Injustice Quick Reviews 2.8

Cower not, fierce reader! This glorious day, we have a truly diverse selection of books for your consumption. Fiber's supposed to be good for ya, so let's see what tasty tomes we tarry with today!

A Moon full of Stars by Jon Mollison- Jon continues to bring the pulp. We've an adventure in a near Gamma World setting, but we lack guns; gotta give the bad guys some advantages. And it's a bit of a coming of age story for all the major characters, and an exploration of temperment and focus. Major crime: Becoming better for the purpose of redemption. 7 of 10 fell deeds.

Violet Blake by Bre Faucheux- I've been peripherally aware of Miss (Mrs.?) Faucheux for awhile as a podcaster, but only became aware she wrote as a result of Jon Del Arroz' recent appearance on her podcast. The lead is feminine, there is romance, action, and plot twists aplenty. While I doubt I'm part of the target audience, this easily kept me glued to the book. Major crime: Needing help when captured, whether a rescue or a plan and a partner. 8 of 10 fell deeds.

Lee Winters by Lon Williams- This is a collection of 1950's  Weird Western tales, I've read the first five stories. While they don't quite have all the elements most modern ones would have, they wouldn't fit any other description. Part western, part mystery, part bizarre personages and occurances, the stories do get formulaic, but not old. Get the alkali off your face, have a drink, and enjoy. Major crime: C'mon, it's entertainment for white men(in the Burroughs/Merrit sense- civilized). Need I say more? 7 of 10 fell deeds

I, the One by Dominika Lein- I picked it up after the second mention I saw on the Castalia House blog, and I avoided the review until I'd read it. There's an interesting, if somewhat nihilistic, story here. There's a couple of nice turns from and to the weird fiction side of things. Major crime: Self sacrifice and mentoring. 7 of 10 fell deeds.

For Steam and Country by Jon Del Arroz- Yeah, it's available later this month. My man Jon has definitely gotten better after his Rescue Run novel. The heroine is very much believable, as she is feminine and oriented to action. She's not a Mary Sue by any stretch, she doesn't know ANYTHING relevant at the start, and only through experience, hardship, and gut instinct does she become competent. My only plot concern is that it's a little tight to the "Hero's Journey" template.

Jon has made a world that has great potential with this book. Check it out later this month when it launches, he is learning fast at writing good entertainment. Why didn't I recommend it for my Dragon list? It's not alt history. The SciFi, Fantasy, and MilSFF categories had very strong picks, and that's the only other spot it might have gone, but it's blatantly not our world. Oh, yeah, major crime: Men and women are definitely different here. 8 of 10 fell deeds.

When you play Social Justice, the world loses.