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Who Is Kasumi 9?
Those reading “Among Bright Stars…” will notice I throw out a mystery when I introduce the double gun wielding envoy Kasumi 9, who is a Synthicon, which is sort of an artificial shell for a human mind. Synthicons, though complex machines are considerably less advanced than are Morningstars.
The mystery I put out is, who was Kasumi 9 before the desolation of America? I’ll tell you here. Kasumi 9‘s identity is that of a real-world political figure. Those who know me will probably leap to the wrong conclusion, even though I do make an offhand reference to the person who they might first assume (knowing me) I intend Kasumi to be.
I’ll probably resolve her identity by book 3, though I’d be pleased to read speculation.
Only Superhuman — Christopher L. Bennett
I actually love this cover… And that phaser…
I was going to try to make my first post of 2013 about my own work, yet I found myself sucked into a book
Only Superhuman by Christopher L. Bennett
2107 AD: A generation ago, Earth and the cislunar colonies banned genetic and cybernetic modifications. But out in the Asteroid Belt, anything goes. Dozens of flourishing space habitats are spawning exotic new societies and strange new varieties of humans. It’s a volatile situation that threatens the peace and stability of the entire solar system.
Emerald Blair is a Troubleshooter. Inspired by the classic superhero comics of the twentieth century, she’s joined with other mods to try to police the unruly Asteroid Belt. But her loyalties are tested when she finds herself torn between rival factions of superhumans with very different agendas. Emerald wants to put her special abilities to good use, but what do you do when you can’t tell the heroes from the villains?
Only Superhuman is a rollicking hard-SF adventure set in a complex and fascinating future.
Now that you’ve gotten the blurb, I’ll tell you what I’m liking and what I’m not liking about this book as I read it. With the caveat that this is not intended to be a review as such…
Pros: I like the Transhumanism taking center stage, Emerald Blaze is a likeable, and sexy character, the writing is overall good as well as the universe which is being established.
Cons: I have the sneaking feeling I’m being lectured at… There are moments when Christopher L. Bennett‘s political views pop off the page and smack you in the nose, such as when we meet Emry’s mother – Who is presented to us as a Wiccan and it ends up wreaking of agenda. Though I will forgive him this somewhat since he doesn’t present her as a Laurie Cabot Dianic man-hater type. In fact her Wicca is presented as – Performance art? (There’s a whole different topic right there)
There are reviews on Amazon complaining about “all the sex” and so far I have not stumbled on anything all that umm explicit – If anything, I’d like it be far more spelled out, as you can still tell that Christopher L. Bennett is trying to disengage himself from his Star Trek writing in this regard.
Yet, overall I’m enjoying this read.
Remember, this is a none-review 
I provide no stars.
*PS this new WordPress interface blows… How do I put a post in a category?
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Domination Of The Draka…
This is not a book review, rather, it’s just a few thoughts on the culture, and society of S.M. Stirling‘s Draka.
So I’m reading Marching Through Georgia, first of the Draka Saga. Short version, the Draka are descendants of Crown loyalists, and Hessian forces exiled to the African Cape, renamed in honor of Sir Francis Drake after the American Revolution, which is where this fictional world‘s divergence breaks off from our own history.
As I read, I find myself both repulsed, and enthralled by the Draka, who have adopted a very Nietzschean, and Spartan lifestyle. As a people they are both pragmatic, yet aristocratic. The problem is, as good as its written, and as interesting a world that Stirling has built, I can’t find myself being sympathetic toward any of the characters.
Wait, with one exception, the American reporter, this book has done what no one in the news media could do, make me feel sorry for a reporter, who clearly is off put by the Draka’s brutal regime, where the notion of liberty as we understand it has no place.
It’s a hard choice, who do you cheer for, when your choices are Nazis, or a group of people who will, when they have the upper hand turn around and conquer you? And make no mistake, as there is no doubt that the Draka have every intention of reaching out to conquer the United States at some later date when it will best serve them to do so. The only clear difference is that the Draka don’t seem interested in genocide, only slavery, and are very patient about their slow march across the Earth.
One thing I do find off-putting about the book is the serf accents, think Roots, or Gone With The Wind – I jump out of the book whenever a serf speaks, and I can’t help but think “Deep South“. Is that on purpose? But what bugs me is, the Draka should have just the same sort of drawl, yet they’re not written like that.
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Our Path To Khan Noonien Singh…?
Space Seed (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Is this real?
The world’s first geneticallymodified humans have been created, it was revealed last night.
Fifteen of the children were born in the past three years as a result of one experimental programme at the Institute for Reproductive Medicine and Science of St Barnabas in New Jersey.
The babies were born to women who had problems conceiving. Extra genes from a female donor were inserted into their eggs before they were fertilised in an attempt to enable them to conceive.
Genetic fingerprint tests on two one-year- old children confirm that they have inherited DNA from three adults –two women and one man.
Don’t misread my tone, I love this sort of thing, in point of fact, in my own writing, I would guess I take the pro-Khan point of view, I always hated how Star Trek held a rather Luddite stand when it came to genetic engineering. The episode Space Seed, along with GI JOE Arise, Serpentor, Arise sparked my interest in the subject, and in many ways, my conception of the Morningstars are meant to be a counterpoint to how such experiments are in Science Fiction always depicted as, dare I say evil.
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Abbreviated Blurbs…
Smashwords when it ships a book, sends the short blurb that comes up in a search on Smashwords, rather than the long description after you click on the cover to some retailers. This is actually a bit of a problem, the abbreviated blurb I wrote for Smashwords, was really only meant for the function it serves on that site, not for other retailers, where I assumed my much longer, and plot involving blurb was going.
Needless to say, I decided to rework my long version blurb for Falco Invictus: On the Forge of War into a smaller version, which can be shipped to those retailers that do not carry the long form version. Now reducing it down to this is not as compelling as the long version…
The year is 2030, and the planet rebuilds in the wake of World War III, the “War on Terror“. Frederika von Gotha, Duchess of Saxe-Coburg, a product of genetic engineering, called a Morningstar, serves as a spy for her tiny nation. Being the perfect honeypot helps! She is given a mission, learn about the mysterious Falcanians and the secrets they keep hidden away on their artificial island.
You’ll notice I mostly reworked some of the word placement. The above only gives me 8 characters to spare.
Here’s the long version…
Augmented by Genetics and Cybernetics the Transhuman reign over the Globe. The year is 2030 and the planet rebuilds still in the wake of World War III, the “War on Terror”. The United States is no more, yet from its ashes arose the Imperium which seeks to rule all it surveys. For vengeance, and survival Imperator Romulus sends his newest space battleship: DSV Excalibur to seek dangerous allies to help him complete his dominance over the planet. If he succeeds no nation will be free from Julius Romulus Giovanni’s boot, in particular the small German Dukedom of Saxe-Coburg.
One woman is a well honed blade: Frederika von Gotha, Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and a product of genetic engineering called a Morningstar, as a spy for her tiny nation she is given a mission, learn about the mysterious Falcanians and the secrets they keep hidden away on their artificial island. Once she steps foot on Vanguard, neither Frederika nor the world, again on the brink of chaos will ever be the same.
The above I think provides a fuller notion of what the story is about, not to mention includes various plot threads, whereas the short version sort of focuses only on one.
Just some links for where you can buy it, should you so desire…
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/103412
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0064Y48OK
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0064Y48OK
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/falco-invictus-rodney-c-johnson/1108022126?ean=2940032917175
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On the Forge of War – New Cover!
Augmented by Genetics and Cybernetics the Transhuman reign over the Globe. The year is 2030 and the planet rebuilds still in the wake of World War III, the “War on Terror“. The United States is no more, yet from its ashes arose the Imperium which seeks to rule all it surveys. For vengeance, and survival Imperator Romulus sends his newest space battleship: DSV Excalibur to seek dangerous allies to help him complete his dominance over the planet. If he succeeds no nation will be free from Julius Romulus Giovanni’s boot, in particular the small German Dukedom of Saxe-Coburg.
One woman is a well honed blade: Frederika von Gotha, Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and a product of genetic engineering called a Morningstar, as a spy for her tiny nation she is given a mission, learn about the mysterious Falcanians and the secrets they keep hidden away on their artificial island. Once she steps foot on Vanguard, neither Frederika nor the world, again on the brink of chaos will ever be the same.
================================================================================
I do this sometimes, redo covers when the impulse strikes. The thing I’m not overly pleased with, is the city in the background. It’s supposed to be Vanguard Island – though it resembles Canada…
This is actually a companion piece to this cover:
Sort of a beginning of the story, and end of the story. Want to guess which is which? You can only get the above cover on Amazon, as Smashwords won’t let me have multiple versions of one book up. I don’t get why we can’t put up new editions like that.
To celebrate the new cover, On the Forge of War is FREE at Smashwords until May 26.
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/103412
Promotional price: $0.00
Coupon Code: DH32K
Expires: May 26, 2012
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