Backup by Jim Butcher

Title: Backup
Author: Jim Butcher
Series: This is not a Dresden Files book, but it's sort of a split-off from that, featuring Thomas Raith.
Genre: Contemporary fantasy.
Pages: 70
Copyright Date: 2008
Cover: A monster with big teeth snarling behind a guy who looks slightly Asian. The cover is drawn and there are other black and white illustrations throughout the book.
First Line: "Let's get something clear right up front. I'm not Harry Dresden."
Best part: I enjoyed seeing the series from the perspective of a different character.
Worst part: Too short!
Grade: B
Recommended for: Fans of the Dresden Files series. It would be a little weird if you didn't know that series.
Related Reads: Storm Front (first in the Dresden Files series), Welcome to the Jungle by Jim Butcher (Harry Dresden graphic novel), Blood Price by Tanya Huff

Thomas Raith, Harry Dresden's half-brother, lives in the shadows. How can you do otherwise as a vampire? Especially a vampire who does not agree with the party line, that of treating humans as kine? He balances many desires and enemies - the demon within himself, the desire to make an honest living, his love for his brother, his family of monsters... and another agenda, which has been hidden up until now and must stay hidden in the future.

This novella is a quick hit, not a serious fix, for those who like Dresden. I enjoyed it a lot. B.

NOT still going.

Yesterday my laptop battery just crapped out. Like for real. :P First I unplugged it to take it into the other room, and it only ran for a minute before it shut down. And not an orderly "Please plug in your computer" kind of shut down - I mean, it make that little "NNRRRkk" noise and the screen went black.

Alas, alas. This was neither a new laptop nor a new battery when I got it. I've treated it well for the time that I've had it - I run it on battery power until drained at least once a month. But it has been a couple of years. I guess these things happen. It's unfortunate that it coincides with my budget changing to accomodate my gym membership. So, I am going to deal with having a non-mobile laptop for a little while, and hopefully mrpet can find me a good deal online after his fashion show is done. That is how I usually get electronics - his tech google fu is powerful. It looks like they don't cost enough to make getting a whole new laptop make sense. It'll have to happen sometime, though - my case has some cracks in it and the whole thing is getting out of date.

Do you know of a great place to get laptop batteries, especially for a Dell Latitude in the C series? If so, please leave a comment.

Mutineer's Moon by David Weber

Title: Mutineer's Moon
Author: David Weber
Series: Mutineer's Moon #1.
Genre: Sci fi, space opera.
Pages: 315
Copyright Date: 1991
Cover: A spaceship flying out of a cavern, with the witty line "There's something funny about Earth's Moon..." in small type up above.
First Line: "The huge command deck was as calm, as peacefully dim as ever, silent but for the small background sounds of environmental recordings."
Best part: The premise is just so silly and fabulous.
Worst part: The villains are pretty unbelievable.
Grade: C
Recommended for: Those who enjoy Weber and "alternate present" type sci fi.
Related Reads: On Basilisk Station by the same author, The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell, and the truly bizzare Happy Policeman by Patricia Anthony.

Our moon is actually a spaceship.
No, really, the moon is a spaceship! Stick with me!
The moon is a spaceship and the spaceship had a mutiny. The mutineers were the first humans. We are all descended from them. Hang in there! It gets even better!
The spaceship can think, and it wants a new captain. Who better than an average military guy who doesn't even know it exists? That, my friends, is the true beauty of Weber.

This book is fun, although the bad guys are just too hard to believe, an odd combination of powerful, cruel, and dumb. Seriously, how did you start some many of Earth's wars all these millenia (oh yeah) being that stupid? Still, if you're not going to take it too seriously, it' an entertaining read. C.