My Review of Traitor’s World

Traitors’ World by Stephen Goldin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is #7 in the ten book series about the agents of the Imperial Special Investigation Service, and I found it to be one of the better ones. I like Goldin’s writing which I discovered through E.E. “Doc”Smith. This book is a combination of Space Opera and Spy Thriller. The two problems they have to deal with are first, that the conspiracy against the Empire is still out there and still trying to overthrow the Tsaritsa. Second, they have found a person who was supposed to be safely imprisoned on the planet Gulag, and how had she gotten out? Is there something going on there. The two husband-and-wife teams are separated, with one team going to Gulag to work from within and see what is going on, but for this to work they have to commit treason at a level below the kind that earns the death penalty but will instead earn them a sentence of banishment to Gulag. The other team will try to infiltrate the pirate fleet that is known to be part of the conspiracy. And there is a deadline because the Tsaritsa is coming of age and will be invested with full Imperial power, and this will be the obvious signal for the conspiracy to act.

As this is the part of 10 book series that has its own arc, I do not recommend it as a stand-alone novel. But it you are the kind of person who enjoys reading a multi-book series, give this a look. The books are light and a good read.



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My Review of The McCartney Legacy, Vol. 1 : 1969-1973

The McCartney Legacy, Volume 1: 1969-73 by Allan Kozinn

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This is the definitive work on the music of Paul McCartney as a solo artist, following the breakup of the Beatles. It is clear that a massive amount of research went into this volume, and it reminds me of Mark Lewissohn’s magisterial Tune In in the depth of detail. It is clear that they not only searched out everything on the public record, but interviewed many people close to McCartney. The portrait they reveal is that of an artist with definite flaws, but also undeniable genius. Unlike John Lennon, who wanted nothing more than to tell everything that was in his mind, Paul McCartney is a very careful man in interviews who wants to control exactly what is said about him. That is why interviewing him would not be all that useful since the very things you would want to find out he would want to conceal. Lennon, on the other hand, would be very candid, and the next day he would also be very candid and contradict everything. And one of the themes that runs through this volume (and sums it up in the final chapter) is that Paul just could never give up control. You see that in the Get Back video, and it caused the first incarnation of Wings to break up. But there is a lot more as well. As a big McCartney fan, I enjoyed every word of this book, and recommend it highly to any other fans.



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My Review Of Under The Ivy: The Life and Music of Kate Bush

Under the Ivy: The Life & Music of Kate Bush by Graeme Thomson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


If you, like me, think that Kate Bush is one of those rare geniuses that only comes along rarely, this is abook you will love. It is both a biography of her life and a study in how she created her music and related works. The author clearly talked to every important person in Bush’s life to get these insights into her working methods, and this let’s him bring to light the subtexts to a lot of her songs. And I want to note that this not a hagiography. Sometimes Bush failed at what shje attempted, and the author is able to look clearly at those events as well. And of course she was recently in the news when one of her songs, Running Up That Hill, was used in a popular TV show and shot back up the charts.



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My Review Of Stellar Revolution

Stellar Revolution by Stephen Goldin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


In book 5 of Agents of ISIS, the wedding of Tsaritsa Natalia is the big event, but first Pias takes Eva, his fiance, to his home planet of Newforest. There he gets an initial warm reception, until he says he cannot stay. And he can’t explain why, since ISIS is very careful about letting out information, particularly about thier top agents, like Eva, and Pias is destined to join ISIS formally himself. He gets ostracized as a result and has to leave without anyone acknowledging him. But on the ship back to Earth, they are captured by pirates, and they are part of the same organization headed up by Lady A. What do they want with the passengers of this ship? And Pias and Eva are of no use to them, so they are scheduled to be killed. And who is C, who just has come up? Is he or she above Lady A, below, and is there a B? In the climax, Judah saves the day by killing a robot who was going to kill the Tsaritsa, and the wedding does eventually come off. And Judah marries his fiance Vida, and Eva marries Pias, so all is well in the end.



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My Review Of Sanctuary Planet

Sanctuary Planet by Stephen Goldin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


In Book 4 of the Agents of ISIS series, a problem has turned up. It seems that a number of prominent criminals have gone missing without a trace. And then the daughter of thee head of ISIS has also gone missing. They suspect she went undercover to try and solve the problem of the missing criminals, but she really doesn’t have field experience and is up against a very ruthless enemy. So the top agents of ISIS, Eva and Judah, are once again called into action to try and rescue the daughter, find out where the criminals have gone, and save the Empire. Two important new characters are introduced in this book. One is the mysterious Lady A, who seems to be the head of the conspiracy against the Empire. The other is Pias Bavol, who Eva falls in love with (and vice-versa). Another space opera romp.



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My Review Of Robot Mountain

Robot Mountain by Stephen Goldin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is a continuation of Goldin’s reworking of his previous Family D’Alembert series as a new series called Agents of ISIS. The previous series was based on an idea by E.E. “Doc” Smith, and it was Smith who got all of the attention, so I think Goldin wanted something with his name on it. I enjoyed the story, which involves a threat to the Tsaritsa that is set to happen while she is meeting prospective husbands. The top agents of ISIS, Eva and Judah, are on the case but what does it mean that there is a bomb set to go off? And how does a planetary ruler with a fortress mountain filled with robots figure into the plot? Its a nice romp.



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My Review of Butterfly Stomp

Butterfly Stomp by Michael Warren Lucas

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This is a short novella that is essentially the beginning chapters of the novel Butterfly Stomp Waltz, but it is a complete story so you shouldn’t be put off by that. It is an introduction to a series that Lucas has written involving a heroine who is like Mission: Impossible. The action ramps up from the beginning and never stops. Since this is available for free as an e-book from the usual places (I got it from Amazon), it is painless way to try out a new series. I’d say you should give it a try, you just might like it. I certainly didn’t put it down once I started.



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My Review of A History of Webcomics

A History of Web Comics, V 1.0: The Golden Age: 1993-2005 by T. Campbell

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This does exactly what the title says it does: it covers the history of Webcomics from 1993-2005. Now, that is a pretty specialized topic, I will grant, but as it happens I like Webcomics and have a group of them I read every day, and I was interested in exploring this history in more detail, and maybe even picking up a few leads on ones I might want to add to my daily reading. Sadly, that didn’t work out because all of the ones that piqued my interest had either stopped producing or were already in my list. Ones that have stopped include, for instance, the wonderful User Friendly, which I miss, and Realm of Atland. Some of the ones covered, like Penny Arcade, I tried and decided were not to my interest. But the book still was enjoyable. I would say this is not a compulsive page turner, but a book to read a little from time to time as the mood takes you.



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My Review of Treacherous Moon

Treacherous Moon by Stephen Goldin

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


This is the second book in the series, and once again it pretty closely follows the original from the previous Family D’Alembert series (see my review of Tsar Wars for the details on that). Suffice it to say, this is a pleasant enough romp, but I didn’t see any substantial changes over the original. I don’t mind that exactly, but it gave me no reason for a higher rating. The first book managed to improve on the original in some respects, whereas this one simply filed off the serial numbers and changed the names. I read it on a plane and it was a perfectly good way to kill time, but not a lot of meat on these bones.



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My Review of Tsar Wars

Tsar Wars by Stephen Goldin

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


So, once upon a time E.E. “Doc” Smith had an idea for a series involving the Family D’Alembert and their service to an interstellar empire headed by a Tsarist government of Russian origin. But Smith didn’t do much more than write an initial novella, and then it was turned over to Stephen Goldin, who turned the novella into a novel and then wrote 9 more novels to finish out the series. Dune it ain’t, but I enjoyed the series, and I generally enjoy Goldin’s writing. Well. that series had Smith’s name all over it, and Goldin was barely acknowledged even though he wrote almost all of it. And that might be why he decided to redo it as his own series, so he “wrote” another ten novels exactly redoing the original ten, just changing the names and a few minor plot points. Instead of a French circus family, it is now a Jewish Vaudeville family. The two lead characters are not acrobats, but dancers. In some ways, I am finding this new version a bit more interesting. The whole subplot about getting the Tsaritsa back to Earth alive was refreshing. Generally, I would call this a pleasant diversion. I read it while on an airplane, but it could be a beach read just as easily.



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