First up is Pam Uphoff with a new novel in her series, Chronicles of the Fall- Ruin and Redemption
As always, click on the cover for the Amazon link!
The blurb-
A collection of six related stories
The Orgy Drug was just a snickery rumor . . . until an afternoon garden party when someone spiked the punch.
In a society divided by class, and ruled by the Mentalist Elite, who even keep their wives controlled with brain chips . . . Six upper class young ladies and their maids are faced with the ruination of their reputations—and the reactions of friends and family—and they’re going to deal with it, each in their own way.
Using the cultural changes forced by the loss of Zhivvyy Provoda, the Power Plague attacks, the illegal Orgy Drug circulating widely . . . and contact with other dimensionally-able civilizations, they’re all going to make it, one way or another.
Next up is Raconteur Press with their 72nd anthology- Pogue Too
The blurb-
Most military fiction regales the reader with fast-paced tales of strong men with sexy weapons who close with, engage, and destroy the enemy with lethal precision. What it tends to ignore, though, is the supply clerk who issues him the body armor that protects him in the fight, the intelligence shop that arms him with information, or the maintenance troops who keep the vehicles running (ideally). Because there are so many ways in which POGs (I served in the early 2000’s) support the fight, one anthology was simply not enough to convey it all, so we had to do another one.
This time, Ted Begley takes us along for the ride with a shuttle driver who has an eye for a bargain. Addison Reid shows us that sometimes a logistics officer knows what troops on the frontline really need, even better than they do, however inexplicable it may seem. An FNG (Freakin’ New Guy) and his first-line leader learn a valuable lesson about an ancient tradition in Jason Hobbs’ “Snipe Hunt.” B. K. Gibson reminds us that even if you don’t expect the unexpected, you’d better be prepared to adapt to it. Rounding out the collection, Malory demonstrates that a POG’s most underappreciated, yet critical skills are, as always, ingenuity and resourcefulness.
The authors all do a fantastic job of capturing different facets of a POG’s life, from the professionalism to the competence to the humor and everything in between. As a former Air Defense Artillery officer, many of the stories in the following pages remind me of my own troops at different times, and I sincerely hope you enjoy reading them as much as I did.
Next up is John Van Stry with the 3rd book in his Valley of Fire trilogy- Lock & Load
The blurb-
In the heart of the Fire Nebula, war rages across the stars. Crown Prince Wolf Alexander-Morgan and Princess Mariella, forged in the crucible of combat and mech warfare, stand at the forefront of a desperate counterstrike against a ruthless empire that has already struck at their homeworlds. With elite squadrons, aging battleships revived from slumber, and hard-won alliances hanging by a thread, they prepare to carry the fight straight to the enemy’s stronghold.
But victory demands more than firepower. As hidden truths surface, old grudges resurface, and the line between ally and threat blurs, Wolf and Mariella must navigate treacherous politics, overwhelming odds, and the weight of their own destinies. One wrong move could doom their kingdom—or end the war in flames.
Pulse-pounding space battles, brutal ground assaults, and the clash of crowns await in the explosive conclusion to the Valley of Fire trilogy. In a galaxy where loyalty is tested in fire, some legends are born… and others are extinguished.
And last but certainly not least, Larry Lambert with the 2nd book in his Duellist series- Hudson’s Scouts
The blurb-
Hudson’s Scouts is the second book in The Duellist Series. Though the books stand alone, they are intended to be read in order as part of that series. Lieutenant Henry Hudson, US Army (Cavalry), has elected to graduate early from the US Military Academy because of the War Between the States. In large part, because his family’s commercial and shipping interests align with those of the Confederate States, he is sent on a secret mission to England to ascertain the inroads that the Confederacy has made at the Court of St. James relating to their acquisition of steamships and steam rams that can be used to wage war and deliver contraband to the fledgling Confederacy. He marries Victoria McKay, who has her own agenda, and that agenda is laid bare along with the disclosure that she has an identical twin.
His reputation as a duelist is enhanced during an encounter on the highway outside of Liverpool, the accounts of which are carried in newspapers both in Great Britain and the United States. When he returns to Washington DC, he is transferred to the Office of the Inspector General, where he undertakes investigations on behalf of the War Department. During these investigations, he adds men he calls his scouts to his small task force. Duels present themselves and the legend expands.
Having read all of them, I can highly recommend them! And yes, they’re all friends too!
