Sunday 30 October 2016

Books Not On Chairs or Other Seating Conveniences...


 ... because I only have the briefest of windows available, this is all I have time for. I couldn't even find the time to plop a few books on chairs and take some snaps! Not that I have any chairs you haven't already seen in previous outings...

::

41. Time Lock (Star Trek: Department of Temporal Investigations), by Christopher L. Bennett (2016)

 The dedicated agents of the Federation Department of Temporal Investigations have their work cut out for them protecting the course of history from the dangers of time travel. But the galaxy is littered with artifacts that, in the wrong hands, could threaten reality. One of the DTI's most crucial jobs is to track down these objects and lock them safely away in the Federation’s most secret and secure facility. As it happens, Agent Gariff Lucsly and his supervisor, DTI director Laarin Andos, are charged with handling a mysterious space-time portal device discovered by Starfleet. But this device turns out to be a Trojan horse, linking to a pocket dimension and a dangerous group of raiders determined to steal some of the most powerful temporal artifacts ever known...

 Exhilarating!



42. Moon Over Luna, by David R. George III (2013)

 When an unexpected and inexplicable object appears in the skies of Earth, a single father joins the rest of humanity in trying to make sense of it.

 Quiet.



43. The Baba Yaga (Weird Space), by Una McCormack (2015)

 The growing threat of the dimension-invading Weird has driven the Expansion government to outright paranoia. Mandatory telepathic testing is introduced, and the colony Braun’s World – following reports of a new Weird portal opening – is destroyed from orbit, at an unimaginable cost in lives.
 Delia Walker, a senior analyst in the Expansion’s intelligence bureau and a holdout of the pragmatic old guard, protests the oppressive new policies and is drummed out. Sure there’s a better way, she charters the decrepit freighter the Baba Yaga and heads into the lawless “Satan’s Reach,” following rumours of a world where humans and the Weird live peacefully side by side.
 Hunted by the Bureau, Walker, her pilot Yershov, and Failt – a Vetch child stowaway, fleeing slavery – will uncover secrets about both the Weird and the Expansion; secrets that could prevent catastrophic war... 


 Retro.

 


44. Hell's Heart (Star Trek: Prey), by John Jackson Miller (2016)

 When Klingon commander Kruge died in combat against James T. Kirk on the Genesis Planet back in 2285, he left behind a powerful house in disarray—and a series of ticking time bombs: the Phantom Wing, a secret squadron of advanced Birds-of-Prey; a cabal of loyal officers intent on securing his heritage; and young Korgh, his thwarted would-be heir, willing to wait a Klingon lifetime to enact his vengeance.
 Now, one hundred years later, while on a diplomatic mission for the United Federation of Planets, Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the USS Enterprise are snared in the aged Korgh’s trap—and thrust directly in the middle of an ancient conflict. But as Commander Worf soon learns, Korgh may be after far bigger game than anyone imagines, confronting the Federation-Klingon alliance with a crisis unlike any it has ever seen!

Meh... (I won't be reading books two and three)



45. A Closed and Common Orbit, by Becky Chambers (2016)

 Lovelace was once merely a ship's artificial intelligence. When she wakes up in an new body, following a total system shut-down and reboot, she has to start over in a synthetic body, in a world where her kind are illegal. She's never felt so alone.
 But she's not alone, not really. Pepper, one of the engineers who risked life and limb to reinstall Lovelace, is determined to help her adjust to her new world. Because Pepper knows a thing or two about starting over.
 Together, Pepper and Lovey will discover that, huge as the galaxy may be, it's anything but empty.

 Uplifting! (A stand-alone sequel to The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet which I read here and here.)


14 comments:

  1. Please beam me up! I'm in a near-catatonic state from our bizarro election!

    ReplyDelete
  2. "a total system shut-down and reboot"...

    I could use one of those.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You might have to get in line - several governments need it more! (Except maybe M. Trudeau's)

      Delete
    2. Does the Infomaniac Drinking Team know of this "shut-down and reboot" cocktail?

      Delete
  3. Time Lock, The Baba Yaga, & A Closed & Common Orbit sound fascinating. I do feel ambivalent about stories that almost seem like an excuse to reboot classic stories. Sometimes, the original is the best, & no one should be messing with the original storyline--I'm looking at you, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Teen Titans & Powerpuff Girls gawd awful reboots.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Baba Yaga is weird. Good weird, but still weird in that its a modern novel that (to me, anyway) evokes a mindset from 40-50 years ago.
      A Closed and Common Orbit is just marvellous! A wonderful story of friendship, love, and responsibility, all set in a future that isn't a grimdark dystopian nightmare. It's not perfect, but it certainly shows that one doesn't need death, destruction, and meaness to engage.
      Original is best!

      Delete
  4. Replies
    1. I wish I knew. I go through an awful lot of scouring pads...

      Delete
  5. I have books that need to be put on a chair.... but I have been watching Charlie Brooker's wonderful Black Mirror series on Netflix - I think you would love it.
    Sx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I do love Black Mirror! I, too, have been watching it on Netflix - I binged the first two seasons (including the Christmas speciall with John Hamm), and watched the first 3rd season show with Bryce Dallas Howard. I must admit, I almost turned off the telly about a third of the way through "Nosedive" because all that social media 'liking' was far too creepy and disturbing!

      Delete
  6. In the NEWS today.
    Be afraid, be very afraid, and never use an exclamation mark again.
    Sx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yikes (so difficult not to use an exclamation after that). Black Mirror world really is upon us.

      Delete

Tickle my fancy, why don't you?