July SF/F

[eviltammy]

Warchild by Karin Lowachee - Eight year old Jos' world is destroyed when his ship and parents are destroyed by pirates. His captor takes a personal interest in him, attempting to train Jos to do what he wants, but, while on a space station during an alien attack, Jos escapes the pirate only to be taken by the aliens and their human sympathizers. Trained by the aliens as a spy and warrior, Jos is sent back to the humans to find information that might help end the war. But Jos is conflicted by loyalties to both sides and must figure out his own destiny. Very enjoyable. Interesting world building, good characters. (EMAH, BAM)

Burndive by Karin Lowachee - Ryan Azarcon, son of the starship captain in _Warchild_, is a young man on the verge of collapse. He's suffering PTSD from a bombing at his grandfather's embassy - and his lineage from both sides makes him one of the hottest celebrities around. After his father makes a unilateral decision to talk peace with the alien strits, an action very unpopular in some areas, Ryan is targeted by assassins. His father, who's been away most of Ryan's life, arrives to take him to live on his ship to keep him safe and Ryan is forced to deal with his feelings for his father, the aliens, and the destruction he's witnessed. Didn't like it quite as much as the first one, but still good characters and an interesting world.

Daemons Are Forever by Simon R. Green - Well, Eddie Drood figured out the family secret in _The Man With the Golden Torc_ and blew the family structure all to hell. Now he's in charge - and beset by enemies, "friends", and family. And the thing he decides to do first to rebuild the family morale and re-establish the family as world protectors is to destroy the Loathly Ones, some nasty creatures from another world brought over to help fight the Nazis and who decided not to leave. But the Loathly Ones have been increasing and planning - and the Droods may not be up to the job. Fast paced, good patter, kind of a hard-boiled Mike Hammer/James Bond/fantasy combo.

X-Men: The Last Stand by Chris Claremont - novelization of the movie. Adds more depth to the characters. (888, A to Z)

Summon the Keeper by Tanya Huff - Claire is a Keeper, a protector of the world. Austin is her talking cat. A mystical summons and a decamping caretaker stick Claire in charge of the Elysian Fields Guest House - complete with a gorgeous Newfie who cooks, cleans and lives by a code the Boy Scouts would envy; Jacques, a very sexy French Canadian, who's very, very dead; a corrupted Keeper ensconced sleeping beauty style in a room upstairs; and, oh yeah, a hole to hell in the basement. Fun, lightweight. Like the Blood books better.(TBR)