Book: The Last Colony by John Scalzi

The Last Colony is the third book in the Old Man's War universe by John Scalzi.  We follow John Perry and Jane Sagan in their new life together after finishing their time with the CDF.  They have adopted Zoe Boutin, the daughter of Charles Boutin (from The Ghost Brigades).  They are offered a chance to be leaders in a new colony, and after some deliberation they decide to accept.  Zoe's Obin protectors, Hickory and Dickory, warn Perry that things may be amiss.  Hickory and Dickory very diligently protect Zoe.  They hold her as very special due to the gift of consciousness her father gave them.  Perry can trust that they would not do anything to put Zoe in harm.  They proceed to Roanoke.  When they get to Roanoke they learn something was indeed amiss.  A specially modified member of the CDF special forces is waiting for them, I kind of envisioned him as a talking space turtle.  He tells them they were sent to this location because the real Roanoke location was known to a group that is fighting colonization, the Conclave.  He also tells them they can't go back, the ship has been rigged not to be able to return, and they can't use their electronic devices because they may be detected that way.  Needless to say that caused a whole set of problems they expect to have to deal with.  Thankfully, some of the settlers that came with them are "Amish" and used things that did not embrace modern technology.  They were able to help the colony start farming, and taking care of the livestock.  There was more political stuff in this book, and if you remember from my last review how I feel about that then you can probably guess how felt in this book.  The group Perry and the settlers were "hiding" from find Roanoke.  The leader for the Conclave, General Gau, visits Perry on the planet and gives him his options-which are basically join the Conclave and they will let them go home or to another planet, or don't and the Conclave will blow up the settlement.  Through his interaction with Gau, Perry has more questions about what is really going on with the Conclave and the CDF.  Once again, Perry feels like someone is hiding the truth and he tries to get to the bottom of things.  And apparently there is a really mean werewolf type species on the planet that it terrorizing the colony.  I'm sorry for the crappy review, I just had a hard time getting into this and staying interested.   I really liked the first book in this series. but lost interest in the second and third and have no desire to read the fourth (which is essentially The Last Colony but told from Zoe's point of view).

Music: Aoife O'Donovan

I've been posting a lot of book posts and have been neglecting music posts.  My husband, David, has wonderfully eclectic taste in music and pretty much listens to whatever moves him or inspires him.  It is one of the many things I love about him.  Right now we are on a bit of a bluegrass/newgrass (also called progressive bluegrass but I like newgrass better) kick.  There is some really amazing talent out there and I love everything he's been playing for me.  You are going to get a bunch of newgrass artists from me in my next few music posts.  Even if this isn't your choice of music, at least give them a listen.  It will restore my faith in humanity.  Do it for me.

Today I'm going to talk about Aoife O'Donovan.  This is the first song David played for me (I'm pretty sure):

(Aoife O'Donovan & Sarah Jarosz - "Some Tyrant") (I love YouTube)

Yeah, I wanted (needed) to hear more!  Her voice pulls at my heartstrings.  One of the albums David bought  after finding Aoife was her solo album, Fossils.  Listening to the album I hear hints of Joni Mitchell and Edie Brickell.  Aoife is backed by Ryan Scott on guitar, Jacob Silver on bass, Robin MacMillan on drums, Charlie Rose on pedal steel guitar, and Rob Burger on various keyboards and accordion.  Oh yeah, I said accordion.  The way her voice haunting blends with the instruments is just beautiful.  Just listen to this:

("Red & White & Blue & Gold" from Fossils)

She lends her voice to some projects as well, one David just introduced me to this week.  Crooked Still.   The album is called Some Strange Country and the talented artists on the album are:  Aoife on vocals, Corey DiMario on bass, Gregory Liszt on banjo, Tristan Clarridge on cello, and Brittany Haas on fiddle.  They all complement one another so beautifully, listen to this:

("Half of What We Know" from Some Strange Country)

And the last project of hers that I am going to mention is I'm With Her.  I'm With Her is Aoife on vocals and guitar, Sara Watkins on vocals and fiddle, and Sarah Jarosz on vocals, banjo, and guitar.  Those three voices together are magical to me.  Their first album together comes out May 8, 2015 and below is a track from that album:

("Crossing Muddy Waters") 

This is just a taste of what Aoife has out there in the musical world.  She plays in music festivals and plays with several other artists.  I love the way her voice just seems to fit with whatever she wants it to do.  This is just an introduction, if you love her voice as much as I do go out there and find more.  I'd love to hear what tickles your fancy!  

Book: The Ghost Brigades by John Scalzi

The Ghost Brigades is the second book in the Old Man's War world, by John Scalzi.  This book did not pick up where I expected, and I think that made it difficult for me to get into this book.  Instead of following the familiar voice of Perry, we are introduced to a new set of characters and an aspect of the CDF that was secretive in the first book - the Special Forces, also called the Ghost Brigades.  The Special Forces are CDF soldiers created from DNA sources where the donor is no longer living (hence the Ghost Brigades).  When a person signs up to be a recruit with the CDF, they provide a DNA sample.  Due to the age of the recruits some don't actually make it to transporting off the planet but the CDF still has their DNA.  And as with big secretive corporations, waste not want not.  The CDF uses this DNA to create recruits that they can test new technologies on before introducing them to all recruits.  Because of their abilities, advanced technology, and secrecy the Special Forces are sent on missions normal recruits are not capable of.  In this book we are introduced to Charles Boutin, a top scientist who carries a grudge.  He has formed an alliance with the Rraey, Eneshan, and Obin, and is causing trouble for the CDF.  Boutin's body is found, and it is discovered he stored some of his consciousness on a computer, so the CDF decides to grow a body with Boutin's DNA and see if they can transfer the consciousness into the new body.  The wake the body, and transfer the consciousness but nothing seems to happen.  Again, waste not want not, they decide to let him join the newest group of Special Forces.  They name him Jared Dirac, and Jane Sagan is one of the people tasked to watch Dirac to see if Boutin's consciousnesses surfaces.  It was interesting to follow Dirac through his training, which was very different from the process Perry went through.  The Special Forces learn faster, and have advantages when it comes to communicating with each other via the BrainPal because of their enhancements.  It was also interesting to get to know Sagan's character better.  She began to have questions about what the CDF was really up to, like Perry in the previous book.  I'm not going to lie, I tend to get bored with some of the political stuff and I find that I don't pay as much attention as I should to things going on.  I'm sure I missed some important things in this story.

Once I got into this book I did enjoy it.  It was interesting to learn about the Ghost Brigades, and what made them so different and special.  I really liked Dirac and following him on his journey as he struggled with being himself while struggling with the other identity inside him and what that meant.  It will be interesting to see what tale the next book has to tell!

Distracted

That's pretty much how I've been feeling lately.  Lately I feel like my mind has been all over the place and I might be going a little insane.  I try to sit down to do something and I get restless and think about something else I should be doing.  That's why there hasn't been much posting lately.  I am very behind on some book posts and I'm trying to remedy that.  I'm also hoping to get back into writing non-book related posts as well.  My hope is that getting some of the crazy things on my mind done (like going through my piles of stuff) will help me be able to sit down and focus a little better.

Every couple of years or so we try to purge junk in our home.  We've been in the house for almost 15 years, there are a lot of places to tuck stuff.  Trust me, I am excellent and tucking things away.  I just found a box of wedding invitations that I thought I had tossed or lost 14 years ago.  I'm also a scrapbook/stamper and I have a lot of paper and paper scraps lying around.  I tried to get rid of some of the scraps last night but I keep thinking "I could use that for something."  And that, I believe, is how a hoarder is born.  Just thinking that makes me want to go and throw everything away.  I try not to be wasteful, but I also try not to be a crazy keeper of things.  Clearly it's time for me to purge, I just need to focus and run with it.

Or maybe something like the above will happen.  Clearly with me it can go either way.  I'll keep you posted on the great purge (or wine dancing).  Thanks for listening to me!

Book: Old Man's War by John Scalzi

This is my first time reading anything by John Scalzi, and I have to say I really enjoyed this book.  Old Man's War is the first book in the Old Man's War universe, I believe there are four books out currently with at least one more in the works.  The story is told through the voice of John Perry, a 75 year old widower, who has made the choice to join the Colonial Defense Forces (CDF).  He and his wife, Kathy, had planned to join together but she passed away before she could.  Perry made the choice to enlist anyway.  With his wife gone, and his son grown, he didn't think there was anything left to keep him on earth.  He joins the CDF with the plan of putting in his time fighting in the war and hopefully retiring with a younger body on a new planet.  We follow Perry through the transformation process all the recruits undergo, and the friends he makes as he becomes a CDF soldier.  The transformation they go through to become a soldier is like something out of X-Files episode, they move the consciousness from one boy to another.  The new body is not just any ordinary body; it is modified to be a stronger, better body.  There is nanobot technology that improves everything, and a thing called a BrainPal that allows for communication through thought, as well as training and information sharing.  It's like having a smart phone in your brain, but better.  We learn more about the new abilities and technology as we follow Perry through his training and eventual combat.  Perry learns more about the organization he is fighting for and begins to question the motives behind the fighting.  In the Battle for Coral the CDF is fighting the Rraey for possession of the planet Coral.  Perry is part of an assault that goes bad.  The Rraey were able to detect the incoming ships and pretty much thwarted the assault before it happened.  Perry's ship is the only one that makes it through, but despite best efforts Perry was the lone survivor.  He sustained injuries in the landing, and was near unconscious when he was rescued by one of the Ghost Brigade squads.  Perry is in and out of consciousness, and believes he sees the ghost of his wife.  Once he is healed, he tries to get some answers but has a hard time as doors to information seem to be closed at every turn.  

Clearly there is a lot more to the book, but I really don't want to give anything away.  I enjoyed discovering what being a recruit entailed, and the whole process of getting a new body and learning to use it.  The idea of getting to re-live your life on a new planet is a neat idea.  Some of the technology talked about in the book is really interesting too, especially the nanobots.  They made me think of that episode of Star Trek:  The Next Generation where Wesley is studying nanobots and some escape and start causing trouble on the ship (Season 3, Episode 1 - Evolution).  I should say I didn't think of that episode because anything like that happened in the book.  I just thought of it because of the nanobots.  I look forward to following Perry to see what happens with his ghost, and if he gets to retire on a new world with his younger body!

Currently.

Doing:  Fighting off a headache.  Fretting.  I can't seem to shut my mind off at night so I have't been sleeping well.  I blame the headache on that.

Thinking about:  The weekend.  The husband and I have a getaway planned, a much needed one.  I'm hoping I can let go and just relax with him and not worry about the things I have no control over.  Clutter, I'm thinking about that too and how I need to work on that.  I'm thinking about how far behind I am in posting about the book I've read.  Also, I'm wishing I had flat-ironed my hair this morning.

Watching:  The last episodes of Mad Men just started to air last Sunday, so we were all over that.  We've also been watching the second season of Broadchurch (BBC-not US), and I'm enjoying it.  Game of Thrones, Deadliest Catch and I think Orphan Black all start soon, so I'm looking forward to those returning!  Lots to watch, feels like there just isn't enough time some nights.

Looking forward to:  Time with my husband where it's just the two of us.

Reading:  I just read Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson, I'm on the second book in the series now, Firefight.  Reviews to come... someday.

Loving:  My husband.