There are many well-known authors in the science fiction, fantasy and horror genres, usually known because they hit the NYT Bestseller list, or through good marketing. But who are the less well-known authors you have enjoyed that that we should be looking to read, and why?

Check out the answers on Grasping for the Wind! Listed are many authors I do know, but also many I have not heard of! I’ll definitely be researching some books this afternoon.

Now, in the year 2022, ten years after Peacemaker, David receives a prerecorded message from his father, shattering the very foundation of all he knows: that his father was not responsible for the Peacemaker attack, but found a lethal virus and was going to attempt to expose those behind it. Now, David begins to put together the pieces to clear his family name. He is tracked by both the Technos and the Church: the Technos want to eliminate him before he exposes the truth while the Church wishes to follow his progress and hopefully uncover enough information to bring down the Technos. These opposing factions take David on a terrifying ride as he struggles to find the truth.

Unholy Domain is a fast paced thriller that never lets you rest. Ronco’s worldbuilding is excellent, which in a way is the scariest part–think about how the internet has pervaded our lives in the past ten years. Where will be in another ten? What will religion look like? The way things are going now, an Army of God whose symbol is a fireplace and bolt-action rifle isn’t that far off. The only downside was a slew of characters that I couldn’t always keep track of.

Overall, Unholy Domain is a great standalone, but I definitely would like to follow up on the other two in the trilogy: Peacemaker and Tomorrow’s Children.

Once you have read Unholy Domain you may want to check out this article about Reinventing Slavery…Dan Ronco is clearly on the right track

Like the Electric Church, The Digital Plague is set in the indeterminable future-post “Unification”. There are huge class differences and poverty is commonplace. Avery is an assassin with a reputation to get the job done. He is also well known from his deeds in the Electric Church, where he destroyed evil genius Dennis Squalor’s system of creating members for his church–”flipping” people (taking their brain) and inserting into a cyborg who knows only one master. (I know, it sounds odd, doesn’t it? But it’s a great read, I promise!)
This time, someone has injected Avery with killer nanobots that replicate…and then begin consuming from the inside out.  Avery realizes that he is not falling victim to the sickness, as someone has put a “stop” on his infection-it infects others but allows him to stay alive so he can see the destruction his presence causes.

The book follows Cates as he attempts to find out the mastermind behind the plague. As per Somers’ usual, it is smattered with violence, swearing, and knock ‘em dead gunfights.

It was an entertaining read but the premise of “killer nanobots” just didn’t do it for me.

Regardless, Avery Cates is an amazing character. Follow him from the beginning in the Electric Church.

The category “Science Fiction” doesn’t even begin to cover this book. As high fantasy refers to epic levels of fantasy (think Tolkien, Lewis, and Martin), “space opera” is the proper term here.

We follow the story of Bora Horza Gobuchul, a “Changer” who has been employed by the Idirans to find a fugitive Mind. An intergalactic (planetary!) war is taking place between the Idirans and the Culture, and it is integral to both to find the Mind. The Culture is about equality, luxury, etc., and they have developed artificial intelligence (Minds) to such levels incomprehensible to the human mind. The Idirans are less humanoid, but fight out of inborn aggression and religious fanaticism. The Mind is hunted by the Idirans, as they will be able to learn much about their enemy through one of its greatest creations. For that very reason, Culture wants to make sure that the Mind is never found.

Horza, while human, also has the ability to “change”, or assume others’ identities. He also has poisonous glands, enabling him to easily kill with a swipe of his nails or a bite.

Banks does an excellent job describing the species that inhabit his world. It reminds me of that bar scene in Star Wars with all the different aliens partying together.  However, he bounces back between stiff descriptive narratives and comedic dialogue between characters, making it hard to really get into the book.

Banks also makes a good many points. For example, another Culture agent (human) named Fal ’Ngeestra is renowned for her ability to work out military dilemmas and often comes up with solutions more quickly and artfully than her machine counterparts. Banks also addresses the conquering, and subsequent razing of civilizations, naming species that have long since disappeared after war came to their corner of the galaxy.

Overall, it was a good book, a little too straight ‘sci fi’ for me.