e, pi, many

Old Man’s War by John Scalzi

Scott MacHaffie — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 01:30:00 +0000

So when you turn 75, you join the Space Defense Forces. Kind of strange–the colonies only want people who’ve been around a bit. At least our intrepid hero is smart enough to realize that if it’s a two-year commitment that the SDF can decide to renew up to 10 years, that you’re really in for 10.

Old Man’s War takes us through a shooting gallery in space between humans and everyone else. We get to see the world through the eyes of John Perry, a 75 year-old green recruit who is getting his first taste of life off earth. Mostly, it wants to kill him.

It’s fun watching John grow throughout the book.

Cursor’s Fury, by Jim Butcher

Scott MacHaffie — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 16:45:54 +0000

I’ve really enjoyed this entire series. The main two protagonists, Amara and Tavi, are complex characters. Amara has conflicting loyalties, and Tavi is unique.

In this world, everyone has furies. Furies are like elementals–they come in the four standard usual forms plus metal and wood. Tavi is the only one who doesn’t have furies. This book centers around Tavi who ends up leading a Legion to protect the Aleria Imperia against an attack by the Canim (huge intelligent, long-lived creatures that rival fury crafting warriors).

Amara is one of the First Lord’s spies, and her conflicting loyalties are tested again in this book.

About e, pi, many

Scott MacHaffie — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 21:26:55 +0000

e, pi, many is Scott MacHaffie’s reviews of science fiction and fantasy books. Mostly. Maybe some videos as well. And an occasional out of category book. But that’s it. Period.

If you agree with my reviews–great, maybe I will review something you haven’t read. If you disagree with all of my reviews–great, then you know what to avoid.