We Are Mayhem by Michael Moreci

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Note:
I will avoid spoilers here and request that any comments remain spoiler free as well.
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We Are Mayhem (WAM) by Michael Moreci is what results when a Star Wars (SW) fan and writer of SW and Battlestar Galactica, and other comic book series offers his own take on the space opera. It is the second novel in the Black Star Renegades series picking up after the events of the first novel, Black Star Renegades (BSR).

Since it is a follow up to, picks up almost immediately after, and refers to events from BSR, I highly recommend reading the first one before venturing into this one. However, don’t view this as a task to be filled, BSR is a great story in its own right.

All of the elements that make SW fans love the films exist in these two books. There are plenty of nods to the originals, including a “I don’t have a good feeling about this” or two for good measure. However, it doesn’t feel like you’re rereading SW. The story in BSR and WAM is definitely a new tale and offers a new take on the space opera sub-genre.

I highly recommend this novel, and i9ts predecessor, to all fans of space opera, military scifi, and Star Wars. Though set in a galaxy a far, far away, it still feels like home.

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Note:
I again request that any comments remain spoiler free.
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When the Going Gets Tough, Hide and Hope for the Best

The last week or so has demonstrated more lows than highs. They say when it rains, it pours. I don’t know that I agree with that, but bad news always comes in waves.

For many military members and veterans, certain anniversary dates carry more weight and are harder than others. September 11 is one of mine. I was active duty at the time and participating in the exercise that was taking place that day. The exercise was to test U.S. Air Force response times to airborne threats. Ironically, for many of us, that day was seen as a failure of what we were practicing for.

That anniversary was followed by a pair of vehicle registration renewal inspections that should have been routine, but saw my vehicle out of commission for the better part of a week and a surprise $2k repair bill.

In the midst of all that, I did manage to meet a submission deadline for an art piece that I’m still waiting to hear back from. More information on that will be coming when I know more.

I also completed a pair of art projects for step-grandkids. Since those are sort of surprise Christmas presents for them, those will be revealed around Christmas to keep the surprise intact for them.

I’ve got a couple of reviews I’ll be posting this coming week. One for a book and one for a movie, both of which will definitely carry high recommendations from me.

Oh, and by the way, I know the science behind full moons, Friday the 13th, and depression says there’s no connections there. But that was absolutely a strange weekend for me.

9-11: 18 Years

Grandparents Day

This picture is the cover of our church’s bulletin for today.

DeviantArt with text and without text links.

The Redemption of Time by Baoshu

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Note:
I will avoid spoilers here and request that any comments remain spoiler free as well.
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It’s a rare thing when a work of fan fiction turns out to be as high quality a work as the originals. It’s even rarer when a work of fan fiction becomes official canon, an official sequel to one of the great series of scifi to hit the world scene, and all with the endorsement of the author of the original series. That’s exactly what Baoshu has accomplished with his novel The Redemption of Time (TRoT).

Baoshu’s novel is the latest sequel to Cixin Liu’s The Remembrance of Earth’s Past (TRoEP) trilogy, picking up after the events of Liu’s Death’s End. Baoshu’s work was an entirely new encounter for me and this novel is something special.

Baoshu’s status as a fan of Liu is evident with TRoT being a sequel to Liu’s work and also bridging two of Liu’s works TRoEP and Ball Lightning, both mentioned in previous posts here: TRoEP and BL. In addition to the references to the four previous Liu books, Baoshu demonstrates his status as a scifi fan by also working in a few tips of the hat to Robert Heinlein and Douglas Adams into the mix.

I recommend this book to anyone who’s a fan of Cixin Liu’s The Remembrances of Earth’s Past. However, I also recommend reading both the TRoEP trilogy and BL before reading this one, since events from both factor significantly into the story here.

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Note:
I again request that any comments remain spoiler free.
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