Two Reviews from me

Here are a couple of reviews from me. TOXIN will be out in early July and is a terrific political thriller. The other is a volume of classic Science fiction tales that are some of the best ever written. Enjoy.

TOXIN, Paul Martin Midden, Millennial Mind Publishing, $24.95, 308 pages, ISBN: 9781589824928, reviewed by Barry Hunter.

What can twelve men do? That’s the premise of this intriguing novel. The twelve men in question plan to take over the United States and rule the country as a group. Twelve men serving a twelve year term to govern and make sure that their plan can be accomplished and brought to fruition. What can twelve men do? According to myth, the Twelve who sailed from Atlantis carried civilization and science to all corners of the world. What can twelve men do? The Twelve Disciples of Christ started the growth of religion that has grown into what it is today.

But those groups of twelve did not have someone like Jake Telemark, the junior Senator from Wisconsin and a former military sniper, working against them. Along with Isadora Hathaway, who has made him aware of the conspiracy, they do their best to come up with a plan to prevent the fanatics from putting their plan in effect before their names come up on the list for termination.

Starting with the arrest of a popular talk show host, a toxic chemical spill in a lake and the deaths of thousands in poisoning of a reservoir prove to Jake that something is happening and that he must do what Dora has asked. He must assassinate The Twelve in order to maintain the American way of life and the lives of Dora and himself.

Paul Martin Midden has jam packed this book with action and events that read like something out of the morning paper. The characters are believable and the tension builds as they discover the depth of the conspiracy. This is a fantastic and intriguing volume. Put this one on your summer reading list.

THE SCIENCE FICTION HALL OF FAME, Volume Two A, edited by Ben Bova, Orb, 18.99, 530 pages, ISBN: 9780765305350, reviewed by Barry Hunter.

Here are eleven classic novellas that were published before the Nebula Awards were created and they honor the cream of the crop. Many of them were possibly the spark that set many a fans desire on fire for more. They are by the fathers of the field and the masters of creating interesting and otherworldly locales. Many of them are unavailable today and this is a welcome volume to fill in the gaps that exists in some of our memories and collections.

Many fans remember the movie THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD, here is the original story “Who Goes There” by John W. Campbell. “The Time Machine” by H.G. Wells, “Universe” by Robert Heinlein, “With Folded Hands” by Jack Williamson, “Nerves” by Lester del Rey, and others by Poul Anderson, Ted Sturgeon, Cyril Kornbluth and Henry Kuttner and C.L. Moore.

This is a one volume collection of some of the finest science fiction ever written and if you don’t already have a copy, pick one up.