The Invasion Begins…

Jihad Hot Spots: Terra is out!

So I’ve been previewing this book for about a month and finally, it’s here.

Well, okay, sort of here. It was released as an e-book late last night; it’s due as a print book soon. (And no, I won’t say when, just that it is.)

This book is a big deal. Well, at least, it is to me.

[NOTE: A very quick and heartfelt 'thanks' to all of the writers and artists who worked on this book; somehow, all of you managed to save this book from a flat, fiery death - and the resultant work is, frankly, one of the best I've been able to work on. Pat yourselves on the back - you deserve it.]

Threat Contained

[Osaka]: “Welcome back, I’m Sako Osaka, and this is your 2300 news brief. Earlier this evening, Terri Chow reported on a supposedly leaked report from one of our intelligence services, presumably the O5P. It is the policy of this station and ISNS not to broadcast unsubstantiated and unsolicited information. However, in light of the subject this report, we have reason to believe its authenticity. With more is Terri Chow.”

[Cut to a young Asian woman in front the Ministry of Information Annex.]

[Chow]: “This is Terri Chow, reporting for Voice of the Dragon. I’m standing outside of our Information Ministry, where I just conducted an interview with an official who must remain anonymous. My source informs me that the disturbing events reported from Qandahar were, in fact, perpetrated by the outlawed ‘Black Dragon Society.’

“My source alleges that local security forces lost a number of operatives in an attempt to quell an uprising instigated by suspected Blakist insurgents. Apparently, the security forces were wholly unprepared for the tactical situation. In addition, the Black Dragons may have received support from local conspirators. Furthermore, according to sketchy reports from the Qandahar Prefecture, petroleum plants and production facilities on Qandahar are assumed to be in the hands of the outlaw terrorists.

“Reportedly, O5P and ISF are stifled in how they should proceed from this point. Because of the ongoing Jihad, security assets have been stretched thin, and local operatives do not have the ability to properly contain the Society’s resurgence, despite reassurances from the ISF. My source alleges that the use of military intervention is being discussed as an option. If so, the Tenth Pesht Regulars are the only available force in the Prefecture if such an option is used.”

—VOTD broadcast (now removed), Benjamin, 21 December 3077

[This is an excerpt from the upcoming Jihad Hot Spots: Terra plotbook, to be released sometime this year by Catalyst Game Labs. For more preview action, you can go here and here.]

Silence is Golden, Duct Tape is Silver

Thanks.

I hope you few in the minority are happy now that you’ve gotten your way.

Enjoy the silence.

[YAWN] The Honorverse

Is it me, or is David Weber’s Honor Harrington series contain a heavy dose of valium within its pages?

I’m struggling to slog through the second book in the series, Honor of the Queen, after managing to successfully navigate On Basilisk Station. I’d picked up several of these books at a recent library book sale after hearing several friends go on (and on and on and on) about how great they were, so I was a bit expectant and excited.

Instead, I’ve been bored. They have, at least, helped me fall asleep at night.

I get the fact that Honor is an amalgamation of Lord Nelson and the fictional Horatio Hornblower, among other real and fictional British Navy characters. But honestly….[yawn]

The narrative bogs down a lot in the detailing of the universe’s various political factions, factions-within-factions, and the sci-fi science of faster-than-light travel and fictional physics. While I’m all for political intrigue, if I wanted this level of modulated monotony I’d go up the street and wander the halls of the Senate. And I’ll pass on the science lessons, thanks. I really don’t care how impeller wedges work and “riding the gravity waves” caused a revolution on FTL theory.

It’s sad – I had high hopes after sucking down Weber’s trilogy he co-wrote with Steve White in the Starfire universe. But honestly, the Harrington series reads more of a plodding one-off of those books (Insurrection, Crusade, In Death Ground) than anything really and truly interesting.

Unless someone can really sell me on the series, I’m most likely going to give up on it. I can’t get excited about the series at all; when I cast about looking for a Star Wars or Crichton novel to re-read, that’s a Big Red Flag in my book. So, if you want to save Honor from defeat at my hands, have at it in comments. I’m willing to listen.