By Eric Flint (Riverdale, NY: Baen Publishing, 2000, 597 pages) 1632 actually begins in the year 2000 with a wedding in a small town mining in West Virginia—Grantville. Through an inexplicable event referred to later as the ‘ring of fire’, Grantville and the entire valley was transported to the middle of Germany and the year [...]

By Aaron Allston (New York: Random House Pub., 2009, 318 pages) “Outcast” is the first book in the new Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi series. The war is over, Jacen Solo is dead and gone, and the Galactic Alliance is expanding under leadership of Natasi Daala. In a move to consolidate her power and [...]

By James Patterson ( New York: Little,Brown and Co-Hachette Book Group, 2008, 406 pages) The latest offering in the Detective Alex Cross series. This story begins with the incredible slaughter and dismemberment of a family in Washington DC by a teenage Nigerian gang. Cross follows the evidence all the way to Nigeria and then on [...]

By James Luceno (New York: Ballantine Books, 2008, 317 pages) The story follows the Millennium Falcon from the moment it was born (manufactured) at Corellian Engineering Corp. Assembly Facility 7. Then traces the history and different owners of the Falcon up to when Han Solo ‘won’ it from Lando. Years later, Han and Leia go [...]

By Khaled Hosseini (New York: Riverhead Books, Penguin Group, 2007, 372 pages) A Novel by the author of The Kite Runner. The story of two women, Mariam and Laila. Mariam is 5 years of age in Afghanistan, 1964. She looked forward to the visits by her father Jahil until she is old enough to understand [...]

By Daniel Silva (New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, Penguin Group,2008, 433 pages) The latest Gabriel Allon novel, who is an art restorer by passion and cover, and an Israeli spy par excellence. This story takes Allon to Moscow running down a lead that identifies a prominent Russian industrialist as a weapons dealer completing a potential [...]

By Joel C. Rosenberg (Carol Stream, Ill.: Tyndale House Pub., 2008, 400 pgs.)   This is the 5th and final book in the series which began with The Last Jihad and continued with The Last Days, The Ezekiel Option, and The Copper Scroll. The book revolves around Jon Bennett, Former Advisor to the President, and [...]

By Troy Denning (New York: Random House, Inc.: Ballantine Books, 2008, 299 pgs.) This is the final offering in the ‘Legacy’ series. The most that I am going to say about the outcome is that the war is finally over at the end of the book. Jaina Solo was training with Boba Fett in order [...]

By Karen Traviss (New York: Random House, Inc.: Ballantine Books, 2008, 436 pgs.) Jaina Solo is determined to bring in or eliminate her brother Jacen who had become Darth Caedus. She goes to Mandalore to receive training from Boba Fett. She reasons that he will need to learn another method of fighting if she is [...]

By Robert Ferrigno (New York: Scribner: Simon & Schuster, 2008, 384 pages) This is the second book in Robert Ferrigno’s fast paced ‘Assassin Trilogy’.  The first book: "Prayers for the Assassin" set a precedent that is hard to equal, yet "Sins of the Assassin" is a worthy successor that stands up well on its own. [...]