Princess Gizel Series Books 2 to 5. By Peter Rhodan. My rating (average) out of 5 stars. Blurb from book 1, photo from book 5: Princess Gizel stood second in line to the throne of the largest empire in her part of the galaxy. She was also a teenager. So when her parents tell her she can’t go to Starfire, THE music festival, for the third year in a row, she does the normal teenage thing. She sneaks out of the Palace and goes anyway. Her illicit fun is interrupted when armed thugs render her unconscious. She wakes to find herself on a spaceship in a different system, crewed by people who claim ..read more

Prince Dominator. The Prince of Britannia, #8. By Fred Hughes. My rating out of 5 stars. Hazard King, AKA Prince Henry, was a prince with a problem. Oh sure, he’d defeated the Mordorians in the Sol System and had landed his Marines on earth. His landing parties had even found samples of the original virus used to develop Black Dragon, which—hopefully—could be used to develop an antidote, so the main objective of his mission had been fulfilled. The problem was, he couldn’t leave just what was left of the human population of Earth to the Mordorians, and unfortunately, he didn’t have the resour ..read more

The Burning World. A Learning Experience, #8. By Christopher G. Nuttall. My rating out of 5 stars. The Belosi saved the human race. Now, we’re going to return the favour. Fifty years ago, a human covert operations team – The Firelighters – raided Belosi, a world held in bondage by the alien Tichck, and rescued thousands of Belosi from slavery, taking them into space to form the core of a future liberation force. Since then, a cloud of secrecy has descended over Belos, with no word of the fate of the trapped Belosi allowed to escape the system. Now, with the Tokomak War over and the Galactic ..read more

Battle of the Wilds. Empire Rising, #19. By D. J. Holmes. My rating out of 5 stars. The Second Karacknid War has begun. Tens of thousands of Karacknid warships are pouring south into The Wilds. Their goal is simple; breach the system of Human border forts and strike at Earth. Led by Imperator Tanaka-lan, their numbers are overwhelming, and his tactical skill is second to none. Emperor Somerville and the Imperial Fleet have no other choice, they must move out and meet Tanaka-lan in The Wilds. While Jonathan and others seek to raid the Karacknid battlefleets’ supply lines, James faces them he ..read more

Gone Nova. Backyard Starship, #19. By J.N. Chaney and Terry Maggert. My rating :star 1/2 out of 5 stars. Van is proving that with power comes danger. From the shores of a secret planet to the halls of power in Washington, Van navigates a complex web of lies, law, and politics, all so that Earth can be saved from the clutches of ruthless criminals. But these people aren’t from Earth. In fact, they’re not even human, and they see Earth as a ripe fruit, ready to be picked. That doesn’t work for Van and his crew, so he begins fighting back with the dirtiest tactics of diplomacy. Since the alien ..read more

Technomancer books 1 to 3. By D.L. Harrison. My rating out of 5 stars. Scott Akin is a new kind of mage, perhaps the first and only of his kind. Weak in comparison to other mages, but he has a special way with technology. But what good was rebuilding a car with magic, or hacking a computer, when an elemental mage threatens him with death? At least he was weak, until the government recruits him to advance their understanding of alien technology, of a ship that crash landed on Earth over seventy years ago. His life is about to change in a major way, and the surprises will keep coming, not all ..read more

Implacable Resolve. The Last Hunter, #12. By J.N. Chaney and  Terry Mixon. My rating out of 5 stars. In war, even the simplest things are hard. Admiral Jack Romanoff and his people have begun the liberation of Vesuvius from the xenophobic Novarites, but even something that straightforward is difficult. The enemy outnumbers them, and removing the threat won’t be easy. Worse, they are killing humans in job lots, so time is of the essence. When retreat isn’t an option, you must advance. Jack wants to spare as many Novarite civilians as he can, but the killing must end. With them on a plan ..read more

To Challenge Heaven. Out of the Dark, #3. By David Weber and  Chris Kennedy. My rating out of 5 stars. In a universe teeming with predators, humanity needs friends. And fast. We’ve come a long way in the forty years since the Shongairi attacked Earth, killed half its people, and then were driven away by an alliance of humans with the other sentient bipeds who inhabit our planet. We took the technology they left behind, and rapidly built ourselves into a starfaring civilization. Because we haven’t got a moment to lose. Because it’s clear that there are even more powerful, more hostile al ..read more

Under Siege. The Last Hunter, #11. By J.N. Chaney and  Terry Mixon. My rating out of 5 stars. Only one world in the cluster remains in enemy hands. Admiral Jack Romanoff and his crew have one remaining nut to crack before they can turn their attention to the people that overthrew the Confederation. The Vesuvius system has become a fortress, so it won’t be an easy fight, but it is one they cannot lose and survive. When force alone won’t do the trick, add guile. Since brute force won’t work, Jack must turn to guile to exploit the enemy’s weaknesses. Only then can he achieve victory witho ..read more

The Prince of Britannia Saga books 4 to 7. By Fred Huges. My rating 1/2 out of 5 stars. Blurb from book 4: Hazard survived the war… but can he survive the peace? The empire defeated the Swarm at the Battle of Iris, but it came at a great cost. To win, Hazard King needed to reveal he was Crown Prince Henry and take command of the Imperial Fleet as War Leader. Now their enemy is suing for peace, something many in the empire don’t want to give. There are even officers in his own fleet that wish to restart the war and eradicate the Swarm. Hazard and his mother, Empress Elizabeth, face not only ..read more