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Pass of Fire

Pass of FirePass of Fire by Taylor Anderson
Series: Destroyermen #14
Published by ROC on 2019
Genres: Type II - Hard/Soft
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased
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Goodreads
four-half-stars
Series Rating: five-stars

After being transported to a strange alternate Earth, Matt Reddy and the crew of the USS Walker have learned desperate times call for desperate measures, in the return to the New York Times bestselling Destroyermen series.

Time is running out for the Grand Human and Lemurian Alliance. The longer they take to prepare for their confrontations with the reptilian Grik, the Holy Dominion, and the League of Tripoli, the stronger their enemies become. Ready or not, they have to move--or the price in blood will break them.

Matt Reddy and his battered old destroyer USS Walker lead the greatest army the humans and their Lemurian allies have ever assembled up the Zambezi toward the ancient Grik capital city. Standing against them is the largest, most dangerous force of Grik yet gathered.

On the far side of the world, General Shinya and his Army of the Sisters are finally prepared for their long-expected assault on the mysterious El Paso del Fuego. Not only is the dreaded Dominion ready and waiting for them; they've formed closer, more sinister ties with the fascist League of Tripoli.

Everything is on the line in both complex, grueling campaigns, and the Grand Alliance is stretched to its breaking point. Victory is the only option, whatever the cost, because there can be no second chances.

Series Review

While sometimes patchy the quality of each individual book never falls below 4 stars. Unfortunately I have become less inclined to pursue the series as Taylor progressively layers villain onto villain in a never ending series, and I gave up on the series after  Deadly Shores (#9). I have returned to finishing the series in Pass of Fire (#14) and Winds of Wrath (#15) after reading Michael Cnuddle’s review a couple of weeks ago (see http://www.somersethousepress.com/2020/10/)

Taylor writes particularly strong battle scenes, and he is not adverse to killing off significant characters to maintain interest/realism to what has developed over the series into a truly world war.

Specific Comments About This Specific Book

While this book is the penultimate in the series, and as a result serves as a curtain raiser for the final book (Winds of Wrath) I found that it quite successfully held my interest while setting up for the final battle(s) in the World War that has engulfed this alternate Earth. 

A warning, for those of you concerned at the destruction of the our Earth’s environment and wildlife you may need to leave your concerns at the door to fully enjoy this one.

four-half-stars

Marked in Flesh

Marked in FleshMarked in Flesh by Anne Bishop
Series: The Others #4
Published by ROC on 8 Mar 2016
Genres: Type X - Alien Space Bats
Format: Paperback
Source: Purchased
Goodreads
three-stars
Series Rating: three-stars

Premise – Point of Divergence (POD)

NOT APPLICABLE

The Story

For centuries, the Others and humans have lived side by side in uneasy peace. But when humankind oversteps its bounds, the Others will have to decide how much humanity they're willing to tolerate—both within themselves and within their community...

Since the Others allied themselves with the cassandra sangue, the fragile yet powerful human blood prophets who were being exploited by their own kind, the delicate dynamic between humans and Others changed. Some, like Simon Wolfgard, wolf shifter and leader of the Lakeside Courtyard, and blood prophet Meg Corbyn, see the new, closer companionship as beneficial—both personally and practically.

But not everyone is convinced. A group of radical humans is seeking to usurp land through a series of violent attacks on the Others. What they don't realize is that there are older and more dangerous forces than shifters and vampires protecting the land that belongs to the Others—and those forces are willing to do whatever is necessary to protect what is theirs...

The Review

Well first off, let me wish the marketing genius who decided that this work of fantasy is alternate history to a shared cell with one of Ms Bishop’s ‘others’, because it isn’t. Not at all, no way. The central premise for the series being that the ‘gods’ are real, and that shapeshifters share the world with humanity – explain to me how that is Alternate History.

Obviously ROCS marketing department decided that Ms Bishop had a better chance of getting a number one rating in Alternate History rather than in the much larger field of Fantasy. Can’t argue with that – EXCEPT ITS WRONG PEOPLE!

Having said that, although I really enjoyed Books 1-3 I found ‘Marked in the Flesh’ quite frustrating, for the simple reason that the Human Supremacists are stupid. Mindbogglingly stupid. I mean how could any organisation without nuclear weapons (or even with nuclear weapons for that matter) believe they had any chance of beating the Mediterranean, let alone the Atlantic.

three-stars

Into the Storm

Into the StormInto the Storm by Taylor Anderson
Series: Destroyermen #1
Published by ROC on 3 June 2008
Genres: Type II - Hard/Soft
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four-half-stars
Series Rating: five-stars

Premise – Point of Divergence (POD)

The dinosaurs aren't wiped out and the Earth continues to develop in new, and particularly vicious ways. The evolution of 'Mountain Fish' which prohibit travel in the deep oceans, and the 'Flasher Fish' that seem to resemble particularly nasty piranhas which occupy many of the shallow seas have resulted in significantly differing evolutionary developments on land. As the series develops it becomes clear that this world is a focus for other alternate realities, and not simply our own.

The Story

Pressed into service when World War II breaks out in the Pacific, the US Walker—a Great War-era destroyer—finds itself retreating from pursuing Japanese battleships. Its captain, Lieutenant Commander Matthew Patrick Reddy, desperately leads the Walker into a squall, hoping it will give them cover—only to emerge into an alternate world. A world where two species have evolved: the cat-like Lemurians and the reptilian Griks, and they are at war.

Series Review

While sometimes patchy the quality of each individual book never falls below 4 stars. Unfortunately I have become less inclined to pursue the series as Taylor progressively layers villain onto villain in a never ending series, and in Deadly Shores in fact stopped reading for a number of months.

Taylor writes particularly strong battle scenes, and he is not adverse to killing off significant characters to maintain interest/realism to what has developed over the series into a truly world war.

Specific Comments About This Specific Book

A strong beginning which certainly grabs your attention and won’t let it go.

four-half-stars

Conquistador

ConquistadorConquistador: A Novel of Alternate History by S. M. Stirling
Published by ROC on 2003
Genres: Type II - Hard/Soft
Pages: 596
Format: Paperback
Buy on Amazon
five-stars

Premise – Point of Divergence (POD)

Firstside: 1946, John Rolfe accidental creates a portal to the line that is subsequently named New Virginia.

New Virginia: This universe is one in which Alexander the Great lived a full lifespan, creating an empire that stretched from Spain to India. In this world, the MAcedonian Empire proved so strong and durable that it redirected the barbarian migrations of the Goths, Vandals, and others eastward towards China and the rest of the Far East. As a result, what remains of China is a hodgepodge of Indo-European dominated states, the Americas remain undiscovered by the Old Worlds, and technology has barely progressed to a medieval level.

The Story

Oakland 1946. Ex-soldier John Rolfe, newly back from the Pacific, has made a fabulous discovery: a portal to an alternate America where Europeans have never set foot - and the only other humans in sight are a band of very curious Indians. Able to return at will to the modern world, Rolf summons the only people with whom he is willing to share his discovery; his war buddies. And he tells them to bring their families ...

Los Angeles, twenty-first century. Fish and Game warden Tom Christiansen is involved in the bust of a smuggling operation. What he turns up is something he never anticipated: a photo of authentic Aztec priests decked out in Grateful Dead T-shirts, and a live condor from a gene pool that doesn't correspond to any known in captivity or the wild. These finds soon lead him to a woman names Adrienne Rolf - and a secret that's been hidden for sixty years ...

The Review

One of my favourite books ever, and one I have read multiple times. I mean, what could be better than two swashbuckling Rangers (ex-rangers but now serving wildlife rangers) and a beautiful heroine dressed in black and leather boots who shanghais them to the other side of the gate.

There’s even a nod at multiple other alternate realities in the library of one of the main characters, and in the slogans of some of the ruling families, I mean ‘Down Styphon!’. What’s there not to like.

five-stars