Badge of Infamy - Lester del Rey

Since late December I've read numerous books (many more than my normal pace of one book completed every two weeks)...

I've take a few detours from my 'Doc' Smith path - there is just some much to read, that I can't keep myself from wandering every now and again.

My latest detour took me into the realms of Lester del Rey. I don't believe that I've read any of his works in the last 30 plus years. Always a favorite, but for some reason I just had not read any of his books since Jr. High. Part of the reason might be that the local used book stores rarely had any of his books on the shelves. Couple that with a lack of del Rey books in my collection and well, I guess we have some reasons for not re-reading some very fun Science Fiction.

Anyhow, Tuesday night I finished my first full read of 'Coyote' by Allen Steele and needed something new to read (I wasn't quite ready to read 'Coyote Rising') and for some reason the name Lester del Rey popped into my head. A quick scan of books loaded in my Kindle showed a few possibilities. Unable to decide I simply opened a file at random. That random choice lead me to read 'Badge of Infamy' by Lester del Rey. This was first published in book form in 1963. Previously published in magazine form in 1959 - Satellite (issue number unknown). It took a little while to really get into the story, but once I did I finished up with a good read.

I'm looking forward to some more del Rey in the near future.

Rolling Thunder

This past week I finally took the time to read John Varley's Rolling Thunder. This is the third book in what he calls the Thunder and Lightning trilogy which began with Red Thunder and Red Lightning. That said, a fourth book (to be titled Dark Lightning) is planned, so perhaps we should call this a series rather than a trilogy ?

I'll steal this next bit, a more or less standard description of the book:

Lieutenant Patricia Kelly Elizabeth Strickland-otherwise known as Podkayne-is a third-generation Martian. Her grandfather, Manny, was one of the first men to set foot on Mars. So Poddy has some planet-sized shoes to fill. That's why she's joined the Music, Arts, and Drama Division of the Martian Navy. Though some may say her voice is a weapon in itself, Poddy passed the audition. And now she's going to Europa, one of Jupiter's many moons, to be an entertainer. But she's about to learn that there's plenty of danger to go around in the Martian Navy, even if you've just signed on to sing.

This was a book that I just couldn't put down - If it were not for work and life's other necessitates, I think I'd have been able to read this in a single sitting!

Can't wait for Dark Lightning!