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The Space Navies Are Fighting Again!!

The Short Victorious War by David Weber

July 22, 2021 by Halbs Leave a Comment

This is my third review in the Honor Harington series – a military sci-fi series based heavily around “naval” battles in the skies. I believe the character is roughly based on the equally alliterated Horatio Hornblower books of yore. Minor spoilers are inevitable but nothing serious. In Weber’s third Honor Harington book, our hero is placed in charge of a monster of a ship. She’s a highly decorated captain, recognized for her superior tactics as well as her political acumen. However, even in the future […]

Get out of that haus, man!

Bath Haus by P.J. Vernon

July 22, 2021 by Halbs Leave a Comment

BookPage recommended this book a few months ago, either in the Pride issue or shortly before. Either way, I read this thriller based on their recommendation. This book is wild. Oliver has what seems to be an idyllic life in the Washington, D.C. area. He’s married to a doctor, he lives in amazing landmark of a home – things are going pretty well. However, this is a thriller, so of course things aren’t really going that well. Oliver is bored in his perfect life, so […]

“All is Brahman”

The Upanishads by Eknath Easwaran

June 28, 2021 by Halbs Leave a Comment

It seems unhelpful to review the substance of a spiritual text, so here I want to focus on the impact the book had on me to help other readers determine if they want to have a similar experience. When I was in high school we used as textbooks special versions of Shakespeare’s texts. On one side was the text itself. On the other side was a kind of contemporary Pop Up Video commentary explaining the cultural and literary references made by Shakespeare. That marginalia was […]

John Slattery as an AI

The Municipalists: A Novel by Seth Fried

June 18, 2021 by Halbs Leave a Comment

This book sort of defies classification. It feels a bit like an odd couple buddy cop movie, a social satire, a sci-fi adventure, and more. It’s an enjoyable ride without a clear identity, but maybe that’s part of the fun of it. Suitland, Maryland, is the home to the United States Municipal Survey. This straight-laced federal agency is charged with helping American cities reach their full potential by making their processes more effective and efficient. The protagonist is a suit named Henry. Even at the […]

Messin with Sasquatch

Devolution: A Firsthand Account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre by Max Brooks

June 9, 2021 by Halbs Leave a Comment

50% World War Z, 35% Limetown, 15% Blair With Project = Devolution. Max Brooks is at it again with his trademark blending of non-fiction narrative prose with fictitious sci-fi events. In this case, he uses the “found footage” style of Blair Witch to tell the story of a yuppie commune in the Pacific Northwest ravaged by what appears to be Bigfoot-type creatures. Instead of film, though, researchers find a series of journals in the empty and devastated rubble of the commune. The journals seem to […]

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