Booklog 38/2019 - Ben Bova: Earth - Grand Tour 23

I've never read any Ben Bova books before. I know, I know, where have I been all my life? Obviously I know his name and reputation well, so I settled back to enjoy this. Unfortunately I'm really sorry to say that I didn't. 

There was no indication on this advance reading copy from Netgalley that this was one of a long-running series (Grand Tour) dating from the 1980s. Despite this being a new addition it actually reads like something from the 1980s. Small things irked me. The main character (Trayvon) is supposed to have been in cryo for almost 400 years following a horrible accident which wiped out all his crewmates (and his fiancee) on a space mission to help less developed galactic inhabitants survive a death wave that threatened all life. But that's in the past. He's been back on Earth for about a year and is still in therapy, accompanied everywhere he goes by a human-seeming android, Para, whom he regards as his only friend, contrary to everyone else's treatment of androids as machines. The medical authorities want to wipe his (unpleasant) memories to help him recover, so he skips town on a joyride to Jupiter with a couple of politicians and a woman that he fancies.

I'm not going to delve any further into the plot, but there were so many inconsistencies in the first 25% that I had a few book-meets-wall moments. a) There's no indication of the year, or even the century. b) I'm not sure how interstellar travel works. They seem to get around very quickly when it suits the story, and when it doesn't we are reminded that nothing moves faster than light except their (alien enhanced) communications system. c) Has Tray been away from Earth for 400 years or 1000? Both are mentioned and I don't get the timeline. (If it's time dilation, say so.)  d) Also, anyone who has been away for so long (even 400 years) should have a lot more difficulty fitting back into society. What about tech developments and language changes, for instance? All that seems to shock Tray is a more liberal attitude to sex. He doesn't feel like a man completely out of his time, in fact he integrates surprisingly well.

Writing-wise, there were some repeated explanations that felt weird, and the characters were flat. Tray's trauma didn't seem to have much of an impact. He's thinking of his dead fiancee (remember it's only been a year for him) but already fancying someone else without the trauma of the past affecting the present. Ben Bova's writing credentials are excellent, so I didn't expect that.

I gather that there are 22 previous books in the Grand Tour series, and maybe the others addressed some of the questions I have about this one. All I can say is that this is not a good entry point for reading the series.

NOTE: Having read some reviews of the earlier books it sounds as though they have not aged well with regard to the cold war, sexual and racial politics.

Booklog 39/2019 - Breanna Teintze: Lord of Secrets – The Empty Gods #1

Oh my goodness, I enjoyed this. It was a random read from Netgalley, a debut from Breanna Teintze, published by Quercus. I didn't intend to read it until closer to the publication date (8^th August) but I glanced at it out of curiosity and got sucked right in.

Corcoran Gray is an outlaw wizard, pitted against the Mages' Guild who have imprisoned his grandfather. He's got no money, no friends, and he's on the run. Could it get any worse? The answer is, of course, yes. Ms Teintze has used the age old method of the worst thing she can think of to her character… and after that, making it even worse. Good for her! It works. The magic system is more than harsh on its users. Gray suffers, but never gives in.

Poor Gray, you have to feel sorry for him, but this is not a pity party. His inner voice is full of sarcasm tinged with black humour. He fights back. Together with the runaway slave, Brix, he has to break out of jail, descend into the depths of a dangerous underground temple and face a necromancer who might even be a god. If he can do this and keep his soul intact he might – just might – be able to save his granddad.

The book strap line is: Magic is poison. Secrets are power. Death is… complicated. That pretty well covers it. Highly recommended.