5/31/2023 0 Comments Iron Five by Seon O. Stronghold![]() ![]() The Raiku Dynasty, another titan in the political hierarchy of the Milky Way, in an attempt to seize resources that will further their progress, invades the territories of Earthfront and Keden. ![]() Iron Five is a military unit under the control of Earthfront, one of the leading powers-that-be, powers engaged in an intergalactic race to bridge the gap to a new galaxy. Keden and Earth have a history of bad blood, making their alliance solely one of convenience. The events in this book happen eight hundred and ninety-five years into the future, in a time when man has colonized much of the galaxy, where powerful governments and corporations control star systems throughout known space. ![]()
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5/31/2023 0 Comments Swordheart by t kingfisher![]() ![]() She was under-appreciated and underestimated her whole life, but as a heroine on a quest, she kicks ass in so many different ways. It never lets you forget you’re in a fantasy world, with roaming hills and mysterious creatures, paladins and strange religious orders (also the whole person-living-inside-a-sword-for-all-eternity detail).Īnd the characters! Halla is amazing. The story is delightful and often absurd (I had a few “wait, should I be laughing at these murders” moments), with twists and hiccups at every turn. Kingfisher deftly plays with the codes and tropes of these subgenres. And finally, the entire story can easily be put in the comedic fantasy category because it was often laugh-out-loud funny. Then you have your romance plot, where Halla and Sarkis, her sword-spirit/bodyguard, slowly fall in lust and love for each other. Nothing is basic or normal in this book…) adventure fantasy, where the heroine, Halla, wants to get her inheritance back from her greedy and grasping in-laws. ![]() You have your “basic” (in a manner of speaking. It’s an unlikely mix of subgenre that works so well. When Halla draws the sword that imprisons him, Sarkis finds himself attempting to defend his new wielder against everything from bandits and roving inquisitors to her own in-laws… and the sword itself may prove to be the greatest threat of all. ![]() Sarkis is an immortal swordsman trapped in a prison of enchanted steel. Halla is a housekeeper who has suddenly inherited her great-uncle’s estate… and, unfortunately, his relatives. ![]() 5/31/2023 0 Comments Tree of Smoke by Denis Johnson![]() ![]() ![]() He stepped carefully, thinking about snakes and trying to be quiet because he wanted to hear any boars before they charged him. There were supposed to be some wild boars around here. ![]() He just wanted to do some hunting in the jungle. He didn't know how he felt about this country. There were supposed to be some wild boars roaming this island military resort, which was all he had seen so far of the Philippines. Now it was late in the morning, and Seaman Apprentice William Houston, Jr., began feeling sober again as he stalked the jungle of Grande Island carrying a borrowed. The Armed Forces Network from Subic Bay stayed on through the night, broadcasting bulletins about the unfathomable murder. The two marines sat with the three sailors on the bunks in the Quonset hut for transient enlisted men, watching the air conditioner drip water into a coffee can and drinking beer. ![]() There was one small nightspot on the island, a dilapidated club with big revolving fans in the ceiling and one bar and one pinball game the two marines who ran the club had come by to wake them up and tell them what had happened to the President. Seaman Houston and the other two recruits slept while the first reports traveled around the world. ![]() 5/31/2023 0 Comments Kingbird highway by kenn kaufman![]() ![]() Simply ask for help and you are likely to get more than you could have imagined. Many new birders mistakenly presume that expert birders are self-taught, or that there is some trial by ordeal a birder must go through in order to attain such expertise. Invariably, such folks are surprised that “expert” birders willingly share ID tips, directions to rare or hard to find birds, or offer assistance in the search for a particular species that would be a lifer for the neophyte. It is for this reason that I feel a sense of obligation to “pass it forward” when I'm in the company of less-experienced birders. Perhaps surprisingly, when I ponder what I know about bird identification, vocalizations, and life histories, I am hard-pressed to come up with any piece of information that I discovered on my own. (photo by Dave Irons using a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ8)Īfter four-plus decades of birding, I've assimilated enough bird-related factoids to be considered an expert by most other birders. ![]() ![]() In this day and age, an appreciation of the natural world is high on the list of values many parents hope to instill in their children. Mat added several life birds while his son was busy exploring things a little closer to the ground. In this image Mat Gilfedder and his son Alex, who were visiting from Brisbane, Australia, enjoy the wonders of Oregon's Fern Ridge Reservoir. It is never too early to introduce your children to birds and the natural world. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Yet, strangely, in spite of their ruthlessness, their proud and sustained use of violence to coerce or convert, India’s Muslim rulers never attempted to take possession of the Indian mind: in faithful obedience to Koranic injunctions, they simply tried to stamp it out. I have only referred to the British occupation, not to the Muslim invasions, though they stretched over a much longer span of time and collided violently with Indian civilization. Historical Backgroundīut first, an aside. But it stands to reason that for an effective “decolonization” to take place-even in order to find out whether and how far it is desirable-we should first take a hard look at the effects of this colonization, what traces it has left on the Indian mind and psyche, and how deep. If anything, this introspection has only intensified in recent years, as Western culture (if it deserves this noble name) aggressively spreads around the globe. Having suffered the burden of two centuries of British occupation, India has, since Independence, tried to come to terms with the impact of that exotic presence perhaps diametrically opposed to her own temperament, culture and genius. ![]() |