I can't believe how awesome this is that she would take the time to do this. Thank you garamet! ------------------ Review: Black Sun Reich By Margaret Wander Bonanno As a lover of language, I get a kick out of learning regional expressions. Here’s one I especially like: acres of strange. Is it a Southern thing, is it a Texas thing? Beats the hell out of me. But it’s what’s going through the mind of Fox Rucker, the antihero-hero of Trey Garrison’s Black Sun Rising, as he unwittingly gets himself involved in a complex mix of espionage, vampires, zombies, mutant soldiers, necromancers, and, oh, yes, Nazis. If there’s a simple way to describe this first of the Spear of Destiny novels, it’s that: acres of strange. There are plenty of alternative history novels out there – novels where the South won the Civil War, novels where the outcome of World War I was very different from the reality we know. Black Sun Rising blends the two with a soupçon of Vatican intrigue, to create geopolitical alliances that, while puzzling on the surface, ultimately make a bizarre kind of sense. It’s hard to follow an opening scene as bloody horrific as a group of religious acolytes eviscerating themselves under the command of Der Schadel, a villain who can safely be said to put the “eeee” in Evil, but Garrison does so, with a rollicking steampunk journey for which the best advice, in Margo Channing’s immortal words, is “Fasten your seatbelts…it’s going to be a bumpy night!” Enter Fox Rucker, flying ace and citizen of the Texas Freehold, two outcomes of the aforementioned How-the-South-won-the-Civil-War. A little bit Indiana Jones, a little bit Mal Reynolds, a whole lot doer of great deeds kind of by accident, Rucker seems to know everybody who’s anybody in 1928. The darnedest people keep showing up in his company, from Nicola Tesla to Howard Hughes to the woman who broke Rucker’s heart, who also happens to be a trained assassin. Then there’s the hapless Dr. Deitel, as prudish a Prussian as was ever drafted into the espionage business, who carries dire documentation from inside the growing Nazi regime in his homeland, and whom Rucker’s in charge of babysitting so that the Gestapo doesn’t kill him before his information is delivered to those who can stop the threat. Can this Odd Couple stop bickering long enough to get the job done before Schadel’s Nachtmenn – horrific creatures bred out of the chemical warfare of the Great War, and seemingly impervious to conventional weapons – are unleashed on a mission of global conquest, or will they kill each other first? There’s humor as well as horror here, not to mention Easter eggs galore – references scattered throughout the narrative as a nod and a wink to fans of Star Trek, Firefly, and others too numerous to mention. Black Sun Rising is one of those novels you’re still reading at two a.m., as you tell yourself “Just to the end of this chapter and then…oh, damn! Just one more chapter, and then…” And it’s only the first of three. Acres of strange, indeed. ### You can find and buy Margaret’s extensive catalog of works here. For my money, her novel BURNING DREAMS was my favorite, but I look forward to reading her THE OTHERS trilogy. Do yourself a favor and check her out.
I definitely have pictured Rucker as a short amalgam of Indy Jones and Mal Reynolds. Nice to get the recognition, but trust me, it's deserved. Rip roaring fun acres of strange in parts 1 and 2. Congrats!
Can't speak for Dicky but in my case it would involve owning an actual e-reader (and yes, i know there are "Kindle for PC" programs but I pretty much hate sitting at the desk and reading long -form works) It's grinding my gears to NOT be able to read it actually.
I've only had a chance to read a bit of it so far, as I have little time left over from my internet trolling schedule, but what I've read so far I've enjoyed. I was worried it was going to be too "Firefly-y", but so far I haven't found it so.
I also don't own an e-reader yet. I can't remember if you've said so before or not, but will these things ever be available in print, or just electronically?
What shootER said: I want a physical copy I can place on my bookshelf where it well taunt me mercilessly until I cave and properly enjoy the good read. Shiny.
I have to admit I loath e-readers but my husband forced me into them. apparently he finds lack of 1000's of books lying around 'awesome'. I'll have to look into them thank you
Actually it's the ability to carry 1000s of books everywhere without breaking your back. And getting rid of the clutter ain't bad either
I actually want to read the Chosen trilogy but its not in KOBO and Kindle has ticked me off with their Canadian store. Woe is me.
Nook and Kindle both have a really bad habit of getting only some of the books in a series and leaving the others only available in paperback (or not available at all...).
A lot of that has to do with old publisher contracts that require renegotiation. The Ludlum Born books only recently became available, for example, even though the sequels authorized by his estate have been available all along. It wasn't that nobody wanted the original trilogy in e-format, but that the complexity of getting there caused delays.
Storm, is it ever awkward that "Black Sun Rising" is the name of a C.S. Friedman book? Strike that, I realized that the title is now different. This is partly re: @John Castle's "Blood Runs Cold" title, which mostly gets a particular song stuck in my head and seems like it can't do well for search engines.
