to this mix average joe asteroid-miner, Max Cody. A strange cosmic event during one of his missions gives him extraordinary powers. With the help of his girlfriend, Elaine Zhou, he uses his powers to thwart a team of pirates and prevent a megalomaniacal villain from taking over the Earth. Second Skin read more like a super hero novel to me than hard science fiction. That's not a criticism but an observation. I couldn't help but notice how it followed the classic super hero origin storyline—a strange event gives an ordina...