Playing Through the Whistle (2016) SL Price

Playing through the Whistle (2016)  SL Price

What do Mike Ditka, Henry Mancini and Darrell Rivas have in come?  Their hometown of Aliquippa Pennsylvania.  Situated west of the Ohio River very close to the Ohio Border I visited and heard about Aliquippa, Beaver Falls, Monaca Heights and New Hope throughout my childhood.  My grandfather work in J and L Steel on and off for 50 years.  Price does a great job of describing the community that developed around Jones and Laughlin (J and L) Steel.  He not only follows the rise, fall, and rise of Aliquippa football but also reviews the labor and race relations that  I remember my grandfather talking about when we visited.  It is a unique place that seemed to develop tough and unique characters. It is a super book!

Soft Apocalypse (2011). Will McIntosh

Soft Apocalypse (2011) Will McIntosh

Jasper and his tribe and just trying to live from day to day as the world slowly crumbles around them.  Not quite as exciting as other end of the world books but much more believable.  That’s what makes it frightening.  You could see yourself in the same situation.  It makes you wonder what you would do in a similar situation.   What (and who) would be your priorities and how far would you be willing to go to keep them?  Will McIntosh makes you think -  Check out two of his other books – Faller and Defenders.

Genesis (2000). Poul Anderson

Genesis (2000)  Poul Anderson

Christian Brannock is astronaut, poet, singer and eventually uploaded brain in a box.  He travels the stars and one iteration of him bonds with the great galactic mind – Alpha.   Alpha then sends him to investigate why the great mind over Earth  -Gaia -  does not want to try to extend the eventual existence of the planet as the sun gets closer to super nova.  Typical  (good) Poul Anderson.   Good characters and better plot with a lot of situations. 

Defenders (2014) Will McIntosh

Defenders (2014)  Will McIntosh

The author of one of my favorite books – Faller – has written an unusual Alien takes over the world epic.  In this book telepathic aliens (Starfish) are taking over the Earth.  To fend them off scientists develop a new being that is 17 feet tall and lack dopamine so that the aliens cannot read their mind.  They easily whip the aliens but then go on to take over the world since they are clearly superior to humans.  So what are humans to do now?  Well, maybe those alien starfish aren’t so bad after all……

Faller (2016) Will McIntosh

Faller  (2016)  Will McIntosh

A story that violates both physical and biologic laws cannot be all bad. Or can it?  Our hero finds himself on a floating bit of Earth with no memory of how he got there and only a few clues (including a toy paratrooper) to guide him.  Soon he is making his own parachute and the adventure begins.  In it he finds his past and his mistakes and gratefully forgets them again.  He meets the love of his life (multiple times) and learns the truth of his worst enemy.

A perfectly delightful book with a surprisingly, satisfying ending. 

Not usually my piece of cake but I got it and liked it.