"Mitosis" by Brandon Sanderson

Title: Mitosis

Author: Brandon Sanderson
Publisher: Gollanz

Book 1.5 of 'Reckoners'

Blurb:

From "New York Times" bestselling author Brandon Sanderson's action-packed novel "Steelheart" comes "Mitosis," a short story set in the world of The Reckoners series, exclusively available in the digital format.

Steelheart may be dead, but Epics still plague Newcago and David and the Reckoners have vowed to fight back.

Catch all the action before, "Firefight" is the exciting sequel to "Steelheart" hits shelves in December 2013.

Synopsis:

Having defeated Steelheart in Newcago, the Reckoners are attempting to restore the city with a human government. An Epic named 'Mitosis' comes looking for the Steelslayer, wishing to know the truth behind Steelheart's death, as he does not believe that a human could have defeated Steelheart. David, the Reckoners and the people of the City must fight to stop this epic from taking control of Newcago.

Verdict:

As soon as I saw this book was available, I had to read it. At 35 pages, it is less than an hours read and is action from the start. An enjoyable read with Sanderson delivering the goods once again.

Rating: 5/5

"A Beautiful Friendship" by David Weber (short story)

Title: More Than Honor

Author: David Weber
Publisher: Baen

This is the first short story in the book "More Than Honor" which is the first volume in the Worlds of Honor series in the Honorverse.

Synopsis:

The story takes place in the year 1518 PD (Post Diaspora) or 3620 AD, approximately 382 years before the events of "On Basilisk Station". The story centers around the first treecat/human interaction on the planet sphinx.

Climbs Quickly, a young treecat scout of the Bright Water clan, ventures to a human settlement intrigued by the plant known to the treecats as "cluster stalk", a plant unlike any known to the 'cats, with a delicious taste.

Stephanie Harrington, an eleven-year-old girl whose family has recently migrated to Sphinx from the planet Meyerdahl is determined to find out who keeps stealing celery from greenhouses and gardens all over Sphinx.

In the middle of a nightime thunderstorm, Stephanie finally catches Climbs Quickly sneaking out of the greenhouse. The two young beings experience a moment of deep psychic connection, the first bonding between a human and a treecat has just occurred.

Wanting to know more about the treecat, Stephanie sets out to track them, with consequences she could not of thought could happen....

Verdict:

This story took me a little over two hours to read and is well written. The story stands on its own merit, with no knowledge needed about David Weber's Honorverse. It was an enjoyable sunday afternoon read.

Rating: 4/5

"By The Book" by Charles E. Gannon (short story)

Title: Beginnings

Author: David Weber
Publisher: Baen

This is the first short story in the book "Beginnings" which is the sixth volume in the Worlds of Honor series in the Honorverse.

Synopsis:

The story takes place in the year 2352, (1650 years before the events of "On Basilisk Station"). It centers around Lieutenant Lee Strong of the Earth Union Customs Patrol, whose current mission as the story starts is to board a hijacked space liner on the outskirts of the Sol System's asteroid belt. The story develops into understanding the earths future history and political strifes up to 2354, the politically split Earth Union is divided between two factions, whom do not have a common agenda.

Without giving the story away, Lee Strong has to discover who is behind the hijacking and the wider implications that are behind it. He must decide where his political allegiance lies and what if anything he is going to about them.

Verdict:

This story took me a little over an hour to read and is well written. If I did not know anythng about David Weber's Honorverse, it would not make a single difference as the story stands on its own merits. What this does do is set up an area for David Weber or other authors to fill in the gap between mankind living in our own solar system and the point where we are colonising the galaxy.

Rating: 4/5