Sci-Fi Fan Letter Issue 16

December 2007

Sniper Elite: Spear of Destiny
By: Jaspre Bark

Berlin, 1945. Germany has all but lost the war. However, they have managed to build the A-bomb before any other superpower. Lacking the resources to launch it, SS General Helmstadt has decided to sell the plans and the weapon to the Russians. Only Karl Fairburne, a very gifted sniper working for the American secret service, can stop the renegade Nazi from handing over the secrets to the Russians and prevent them from winning the Cold War before it has even started.

Filled with espionage, and a great deal of action, this book is a definite page turner that will keep you reading from the beginning straight through to the end. This is not your typical “what if the Nazis won” alternate history book but instead it is more like “what if the Soviets beat the Americans to getting the bomb?”

- DG-88

I Am Legend
By: Richard Matheson

"How long can one man survive in a world of vampires?"

Richard Matheson drops us down in a world where the only living human left, Robert Neville, is forced to defend himself against mobs of vampires and his own despair. Neville struggles to find a way to survive, and perhaps cure the plague that has destroyed mankind. Outside his door, other humans, infected but not turned, search for a way to recreate society in a new mold. The two cannot exist together. This simple tale of survival and desperation is fraught with tension. It asks us what humanity is; and forces us to look at how we define society and our place within it. Better than your usual vamp-lit, I Am Legend is both a great tale of horror and a perfect morality tale.

-Cat

Fitzpatrick's War
Theodore Judson

Judson presents us with the memoirs of a 25th century Knight, Robert Bruce. He lived and wrote during a crucial period in the history of the Yukon Confederacy, the sole superpower in a world that, since the Storm Times, has had to live without electronics of any kind. To aid our understanding and guard us from Bruce's perceived spite and error, Doctor Van Buren, a prominent 26th century scholar has edited and footnoted this edition thus giving us the official history to contrast with the soldier's version.

A long but fascinating read with a unique use of double narrative.

-Leeman (Yonge and Eglinton)

The Traveler
By: John Twelve Hawks

Unlike other futuristic depictions of life in a world where freedoms are curtailed (1984, We), The Traveler does not take place 50+ years in the future. It takes place now.

The technology described is currently available, the security measures that track humanity have been implemented. The book which can alternately be classified as a suspense (for the secret societies involved), a fantasy (for the shamanistic power of the Travelers), or science fiction (for the genetically engineered animals and the quantum computer) seems to morph into a horror story of what the world is becoming.

The author’s willingness to kill off characters keeps you on edge through all the action sequences. These scenes alternate with quieter segments where philosophical questions about power, privacy and personal choices are asked, if not answered.

It’s well worth the read.

-Jessica Strider

Check out the website for themed reading lists and, starting this month, author interviews.

Coming in January: Hardcover:
Ruby Dice - Catherine Asaro
Tracing the Shadow - Sarah Ash
Pebble in the Sky - Isaac Asimov
Ring of Fire - Eric Flint
Thundered - Felix Gilman
Finger Pointing Solward - Donald Kingsbury
Inside Straight - George Martin, Ed.
Dragon Magic - Andre Norton
Vacant Throne - Joshua Palmatier
Dragons of Babel - Michael Swanwick

Trade Paperback:
Gods & Pawns - Kage Baker
Breath & Bone - Carol Berg
Earthbound & Other Stories - Eric Flint, Ed.
Shadow Bridge - Gregory Frost
Black Magic Woman - Justin Gustainis
Dark Wars: The Tale of Meiji Dracula - Hideyuki Kikuchi
Firebird - Mercedes Lackey
Resolution - John Meaney
Keepers of the Flame - Robin Owens
Roman Dusk - Chelsea Quinn Yarbro

Mass Market:
War Hammer: Ravenor Rogue - Dan Abnett
Brass Man - Neal Asher
Dust - Elizabeth Bear
Flesh & Spirit - Carol Berg
Deliverer - C.J. Cherryh
Weavers of War - David Coe
Lord of the Silent Kingdom - Glen Cook
Star Trek: A Burning House - Keith R.A. DeCandido
Borderkind - Christopher Golden
Fellowship Fantastic - Martin Greenberg, Ed.
The Future We Wish We Had - Martin Greenberg, Ed.
Wolf is Night - Tara Harper
Rebel Fay - Barb & J.C. Hendee
Wolf’s Blood - Jane Lindskold
Khai of Khem - Brian Lumley
Command Decision - Elizabeth Moon
Oath of Fealty - Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle
Moonsinger - Andre Norton
Return to Quag Keep - Andre Norton
East of the Sun, West of the Moon - John Ringo
Idlewild - Nick Sagan
Kitty & the Silver Bullet - Carrie Vaughn
Off Armageddon Reef - David Weber
Canyon of Bones - Richard Wheeler
War Hammer: Masters of Magic - Chris Wraight
Dragon & Soldier - Timothy Zahn