The Nameless Soldier

Annie Douglas Lima.

The Nameless Soldier is an upcoming book by Annie Douglas Lima in the Alasia world. It features Tarvic, a young soldier who survives a massacre more by luck than anything. He feels guilty for surviving while so many of his comrades didn’t. His feelings grow worse when he discovers the neighbouring country has taken over the capital killing the royal family.

Tarvic wanders into the wilderness, plagued by his head injury and guilt. He is only waiting to die. A little girl discovers him, calls him Sad Lonely Crazy Man and drags him home with her as if he were a lost puppy. Tarvic meets three sisters who are living on their own, waiting for their father, a soldier to return, or their less than reliable uncle.

He stays and helps them, but refuses to tell them his name, sure that he’s sullied the name of a great hero by being alive.

I loved this book. So many fantasy books are about big heroes who do great things. Here is a story of a hero of a different sort. He doesn’t do anything earth-shattering. His actions don’t change the course of history, but what he does is important. Even more is the exploration of his guilt of surviving and a slow awakening of a different understanding of what it means to be a soldier.

Though the story is written on a small canvass, there is still plenty of action and suspense.

I highly recommend the book to fantasy lovers.

River of Teeth

Sarah Galley

I’d heard about this book which brought feral hippos to the Mississippi River in an alternate history. The concept is irresistible, so when I had a chance to pick up the book, I snatched it.

The story runs like this Houndstooth is asked to deal with the feral hippos in the Harriet, a swamp which is bordered on the north by a dam and the south by a gate. Travers is the owner of a number of riverboats in the Harriet where he runs a gambling empire using the hippos as deterrent and punishment. Houndstooth and his companions ride their domestic hippos as they put their plan into action.

My problem is the characters are hardly developed past their role in the operation. One is introduced only to produce a shock in the next chapter. Some of them have interesting relationships, but I have a hard time imagining them existing outside the action of the moment, as if they leaped fully formed onto the page.

Aside from this the book is an enjoyable enough read. The idea of the hippos and the implementation of them is well introduced (there is a sequel to arrive soon). There are sufficient moments in the book to carry it past the weakness of the characterization. If you like westerns in which role is more important than character, you will thoroughly enjoy this book. If you like to see what the auto does with a very strange concept, you’ll have fun.

I recommend the book for people who are looking for a fun read, who want to see what Sarah does with hippos in the Mississippi.

You can buy the book here.

The Making of Legend

Richard Barrs

Andrew Biman is a General, son of a General and the fastest rising star in the 56. He’s never failed a mission. Not until he’s asked to be on the Interplanetary Congress. He’s given one last mission which falls apart dramatically and within days he’s running for his life wanted for murder and treason.

Andrew is not about to stand still and wait for the corrupt people who framed him to finish him off. A prototype ship, a rescued princess an enemy turned friend. Andrew’s life will never be the same, but neither will the 56.

This book is as much character study as space opera. Andrew is an interesting character as he is reshaped by events into something very different from who we met at the start, but all the characters grow and shift. There are no cardboard cutouts here.

The space opera is still rollicking action with a few darker tinges than most. More reality for the characters to encounter. The ending is well constructed which makes Richard an author to watch as he works through the series. I recommend this to any who like sci-fi especially space opera and battle plots.

You can buy the book here.