Books Received 12/21/07

0765316307Steward of Song
Author: Adam Stemple

Book Description: In Singer of Souls, young Douglas fled his American life of drugs and petty crime, arriving in Scotland to be taken in by his stern-but-fair grandmother. Unfortunately, his career as a busker was interrupted by the fey folk who invisibly share Edinburgh’s streets. | Now Douglas, usurper, sits on the throne of Faery–holding the Queen and the land hostage with his all-powerful magic and his unflinchingly loyal lieutenant: Martes. Meanwhile, in Massachusetts, a strange infant is left on the doorstep of an ex-marine who may have the second sight.

 

1591025990Starship: Mercenary
Author: Mike Resnick

Book Description: The date is 1968 of the Galactic Era, almost three thousand years from now. The Republic, created by the human race but not yet dominated by it, is in the midst of an all-out war with the Teroni Federation. Captain Wilson Cole, a man with a reputation for exceeding orders but getting results, found himself the victim of a media feeding frenzy, a political scapegoat despite years of dedicated military service. Faced with a court martial, he was rescued by the loyal crew of his ship, the Theodore Roosevelt. Branded mutineers, the Teddy R. has quit the Republic, never to return. | Seeking to find a new life, Wilson Cole first remade the Teddy R. as a pirate ship plying the spaceways of the lawless Inner Frontier. But military discipline and honor were a poor match for a life of pillaging and plundering, and Cole’s principles naturally limited his targets. Seeking a better way of life, the Teddy R. becomes a mercenary ship, hiring out to the highest bidder. Whether it’s evacuating a hospital before war can reach it, freeing a client from an alien prison, or stopping a criminal cartel from extorting money from a terrified planet, the crew of the Teddy R. proves equal to the task. Along the way they form a partnership with the once human Platinum Duke, team up with a former enemy, and make the unique Singapore Station their headquarters. | But the life of a mercenary is not always predictable, and eventually circumstance pits Cole and the Teddy R. against his right-hand woman, the former Pirate Queen known as the Valkyrie. Soon the fragile trust that has grown between these two legends is put to the test as they find themselves on opposite sides of a job.