05 December 2016

A Very, VERY Good Read!

I've just finished reading a friend's new novel. In fact, since he mentioned me by name as one of his beta readers, I suppose there's no point in keeping it secret.

Peter Grant (all y'all know him as Bayou Renaissance Man) has just published Volume 5 of the Maxwell Saga, "Stoke the Flames Higher".
 
 

I've been an avid reader of science fiction, both hard science and adventure, since my high school days. For brevity's sake, we won't go into how long ago that was, at this point.
 
But I digress.

I've read 'em all: Asimov, Heinlein, Card, Beam, Polk, Norton, and all. (I'm no fan of the current trend to produce much that is thinly-disguised written pornography in a vaguely sci-fi framework. But that's another topic.) Let's just say I have a number of decades' experience in reading and evaluating such stories, and leave it at that.

IMHO, this book puts Mr. Grant in the Top 10 writers of space opera. Period.

When I read a really good book, I forget that I'm reading, and become one with the narrator. I see through the characters' eyes, and feel what they're feeling. When things get tense ... honestly, so do I. My pulse quickens, and I practically inhale the pages as I want to know what's going to happen next.
 
Stoke the Flames Higher is such a book. It reads like the best of Heinlein, and I can't think of any higher praise.
 
If you like military-related sci fi or space opera, you're going to love this book.

3 comments:

Old NFO said...

Yep, it IS a good one! :-)

Fiona said...

New Sci Fi.....frustrating. I am like you...old school. Heinlein's character "Lazarus Long" is my very favorite character. Cordwainer Smith, Philip K Dick,Ursula Le Guin[sp?] Issac Asimov. I will have to get this book...where are the previous 4 available?

Rev. Paul said...

NFO - agreed!

Fiona - all of Peter's books are available on Amazon. If you follow the link by clicking on the book title, above the image, you'll see the "people who bought this also bought these" at the bottom of the Amazon page.