Tide of Battle by Michael Z. Williamson

Tales, some shorter, some longer, all about war.  Mr. Williamson has an active imagination that makes you think about what the future might be.  Or might not be...

Baen Books and Edelweiss shared a copy of this book with me for review (thank you).  It will be published July 3rd.

The ones I liked best were the ones with out-of-this-world characters that worked with humans.  These combinations always fascinate me and his stories are good.  Creating teamwork with humans is always interesting; with aliens it's even more intriguing.

For war game enthusiasts, there are several stories where war strategies make all the difference in winning and losing.

And if that isn't enough for you, he even threw in one about Zombies.  What more could you want?

Forged in Blood by Michael Z. Williamson

If you listen hard, this sword will talk to you...

Baen and Edelweiss gave me the opportunity to read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published September 5th.

This is the story of sword who is almost alive.  It hungers for blood and war.  And those who use it as weapon always seem to be fighting a war of some kind.

These people wrote the stories in this anthology are:  

Contributors:
Zachary Hill
Larry Correia
Michael Massa
John F. Holmes
Rob Reed
Dale Flowers
Tom Kratman
Leo Champion
Peter Grant
Christopher L. Smith
Jason Cordova
Tony Daniel
Kacey Ezell
Michael Z. Williamson

The tale begins in ancient times in Asia.  The first story is about the wife of the ruler whose home is being invaded while the ruler is out of town.  She stands to fight with her warriors but when the enemy breaches the door and comes for her, she ends up alone before him.  She fights but he cuts her hand off.  She reaches behind her and comes up with an ancestor's weapon.  She wasn't supposed to touch but she calls on her ancestors and attacks him with it.  She wins...  This story is my favorite.

The other tales are about the wars we've faced and future wars we may face.  They talk of other worlds and other monsters.  Almost all the warriors who carry the sword end up dead.  But not before they've created a whole lot of death themselves.

The stories are savage and bloody but they kept my attention by continuing the story of the blade.  The sword has been changed through the years as it gets chipped or broken in the fighting.  By the end of the story it's almost indestructible.  Too bad you can't say that about the people wielding it... 

Tour of Duty: Stories and Provocations from Michael Z. Williamson by Michael Z. Williamson

Mr. Williamson writes for the true hard core sci/fi fans.  His stories range from lighter fantasy to highly delineated mathematical equations.  His non-fiction is entertaining.  He's an interesting man.

Baen and Edelweiss allowed me download an ebook of this anothology for review (thank you). It goes on sale August 6th, so watch for a copy at your local bookstore.

I generally read fantasy but the cover art on this book grabbed me and drug me in to read the stories.  I enjoyed most of them.  Some were a bit "too" sci/fi.  The ones he wrote with his wife appealed to me more than some of the others.

The very best story, in my opinion, is the one he couldn't get published.  It didn't fall cleanly into place in the sci/fi world, but the story was very good.  Somehow, I always manage to choose the odd ones as favorites of mine so this is not surprising.  "The Humans Call It Duty" was excellent.  

Even if you buy the book and only like this story, it would be worth it.  There's enough content to ensure you like more than one story, so why not grab it and settle down to take adventures out beyond the edges of the world?  You'll be glad you did.

Happy reading.