Ace of Aces Books

Thomas Burnett Swann was one of the finest writers of fantasy in the 1960s, although his work is criminally out-of-print and neglected these days. He was always at his strongest in the short story form -- even his excellent novels are more like novellas -- and in this collection, we see him at his peak.

First there's the title piece, a wonderful quest tale which finds an Estruscan, a Triton, and a dolphin in search of the immortal Circe; lastly there's "The Murex," a short tale of a young Amazon warrior who finds an unexpected new life when she encounters a Myrmidon insect-boy. And between those two stories is "The Manor of Roses," set during the Middle Ages, which I've always considered his single finest work, with emotional weight & a quiet, sere beauty that resonates like a heartfelt prayer. Frankly, even if the other two stories were terrible (and they're anything but), the book would be worth it for "The Manor of Roses" alone.

Much of Swann's work is told in the first person, placing us right in the midst of his recreated past, which is always part history, part legend. He has the gift of making the mythic seem real, even everyday, without ever losing the wonder of it. His narrators take it all for granted, while we marvel at the world unfolding before us through their eyes.

Sooner or later, someone has got to collect his work into one or two large hardcover volumes! Until then, you'll have to track down the out-of-print paperbacks wherever you can ... but believe me, it'll be worth the money & effort. Definitely recommended!

This is the 1st book of a currently 3 book series, but there is NO REASON why the series should end there -- and I greatly hope it gets continued. The next is Sorceress of Ambermere. My detailed rating would be 4.6 for this book. This book seems to really be more of an intro to the characters and universe of Ambermere. I personally started on the second book, and I may recommend that to future readers. I'm having a hard time describing what makes the series great. I could say, it just is! But partially, there is an incredible amount of imagination here. I've never read anything like it. The combination/contrast of magic use with the everyday typical city life of New York is hilarious! And the characters in these books are wonderful. Rogan the Obscure is a huge laugh. And Alexander is great! Also, there is something uniquely satisfying when you watch good people gain power(s). This book equally mixes Marcia's story with Daniel's. Marcia is the protagonist in the future books. Daniel becomes a bit character later, but his adventures here are entertaining and could serve to get you into the series. This series deserves to be widely read!

During World War II the 8th Air Force was the sole USAAF organization to designate ground kills as being equivalent to air victories, therein creating a unique group of "strafer ace" pilots. Though purists would argue the ace designation was awarded only on the basis of air kills, no one would deny how dangerous strafing missions were over Europe in 1944 and 1945. Such attacks were so costly that in 1944 the command put together "Down to Earth," a how-to manual composed of comments from leading strafer aces, group COs, etc.

As they did with their treatment of the 5th Air Force "Twelve to One" volume, Osprey Publishing and noted author William Hess have resurrected the 8th AF study, added mini-biographies of strafer aces such as John Landers, Jim Goodson and Elwyn Righetti along with dozens of photos and nine pages of color profiles to produce a comprehensive tribute to those pilots.

Years ago the reviewer met Archie Tower, a 339th FG strafer ace with 18 ground kills to his credit. Despite endless cajoling, "Flak" Tower steadfastly declined to talk about his wartime missions. Now, in Osprey's book, the reader can revisit, if only briefly, those daring and deadly missions flown by 8th AF strafer aces against Luftwaffe airfields in the closing years of the war. Recommended!

I found the 1965 version at a second hand store for $1 - the original price was $0.95! But it has been a great program for me. Simply stated, cut carbs of all kinds (except fiber) to 60 grams a day, and eat some protein 2-3 times a day. Easy, well defined. He says to do it in 6 meals a day, but I don't worry too much about that, and the weight is coming off.

One of the coolest parts of the book is that he outlines the history of low carb diets. He includes a reprint of a pamphlet from 1863 of low carb diet followed by a guy in England, and he mentions others. Funny how little has changed in medicine since 1965 when this little gem came out. I'm assuming the 1982 version is just as good.

Buy it and enjoy.

More vintage Vance. The last of humanity, survivors of a long and bitter galactic war with the lizard-like Basics, prepare to repel one of the periodic invasions by this vastly technologically superior race. But this time, perhaps they may be able to steal a ship to see if any men still survive.
This story is quite enjoyable with its characteristic wit coupled with desperation. Also very interesting is the concept of the "dragonmasters"; just as we have used wolfhounds to hunt and kill their distant cousins, the humans have used genetically altered "Basics" to battle their pure-bred foes.

I liked this book. I found it very enjoyable. It is the sequal of "Dragon Companion" Next up is "Dragon Tempest" Which is also good. I recomend you take a look at it! Especaly if you like The Dragon Knight seris, or just dragons, but even just a casual or first time fantasy reader will enjoy this book!

"Changeling -- a creature begotten by some supernatural being and then secretly exchanged for the rightful child."

"Dread Companion" begins and ends in a future where humanity had long ago reached the stars and scattered itself across thousands of planets. Terra itself is nothing but a half-remembered legend of origin.

Norton combines a theory of parallel universes with themes from folklore to create her story of a changeling who drags her brother and governess out of the twenty-fifth century AF (After Flight) and into the world of Faerie.

It's an odd amalgamation, but I think it works well because her story is anchored by the governess, Kilda and her brave attempts to rescue her charges. Almost as soon as she meets the children, Kilda realizes that the girl Bartare has some kind of unnatural hold over her younger brother, Oomark. The governess does everything she can to solve the mystery of Bartare's invisible `Dread Companion'---invisible that is, until Kilda and her charges are yanked into Faerie.

Kilda has to drink the water of Faerie before she can even see properly. The boy Oomark stays with her, but eats freely of alien fruit. When Kilda finally regains her normal vision, Oomark has begun a physical transformation into a creature of hooves and horns---a faun. Kilda must now struggle to stay human, locate a gate back to the sane world of the 25th century, keep Oomark by her side, and find Bartare who has gone to join the Dread Companion she believes to be her true mother.

"Dread Companion" was published in 1970, sandwiched between the Witch World novels, "Sorceress of the Witch World" (1968) and "The Crystal Gryphon" (1972), as well as many other works by this prolific author. Norton fans will discern several common elements between her excellent Witch World fantasy series and this stand-alone SF novel. Examples: there are nurturing trees that are havens from evil hound- and vulture-like creatures; and Bartare's kidnapper turns out to be a Great One of the Light---not that it matters so unhuman is She.

I think if you can find a copy of "Dread Companion," you will read some of the best descriptions of Faerie ever written, even though this book is officially classified as science fiction.
Norton has written of a place that is wondrous, terrible, and truly alien.

"Changeling -- a creature begotten by some supernatural being and then secretly exchanged for the rightful child."

"Dread Companion" begins and ends in a future where humanity had long ago reached the stars and scattered itself across thousands of planets. Terra itself is nothing but a half-remembered legend of origin.

Norton combines a theory of parallel universes with themes from folklore to create her story of a changeling who drags her brother and governess out of the twenty-fifth century AF (After Flight) and into the world of Faerie.

It's an odd amalgamation, but I think it works well because her story is anchored by the governess, Kilda and her brave attempts to rescue her charges. Almost as soon as she meets the children, Kilda realizes that the girl Bartare has some kind of unnatural hold over her younger brother, Oomark. The governess does everything she can to solve the mystery of Bartare's invisible `Dread Companion'---invisible that is, until Kilda and her charges are yanked into Faerie.

Kilda has to drink the water of Faerie before she can even see properly. The boy Oomark stays with her, but eats freely of alien fruit. When Kilda finally regains her normal vision, Oomark has begun a physical transformation into a creature of hooves and horns---a faun. Kilda must now struggle to stay human, locate a gate back to the sane world of the 25th century, keep Oomark by her side, and find Bartare who has gone to join the Dread Companion she believes to be her true mother.

"Dread Companion" was published in 1970, sandwiched between the Witch World novels, "Sorceress of the Witch World" (1968) and "The Crystal Gryphon" (1972), as well as many other works by this prolific author. Norton fans will discern several common elements between her excellent Witch World fantasy series and this stand-alone SF novel. Examples: there are nurturing trees that are havens from evil hound- and vulture-like creatures; and Bartare's kidnapper turns out to be a Great One of the Light---not that it matters so unhuman is She.

I think if you can find a copy of "Dread Companion," you will read some of the best descriptions of Faerie ever written, even though this book is officially classified as science fiction.

Norton has written of a place that is wondrous, terrible, and truly alien.

"Changeling -- a creature begotten by some supernatural being and then secretly exchanged for the rightful child."

"Dread Companion" begins and ends in a future where humanity had long ago reached the stars and scattered itself across thousands of planets. Terra itself is nothing but a half-remembered legend of origin.

Norton combines a theory of parallel universes with themes from folklore to create her story of a changeling who drags her brother and governess out of the twenty-fifth century AF (After Flight) and into the world of Faerie.

It's an odd amalgamation, but I think it works well because her story is anchored by the governess, Kilda and her brave attempts to rescue her charges. Almost as soon as she meets the children, Kilda realizes that the girl Bartare has some kind of unnatural hold over her younger brother, Oomark. The governess does everything she can to solve the mystery of Bartare's invisible `Dread Companion'---invisible that is, until Kilda and her charges are yanked into Faerie.

Kilda has to drink the water of Faerie before she can even see properly. The boy Oomark stays with her, but eats freely of alien fruit. When Kilda finally regains her normal vision, Oomark has begun a physical transformation into a creature of hooves and horns---a faun. Kilda must now struggle to stay human, locate a gate back to the sane world of the 25th century, keep Oomark by her side, and find Bartare who has gone to join the Dread Companion she believes to be her true mother.

"Dread Companion" was published in 1970, sandwiched between the Witch World novels, "Sorceress of the Witch World" (1968) and "The Crystal Gryphon" (1972), as well as many other works by this prolific author. Norton fans will discern several common elements between her excellent Witch World fantasy series and this stand-alone SF novel. Examples: there are nurturing trees that are havens from evil hound- and vulture-like creatures; and Bartare's kidnapper turns out to be a Great One of the Light---not that it matters so unhuman is She.

I think if you can find a copy of "Dread Companion," you will read some of the best descriptions of Faerie ever written, even though this book is officially classified as science fiction.

Norton has written of a place that is wondrous, terrible, and truly alien.

Back in the early '80s, probably 1982, my friend Paul Knorr handed me a novel and said something like, "Read this. You'll like it." I perused the cover, emblazoned with some fairly typical sci-fi soldier, and, humoring him, asked what it was about.

"It's about soldiers," he said. "They fight, then they have sex, then they do drugs, then they fight some more." Encouraging. Nonetheless, I accepted the book and read it. In short, War Games, by Karl Hansen and Kenneth Paul Rogers, is one of the most lurid, powerful works of science fiction I have ever read, a mutant cross between Aldous Huxley's Brave New World and Robert Heinlein's Starship Troopers, with a solid dose of S&M and narcotics abuse thrown in for good measure.

The 1981 novel was followed four years later by Dream Games, which was written by Hansen alone. War Games is far superior to Dream Games as a military science fiction novel. However, the latter book explores the workings of Hansen's universe in greater depth and provides answers to questions posed in the earlier work. Dream Games ends with a separatist invasion armada ringing Earth and preparing to launch a crushing attack -- bleak yes, but also inviting a sequel. A sequel that to date has not been forthcoming.

From a gaming point of view, especially that of role-playing, Hansen's books are ideal in that throughout them they describe a broad variety of weapons, armor, equipment, augmentations, and genetically manufactured races, and clearly delineate the socio-political and military environments his protagonists inhabit. Of course, the books are damned from a role-playing point of view, in that many parents would undoubtedly become upset if they knew just what sort of books their kid's new game was based on. (Remember all the flak D&D has gotten, especially in the '80s?) Nonetheless, those of us who have both read Hansen and played TSR's Star Frontiers cannot fail to notice uncanny similarities between the arsenals of the books and the game.

Since reading War Games and Dream Games, I have continued to search for other works by Karl Hansen, but from what I can tell he only wrote those two. I have always wondered what happened to him, and sometimes entertain the notion that the righteous citizens of whatever town he lived in decided that burning him in effigy just wouldn't be good enough ... To my knowledge, the only other thing Kenneth Paul Rogers has written is some true crime book (which I have not read) about a convicted rapist-murderer. Maybe that would shed some light on the whole Hansen-Rogers disappearing act. And maybe I don't want to know.

--By Michael J. Varhola for Skirmisher Online Gaming Magazine