The Reading List
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Over the past couple of weeks, I've received some new books. Here's what I've got coming up next:
Spellwright, Blake Charleton. I came upon Blake's book through an interview that he participated in with Geek's Guide to the Galaxy, where he talked a bit about his life, namely the problems that he faced with severe dyslexia, his education and becoming a full time writer and medical student. Since his book has been released, it's been getting a number of really, really good reviews, and I'm very excited to get through this one.
This book looks to be fascinating in how Charleton is using his own experiences and the value of the written word in with the magic that the characters wield. I believe in the power of words and prose, and for that reason alone, I'm really looking forward to this one.
The Gaslight Dogs, Karin Lowachee. Karin Lowachee wrote a trilogy of novels back in 2002-2005 (I think), Warchild, Burndive and Cagebird, then vanished for a couple of years. I almost wrote her off as having abandoned the writing profession, when I came across a posting that she had a new book coming out: The Gaslight Dogs. This time, she's going to fantasy/steampunk with a novel that looks really interesting. I've really liked her prose in the earlier books, so there are high hopes for this one.
The Mirrored Heavens, David J. Williams. A little while ago, I wrote an article for io9 called Your Military Science Fiction Isn't Military Science Fiction. I got a number of e-mails, good and bad, from people who read it, and one of them brought my attention to David William's book The Mirrored Heavens. This is gritty military science fiction, and I like how the book has started off, and it has a promising storyline, especially when you look into the Military SciFi field.
Whirlwind: The Air War Against Japan, 1942-1945, Barrett Tillman. This book is part of a research project that I'm embarking on, looking at Air Power theory following the Second World War. Based on the review in the Wall Street Journal, and it's kickass cover, I picked it up to read up on something that I don't know enough about: how the US bombed Japan and its major cities during WWII. It's a horrifying and terrible subject, but one that's incredible influential in American and international history. This book is already very interesting to read.
Ambassadors from Earth: Pioneering Explorations with Unmanned Spacecraft, Jay Gallentine. I've written extensively about the University of Nebraska Press's series The Outward Odyssey, and the latest installment, Ambassadors from Earth has just arrived. Where the prior books discuss the human element of space travel, this one is about the unmanned systems that have gone into space. Presumably, this will talk a lot about the planetary and solar system probes that have gone out, but I wouldn't be surprised to see something about satellites as well. The prior four books have been excellent, and I have high expectations for this one.