Stoke the Flames Higher by Peter Grant

I've been waiting for the fifth book in the Maxwell saga for quite a while now. Peter Grant had some health issues for a while that slowed its publication down, and then when I finally got it for my Kindle, I had a rather large TBR pile, but I finally got around to it the other day, and was very pleased with the story. Grant continues to refine his craft and delivers a very tight, gripping novel.

There's a very good scene that begins the book which sets up (or reminds us, anyway, if we've been away from the series too long) Steve's martial arts skills - he receives his fifth dan belt in Karate. So, we don't find it improbably later on in the story that he is able to overpower and disarm professional thugs. Steve's band of covert operatives get a new assignment ferrying a diplomatic party to a planet where a fanatical religious sect is fomenting a revolution, and is also exporting their brand of guerilla warfare to a neighboring planet, where one of Steve's best friends is posted with his space Marines, so Steve is hoping to be able to mix a bit of personal pleasure with business this trip.

Things turn out to be closer to catastrophe than anyone thought, and when things hit the fan, Steve has to rescue his diplomats from the rebels in the middle of a coup attempt, get off planet, and warn his friend about a devastating surprise attach which is on its way.

Still lots of upside to go in this series, though Grant has begun branching out into other genres, including Westerns, and has a couple of Fantasy proposals on the table for this year. I read a couple of rough draft excerpts - I think they're gonna be fun, too.

Forge a New Blade by Peter Grant

 In Forge a New Blade, Grant continues the story of how the Laredo government in exile finds a way to drive the occupying Bactrian forces from their planet. President Pro Tem, Dave, gets introduced to our old friend Steve Maxwell, of the Lancastrian fleet, who has been recruited into the branch responsible for plausibly deniable operations, it appears. The Lancastrians want Laredo to form and possibly lead a coalition of small colonies against the forces of piracy and annexation, like the Bactrians,

One of the themes that the author explores in this book is that of  bad guys who aren't necessarily bad, from an omniscient POV. In this case, the original hawkish coalition which invaded Laredo and perpetrated war crimes and other atrocities on its populace are the true villains - unrepentant - while the new ruler of Bactria, having succeeded his father to the uneasy throne, would like to withdraw his forces from the occupation, but is hamstrung by needing to appease the nobles and military leaders who began the  invasion to increase their own power. If he comes out and opposes them directly, he risks losing the throne, and incidentally, his life.

So, there's some great plotting and scheming going on on Bactria, while the rebellion simmers on Laredo and other parts of the galaxy. You find yourself hoping that somehow, some way, President Dave and Satrap Rostom could just get together for a few drinks and figure out a way to thwart the crazed plans of the rich and powerful, but it'd be a short story in that case.

Another great bit of military SF from Peter Grant. Can't wait for the sequel, or a new Maxwell Saga book.

Stand Against the Storm by Peter Grant

 Of all of the books I have read recently, this is probably the one which I most regret having neither the time nor energy to review properly. Peter Grant (whose blog I follow religiously) had mentioned the delay in getting this book published that had been caused by having to tear the whole plot apart and start again almost from scratch. Bravo, Peter! The delay was worth it, and your extra effort paid off.

Just as Steve Maxwell finally has a plan to return the jade knife artifact to the tong, he is unexpectedly called away to serve a term of duty on a peacekeeping mission on a backwater planet, with all of the usual B.S. that sort of mission involves, given the types of limitations that politicians and diplomats love to impose on the peacekeepers.

Hampered by restrictive rules of engagement, Maxwell must use initiative to accomplish his mission and, for the most part, keep his superiors happy. The planet has served as a penal colony for generations, and one of its most recent cohorts of prisoners includes the crew of a Dragon Tong ship which was caught smuggling. Steve seizes the opportunity to employ skilled workers of the crew and to make use of his tong connections, getting them released to his supervision by the planetary government, so he can get his strongpoint constructed quickly.

A great story, wish I could do it justice.

War to the Knife by Peter Grant

 As expected, Peter Grant has given us a fast-paced, action-filled, page-turner of military SF to enjoy in this first of a new series. The citizens of the planet Laredo have been invaded by the thugs from Bactria, and their planet has been occupied and oppressed for quite a while as the story begins. The resistance continues fighting against the occupying forces, despite the Bactrian Security Service's policy of immediately shooting, or torturing first, then shooting, any captured freedom fighters. The horrendous abuses perpetrated on the population by the Bactrians have all been documented by the resistance, and they have finally decided to send one of their best and brightest young officers, Lt. Dave Carson, off planet to alert the galaxy and appeal to the United Planets for relief.

To provide a diversion, the resistance stages its largest attack ever to coincide with the arrival of the Bactrian Satrap and his Crown Prince on the planet, to review the troops and bolster the reign of the current military governor. They help themselves to Bactrian shuttles, weaponry and supplies and stage a major attack on the capitol city during the celebration, causing massive casualties, while at the same time Dave and his wife, Tamsin, and a small cadre steal a spaceship capable of getting into orbit, attack the space station above Laredo, use its captured weapons to destroy the only armed vessels in the system, destroy the station itself with a nuke, then flee with a merchant freighter to the planet Neu Helvetica. That's the plot in a nutshell.

The only gripe I have with the tale, aside from its brevity (only 269 pages), is that Grant has a tendency, it seems to me, to make things work out a little too conveniently for his heroes. I've seen it with the Maxwell Saga, and it's rearing its head here, too. Yes, many of the good guys die, and yes, the fighting is fierce and the enemy evil, but the entire multi-pronged attack on the city went far more smoothly than far simpler operations proceed in real life, and I never felt the tension in my gut, you know?

One of the things I'm curious to find out about in subsequent installments of this story is whether the Satrap's son will actually act upon the newfound revelations about how it may be better to treat one's subjects far more leniently than has been his family's habits, so as to avoid the sort of hatred and destruction that the Laredans dealt out. Carson and his surviving friends have also begun a crusade of sorts to unite many of the smaller, weaker planets and form a joint space navy task force to deal with aggressive polities like the Bactrians, and it will be interesting to see where Grant goes with that.

As always, enjoyable, and worth the price of admission.

Adapt and Overcome by Peter Grant

 Perhaps one of the most enjoyable things about this third installment in the Maxwell saga is what it is NOT. It is not an urban fantasy with a wounded female ass-kicking protagonist who reluctantly learns to trust her friends and family, like 99% of what is being published today. No, Steve Maxwell was raised in an orphanage, but emerged as a strong, whole person who places trust in the trustworthy, makes friends and allies easily, and who operates with an internal moral compass that makes his decisions, while not easy, at least clear, quick and un-agonizing.

I'm not sure what it was that Peter Grant was working on so long in his rewrites and edits, but I don't see anything terribly different, from an enjoyment standpoint, from the earlier books in the series, save perhaps that he listened to those beta readers who thought he was doing too much world-building. He's trimmed down  to less than the amount of info dumps in previous iterations, though obviously massive amounts of information, well-delivered, certainly are no barrier to book sales...ahem...David Weber.

When Steve becomes the sole witness to an attempt at evidence tampering by a superior officer in the midst of a crash investigation on his latest assignment, his commanding officer decides to get him off planet and away from the newsies, so he is assigned temporary duty with the system defense forces of Rolla, helping them train shuttle crews. He manages to get his old buddy from OCS, Brooks Shelby, who is now a Marine lieutenant, assigned to the training team as well. While he is staying at Brooks' place temporarily between assignments, Brooks and his girlfriend introduce Steve to a lovely young officer, Abha Sashna (you see where this is going, of course) and the two of them fall immediately and hopelessly in love. The trio troops off to Rolla, and more military adventures shortly ensue.

Steve and his friends soon get a chance to demonstrate their martial skills when some old pirate enemies come to call, and the tension ratchets up a notch. His cool, calm competence and ability to anticipate the worst case scenario serves Steve well in these battles, and in the simulated ones at the command school he attends a bit later in the book. All work and no play has made Steve (perhaps in the eyes of the beta readers) a tiny bit of a dull boy, and Grant actually includes some passages detailing how Steve spends his down time, which gives us a glimpse of him in a more personal, less military, setting.

A good story, a likeable hero, and Grant leaves me anxiously awaiting the next book.

Ride the Rising Tide by Peter Grant

 I think Grant has really begun to hit his stride in the second book of the Maxwell Saga. The resemblance to many of Heinlein's young adult works is uncanny. As Ride the Rising Tide begins, our hero Steve is packing up his belongings, heading off to the Recruit Training Depot, ready to become a junior member of the Lancastrian Commonwealth Fleet.

The only major "beef" I have with anything in this series is the ongoing saga of the Jade knife. I find it difficult to suspend my disbelief for long enough to believe that the (pardon the expression) jaded head of the Lotus Tong, Mr. Wang, would fall for as lame a story as Steve spins to conceal the fact that he is the actual owner of the artifact. I suppose that Grant has some key plot element later on that requires Steve to finally surrender the knife in return for a major favor from the criminal syndicate, but if I were a ruthless tong lord I'd have pulled him in for some enhanced interrogation techniques the first time he showed up - that's just how I think, I guess.

One other thing that slows down the story a bit is that the author is presenting a lot of expository information about the Lancastrian Commonwealth, its Fleet, and the purposes behind a great deal of the training Steve receives. It is, fortunately, not delivered in a lecture format, but in small doses from bit players in the saga. Steve has inherited from his "father" Bosun Cardle, a strong work ethic, a penchant for honesty and fair play (aside from when dealing with criminals, eh?), and a knack for getting along with nearly everyone he encounters, so he does well in his recruit training, graduating near the top of his class, then serves equally admirably in flight school later on, gaining his commission in the Fleet.

Where some authors have spent several volumes dealing with a meteoric career rise, Grant has managed to just hit the high points of Maxwell's ascent on the rising tide of good fortune, abetted by hard work on his part. There are some really good lessons wrapped up in a fairly exciting storyline here, but I wonder if today's young adults are too worldly to enjoy these books, in a media matrix filled with graphic sex and violence these days. For those of us, however, with a sense of nostalgia about the golden glory days of science fiction, they're a must read.

I eagerly await the third novel, due out in September, I believe.

Take the Star Road

Peter Grant, of Bayou Renaissance Man, has written his first science fiction novel, and I must admit I was pleasantly surprised by it. Sarah Hoyt's blurb says, "evocative of Heinlein" and I have to agree that it reminds me a bit of some of his earlier young adult novels, both in theme and execution, such as Between Planets, The Star Beast, or Starman Jones, perhaps, but also is full of technical details in a manner reminiscent of Allen Steele's Clarke County, Space or Orbital Decay.

Steve Maxwell, the young protagonist, seems to be one of those folks who can fall in a pile of crap and come out smelling like a rose. The story begins when he and his employer are attacked by several members of a criminal tong, and Steve disables several of them quickly with his martial arts skills, which he acquired while defending himself from bullies in the orphanage where he was left after the death of his parents. Though he has only been doing temp work, his employer is grateful enough for Steve's help that he gives him a full time job as a server in his tavern, and sets him up with a meeting with the bosun's mate of a space ship when the opportunity arises, so that Steve can fulfill his dream of being a spacer, himself.

From that point, things proceed somewhat inexorably, given Steve's good character and strong work ethic, as he learns new skills and is rapidly promoted. Grant uses Steve's innocent eager questions as springboards for a metric ton of exposition about everything from the way space ships make their way through hyperspace to the traditions of the space navy and the history of Earth and its colonies. It works, but occasionally I was left wishing for a little less explanation and a touch more action.

It wasn't a page-turner, which kept me up past my bedtime, but it was a good solid read for a couple evenings' entertainment, and I'd certainly pick up the sequel, when Grant gets around to publishing it. Any and all sex and violence were strictly PG rated, and the lessons that Steve and readers of the book will learn are those of the traditional American mom and apple pie variety.

You can get a second opinion on the book from Brigid at Home on the Range, if you like.