Review: CSS Appomattox

CSS Appomattox
by Chris Stoesen

Amidst the slaughter of the American Civil War, recognition of the South by both France and Great Britain sees a negotiated settlement and the formal succession of the Confederacy.  An uneasy Cold War ensues with each side seeking European Allies to bolster their economies and access world trade markets.  The Union finds itself a friend in Germany, a growing power seeking overseas possessions and resources to fuel its industries.  The Confederacy finds its own ally in Spain, and when Germany tries to seize Spanish holdings in the Caribbean, the Confederacy finds itself toeing a diplomatic tightrope of supporting its ally while not triggering another general war with the North.

Enter Captain Thomas Devareaux of the Confederate Navy and Captain of the dirigible CSS Appomattox.  Let loose upon the expeditionary fleet of the German Navy operating in and around the Eastern seaboard, he leads his crew on raids and strikes to harass the enemy and solidify the South's alliance with Spain.  Along the way there is international and domestic intrigue, glimpses of a shadow war with the North and a cast of characters with a divers range of backgrounds.

I really quite liked Chris's alternative history world and the way in which he describes a team of men trying to harness new technologies to do their duty in tough situations.  Yes it is a self published with a few hiccups and no it is not a Bernard Cornwell novel.  But it is a fun and easy read which I really enjoyed - I am looking forward to the next instalment in the adventures of Thomas Devareaux.

CSS Appomattox is available electronically here for less than a price of a beer.  If alt history and riding zeppelins appeals to you (and if you are reading this Blog then that is probably likely!) then do yourself a favour and give it a go.  You'll be thinking of wargaming the scenarios before you realise it!

The Eterna Files

What Ho! chaps,  how you toodling? One has been busier than a Pathan ambushing a column of Guides of late can't say too much, Mum's the word etc, by let's say some of the Boche will be eating their bratwurst through a tube for a while, pip pip!

Anyhow, a fine gentleman (for a colonial type) of my acquaintance, Thom Truelove Esq,  has been reading a jolly interesting sounding penny dreadful by a female wordsmith called Leanna Renee Hieber.

Personally I'm not sure this is quite the thing a young lady should be doing in civilised company, but these colonial types have strange ideas not quite being British and what. Anyhow chaps, this is what Mr Truelove had to say about the young lady's efforts:

"I have recently spent time in a new universe. This gaslamp fantasy – crafted by pioneer of that genre, Leanna Renee Hieber, could easily have become a horror novel à la Koontz had there been a few more left turns than right. This finely blended tale of grim determination has true suspense. The atmosphere calls for vigilance from the characters. They behave as believable Victorian heroes, diligently trying to save Humanity while taking important steps toward understanding it.

Nearly all of Ms. Hieber's boldly selected and fine-drawn characters believe in the magic and mysticism that surrounds them and their decisions. This makes the occult described in The Eterna Files much more understandable and almost inviting.

The lives of these characters, particularly Clara Templeton, do not begin with the first opening of the book. They have all been living lives long before I started reading about them. Ms. Hieber makes it very easy to visualize the world(s) surrounding these spellbinding lives.

On a map of novels, I would place Ms. Hieber's stories – starting with The Eterna Files – about four blocks west of the intersection of Lovecraft and Poe. I am glad to have stopped there for coffee."

Lord Coxswain: The Man, The Myth, The Muttonchops

Lord Coxswain is a mysogonistic xenophobe of the great-white-hunter-who-shoots-everything trope and is thus hailed as 'undoubtedly Earth's greatest Human'.  Passionate admirer of dusky maidens and terror to Johnny Alien, he is at home in the Venusian jungles hunting down rebels and wildlife alike as he is crushing dissidents on the Moon.  He is the self proclaimed icon of humanitarian supremacy as he crushes all before him with his pith helmet, pipe and a brace of patented Dr Grordbort's contrapulations and ray guns.

A former Navy man and a veteran of many minor tiffs and battles, his adventures are not for the faint hearted. Indeed they have been described as 'full of violence, bad language, interplanetary racism and a little sprinkling of smut, so you get what you pay for.'

So why am I bothering to describe this blatantly heroic chap?  Principally because he stars in a range of interplanetary pictures and books sponsored by Dr Grordbort himself.  'Victory', 'Triumph' and 'Onslaught' comprise the three books thus far.

'Onslaught' is the latest addition to the series, but is also a bit of a compilation of the previous ones also so if you have the first two volumes you'll be familiar with a lot of it.  Nevertheless, these are a belly shaking journey through everything that is so right and wrong about VSF (though arguably this is WW1 era fiction).

Lord C valiantly defends a Moon Maiden

He is so heroic, in fact, that he has his own beer! This was indeed made in New Zealand:

Let us be honest, it’s damned thirsty work for those smashing chaps of the Earth’s Armed Forces. Spending your days up to your danglies in mud and razor wire while bringing a bit of civilizing influence to those ugly Venusian brutes can leave a chap parched.

That’s where His Majesty’s Brewing Corps comes in. How’s your average tommy meant to go over the top if he hasn’t had a bloody good pint or two of warm bitter to get his ardor up! It’s brewing at the pointy end.

Believe me, you’ve not brewed until you’ve whipped up a cheeky little robust porter while crouching in a crater, swathed in chlorine gas and surrounded by angry Venusian spear chuckers. That sorts the men from the boys, I’ll tell you!

Want to taste Victory? Why not try a couple of the liquid offerings whipped up by the boys of the Brewing Corps?

Lord Cockswain’s Courage

Brewed using five different malts, Khargunthi hops, black strap molasses, bull’s testosterone and a thousand yard stare, Cockswain’s Courage is as black as space and at 6.3% abv guaranteed to warm the cockles. Rich and complex (unlike the lads in the Brewing Corps) there’s also a merry hint of toasted oak after some poor blighter’s wooden leg was blown clean off and landed in the fermenter!

It tastes like War!

I will most definitely be putting together a Company list for IHMN for Lord C and his cronies (who are inevitably short-lived despite a lack of a 'red shirt').  Lord C is typified here in action on a big game hunt on Venus;


https://www.wetanz.com/rayguns/

The Queen's Martian Rifles

Just finished this little known book by M.E. Brines, delivered to me by Amazon this week and which delivers a cracking good yarn.  

The Queen's Martian Rifles are an Infantry Battalion based on Mars and defend the British quarter of the European Conclave in the Martian Capital.  Along with contingents from the Royal and French Navies, and some foreign chaps from La Legion Etrangere, they protect the trading outpost that the Earthmen have with the technologically backward Martians.  But life is a dull on the Red Planet where nothing much ever happens- until the High Priests start getting Johnny Martian all excited and upset that is!

I really enjoyed this book, which is very much in the Space 1889 genre.  I won't give anything away but there are some scenes in it which are gratifyingly reminiscent of some of the classic movies I know appeal to many readers of this blog.  Its got a few overly religious undertones but they don't detract badly, and neither do the numerous typesetting issues along the way (it looks like a low budget, style production).

Overall, a most enjoyable and recommended yard that will have to reaching for your Space 1889 books with glee.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1491289449/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Steampunk Soldiers

Just found this upcoming title on pre-order on Amazon.
Looks like it might be worth the wait until November, just in time for one's Christmas stocking!
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Steampunk-Soldiers-Osprey-Philip-Smith/dp/1472807022

In the shade of the Ishtar Trees

...A Tale of the First Venus War

A fan of this humble blog, J.P. emailed me a week or two ago and asked if I would be interested in reading some VSF fiction he wrote this year.  Does a stout chap shout hurrah and dash toward the enemy with sword drawn and a cry for Queen and Country on his Lips?  Good show indeed!  And so here are my thoughts on his short (30 pages or so) VSF novella, In the Shade of the Ishtar Trees.

I enjoyed this short tale of VSF derring-do, which is set in the rarely trodden jungles of Venus.  It is a fast paced "column against the horde" scenario which reminded me of the Zulu war, but with a US Colonial slant to it.  The "young officer loyally supported by the veteran NCO" formula works nicely in the short format where there isn't the room for very detailed character development.  I quite liked the opening scenes as the column moves into a foreboding position and you don't know what's coming next, but guess it wont be good...

An action packed and fun tale filled with pluck, adventure and cold steel which I recommend to any VSF fan.  I'm looking forward to reading more of J.P.'s work.

PS J.P. tells me this book will be free on Amazon from December 25 through the 29th

http://www.jpmedved.com/

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18245767-in-the-shade-of-the-ishtar-trees 

Leviathan series

I've just finished Scott Westerfield's series of steampunk books: Leviathan, Behemoth and Goliath, and most enjoyable they were too.

Be Warned: these are Young Adult books and primarily centre around two youths caught up in a re-imagined WW1, so no complicated plot lines here.  But the best part of it is the background and detail that Westerfield has put into creating his alternate WW1 which in 1914 is setup exactly as the real world but for their technology

The Leviathan! From http://www.keiththompsonart.com/

The Allies are known as Darwinists and as the name suggests, utilise fabricated creatures to do everything.  So much so that mechanical power has been almost entirely replaced by beast power.  The main storyline focuses around a British Air Service airship, the Leviathan.  The Leviathan is a massive whale like creature which generates Helium and stores it in internal pockets, and has over a hundred symbiotic species that do other functions: glowworms for light without flame, flechette dropping attack bats, message lizards that provide a communications system, bees which harvest food from the environment and bring it back to the Leviathan to sustain it, etc.  The whole ecosystem approach and methods of controlling the beasties was pretty clever and was what grabbed me with this series.  The allies also have other awesomeness such as Kraken who hunt the seas, and massive attack bears and Mammoths in the Russian army.

Conversely, the Central Powers are known as the Clankers and embrace machinery.  As a result they have some very nifty toys from attack walkers to land battleships, and seagoing monitors mounting tesla cannons.

When the Navy Walked indeed! From http://www.keiththompsonart.com/

One of my favourite parts from Leviathan: German aerial stormtroopers! From http://www.keiththompsonart.com/

So overall I quite enjoyed this series of books for its wonderful WW1 flavour and the thoughtful divergence of technology.  Many, many modelling and gaming ideas here!  The only drawback is the young adult aspects, but then again these will be under Christmas tree for my lad so they also serve a different purpose!

Recommended!

PS When you've finished all three books, read the bonus epilogue chapter here - no peaking!

http://scottwesterfeld.com/books/leviathan/

The chronicles of Isambard Smith

Last year I spied the first novel by Toby Frost and decided I would take it, and the rest of the series, away with me on my expeditions to keep me amused in the quiet hours.  I was not disappointed!


This series is the most amusing saga of the heroic though inept Space Captain Smith of the British Space Empire of the 35th Century (which is very much a Victorian style setting).


Accompanied by his polite alien friend (with a penchant for collecting skulls in battle), his android pilot (who is a runaway pleasure 'bot) and a hippie chick with pyschic powers (who he is in love with), they undertake all sorts of adventures in Her Majesty's name, slay her enemies in droves and drink endless cups of tea along the way.

The series currently comprises three books: Space Captain Smith, God Emperor of Didcot, and Wrath of the Lemming Men.  I can best describe them as a blend of Black Adder and Galaxy Quest in aVSF style setting.  If that is your thing I strongly recommend these books to you.   If not, you'll enjoy it so read it anyway! I cant wait until the fourth book, a Game of Battleships, is released!

[EDIT: Well I finally got A Game of Battleships and it was similarly excellent!]

Read interviews with Toby Frost here and here
Visit his website here: http://spacecaptainsmith.com/
and true affectionados can register their support at the Captain Smith facebook page here

Pax Britannia: A few more to Crow about

Its been a bit hard to update the blog of late, but that doesn't mean a chap has been slacking off on his VSF reading- Nossir it does not!  I've been steaming along at full speed with more of the jolly adventures of Dandy Adventurer and Hero of the Empire Ulysses Quicksilver, Esq.

Evolution Expects - a fiend from the past re-emerges, causing havoc and carnage in Londinium and Magna Brittania.  Can our Hero (and Nimrod of course) stop him in time from wrecking his vengeance?  And who is this flying vigilante - friend or foe?


Blood Royale - dastardly plots from distant realms sees the Agent of the Throne  travel to Imperial Russia and become entangled with Vampires, Werewolves and other nasties.  I really enjoyed this one and the sneak peak view of the world outside the isles of the United Kingdom.





Dark Side - Go off planet with Quicksilver as he travels to the moon and quickly becomes embroiled in more nefarious schemes and chased by danger and mayhem all over the satellite rock.  The ending is a cliff hangar, leading right onto the next installment which I'm devouring now...

Human Nature: Redux

The third book in the Pax Britannia series, Human Nature sees a couple of characters from previous penny dreadfuls pop up once more as dandy adventurer and Hero of the Empire Ulysses Quicksilver delves into the mystery of the Whitby Mermaid.  Adventure, excitement  swooning lovely ladies, bounders and cads all come together to make this another great yarn.

At the back of the book is a short story which will leave you worried next festive season!

Another great offering from Mssr Green that any VSF fan cant afford to pass up.

Leviathan Rising: Redux

They say worse things happen at sea, and they do indeed for dandy adventurer and servant of the throne Ulysses Quicksilver as he (and his faithful manservant Nimrod of course) enjoy the maiden voyage of the luxury submersible cruise liner Neptune.

Mssr Blease has commented on this book here before but I add my own commentary, some years later it must be admitted, as I am thoroughly enjoying this great series.

Leviathan Rising is a wonderful combination of the 20,000 Leagues under the Sea, Murder on the Orient Express and The Poseidon Adventure.  It will keep you on the edge of your chesterfield and in danger of spilling your cognac the whole way though.  Mystery, underwater cities, intrigue, giant beasties, conspiracy, murder and crevats- this ripping yarn has it all!  And as a nautical chap myself it struck a real chord with me.

Another cracking tale by Mssr Green which I most thoroughly enjoyed, leaving me again wondering why it has taken me this long to read it.  Then again, it means I can read them all in double quicktime without having to wait for the next release! Tally-Bally ho I say, as I recharge my snifter and eagerly reach for the next installment in the Quicksilver series, Human Nature.

Unnatural History: Redux

Some time ago that splendid chap Mssr Blease posted his thoughts on this fantastical tale
http://pauljamesog.blogspot.com.au/2010/09/pax-britannia-unnatural-history.html

Well blast me if I hadn't forgotten all about it since then, but recently my man servant was doing a bit of a tidy up in the Library and brought it to my attention.  I immediately corrected the oversight of not reading it before and dashed if it wasn't a ripping yarn of the highest calibre!  I went through it like a Gentleman's Club consumes cognac and it left me wanting more, which I will be enjoying rather shortly.

Do yourself a favour and make sure you don't miss the adventures of dandy adventurer and agent of the throne Ulysses Quicksilver, Esq and his servant Nimrod.

Angel of the Revolution

Written in 1893, and now 120 years old, this book is a classic period piece of  'invasion literature' which I really enjoyed.  In many ways, Griffiths is quite prophetic in his vision of a Great War involving all the European powers.  One one side he has the aggressors of the Franco-Slavonian League, comprised of Russia, France, Italy, Spain (who were promised Gibraltar), Portugal (who are promised the Congo) and Serbia.  Matched against them is the Anglo-Teutonic Alliance of Britain, Germany and Austro-Hungary supported (in varying degrees of willingness) by Denmark, Belgium, Holland, Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey.  So while he didn't quite get the alliances exactly right, he rightly forsaw the impact of such a titanic conflict, and the transition of warfare from one which involved personal heroism and gallantry into one of mechanised butchery. 

Add then to this mix, a fleet of newly invented dirigibles employed by the Tsar's and Gallic forces which can bomb the opposing armies unopposed (and without mercy of course) and make short work of them and their prepared fortifications.  Luckily though a third force lurks in the shadows - the Brotherhood of Freedom (better known throughout the world as Terrorists or Nihilists) who, thanks to their new and clever recruit, have solved the problem of aerial navigation and now possess the only real aerial fleet in the word.  Able to significantly outfly and outgun the war balloons of the Franco-Slavonian League, their support could change the course of the war but they elusively pursue their own ends... 

Wrapped around some wonderful British romanticism of the period, are some great descriptions of battles, particularly the second Battle of the Nile, the Russians forcing an exit from the Baltic and subsequently raiding the coaling station at Aberdeen, the RN Atlantic convoy system, and some major engagements in British Homewaters.  Two squadrons of French Aquanefs also make an appearance towards the end so there is something for everyone (but no Land Ironclads or Terranefs though I'm afraid).

Highly Recommended - if you haven't read it, go find yourself a copy and enjoy!

You can get this reprint from Heliograph here: http://www.heliograph.com/buy.shtml#angel

A Visit to the Moon

A Visit to the Moon is another VSF classic by George Griffith and available for free download here:

http://www.gutenberg.net.au/ebooks06/0602321h.html

What a clever looking chap eh?

Reminiscences of a Volunteer

A free pdf download of George Chesney's classic tale is available at Book Depository here:

http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/Battle-Dorking-George-Chesney/9781406591118

Sir George Tomkyns Chesney (1830-1895) was British Army general and brother of Colonel Charles Cornwallis Chesney. Educated at Blundell's School, Tiverton, and at Addiscombe, he entered the Bengal Engineers as second lieutenant in 1848. He was employed for some years in the public works department and, on the outbreak of the Indian rebellion of 1857, joined the Ambala column, was field engineer at the battle of Badli-ke-serai, brigade-major of engineers throughout the siege of Delhi, and was severely wounded in the assault (he received a medal and clasp and a brevet majority). In 1860, he was appointed head of a new department in connection with the public works accounts. His book Indian Polity (1868), dealing with the administration of the several departments of the Indian government, attracted wide attention and remains a permanent textbook. In 1871, he contributed to Blackwoods Magazine a highly influential short story called The Battle of Dorking: Reminiscences of a Volunteer, a vivid account of a supposed invasion of England by the Germans after their victory over France.

Custer's Last Jump

Aero Squadrons and dirigibles during the American Civil War, biplane and mono wing fighters transferred to Cherokee and Sioux Indians, the US 505th Balloon Parachute Battalion attached to Custer's 7th Cavalry - this short story bu Stephen Utely and Howard Waldrop has it all!

A quick and fun read any advocate of Alternate History and clever chaps in flying machines will approve of!
http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/u/steven-utley/custers-last-jump.htm

Space Captain Smith, by Toby Frost

Just saw this book reviewed online - hadn't heard of it before but sounds like something I'll be looking out for:
http://bookswithballs.blogspot.com.au/2011/05/review-space-captain-smith-by-toby.html

An American "Flashman"?

We shall see!

SCOUNDREL!

The Secret Memoirs of General James Wilkinson In the humorous, iconoclastic tradition of George MacDonald Fraser's Flashman novels, Gore Vidal's Burr, and Thomas Berger's Little Big Man, meet real-life scoundrel James Wilkinson as he lies, schemes, backstabs, and seduces his way through our nation's early history.  In Scoundrel! historian and novelist Keith Thompson mixes fact and fiction with intense characterization and riveting story.  Scoundrel! is a book for anyone who loves adventure, and will hold special appeal for aficionados of historical fiction, military fiction, and U.S. history. This first book, subtitled The True Spirit of '76, recounts Wilkinson's misadventures during the momentous year of 1776, starting at the siege of Boston, following him through Benedict Arnold's disastrous Canadian invasion, and ending with Washington's attack on Trenton.  Along the way he battles savage Indians, seduces beautiful women, fawns over egomaniacal generals, falls in with British spies, and betrays everyone who strays into his path. In short, Scoundrel! is "History with Humor", and after experiencing Wilkinson's irreverent spin, the reader will never view the Revolution or the Founding Fathers the same way again.

http://www.scoundrel1776.info/

Tsarist Aquanefs

I borrowed a book from the library this week: "Submarines of the Tsarist Navy: A Pictorial History", Edited by Spassky and Semyonov, 1998

http://www.ajarmsbooksellers.com/cgi-bin/ajarms/10922.html

This is a wonderful little book, delivering exactly what it promises with pictures and diagrams of the Russian Imperial Navy's submarine fleet up until the Bolshevik takeover.  Lots of great Aquanef inspiration inside and two designs which have caught my initial attention are:

Osetr (Lake) Class, 6 boats in class, built by a US firm 1903-106

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osetr_class_submarine

Delfin - the first Russian battle submarine, launched in 1902

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_submarine_Delfin

A Bit Of Quicksilver For A Few Pennies....

Hullo Chaps! Interesting thing for you wallahs who spend all their hours on their Babbage Engines instead of out hunting grouse, three of the Quicksilver short stories by that wordsmith Green are available for some kind of portable Babbage book reader malarky (all very Heath Robinson what?). Not quite sure if my old grey matter understands what this paperless books stuff is all about but the stories included are the excellent Fruiting Bodies, the pivotal Vanishing Point and the barking White Rabbit.