GUNPOWDER MOON BY DAVID PEDREIRA

Gunpowder Moon by David Pedreira
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

”Life is so tenuous on Luna’s desiccated expanse that staying alive is an endeavor practiced with almost religious fervor. No one ever deserts another man on the Moon. Race, creed, religion, flag---none of that crap matters. Dechert would risk his life for any Chinese digger in distress, as long as they were within range. And he knew they would do the same for him.

At least until what happened to Cole.”


The Moon---”Earth’s naked shadow.”

When survival is paramount, we are drawn together in the interest of mutual survival. We forget all the things that divide us. It is only when we have the luxury of existing at a certain level of comfort that we start to figure out ways to separate ourselves. There are plenty of natural resources for everyone on the moon. There are several countries participating in mining the moon, but the two elephants are the Chinese and the Americans; all the nations of the world have a stake in extracting enough Helium-3 to keep the lights on back on Earth.

And the Earth is still in recovery from an apocalyptic event.

”Asteroid collisions you can prepare for, carbon emissions you can legislate against, but who expected a subsea methane eruption would plunge us back into the Dark Ages for more than a decade?”

As if I don’t have enough things to worry about, now I have to add methane eruption to the list?

Caden Dechert is the chief of the U.S. mining operation on the edge of the Sea of Serenity. He is a veteran of wars in the Middle East and is reminded of his tour of duty with every breath he takes. ”The gunpowder smell of moondust filled his nostrils.”

Dechert has a good relationship with his counterpart over on the Chinese side of the moon. They have similar military backgrounds and both have no illusions about the simmering politics on Earth that could spill out into the universe, even to the moon. They have enough to worry about keeping some catastrophic event from wiping out their stations, such as solar flares or something as seemingly mundane as moondust crippling their power supply.

They don’t have time for murder.

But murder is what they got.

When that hatch explodes and kills the first surfer dude on the moon, the ramifications go well beyond just the extinguishing of a life. Dechert has dealt with death his entire adult life, but never has he had a death mean so much. ”The dead settle in our mind like cooling embers. After a time they diminish, snuffed out by the immediate, and then a puff of memory rekindles them and for a moment they are hot and near once again.”


A boot print is one of the few clues.

That explosion that blew that hatch on the moon is the equivalent of the bullet that killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo in 1914. The tinder is so dry that it only takes a spark to light a conflagration that could burn up not only all the progress Earth has made recovering from the methane eruption, but could level us back to the Stone Age.

Dechert has experienced being in the middle of a war, but he has never been at the flashpoint of the beginning of a war.

Was it the Chinese?

Doesn’t make sense.

Then who was it?

Before everyone dies on the moon, maybe we should take a moment to look at the sky.”How to explain the Moon’s thunderous star field to the uninitiated? It would be like describing the yellows and reds of Van Gogh’s Wheatfield with Crows to a blind man.” Maybe we all need to look at the sky more often and clear our minds of the deluge of testosterone driven patriotism. Dechert’s loyalties, never in question before, are wavering as he tries to sift through the evidence and find a solution before there is no turning back.

The American marines arrive. The Chinese equivalent of super troopers arrive. Weapons that have never been allowed on the moon are now bristling on every person’s body. Who killed Cold Benson is becoming irrelevant to everyone, except Dechert. How many times does a war start and, within a short amount of time, everyone forgets how it ever started? Why are we fighting? Ask the Hatfields and the McCoys why they hate each other. It is like we are all just waiting for a reason to give in to our most primordial instincts.

The smell of fear on the moon is mingling with the acrid stench of gunpowder, like lovers reunited over the expanse of history.


The Sea of Serenity is not so serene after murder comes to visit.

What I really enjoy about this book is how real it feels. This isn’t some science-fiction universe that exists in some future that is beyond our own scope. This future is tomorrow or next year or certainly within our life spans. President John F. Kennedy asked us to go to the moon; now all someone has to do is ask us to go to the moon and stay. I was very aware of the constant danger of eminent death. One mistake and not only will you kill yourself, but you might kill your whole team. It is a fragile and invigorating way to live. Where David Pedreira really shines is in his descriptions of pulse pounding, moon blasting action. I was so involved in what was happening that I needed my own space suit to monitor my vitals. ”Mayday, mayday, mayday”was a metronome that blasted through the comms in my dreams for several nights after finishing this book.

Buckle up, squeeze your cheeks together, pour a pitcher of Tang, and put your cell phone on silent. You won’t have time for Earthly concerns once you land on the moon.

I want to thank Harper Voyager for sending me a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

If you wish to see more of my most recent book and movie reviews, visit http://www.jeffreykeeten.com
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The Magos By: Dan Abnett

The Magos by Dan Abnett
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Last Warhammer for a bit, I (kinda) promise.

Eisenhorn is a bad man, an inquistor (for those not familiar with the universe) basically a cop. This is a collection of short stories and a new one that shows the world that most of Warhammer books don't cover, the dirty underside of an already dirty world, (yup..that bad)

This is great stuff, if you are a scifi fan and crime noir type fan..this is a good read for you and it is spring break...you need something to read.



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Fulgrim By: Graham McNeill

Fulgrim by Graham McNeill
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

yes, I am still in my Warhammer deep dive, and WOW. I got into the Emperor's Children legion mostly due to the Fabius Bile book I read, I found him very interesting. At first glance, you can totally see why the legion falls into the clutches of chaos. They for the most part, are TOTALLY the over achievers, pretty boys that succeed in everything they touch. You kind of want them to fall, but then when it happens............boy does it happen.

I give Graham McNeill credit for making me cringe at the change of the Emperor's Children, while not overly graphic, the end game of this book make me very uncomfortable. Still a very good read and hopefully I will surface from this deep dive soon

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Travel to Boston's Sleazy Side with Lehane

The Drop by Dennis Lehane
Reviewed by Jason Koivu
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I just love this guy! Dennis Lehane writes the stuff I want to read. He could write my obituary and I'd be like, "Man, that was great!"

Even when his material isn't top shelf, his prose and characterization still knocks it over the green monstah....Uh-oh, I've started to slip back into my roots. Hell, it can't be helped. Lehane's Boston-based books mesh sublimely with my Masshole upbringing. I love his settings because they remind me of home.

With The Drop we enter a typical Boston dive bar and hang out with typical Southies. Like pretty much everybody else in the fuckin' place, the bartender is a hopeless nobody. But hey, this is a frickin' fairytale, so the guy finds a little ray of sunshine in the form of an emaciated dog. Yeah, that's blue collar Boston for ya, a fucking half-dead dog is enough to add some hope in this schmuck's life.

But this is a Lehane book. It ain't gonna be as simple as all that. Mobsters, petty pricks, and psychopaths gotta wave their dicks around and people are gonna die for it. Let's hope it's the douchebags, but who knows. You never know with this fucking guy. And that's why I love him!

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The Gifts of O. Henry

The Gift of the Magi and Other Short Stories by O. Henry
Reviewed by Jason Koivu
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I spent a month in Austin in 2016. It was good. Thanks for asking. While there my wife and I visited the William Sidney Porter House museum in the downtown area just one block south of the super busy party-central 6th St.


(Kind of odd to come across this little, old house in the middle of bustling downtown Austin)

William Sidney Porter is the real name of O. Henry, who lived only briefly in Austin before moving on to Houston. Nonetheless, it was cool to go into the house and see the old place, as well as his special writing nook.

Porter was a clever guy. His short stories often end with a surprising little twist, a little more subtle than your typical M. Night Shammalammadingdong movie. This collection is...well, it's not the actual collection I read, but it's close enough. There are tons of O. Henry collections listed on GR and I can't find the one I read. But the length is about the same and I believe the stories mostly match up.

Once upon a time when I was a young man, I read "The Gift of the Magi" and really enjoyed it. I promised myself I'd read more of his stuff. Then I let about three decades slip by until deciding I'd let the notion marinate long enough. I'm glad I finally got around to reading more. Although, I was a little confused at the start.

The first story was "The Voice of the City" and I was not prepared for it. His style, language, and pure-and-simple smarts had me befuddled and jogging to catch up. However, after that it was smooth sailing. I believe "The Gift..." was up next, and it was nice to revisit that one. Then the book slides into delight tales like "The Ransom of Red Chief", "The Romance of a Busy Broker", "The Green Door", "The Hiding of Black Bill", and "The Cop and the Anthem".

Not every story is a winner. Sometimes I got a bit bored. But overall this is a good collection and a nice primer for a prolific short story writer.

Rating: 3.5 stars

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If It Flies

Aleksandr Voinov and L.A. Witt
Self-Published
Reviewed by Nancy
5 out of 5 stars

Summary

If it flies, drives, or fornicates, it’s cheaper to rent it.

Spencer is in a rut. Long hours at the law firm are sucking the life out of him, and he doesn’t have time or energy for a relationship. He’s lonely, horny, and itching for something new, so he tries the Market Garden, an exclusive—and expensive—brothel. Spencer isn’t in the door five minutes before a cocky rentboy makes his move.

Nick isn’t just any rentboy, though. He’s a Dom, he’s a sadist, and he’s everything Spencer didn’t know he was missing. One night turns into more, and before long, Spencer is one of Nick’s regular clients.

Both men think they’re just scratching each other’s backs: Spencer’s exploring a submissive, masochistic side he never knew he had, and Nick is getting off and getting paid. But as time goes on, it’s clear their strictly professional arrangement . . . isn’t, and if Nick has one hard limit, it’s that he doesn’t get romantically entangled with his johns. The problem is, while Nick doesn't want to be owned, Spencer’s no longer content with just renting.

My Review

“If the two of them could get through a scene like this without that word being spoken again, then maybe…maybe this ran deeper than sex and cash, deep enough to go all the way.”

As much as I love Tristan and Jared and wanted their story to continue, it was very easy for me to set them aside once I met and fell in love with Nick and Spencer.

Spencer is a busy, tired and stressed-out lawyer with no time for relationships. His co-worker, Percy, with a failed marriage behind him and confident in his belief that it’s always cheaper to rent than buy, introduces him to the Market Garden, where he meets Nick.

Nick’s cockiness, his leather pants, and his sexy strut are a complete turn-on to Spencer, even if their negotiation ends up being funny and a little awkward. Nick is an experienced Dom, which Spencer discovers early on is exactly what he needs.

Spencer is not sexually inexperienced, but what he explores with Nick is new for him. I loved the easy connection between client and prostitute after their initial awkwardness. Always the professional, Nick has a businesslike demeanor and the self-control that prevents him from ever getting involved with his clients. When Spencer becomes Nick’s regular client, their lovemaking takes on a new intensity as Spencer begins to accept his submissive/masochistic tendencies and his trust in Nick deepens. The BDSM scenes were riveting and passionate and took my breath away. It is quite obvious that deeper feelings are now involved, but Nick loses his fragile self-control and crosses a line, causing problems in their relationship. I loved how Nick and Spencer solved their difficulties and found Nick’s exploration of his own feelings and heart’s desire as intense and emotionally charged as their sex scenes.

I loved both characters and can’t wait to read their next story.

KING HARALD'S SAGA BY SNORRI STURLUSON

King Harald's Saga by Snorri Sturluson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

”The year 1066 was a convulsive and fateful year for the destiny of England and western Europe. It was the year that brought together in violent and mortal conflict the three greatest military leaders in Europe of their day---Harald of Norway, Harold of England, and William of Normandy; three powerful and ambitious men who had fought their way to authority in their respective countries and who now, in three weeks of terrible bloodshed in the autumn of 1066, were to fight to the death for the greatest prize of all: the throne of England.”


Harold II, a detail from the Bayeux Tapestry.

As fascinating as those men of destiny are, the Icelandic writer of this tale, Snorri Sturluson, proves almost as fascinating.

”He was a man of astonishing contradictions: a man who fought and schemed all his life to become the most powerful chieftain in Iceland, yet who still found time to write some of the greatest masterpieces in Icelandic literature; a greedy, covetous man who was nonetheless capable of great generosity; a patriot so fascinated by the royal court of Norway that he could harbour secret thoughts of treason; a farmer who wanted to be an aristocrat, a prose-writer who wanted to be a poet, a scholar who cared more about owning property; a worldly, cultivated man who loved all the good things of life---wealth, women, wine, good company---yet who died a squalid, tragic death in the cellar of his own home.”

Those he had opposed send men with swords to his house, and five of them trap him in his cellar and run him through and through again. A loss to literature for sure, but in some ways a fitting end for a man who wrote about so many other great men of Norwegian history meeting a similar end at the point of sword or by the swoop of a battle axe. Snorri might have become so ensnared in his stories that he fell right in the middle of them.


Snorri Sturluson

This saga is of Harald Sigurdsson and his quest for power. He fights the Danes on numerous occasions. He thinks he has as much right to the Danish throne as he does to the one in Norway.

"Svein and Harald battled
The two great war-leaders,
Shieldless, shunning armour,
Called for thrust and parry;
Armies were locked in battle,
Stones and arrows were flying,
Sword-blades were dyed crimson;
All around, doomed warriors
Fell before the onslaught.”

He fights his own people.

”Einer of the flailing sword
Will drive me from this country
Unless I first persuade him
To kiss my thin-lipped axe.”

He battles omens and creatures insidious.

”The ogress flaunts her crimson
Shield as battle approaches;
The troll-woman sees clearly
The doom awaiting Harald.
With greedy mouth she rends
The flesh of fallen warriors;
WIth frenzied hand she stains
The wolf’s jaws crimson---
Wolf’s jaws red with blood.”

I’m a modern man, and I’ve got to say reading about this hideous creature raises the hair on the back of my neck and sends shivers down my spine, enough to curl my toes.


The Battle of Stamford Bridge

This of course all leads up to the famous battle at Stamford Bridge in England. Sensing an opportunity to take the throne of England, Harald of Norway decides to invade in that year of English invasions, 1066. Harald Godwinsson, or Harold II if you are English, has barely warmed the seat of his newly acquired throne when he has to lead an army into battle against those burly, bloodthirsty Northmen.”The closer the army came, the greater it grew, and their glittering weapons sparkled like a field of broken ice.”

The interesting thing about all of this is that most of us don’t know who Harald Sigurdsson is, but one could speculate if he had decided to delay his invasion by a few weeks, we may have known him as Harold the Conqueror, King of England. As it is, Harold II dispatches Harald and his army in a bloody battle that weakens the forces of Harold II. The English army then has to turn around in 19 days and fight William of Normandy at the Battle of Hastings.


William of Normandy raising his helmet to show his troops he is still alive. Bayeux Tapestry.

What are the chances that King Harald of Norway and William of Normandy would decide to invade England in the same month?

I can remember, when I was about 12 years old, riding in the pickup with my Grandpa Harold Ives and mentioning to him that he was named after an English King. He looked at me like I had rocks rattling around in my head instead of little gray cells. Even if I couldn’t convince him, I knew it was true.

Needless to say, I will be reading and reviewing more Icelandic sagas in the very near future. In a time when few were educated, the Icelandic people considered knowledge essential to life. If they had not believed so, many of these sagas would have never made the transition from oral history to written history. ”The Icelanders...take great pleasure in learning and recording the history of all peoples, and they consider it just as meritorious to describe the exploits of others as to perform them themselves.”

If you wish to see more of my most recent book and movie reviews, visit http://www.jeffreykeeten.com
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Captain America, Vol. 1: The New Deal

Captain America, Vol. 1: The New Deal by John Ney Rieber
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In the wake of 9/11, Captain America is forced into action as terrorists strike at an American town.

Cap is once more reminded of the tragedy of war.


The New Deal is quite the introspective piece looking at the cause of 9/11 and whether America is as innocent as Americans believe. The world has monsters and killers, but is the US the cause of them?

A few of the quotes in this volume are the type that keep me up at night when I think about them too long.

"Are we only hated because we're free -- Free and prosperous and good? Or does the light we see cast shadows we don't -- Where monsters...can plant the seeds of hate?"

"History repeats itself. Like a machine gun. A madman lights the spark -- And the people pay the price."

To me The New Deal is what Captain America is all about. He's the heart, the fight, the idealism, and the aspiration of America and Americans. It's funny when I was younger I didn't appreciate Captain America, but ever since his films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe I have a totally different perspective on him. Cap is simply an incredible character and this volume is a good reminder as well as a palate cleanser from the horrible Hydra Cap crap Marvel recently put out.

The New Deal is a strong beginning to a powerfully thoughtful Captain America series.

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Steinbeck's Socialism on Display

In Dubious Battle by John Steinbeck
Reviewed by Jason Koivu
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

At a time when the divide in this country between rich and poor is as great as it's ever been, a book like In Dubious Battle becomes quite pertinent once more.

It's the Great Depression and the Red Scare has the nation suspicious of anyone who might organize a strike for better wages, for something higher than the starvation-level pay the bosses are handing out to hard-up fieldworkers.

Steinbeck's In Dubious Battle follows Jim, a newcomer to the Communist Party. Mac, a strike agitator takes him under his wing and off they go to a California apple valley, where the bosses have cut wages. Here they meet a number of different individuals who represent the various sides of the conflict.

Steinbeck's character development is quite impressive here, considering he constructed an ensemble cast and breathed life into each of them, so that they all appear almost real and not just two dimensional caricatures. And while the author originally set out to write a non-fiction account of a workers' strike, he has succeeded in portraying this as an utterly believable fiction that does not drag due to political agenda proselytizing.

While Steinbeck is for the working man, his sympathies do not make him entirely blind to the failings of the "radical left". He does question why, when man rules the Earth, would man subject man to a sub-subsistence existence? Why not share the wealth? Well, Steinbeck points to the lazy, shiftless who prefer to shirk duty and steal to get by rather than do their fair share. And then there's the greedy need in some men to rule, to gather up all the wealth and power they can for their own selfish desire. There it is again, those extremists who go screwing it up again for the rest of stuck in the middle.




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Another Great Spy Novel

The Spy Who Came In from the Cold by John le Carré
Reviewed by Jason Koivu
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Okay, I'm fully ready to dive into a non-stop Le Carré bender!

These are great spy novels. And these are quality books, period. The man can write. Plus, his experiences in intelligence work paid off HUGE. The intricacies of spy networks and secret government agencies are spread over these pages like caviar and go down like a perfectly aged wine. Shit damn, this is sweet stuff!

Now, before you get all amped up, John le Carré does not write James Bond stuff. There are no car chases and inventive gadgetry. No femme fatales succumb to his heroes. Sure, love is involved, but it's generally more realistic. It's all more realistic, when it comes down to it.

In The Spy Who Came In from the Cold a pissed off agent, who lost his network of spies to a crafty and conniving bastard of a super agent, is sent out into the field again as a plant to ferret out the bad guy. The agent is a pawn without knowledge of the whole affair and he knows it. But hell, he's willing to do anything to get revenge. This emotional attachment to the job puts him at yet another disadvantage. But he's good, so he should be able to handle himself...right?

Read and find out! Another highly recommended novel from John le Carré!

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