Books

[Wasp]

Hey does anyone mind if I pimp my own novel here?

EDIT: I'm not new to Pocket Tactics, just haven't posted much since the switch to the new forums. Hence, two posts.

I don't see anyone objecting. Awaiting details.

[Wasp]

Regarding the recently released Carrier Battles for Guadalcanal I'm looking to download a book to learn more about the battles included - Coral Sea, Midway, Guadalcanal etc. Can anyone recommend a book that covers this period of naval history?

[Kolbex]

Regarding the recently released Carrier Battles for Guadalcanal I'm looking to download a book to learn more about the battles included - Coral Sea, Midway, Guadalcanal etc. Can anyone recommend a book that covers this period of naval history?

I have this on my shelf, although I have not personally read it. I bought it on the strength of Griffith's translation of the Art of War.

[Wasp]

Regarding the recently released Carrier Battles for Guadalcanal I'm looking to download a book to learn more about the battles included - Coral Sea, Midway, Guadalcanal etc. Can anyone recommend a book that covers this period of naval history?

I have this on my shelf, although I have not personally read it. I bought it on the strength of Griffith's translation of the Art of War.

Thanks. This looks excellent; from an author who also had first hand knowledge.

[OBollocks]

Guadalcanal: The Definitive Definitive Account of the Landmark Battle, by Richard Frank. Excellent book.

[NiihamaGhosts]

Hey does anyone mind if I pimp my own novel here?

I don't see anyone objecting. Awaiting details.

Thanks! It's a steampunk baseball novel titled "Lord Bart and the Leagues of SIP and ALE." It has its gaming roots, as the story grew out of a fictional league I had created for Out of the Park Baseball.

Trailer is here.

An airship disaster disrupts the 30th anniversary celebration of the SIP and ALE baseball leagues, fueling tension between the once-warring Setherian and Helderan nations. As both sides prepare to lay down bats and balls in exchange for muskets and cannons, Andrew Naughton -- aided by his robotic dog Crandy -- rushes to unravel the conspiracy and preserve the cease-fire that brought three decades of peace to the continent. But then Naughton finds himself accused...

Free sample can be had at my website, michaelbarbatodunn.com.
Amazon page here.

From the Amazon review from SF writer Ron Collins (a friend): "This is your basic steampunky "baseball as political fodder" thriller, complete with steam-powered dogs, power struggles, career concerns, conniving of the murderous ilk, fights between rookies and vets, and a life and death, summer-long quest for the pennant. If you like fantastical, plot twisty, baseball kind of stories, this is your gig. Simply a fun read."

Thanks for checking it out!

/self-promotion

[Wasp]

Guadalcanal: The Definitive Definitive Account of the Landmark Battle, by Richard Frank. Excellent book.

Thank you. Looks good too. A lot of 5 star reviews.

[OBollocks]

http://www.apex-magazine.com/sonny-list ... -the-fall/ - Sonny Liston and Muhammad Ali, by Elizabeth Bear.

[Alex Connolly]

South Africa's Border War 1966 - 1989 / Willem Steenkamp

A necessary Bush War tome and thankfully reissued. Big thumbs up, though as admitted in the foreword, there was little submitted or sourced in the way of FAPLA/SWAPO/Cuban/Soviet material, so the book is very much an SADF record. With that, the usual perspectives and biases. However, a comprehensive look at the protracted war through the years, including special focus on elements like 32 Bat and Koevoet. Great photos, clear writing, worth a read.

Currently going through the SAAF's Border War volume of the Africa@War series. Another good one so far. Have a feeling I'll order the rest of the Africa@War series.

[Kolbex]

Just finished The Martian General's Daughter. All in all not bad, although a fairly straightforward fictionalization of the latter and decadent days of the Roman Empire, in a way fairly similar to how his (in my opinion) superior Fitzpatrick's War drew on Alexander's exploits for inspiration. Unlike Fitzpatrick's War, however, there was no "secret history" angle (that I could detect, anyway), which along with the more interesting setting twist (although Martian General's Daughter's "new metal plague" was inventive) elevated that book a bit. Anyway, not sad I read it, just not his best.

I love secret histories, like a lot, which explains quite a bit of my admiration for Powers's Declare. Another favorite of mine in the genre is A Talent for War. Read a handful of other McDevitt books, but while of varying (mostly good) quality, none have reached the level of his first, in my opinion.