Set in the world of the Arabian Nights, this is the story of a hard-working djinn named Khaled. He is so conscientious that, while watching the parade of princes and sultans seeking the hand of the lovely Princess Zehowah, he takes an Indian prince, who was about to win Zehowah’s hand in marriage, into the desert and kills him. Khaled’s punishment is mitigated by the fact the prince was not a Muslim, and would have treated Zehowah badly back home. He is sent to Earth as a man, and his task is to win Zehowah’s love, in order to gain a soul and enter paradise.

Khaled has nothing to offer Zehowah in the way of silks and jewels, but she decides to marry him (her father, a Sultan, lets her decide) as a political union. There is much talk between them about the real meaning of love. Khaled conquers other tribes, and brings Zehowah more gold and riches, hoping to win her heart, but it doesn’t work. Also taken in battle is Almasta, a woman from Central Asia with flaming red hair. She is given to a local sheik, to be one of his wives. The sheik is found dead. Almasta is given to Zehowah’s father, the Sultan, as one of his wives. He is found dead the next morning, without a mark on him. She is then given to Abdullah, sheik of a tribe of Bedouins camping outside the city. Khaled, now the Sultan, makes it very clear that if Abdullah should suffer an untimely demise, Almasta will be the next one to die.

Abdullah hatches a plot to force Khaled from the Sultanship. His men spread out all over the city, spreading whispers about Khaled. They say that he is a Shiite in a Sunni country, that no one knows his father’s name or the name of his tribe, and that he will hand the city over to the Persians. A member of Abdullah’s tribe tells his cousin, the sheik of the beggars inside the city, and a counter-plan is hatched to keep Abdullah under surveillance at all times while he is in the city. At a convenient moment, Abdullah is to be kidnapped, and held until after the time that he told his followers that he will open up the castle, from the inside, and give away the riches within. Khaled knows nothing about the counter-plan, because he expects to be killed by Abdullah’s men, or captured and then killed.

Few novels have been written about the Arabian Nights; fewer still, that are really good and worth reading. If you can find a copy, the reader will not go wrong with this one.

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The expedition is led by Colonel Abbott, someone with considerable experience concerning retrieved spaceships. While checking a nearby crevasse for stability, Mike Ruger, mountaineer and the group’s Antarctic survival expert, finds a very large something buried many feet under the ice. After much diligent digging and ice-chopping, an entrance is found into a large alien spaceship. In one of the ship’s inner rooms, Abbott and Ruger finally meet the aliens. They are suddenly consumed by a feeling of absolute, primal terror. It’s the alien’s way of saying that the sooner the humans leave (not just the ship, but the whole area), the better. On the military transport plane taking the members of the group back to McMurdo, the aliens are, shall we say, not yet done with them.

The author has a background in military intelligence, and is a lifelong UFO enthusiast. He must have done a lot of research on living in Antarctica, because this scores very high in the Plausible and Feels Real department. It’s a thrilling story, too. Not all aliens have any desire to talk to humans.

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In part one, John Reese ran a very high-level military program called Team of Darkness, a team of three vampires ordered to kill selected targets. Led by a vampire called Dmitri, they had little choice in the matter. Around each of their necks was a permanent metal collar filled with a serum, that, at the touch of a button, would be injected into them, and kill them slowly and painfully. At the end of the book, Reese freed the three, telling his superiors that he killed them.

In this story, a megalomaniac officer named General Stone secretly obstructed Reese’s efforts to abolish the program. He has also secretly secured two young girls, a 13-year-old and her 8-year-old sister, to be his own personal assassins, with similar collars. They were turned into vampires through a Balkan (southeast Europe) equivalent of the Hatfield’s and McCoy’s feud. General Stone is found dead, murdered by Christina, another vampire, who could be said to have started all of this. She was found in a cave in the Balkans near the end of World War II, and was convinced to come to America.

Dmitri and his two colleagues find out about the two sisters, and break them out of a very secure military prison, the same one in which they were held. Reese, supposedly retired from the military, is forcibly recalled to active duty (by an ultra-secret agency called The Agency) with the task of finding them. The alternative is to spend the rest of his life in military prison. He also starts a "relationship" with Christina, and is unaware of her story.

This novel does a fine job of combining a vampire story with a political thriller. I am not much of a vampire novel lover, but I am very interested in reading future novels in this series.

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One day, while out on the range fixing fences, Garrett is attacked, and shot, by a being that looks like a pig on two feet. Next thing he knows, he is in a gray, featureless room, being attended to by a giant bumblebee called a yantz. It sprays an organic substance on Garrett to replace the flesh and bone destroyed by the upright pig. He finds himself, along with his horse, on a Thornn research vessel, one of many hunters from civilizations all over the galaxy. The other hunters want a piece of Garrett, the sooner the better, but the yantz bandages constitute a very effective Do Not Touch sign. Those who ignore the sign are swiftly dealt with by the yantz. Garrett is more than ready to do battle with the other hunters, once the bandages come off.

Among the hunters is Freet, a humanoid who looks, and talks, like a stereotypical Native American. The two are not friends by any means, but they manage to get along, with help from translator earpieces, which both are reluctant to wear. Included in the array of animals on the ship is the glemm, a large spider that can understand Garrett and sometimes takes his words a little too seriously. A couple of times, the animal cages get opened, forcing Garrett, Freet and some of the other hunters to hustle the animals (ranging from small and harmless to big and ornery) back to their cages. At the end, Garrett learns that his estranged daughter is physically a lot closer to him than he thinks.

This very interesting story belongs somewhere in that large gray area of Pretty Good or Worth Reading.

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There is a story about early humans dinosaur hunting. There is a tale of an actual incident in the life of H.G. Wells (before he became "H.G. Wells, Famous Person"). Included are a trio of related fantasy stories. A couple of alternate history tales are included about Great Britain’s entry into the Space Race, stories that do not end well for Britain. Puck, from "A Midsummer’s Night Dream" by Shakespeare, becomes a detective. There is a Victorian-style science fiction story with a rather self-explanatory title, "The Ant-Men of Tibet."

How can a home-made spaceship, that is propelled by doing strange things with gravity, fall approximately 10 feet, and the person inside be crushed to death, as if he had fallen from a much greater height? Sherlock Holmes and H.G. Wells are on the case. Of course, there are a couple of Hard SF stories, for which Baxter is best known. Also in this book are several essays, on topics like sports in science fiction, and the changing treatment of Mars and the Moon by science fiction writers.

This collection is really good. For those who like to read a variety of stories, or don’t want to wade through a novel full of science, this book is very much worth reading.

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You, the reader, are in a present-day airplane, traveling over Tibet after a trip to China. Suddenly, the plane develops engine trouble and crashes in the mountains. You are thrown from the plane and knocked unconscious. A group of Tibetan monks find you and nurse you back to health in their lamasery. After a month-long coma, you wake with total amnesia. The monks let you stay and regain your memory, along with learning the mystical arts of the East, at which you become very proficient. After nine years of training and living with the monks, it is time for you to head home. One night, after you are back home, the head monk appears to you with an important mission.

The peaceful land of Zaar is being ravaged by an evil sorcerer named Darkblade. He plans to become absolute ruler of Zaar, then go on to other lands and other worlds. With help from an evil potion called Black Death, Darkblade has gained a number of magical powers, among them, the ability to hypnotize anyone just by looking at them. Your mission is to capture Darkblade alive (killing him is not an option) and bring him to a druid named Keinu, so that all knowledge of Black Death can be erased from his mind, and he can be turned back into a druid named Rekken. Then you must take him to the Tibetan lamasery, where he will spend the rest of his days. Naturally, Darkblade knows you are coming, and has put many obstacles in your path, including rock monsters and ice slides that are so long that the unlucky traveler will starve to death before reaching the end.

For younger readers, it is very much recommended, and will certainly keep them interested. It’s very good for older readers, too.

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Henry is your average petty thief who spent time in the Camps. Now that he’s out, he goes back to his old ways, and hides the Camp tattoo on the back of his hand as much as possible. One day, Henry decides to become a serial killer, targeting members of the Soper regime. There is no blinding flash of inspiration, or sudden righteous anger to go along with it. Henry patiently and methodically cross-references phone book addresses with newspaper articles and tax records. His target is not the high-level members of the regime, but the low-level clerks and prison guards, those who were simply "doing their job."

In a last-ditch effort, Soper launched Europe’s nuclear missiles to all parts of the globe. The world had gotten together to oppose him, so space-based lasers took care of the missiles. After Soper was gone for good, the rest of the world, led by America and Russia, decided that building weapons against each other was no longer necessary. It took six months for the world to disarm, and not much longer for a World Constitution to be established.

This is a short book that says a lot. I would have preferred a bit more background into Soper and the Camps, but this is still a gem of a story.

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Medusa is an entity of infinite intelligence, spanning a billion planets. After it makes itself known to Gurlick, Medusa tries to explain just what is going on, and what Gurlick’s part is in all this, but Gurlick doesn’t understand. Medusa tries several times, but Gurlick still doesn’t comprehend. It reduces things to the equivalent of a beginner’s level, and, finally, Gurlick begins to get it. The second problem faced by Medusa is that humanity is not mentally linked. All of the other civilizations it has absorbed have had some sort of group mind system, so it doesn’t know how to deal with humanity. The best it can come up with is that maybe mankind was mentally linked at some point in the past, then somehow became un-linked. Gurlick is compelled to build a machine, that will build other machines, that will build still more machines, that will spread all over the world and broadcast a sort-of thought beam that will link all of humanity. Medusa’s intelligence will be transferred into humanity at the moment when Gurlick’s now-altered DNA impregnates an ovum.

Among the people changed when the machines start broadcasting is Paul Sanders, who had drugged a female co-worker and was planning to take advantage of her. Sharon is a little girl spending her second night in the woods, lost and starving. She suddenly understands that this type of fungus is actually good for her, and this is how to catch and kill a rabbit, among other things. Humanity destroys the vast majority of the machines in the first couple of hours after they start transmitting, but the "damage" is done.

This is a great novel, bordering on "classic." It’s nice and mind-blowing, and will give the reader plenty to think about.

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Welcome to the new extreme sport of dragonscaling. The object is to climb a sleeping dragon, using ropes and pitons hammered right into the dragon’s hide, and gather as many fresh scales as possible (they are a pharmacological treasure house). Naturally, the climber has to finish and get off the dragon before it wakes up, and turns the climber into lunch. Have you ever thought of a dragon as a hard-boiled 1940s detective?

A woman from a world of magic is on Earth working for a veterinarian taking care of dragons. A pair of humans are captured by a dragon, but manage to escape. The young dragon wanted to keep them as pets, but, after their escape, he gets frustrated, and complains to his mother. Think of Little Red Riding Hood facing a dragon instead of a wolf. A pair of young lovers enter a cave where a great treasure is kept. They plan to take enough of the treasure to convince her father that he really isn’t after the family money. The dragon in the cave demands a high price for not eating them. The book ends with a couple of very poignant stories about the Last Days of Dragons.

This is a very good bunch of stories, but the reader has to really like dragons. At least they are not the usual type of dragon tales. Fantasy readers will enjoy this one.

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Sent into the world as a kind of traveling warrior, Amarantha runs into Iphicles, now King of Corinth. The two were very good friends, almost lovers, when they were younger. She stays for a while as one of his advisors, to the whispers of nearly everyone that their relationship is not exactly platonic.

While in another city also ruled by Iphicles that has been badly damaged by bandits, Ares tells Amarantha that Iphicles must return to Corinth, now. She can’t tell Iphicles how she knows this, but when he finally listens to her and returns to Corinth, with Amarantha as part of the procession, the city has been decimated. There are many deaths, including Iphicles’ queen.

Switching suddenly to present day Athens, Amarantha finds herself in the body of archaeologist Alexandra Christophi. This is not the first time that Ares has sent her elsewhere in time. This time, the enemy is a shadowy terrorist organization that has been bombing religious sites all over the world, including Macchu Picchu, the Vatican and all the religious sites in Athens. The object is to destroy all other gods and bring about the coming of The One True God. The gods of Olympus understand that their fate hangs in the balance. In the final battle, Amarantha/Alexandra is severely injured. Will the gods grant her the peace she seeks?

Here is a first-rate piece of writing. It’s very readable, the characters are well done, and it is an interesting look inside Greek mythology. This gets two thumbs up.

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It all began innocently enough. Many years before, a cargo ship full of genetic material sank off the coast. Over 600 migrants were hired to clean up the mess. It took years for their offspring to develop what became known as Bruster’s Syndrome, but once they did, the government panicked. The diseased and their relatives were kept in quarantined camps. Those frightened citizens who could leave the continent have certainly done so. Houses for the diseased, who are called desgastas, are set up. In a way, Bruster’s is like AIDS, in that a person can live a normal life with the disease. But, once it takes hold, the end is slow, painful, disgusting and assured.

Jesse is a celebrity in Carpenteria, one of the last safe cities on the continent, but the scientific mistakes in his past have caught up with him. His latest experiment has failed, dashing any hope of a future for his people. Beckoned by Harold, his brother and the last Keeper of the sick, Jesse travels to the shore, and sees the ruined climate for himself.

Harold’s last ward is a young girl named Robin, who may be the savior of humanity. She is born desgastas, and has spent her whole life in exile. Jesse takes her to the city, to give her something of a normal life. Robin volunteers in a makeshift hospital, helping those dying of Bruster’s. Eventually, she contracts full-blown Bruster’s (for lack of a better term), and, amazingly, she survives. She has long since run away from the city, and returned to the house at the shore, where Jesse takes several samples of her blood, and returns to the city to turn them into a serum. Meantime, the desgastas squatting outside the city have entered the city and taken over. Now, they are dying faster than anyone can keep up with them.

This is a rather "slow" novel, but a really good novel. Stick with it, for the story is very much worth reading.

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Suddenly, the media is full of reports of people attacking each other like animals. The only way these zombies can be stopped is with a bullet in the head, and the sickness (actually an American bioweapon that got out of the lab) is spread with a bite.

Gabe decides that he is going to New Orleans, and take Renee somewhere safe, no matter what; Jake goes with him. Along the way, they meet Luccia, a Peruvian singer who is attacked by one of them in the middle of a concert. Dr. Lieberman is the scientist who developed the bioweapon. Trying to break through a military cordon, the group is arrested, and handed over to a corrupt lieutenant named Delgado. All women are taken to another room to be gang-raped by the soldiers. Gabe prevents Delgado from doing it to Luccia, and the group escapes, heading south.

The group is at a New Orleans boat dock, about to board a boat for a safe island off the coast (Dr. Lieberman gave them the coordinates just before he died). The dock entrance is blocked by a couple of school buses. Delgado, who has followed them from New York, and is obsessed with hurting Gabe as much as possible, intentionally moves the buses away, to make it easier for the zombies to attack. Gabe finally finds Renee, though not under the circumstances for which he had hoped.

This is more than just a really good zombie novel. It’s a story of love and friendship and obsession. It’s a very short novel, and it is very much recommended.

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A mother, her teenage son, and two younger daughters seem to be the only survivors of a plague that has ravaged North America (Dad was not so lucky). Now the mother and son are faced with the difficult task of replenishing the population. A pair of high school students experiment with what looks like Michael Jackson’s glove. It can create portals in time, but the catch is that the portals only go to famous dates in rock and roll history, like the days that Kurt Cobain and John Lennon died.

A family goes on a trip out west to a national park to see some real, live vampires in the wild. After a year-long internet relationship with a man in northwest Canada, a woman travels there for a visit, and possible marriage. He just happened to omit the part about every night, all night, he turns into an actual bear, with fur, claws, and sharp teeth. Another story is about the next step in athletic doping, using gene therapy to, for instance, turn a middle distance runner into a sprinter. A new reality show, called Beat The Geeks, tricks, or otherwise makes fun of, scientists. The book ends with a story that is half screenplay about a trio of kids that want to make their own near-future science fiction film.

The striking thing about these stories, aside from the fact that they are all really good, is that many of them are very contemporary stories. They could easily take place last month, or a couple of years from now. This book is very much worth the search.

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