The future is here.

(The future is always here; it sneaks up on you while you're busy doing something else, and then one day you wake up and realize that it's not 1998 any more. What the heck just happened?)

The future is here. I've just realized that I've been avoiding reading a book (you may all gasp in horror now) -- and the reason is that the book is printed on paper. You know, instead of on electrons.

An author who's work I fairly consistently enjoy has sent me the latest book in a series that I definitely enjoy. It's well pre-publication (scheduled for 2009) and rather than sending an RTF (preferred) or HTML (very good) or plain text (fine) or even a PDF (blech; takes up too much processing time on my portable book readers) I got a sheaf of 8.5x11 pages. I suppose that had it arrived in trade-paper or mmpb format I wouldn't have had issues, but.

(I have a bunch of book entries to make, but have been backlogged with real work.)

The future is here.

(The future is always here; it sneaks up on you while you're busy doing something else, and then one day you wake up and realize that it's not 1998 any more. What the heck just happened?)

The future is here. I've just realized that I've been avoiding reading a book (you may all gasp in horror now) -- and the reason is that the book is printed on paper. You know, instead of on electrons.

An author who's work I fairly consistently enjoy has sent me the latest book in a series that I definitely enjoy. It's well pre-publication (scheduled for 2009) and rather than sending an RTF (preferred) or HTML (very good) or plain text (fine) or even a PDF (blech; takes up too much processing time on my portable book readers) I got a sheaf of 8.5x11 pages. I suppose that had it arrived in trade-paper or mmpb format I wouldn't have had issues, but.

(I have a bunch of book entries to make, but have been backlogged with real work.)

Books

_Star Risk, Ltd._
_The Scoundrel Worlds_
_The Doublecross Program_
_The Dog From Hell_, all by Chris Bunch

_The Man With The Golden Torc_, Simon Green

Today we have a study in contrasts: the four Star Risk books are about a group of five interstellar mercenaries who have exciting military-espionage adventures in exotic locales. Green's book is about a single magical operator (in the James Bond tradition, of course) on an Earth with a hidden history.

Bunch is (was, he died in 2005) a competent storyteller who is working with somewhat uninspiring material. These books are interesting on a page-by-page level, but they aren't going anywhere at the end. Each book ends with the protagonists somewhat better off than they were at the beginning, and the next book picks up some months later after all the money has been spent. They are quite amoral: the difference between Star Risk and their evil rival corporation, Cerberus Security, is primarily one of scale. Collateral damage is commonplace; the 'heroes' are just as likely to switch sides half-way through as not.

Green, on the other hand, has an interesting idea and a good storyline, but falls flat on each page. Only the coolness of the magitech and the clear drive to get something accomplished by the end of the pagecount save this from being thrown against the wall. I'm afraid I couldn't believe in any of the main characters at all, and I think I have a higher-than-average capacity for immersion.

Books

_Star Risk, Ltd._
_The Scoundrel Worlds_
_The Doublecross Program_
_The Dog From Hell_, all by Chris Bunch

_The Man With The Golden Torc_, Simon Green

Today we have a study in contrasts: the four Star Risk books are about a group of five interstellar mercenaries who have exciting military-espionage adventures in exotic locales. Green's book is about a single magical operator (in the James Bond tradition, of course) on an Earth with a hidden history.

Bunch is (was, he died in 2005) a competent storyteller who is working with somewhat uninspiring material. These books are interesting on a page-by-page level, but they aren't going anywhere at the end. Each book ends with the protagonists somewhat better off than they were at the beginning, and the next book picks up some months later after all the money has been spent. They are quite amoral: the difference between Star Risk and their evil rival corporation, Cerberus Security, is primarily one of scale. Collateral damage is commonplace; the 'heroes' are just as likely to switch sides half-way through as not.

Green, on the other hand, has an interesting idea and a good storyline, but falls flat on each page. Only the coolness of the magitech and the clear drive to get something accomplished by the end of the pagecount save this from being thrown against the wall. I'm afraid I couldn't believe in any of the main characters at all, and I think I have a higher-than-average capacity for immersion.