54 - A MIGHTY FORTRESS: DAVID WEBER

Young Cayleb Ahrmahk has accomplished things few people could even dream of. Not yet even thirty years old, he’s won the most crushing naval victories in human history. He’s smashed a hostile alliance of no less than five princedoms and won the hand of the beautiful young Queen Sharleyan of Chisholm. Cayleb and Sharleyan have created the Charisian Empire, the greatest naval power in the history of Safehold, and they’ve turned Charis into a place of refuge for all who treasure freedom.

Their success may prove short-lived. The Church of God Awaiting, which controls most of Safehold, has decreed their destruction. Mother Church’s entire purpose is to prevent the very things to which Charis is committed. Since the first attempt to crush the heretics failed, the Church has no choice but to adopt some of the hated Charisian innovations for themselves. Soon a mighty fleet will sail against Cayleb, destroying everything in its path.

But there are still matters about which the Church knows nothing, including Cayleb and Sharleyan’s adviser, friend, and guardian— the mystic warrior-monk named Merlin Athrawes. Merlin knows all about battles against impossible odds, because he is in fact the cybernetic avatar of a young woman named Nimue Alban, who died a thousand years before. As Nimue, Merlin saw the entire Terran Federation go down in fire and slaughter at the hands of a foe it could not defeat. He knows that Safehold is the last human planet in existence, and that the stasis the Church was created to enforce will be the human race’s death sentence if it is allowed to stand.

The juggernaut is rumbling down on Charis, but Merlin Athrawes and a handful of extraordinary human beings stand in its path. The Church is about to discover just how potent the power of human freedom truly is.

I guess it was hopeless to expect the series to wrap up with this book - #4. I still hate the spelling of the names but have come to terms with most of them, I still dislike all the stuff, like sea battles and shell construction , that keep the story moving slowly as far as the main characters and the storyline are concerned. I will however be waiting for the next instalment because the basic plot of the book continues to appeal.

47 - 61 HOURS: LEE CHILD

Sixty-one hours. Not a minute to spare.
A tour bus crashes in a savage snowstorm and lands Jack Reacher in the middle of a deadly confrontation. In nearby Bolton, South Dakota, one brave woman is standing up for justice in a small town threatened by sinister forces. If she’s going to live long enough to testify, she’ll need help. Because a killer is coming to Bolton, a coldly proficient assassin who never misses.

I did like the cast of characters in this book and the conversations between Reacher and the main players. I've been reading Child's novels since the beginning and have found no reason to stop.

46 - THE PENGUIN BOOK OF CRIME STORIES: PETER ROBINSON

Bestselling Canadian author Peter Robinson once again delivers a special treat for crime fiction lovers: a compilation of outstanding contemporary crime writing from the English-speaking world. With a selection of fifteen stories featuring established writers and new voices, The Penguin Book of Crime Stories Volume II is a rich source of literary menace, psychological insight, and roaring plot. This collection includes riveting stories by Lee Child, John Connolly, Colin Cotterill, Jeffrey Deaver, Sue Grafton, Sophie Hannah, Reginald Hill, Maureen Jennings, and Ruth Rendell. The stories are selected and introduced by Peter Robinson.

As with most short story collections I enjoyed some more than others.









45 - THE COLLECTED STORIES OF ROGER ZELAZNY: POWER AND LIGHT

I was surprised at how well the stories from the 60's read . I found myself skimming the fantasy stories but read most of the science fiction. Well put together collection covering his career in several volumes, I will watch out for others.

34 - 501st An Imperial Commando Novel: Karen Traviss

The Clone Wars are over, but for those with reason to run from the new galactic Empire, the battle to survive has only just begun. . . .

The Jedi have been decimated in the Great Purge, and the Republic has fallen. Now the former Republic Commandos–the galaxy’s finest special forces troops, cloned from Jango Fett–find themselves on opposing sides and in very different armor. Some have deserted and fled to Mandalore with the mercenaries, renegade clone troopers, and rogue Jedi who make up Kal Skirata’s ragtag resistance to Imperial occupation. Others–including men from Delta and Omega squads–now serve as Imperial Commandos, a black ops unit within Vader’s own 501st Legion, tasked to hunt down fugitive Jedi and clone deserters. For Darman, grieving for his Jedi wife and separated from his son, it’s an agonizing test of loyalty. But he’s not the only one who’ll be forced to test the ties of brotherhood. On Mandalore, clone deserters and the planet’s own natives, who have no love for the Jedi, will have their most cherished beliefs challenged. In the savage new galactic order, old feuds may have to be set aside to unite against a far bigger threat, and nobody can take old loyalties for granted.

I started this Star Wars series because it was written by Karen Traviss an author I like from her Wess'Har series http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wess%27Har
Initially I enjoyed the storyline and felt comfortable with the characters but found myself less involved and interested with this one. Think I'm done with the clones.