Tag Archives: Baen Books

The Ebb and Flow of Empire: David Falkayn: Star Trader

David Falkayn: Star Trader
Baen Books
ebook $6.99
Mass market paperback $7.99

This is volume 2 of the Technic Civilization Saga. The first four stories in the book are novellas: “Territory”, “The Trouble Twisters”, “Day of Burning”, and “The Master Key”. The first and fourth stories concern Nicholas van Rijn, but the middle two involve David Falkayn and his crew Chee Lan and Adzel. Chee Lan resembles a furry primate, while Adzel is a pacifist who looks like a dragon.

In “Territory”, van Rijn has to survive on an alien world when the aliens turn decidedly unfriendly.  In “The Master Key”, he solves a problem on an alien world without getting out of his chair. Falkayn and company find themselves in the middle of a power struggle when he rescues a damsel in distress.

“Day of Burning” is of particular interest here. Falkayn and his crew are trying to save as many inhabitants of a planet that will soon be victim of a nearby supernova. That planet is Merseia. Centuries later, Dominic Flandry will wish Falkayn hadn’t done such a good deed. The Merseians will become humanity’s greatest enemies.

Other than “Day of Burning”, there aren’t any standout stories in terms of long term historical impact in Anderson’s future history. Things are fairly stable as far as galactic government goes. That’s okay, though. All four stories are good, old-fashioned space adventures with well-constructed societies and alien cultures. They are a lot of fun and worth reading.

The rest of the book contains the novel Satan’s World and two shorter pieces. I’ll take a look at those soon.

Piracy on the High Skies

Cosmic Corsairs
Hank Davis and Christopher Ruocchio, eds.
Baen
Trade Paper $16.00
Ebook $8.99

When Hank Davis and Christopher Ruocchio said, “Cosmic Corsairs”, I said, “I’m there.”

Aside from the fact that space pirates are among my favorite things to read about, the anthologies these two gentlemen have put together in the past have been well-worth the investment, which meant I bought this book as soon as I could get my grubby little hands on it and started it immediately.

I am a satisfied customer.  Continue reading

Keith Laumer Sends a Message

There are some writers who are superstars and whose names and works live long after they have entered the long night. There are others who do consistently good work, have their cadres of fans, and are forgotten within a few years or decades of their passing.

Keith Laumer

One such author was Keith Laumer (1925-1993), who was born on this day, June 9. Laumer died nearly three decades ago. In the early 2000’s Baen published a number of omnibuses of his work. Since then, he’s fallen into neglect.

Laumer is best remembered for his tales of the diplomat Retief or perhaps the Bolo series of intelligent tanks. But he wrote a number of other things, all of them enjoyable. He could do action and adventure, space opera, and time travel. He knew how to tell an entertaining story, and he could hide a moral lesson in it without detracting from the entertainment or beating you over the head with his message. Continue reading

A Look at Poul Anderson’s “To Outlive Eternity”

anderson-to-outlive-eternityTo Outlive Eternity
Poul Anderson
Baen
mass market paperback $7.99
ebook $6.99

This post isn’t about the entire collection, but the title story.  “To Outlive Eternity” was serialized in Galaxy in 1967.  An expanded version was published in 1970 as the novel Tau Zero.  I read the novel approximately 25 years ago.  Today being Anderson’s birthday, I wanted to read something of his that was longer than a short story, but not too long.  “To Outlive Eternity” was perfect.

Anderson was a master at many forms of science fiction and fantasy.  He had a degree in physics; not surprisingly, much of his hard science stories revolve around physics and astronomy concepts, one of the many reasons I like his work.  “To Outlive Eternity” falls into this category. Continue reading

Alex Stewart Shoots the Rift

shooting-the-rift-9781476781181_hrShooting the Rift
Alex Stewart
Baen Books
Trade Paper $16.00
Ebook $8.99

It’s spring, when a middle-aged man’s thoughts lightly turn to…space opera!

Alex Stewart has been writing the Caiphas Cain novels and stories under the name Sandy Mitchell for the Warhammer 40,000 franchise.

Now he’s branched out and writing another series.  This is grand old space opera in the grand old tradition.  Or to put it another way, it’s a heckuva lot of fun. Continue reading

Unforgettable is, Well, Unforgettable

UnforgettableUnforgettable
Eric James Stone
Baen Books
trade paper $15
ebook $7.55

So here’s an interesting little novel (by “little” I mean a reasonable length, not a doorstopper, IOW, a compliment) that plays with some scientific ideas in a new way.

Nat Morgan is literally forgettable.  One minute after you leave his presence, you will completely forget having met him.  No computer has any record of him.  He doesn’t show up on camera.  The only way he can leave a permanent record is by writing something down.  That’s the only method he has of being recalled.

So naturally, he works for the CIA.  There’s an entire prototcol he uses to get his handler to accept that what he says is true.  There’s also a file in his handler’s desk with enough information about Nat that the guy will trust him.

Nat is on an assignment to steal a quantum chip prototype when he and a beautiful Russian spy  (Are there any other kinds?  Only a few.) who is also trying to steal the chip are captured.  Things get interesting when she remembers him after they part ways. Continue reading

Keeping Her Brother

Her brothers keeperHer Brother’s Keeper
Mike Kupari
Baen Books
trade paper $16
ebook $8.99

If you like good, old-fashioned space adventure, then you’ll want to check out Mike Kupari’s first solo novel (he’s previously collaborated with Larry Correia) is a strong debut that based on the ending will be the first volume in a series.  At least if sales are good (such is the way of publishing). So go out and buy a copy, because I want to know the secret of that derelict starship they find.

Oh, you want more than that to go on before you buy it, do you? Continue reading

Robert Buettner’s Overkill is a Top-Notch Adventure

OverkillOverkill
Robert Buettner
Baen Books
Mass market paperback $7.99
ebook $6.99

It’s been a while since I’ve read a Baen title, and I’d forgotten how much fun they could be.  Baen has a large number of series books, and I wanted to start with a series that didn’t have a dozen or more novels in it.  So I chose Overkill, not realizing that it’s the first volume in a new series that’s a sequel to another series from a different publisher.  (Looks like I’ve got some catching up to do.)

Jazen Parker has been hired to help a wealthy businessman hunt a creature called the grezzen that’s reputed to be the most dangerous animal in the universe.  He’s got a gorgeous guide to help, which is about the only plus to the situation.

Parker comes from a world where his very existence is illegal, since his birth wasn’t authorized.  Simply existing is a capital crime.  He’s been hiding from bounty hunters since the day he was born.  He knows nothing about his parents.  In order to keep him alive the midwife who raised him enlists him in the Legion, a group of government sanctioned mercenaries.

When a person’s term of service in the Legion is up, they have one year of amnesty before they can be pursued for any crimes they’ve committed.  Parker’s year is almost up.  He’s only got a few weeks to establish a new identity.  If he doesn’t, he’s bounty hunter bait.  He needs the paycheck from this job to pay for that kind of fresh start.  Until he gets paid and establishes his new identity, he’s got to keep his secret.

But Parker isn’t the only one with a secret.  His employer has one.  The guide his employer hired has one.  And the grezzen may have the biggest one of all. Continue reading

Celebrating “The Season of Forgiveness”

9781451638622“The Season of Forgiveness”
Poul Anderson
A Cosmic Christmas
Hank Davis, ed.
Baen Books
paper $12.00
ebook $8.99 Baen  Kindle Nook Kobo

Poul Anderson has always been one of my favorite writers. I’m going to be starting a project involving a number of his works next month, so watch for a formal announcement soon.

I first read “The Season of Forgiveness” when I was in high school or the first year or so of college. It’s part of Anderson’s epic future history. This story takes place fairly early in the series, during the first major series-within-a-series, that of the Polesotechnic League. (The other major sub-series is that of Dominic Flandry.)

The story concerns Juan Hernandez, an apprentice at a trading post on a planet orbiting a red dwarf near the Pleiades. A plant that produces a valuable substance has been discovered on the planet, negotiations with the indigenous aliens are underway, and a ship carrying a contingent of new workers and their families is due to arrive soon. In fact, it should land just before Christmas.

The post commander isn’t thrilled with the thought of having children underfoot, so when Juan requests permission to set up a Christmas display to make the kids feel more at home, he reluctantly grants it. During the preparations, hostilities break out among rival factions of the indigenous people.

Juan is out gathering crystals for the final touch of the Christmas decorations when he finds himself surrounded by a group of natives, and they aren’t friendly. He manages to escape, and in the process he has the opportunity to kill the natives. Instead he flees back to his skimmer, literally closing the door on a volley of spears.

When the natives ask why he didn’t kill them, he explains that in his culture, it is the season of forgiveness. That opens a dialogue with leads to a resolution of the conflict between the two groups of natives.

The resolution to the problem is a little simplistic, but this story was first published in Boy’s Life, the magazine of the Boy Scouts of America.  As such, it’s appropriate for its audience.

It’s popular in some circles to rant about how science fiction has always been about white men. Usually those doing the ranting haven’t read as much science fiction as they like to pretend.  The protagonist isn’t white; he’s Hispanic.  There are several other apprentices in the story.  They’re not white either.  And while there are no female characters, this story was written for a boy’s magazine, so I don’t see much of a problem there, {although I’m sure someone would).

I was reminded when reading “The Season of Forgiveness” of what it was I liked about Poul Anderson’s work, and what especially drew me to this particular future history.  In addition to using science to make the story work (length of planetary day, spectral classification of star, type of creatures adapted to that environment), he was able to communicate the vastness of space in just a few lines.

This isn’t one of Anderson’s major works, but it’s a solid piece of Christmas themed science fiction that works for its intended audience.  Check it out.

A Cosmic Christmas is a mix of fantasy and science fiction, all with a Christmas theme.  One of my favorite stories is included.  That would be Seabury Quinn’s “Roads”.  I looked at it in depth a few years ago.  Here’s the link to that post.