Welcome to the newly-named Reading Recap, where I do just that: talk about what I’ve been reading lately. You can expect these every two weeks. I started to say they are bi-weekly, but that term can be used to mean twice a week OR every two weeks, so I’ve decided to bring back the word ‘fortnightly’ into common usage. So without further ado, here’s your fortnightly Reading Recap. Enjoy!
Carthage Must Be Destroyed
Some time ago I finished this extremely well done history of the nation of Carthage. This book is remarkable for what it was able to tease out about the vanished city and its people from the paucity of primary sources available. It charts a remarkable arc over the course of centuries, coming to a close in 146 BC as Scipio Aemilianus' army broke into the city and began its annihilation.
I highly recommend this to anyone interested in the great conflicts between Republican Rome and Carthage. If you're looking for a detailed history of the Punic Wars, this isn’t that. But if you want an excellent source for background of Carthage, it's place in the world, and how it ended up in a series of brutal wars with Rome, then this is a great source on that great city and its people.
The Gray Death Legion Saga
These three novels were some of the first Battletech fiction I ever read. These, along with Michael Stackpole’s Warrior Trilogy, Robert Charrette’s Wolves on the Border, and the Twilight of the Clans series really touched off my love of giant stompy robots doing battle on a tremendous scale.
Every few years I get the urge to reread some of these classics. I just finished this series and boy does it take me back.
The characters have a lot of plot armor at times, and the core group of characters always comes out unscathed. Does the technology make a lot of sense? Not really. You can build giant walking war robots but not make tube artillery? You can build hyperdrives for spaceships but not sensors that can see a thirty foot mech in the forest? Yeah, they were written in the 80’s, so we need to give them some leeway.
But with all their flaws, they’re still great books about people doing heroic things to save others. And that is something I will always enjoy.
Something of Mine
Speaking of giant mech battles, I have a really cool mech story available on Amazon now!
It’s called Laugh or Cry and it follows a platoon of human soldiers tasked with tracking down a deadly group of alien mechs wreaking havoc behind human lines. My story is really cool, but I am more than honored to be included in this anthology with the likes of Rick Partlow, Blaine Lee Pardoe (one of my Battltech author heroes), and Craig Martelle. It’s a fantastic anthology, so check it out when you can!
Up Next
I’ve got both fiction and non-fiction in the pipeline for next time. Keeping with the giant mech theme, I’m currently reading Volunteer Fury, the fourth book in the Guardian Covenant series by Kevin Ikenberry. I love this series. I honestly can’t get enough and I hope Kevin publishes more in the future. Great action, high stakes, and cool technology come together for an amazing story arc.
I’m also reading The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin. I first heard about this book when Dan Carlin of Hardcore History interviewed Rick on the Hardcore History Addendum podcast (It’s Episode 24 if you want to look it up in a podcast player).
It was a really interesting talk on a huge range of subjects. Shortly thereafter I happened to see the book at an airport bookstore. Obviously being in need of yet another book, I bought it. It’s taking a while to get through, but I have a lot of thoughts on this one!
Thanks for reading and see you next time!
Lots of stuff to think about, Zane. And, as a big fan of "Decision at Thunder Rift," I need to check out some more of those mech stories after I submit my mech short story to Raconteur. I need to finish that soon. 😁