Tag Archives: space opera
Reading Rundown
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 […]
Thinking about RPGs
This isn’t a post about Rocket-Propelled Grenades – I’ve been thinking about RolePlaying Games lately. The post will be a bit about my personal life, a bit about old-school roleplaying games, and a bit about more modern games. If my readers don’t tell me to shut up because this is a boring topic, I’ll […]
Series: Spiral Wars
Book 1 of the Spiral Wars Series Joel Shepherd’s Spiral Wars series fits neatly in a sci-fi style I’d love to read more of: a galaxy full of conflicts between humans, aliens, and AIs, revealed to the reader through the action-adventures of a hero or group of heroes. I’m not getting what I want […]
Reading on the Road
I haven’t been posting regularly for the past few months, as I wound down my last job and then drove back and forth across the country for job interviews. It’s been fatiguing, but allowed me to burn through some audiobooks. I’ll run through a few of them here, but I’m leaving out others, either because […]
More from the edge of the galaxy
Before I get to the books, I have a quick personal note. You’ve probably noticed that I haven’t been posting much lately. I’ve been busy with career-related issues, including losing my job recently. I don’t want anyone to worry – I should be fine. I saw this coming some time ago, so my resume was […]
Series: Prince Roger
March Upcountry Before I discuss the stories in the Prince Roger series, I thought I’d say a few words about the two-man writing team. I’ve always wondered how a writing duo works. Do they write alternate chapters? Do they each “own” certain characters, and write from their point-of-view? Does one person lay out the basic […]
Embers of War
At the start of the year, I posted a list of books I was planning to read for the Planetary Awards. I’m going to try to blast out mini-reviews of the ones I’ve read before the February 14th nomination deadline. That’s right, Feb 14, get your nominations in. Embers of War Embers of War will not […]
Series: Republic of Cinnabar Navy
With the Lightnings Once upon a time, there was a real-life historical figure named Thomas Cochrane. His dashing naval exploits inspired at least two historical fiction series: Master and Commander (I’ve read all 21 books in this series and enjoyed all but one) and Horatio Hornblower (I’ve only read the first book, which wasn’t bad, but […]
The Galaxy is a Dumpster Fire
The Galaxy’s Edge series is a mix of military sci-fi and space opera, set in a Universe that draws heavily on Star Wars without using any of its proper names. At first, you’ll find yourself spotting all the Star Wars similarities (or reversals, such as the stormtroopers being crack shots, or a Han Solo-style character […]
Kevin J Anderson and Me
I’ve never met Kevin J Anderson, but for some time, I’ve been thinking of doing a series of posts which I’m now titling [Author X] and me. In these posts, I’ll briefly mention each of the author’s works I’ve read, trying not to go into too much detail on any one of them. In Anderson’s […]
Star Trek: Episodes with Impact
You are witnessing a first here at Planetary Defense Command. Although I frequently blog about short stories and novels, and every once in a while about a film, this will be my first post about television. To demonstrate how irrelevant I am in modern America, I’ve chosen to write about two episodes of a […]
Thoughts on best SFF novel of 2017
It’s time for my annual realization that while I read many books in 2017, I read very few novels that were released in 2017. I generally read a non-fiction book for every work of fiction I read, and my fiction reading tends to jump around the years and decades. So, it’s time for me to […]
Award Thoughts – Novel
I’m having trouble picking my favorite novel of 2016, just like I’m having trouble picking a short story. I don’t have as many novels to choose from, so I’ve expanded my candidates to include books that aren’t the first in a series. Joel Shepherd’s Drysine Legacy was in the lead, until I realized that although the […]
The Olympians
I’ve read a lot of short stories. There are some I’ve completely forgotten, and others that I’d recall only if I started to read them again. There’s a smaller group I might remember if I heard the title or something about the plot. There are very few stories that I read years ago, but still […]
Books Made of Paper
In the future… My granddaughter hops onto my lap, and once again I say a silent prayer of thanks for the medical technology which let me live long enough to know her. I pick up a paperback book from the table beside my chair. “Would you like to see something from back when Grandpa was […]
Nine novels down, five to go
I read nine novels in my search for planetary awards nominees, so I thought I’d give you a rundown of them before I resume my magazine quest. I’ll also lay out my plans for reading other bloggers’ nominees. Traditionally-published, from best to worst: #1) Son of the Black Sword by Larry Correia was my nominee. […]
Magazine: Galaxy’s Edge Jul 2015
Galaxy’s Edge Magazine – Issue 15 I’m shuffling through snowdrifts towards a Himalayan mountaintop temple. Why does it always have to be a mountaintop temple? Why can’t it be the ‘temple next to the burger king’? The wind dies down for a moment, giving me a glimpse of my goal through the blowing snow. Or […]
Submit Your 2015 Nominations
Originally posted on Planetary Awards:
It’s time for book bloggers, podcasters, and booktubers to nominate their favorite science fiction and fantasy books and short stories published in 2015. There are three categories for the 2015 awards: 1) Shorter story (under 40,000 words/160 paperback pages) 2) Traditionally published novel 3) Small press / self-published novel Nominations…
Planetary Defense Command 