Recent Reads: Capsule Reviews:

1. Charade You Are, by Reagan Pheasant:  OK, this was very weird, but definitely interesting. It kept me reading. As near as I can figure we've got Dan Quayle as the hero here, perhaps the "Pheasant" part of the author name. I recognize Bill and Hillary Clinton, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, and the two Bush presidents. There are other folks I don't recognize although it seems like they are supposed to be political or TV figures. Maybe I don't pay enough attention to politics. It's very graphic, definitely adults only. Is this what is called Bizarro fiction?

2. The Battle for Eden, by Mark E. Burgess:  The story of the Human versus Knacker war began with Ardath Mayhar, who wrote a book called Slaughterhouse World. Later, Robert Reginald wrote a story set in the same universe called Knack Attack. The Battle for Eden is a third book set in the same universe. Although related to each other in that they take place in the same universe, each book explores a different, and stand-alone, element of the human war against the spider/crab like Knacker, who ultimately enjoy using humans for food. In The Battle for Eden, the human space force puts up a desperate defense of a planet called Eden as the Knacker fleet arrives. A human pilot named Simon Roy is shot down over the planet after he takes a toll on the attackers. He manages a controlled crash and is found by the daughter of a local farmer. Roy joins this family as they dig in against the legions of Knacker now pouring onto the planet from the aliens' landing craft.

Very interesting characters in an interesting setting. The characters have backgrounds that get gradually unveiled throughout the book, and all is set against the deadly threat posed by the Knacker invasion. Good action sequences throughout keep the threat front and center. I enjoyed it a lot.

3.  Rancho Diablo – Shooter’s Cross, by Colby Jackson: Excellent book. Although this is a western and has plenty of gunplay, it's also about how men and women built the west and the struggles they went through to make homes for themselves and their children. Wonderful characters. I liked it so well that as soon as it was done I immediately started on book two of this series.

4.  Rancho Diablo – Dead Man’s Revenge, by Colby Jackson: Really good. The Rancho Diablo series continues to run strong. This is book 3, though when I started reading it I thought it was book 2 because it picks up the plot lines left unresolved from book 1. I haven't gotten number 2 yet but will.