Job hunting and other annoying concerns have kept me from reading and posting as much as I should, but I thought I’d give everyone a quick rundown of some books I’ve read recently:
Will Destroy the Galaxy for Cash by Yahtzee Croshaw is a sequel to Will Save the Galaxy for Food, which I’ve briefly reviewed. Dashford Pierce, hero star pilot (and sometimes Jacques McKeown impersonator), signs up to pull a heist with master thief Daversham Dirby and reformed supervillain Malcolm Sturb. Of course, things go wrong, and they end up facing the one supervillain that even all the other supervillains are afraid of.
Like its predecessor, this was a fun book, and something I really needed to take my mind off my troubles. I’m planning to read all the author’s novels once I’ve cleared out my backlog of already-purchased titles. If you enjoy audiobooks, this one is also worth considering as the author reads his own material and manages to pull off a number of distinct voices.
The latest book in the Galaxy’s Edge series by Jason Anspach and Nick Cole, Takeover, continues the series’ military sci-fi and space opera fun. It uses an all-new set of characters, and is set after the previous books, in a time when The Republic (briefly Empire) has been shattered, and various groups are trying to put it back together or carve out a piece for themselves.
I’ve mentioned this series a number of times on the blog, starting here, continuing here, and a brief mention here. Galaxy’s Edge is becoming the core example of a space opera in my mind, and near the top of my list for military sci-fi as well. When I first started reading the series, I would try to spot Star Wars references, but when I recently saw an advertisement for the Mandalorian TV show, my first thought was “that looks like Galaxy’s Edge.”
Dumber than Dead is the latest Hard Luck Hank novel by Steven Campbell. I’ve reviewed the previous books in the Hard Luck Hank series. In the latest novel, an alien species of superb actors has come to the space station and the entire economy has been devoted to film production. The actors seem incapable of carrying out, or even understanding, any task outside of acting. Hmm, I wonder where the author got that idea?
I enjoyed this novel, but had fewer laugh-out-loud moments during it than with other books in the series. I may have just been in a funk.
I rarely mention non-fiction books on this blog, but thought my readers might be interested in this biography of Bruce Lee. The book goes into many topics besides Bruce’s life, such as martial arts in China and the USA, film-making in Hong Kong and Hollywood, and life in British Hong Kong, but it does so in a way that makes them feel integral to Bruce’s story. The author also gives his own theory as to what caused Bruce’s death.
Well, that’s what I’ve been reading. Leave a comment below if you’ve read any of these, or if you’d like to recommend other humorous sci-fi, space opera, or martial-arts content.
Planetary Defense Command 
I was checking out Amazon for more Anspach and Cole and saw Takeover. It was labeled “Season Two”, so between that and your description of a new cast of characters, sounds like the authors are planning on keeping this series going. I’m fine with that. I just finished up Attack of Shadows and I must say, I continue to be impressed. I’ve already added the 3 Tyrus Rechs books to my tbr and am in the process of adding the Savage Wars sub-series as well.
I did see a spin off series, the Last Centurion, that seems to be by other authors with Anspach and Cole’s names tacked on. Have you read any of that series?
I haven’t started the Tyrus Rechs or Savage Wars series yet.
I’ve read all of the Order of the Centurion series, although they are standalones rather than an actual series. I remember the first one, also titled “Order of the Centurion”, was a lot like Legionnaire, but with very different characters, so I think you’d like it. The other four books – I thought two were pretty good and two were really good.
Excellent news about Order of the Centurion. While I’m really liking what Anspach and Cole are writing, just having their name on something isn’t enough. I’ve seen Michael Anderle go down that path and some of the stuff I wouldn’t even spit on…
These all sound like good books. I started the first Galaxy’s Edge like a year ago and have yet to finish it. Right now reading a true life account of a Japanese Yakuza, both as research for my own writing and for fun. 🙂
That sounds interesting, what is the title?