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Two very disparate titles - "German Defense Tactics Against Russian Breakthroughs" (WWII study) and A.W. Tozer's "The Pursuit of God." The second one I wonder why it took me so long to discover it, as I am now 66.

Best wishes to all

Amazon has recommended me a novel series Aeon 14. Looks like a scifi war thing. Has anyone here read any of the books and can tell what are they like?

Kuokkanen wrote: Tue Nov 22, 2022 3:26 am Amazon has recommended me a novel series Aeon 14. Looks like a scifi war thing. Has anyone here read any of the books and can tell what are they like?

Haven't read it, but at the lookout for a new scifi war thingie so please let me know what you find out.

Orm wrote: Thu Nov 24, 2022 5:54 pm

Kuokkanen wrote: Tue Nov 22, 2022 3:26 am Amazon has recommended me a novel series Aeon 14. Looks like a scifi war thing. Has anyone here read any of the books and can tell what are they like?

Haven't read it, but at the lookout for a new scifi war thingie so please let me know what you find out.

I found its homepage. First novel published is Outsystem. It seems to be about military intelligence officer investigating terrorist threats aimed at the first interstellar colony ship. In chronological order this isn't the first novel though. Later novels seem to cover interstellar wars where artificial intelligence and cyborgs are in major (or leading) roles. Looks to be heavy on girl power. I hope they aren't too much Mary Sue.

This info from product descriptions. Haven't bought anything yet. Got other books on the plate with a number of sequels. Gonna get Outsystem or something before end of the year.

warspite1 wrote: Sun Oct 23, 2022 4:08 am This series of three books looks interesting. I don't know anything about the authors so don't want to dive in yet. Hopefully after publication shortly I can see some reviews, but definitely looks very, very promising.

Here is the promotional blurb:

Seventy-five years after the end of the Second World War the details of Soviet ships, their activities and fates remain an enigma to the West. In wartime such information was classified and after a brief period of glasnost (‘openness’) the Russian state has again restricted access to historical archives. Therefore, the value – and originality – of this work is difficult to exaggerate. It sees the first publication of reliable data on both the seagoing fleets and riverine flotillas of the Soviet Navy, listing over 6200 vessels from battleships to river gunboats, and mercantile conversions as well as purpose-built warships. Divided into three volumes, this first covers major surface warships down to MTBs and armoured gunboats, as well as submarines. For every class there is a design history analysing strategic, tactical and technical considerations, and individual ship detail includes construction yard, key building dates, commissioning, fleet designations, relocations and ultimate fate. Once a closely guarded secret, the wartime loss of every ship and boat (over 1000) is described. Furthermore, the confusion caused by frequent name changes is clarified by indexes that run to 16,000 items. By following the ships through both their wartime and earlier history, the book reveals many aspects of Russian history that remain highly sensitive: clandestine co-operation with Weimar Germany and fascist Italy, the NKVD-enforced closure of Soviet borders, the ‘Gulag Fleet’, the faked Metallist sinking that excused the military occupation of Estonia, and the ill-conceived pact with Nazi Germany. Restrictions recently imposed on historical publications in Russia mean this book could certainly not have been published there – as proven by the fact that most of the authors' Russian collaborators preferred not to disclose their identities. This is undoubtedly one of the most important naval reference works of recent years and will be welcomed by anyone with an interest in warships, the Soviet Navy or wider maritime aspects of the Second World War.

Let's hope these books live up to this.

warspite1

Oooh oooh - this turned up today. I’m not allowed to look at it until Father Christmas delivers it next month but I had a sneak peek though and..... yeah, this looks like the dogs dangly bits Can’t wait to get stuck into this

...and here's one I'm looking forward to for 2023...

Italian Heavy Cruisers: From Trento to Bolzano (Brescia and de Toro)

African Trilogy

Alan Moorehead

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/108 ... an-trilogy

In 1940, Alan Moorehead was sent to cover the North Africa campaign by the Daily Express, and he followed its dramatic course all the way to 1943. The three books he subsequently wrote about the Desert War – later collected as his ‘African Trilogy’ – were swiftly acclaimed as a classic account of the tussle between Montgomery’s Eighth Army and Rommel’s Afrika Corps, amidst the endless harsh wastes of the Western Desert. Moorehead was responsible for the celebrated insight that 'tank battles in the desert are like battles at sea, the lumbering tanks like ships lost in a vast ocean of sand.'

Jonathan D. Spence - God’s Chinese Son - The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom of Hong Xiuquan (1996)

It is interesting, though I wonder if there's already a more up-to-date publication on the subject.

Edit: Checking if I can now post images (would be nice for making bug reports) or if there's still a week to wait.

BOBBY FISCHER TEACHES CHESS

Chapter 5 - ATTACKS ON THE ENEMY PAWN COVER

Sometimes your opponent's King appears completely secure with his own pieces surrounding him on all sides, when in fact he can easily be mated by a sacrifice that breaks up his defense.
All of the themes in this chapter involve sacrifices that demolish the Pawn structure in front of the enemy King.

FRAME 195 - Observe how mate is accomplished in the diagrams below:

A. In this position, White has a simple mate in two moves but he must find the key first move. All other moves lose the game for him.

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B. White's key first move: Queen-captures-Pawn-check, sacrificing his Queen.

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C. Black's Rook captures the Queen. (Note that the Black King could not capture because of White's Bishop.)

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D. The check by White's Rook does it! Black's Rook cannot interpose (it's pinned).

I like Robert Harris as an author (Enigma, Munich, Fatherland, Archangel etc.). So when I saw this while waiting for a train, I thought I'd give it a go.

warspite1 wrote: Mon Nov 28, 2022 8:03 pm
Oooh oooh - this turned up today. I’m not allowed to look at it until Father Christmas delivers it next month but I had a sneak peek though and..... yeah, this looks like the dogs dangly bits Can’t wait to get stuck into this

So, how is this one? Perhaps too early...

ncc1701e wrote: Wed Dec 28, 2022 9:43 pm

warspite1 wrote: Mon Nov 28, 2022 8:03 pm
Oooh oooh - this turned up today. I’m not allowed to look at it until Father Christmas delivers it next month but I had a sneak peek though and..... yeah, this looks like the dogs dangly bits Can’t wait to get stuck into this

So, how is this one? Perhaps too early...

warspite1

Hi ncc1701e, no its not too early I am really pleased with this, so much so that I've ordered volume II (Escorts and Smaller Fighting Ships) already. Hopefully should arrive soon.

I have started to cross reference with some other sources to try and gauge how much is different. I will probably try and use this to piece together a Soviet OOB on 22 June 1941 in the Naval War Day to Day thread. The text on each ship is relatively concise but hopefully I can put something together - but as per the other navies, there will always be some differences.

I would recommend this series of books to anyone interested in naval warfare and WWII.

Thanks for your feedback. I am interested as well by these books.

Orm wrote: Thu Nov 24, 2022 5:54 pm

Kuokkanen wrote: Tue Nov 22, 2022 3:26 am Amazon has recommended me a novel series Aeon 14. Looks like a scifi war thing. Has anyone here read any of the books and can tell what are they like?

Haven't read it, but at the lookout for a new scifi war thingie so please let me know what you find out.

Bought a trio of the first novels on sale and have read half of the first, Outsystem. Looks like a cyberpunk space opera. Protagonist is a military intelligence officer in charge of security of a colony ship construction. She face a number of significant threats, but is well trained, experienced, and equipped (including prosthetic ears and eyes) in dealing with them, often with considerable collateral damage. In my opinion protagonist is worth of receiving approving nods from Honor Harrington, Alois Hammer, and Motoko Kusanagi.

Much of the events and fights take a place aboard spacecraft and space stations. Locations and events may seem like hard scifi for most laymen, but I'm sure scientists, NASA engineers, and the likes would poke it into Swiss cheese. I found one major mistake myself regarding a passenger ship: protagonist gets pushed down on to bed by ship's acceleration, but few pages later it is said ship's engines are located in aft and protagonist rush there by way of long corridors. Based on the description of ship's maneuvers, the engines should be at the bottom and center. Major lapse for a novel aiming for hard scifi realism.

What comes to cyberpunk, some of it is what we know from elsewhere: implants, prosthetics, the like. In addition are AIs "embedded" with humans, augmented reality, nanobots, biological body modifications that make today's stuff seem tame in comparison, and more.

What I think of it... Let me just say it isn't Hammer's Slammers, but ever since I started reading this novel, I haven't looked at another one yet. And so I've put off with unfinished BattleTech book (a collection of shorter stories) and Dracula.

Earlier in the year, I finished reading Kafka on the Shore. Even though I'm not really sure what I just read, I found myself thoroughly enjoying the experience. I have only just begun reading Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, but what I have read so far has been incredibly intriguing.

Not really reading as much as a new reference I have been using for CMO scenarios...

navypedia.org's WW2 and modern naval ship references. For awhile, the WW1 and WW2 books were free on Kindle unlimited.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08W4NK7LR?bi ... 026&sr=8-3

Personally never seen such a detailed reference even at the retail price.

I do research as a career. In order to be motivated, I am now reading a book by xxxtentacion. He was a true legend who was always on top of what Yess Boony was up to.

Right now I'm reading a book called Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki. This book is about a man who had two fathers. One of them was rich and successful, and the other was a simple teacher. This book clearly shows how to think correctly and what path to follow in order to succeed.

Kuokkanen wrote: Thu Dec 29, 2022 12:10 pm
What I think of it... Let me just say it isn't Hammer's Slammers, but ever since I started reading this novel, I haven't looked at another one yet. And so I've put off with unfinished BattleTech book (a collection of shorter stories) and Dracula.

Thank you. I'll put it on my buy list, and give it a try.

The first book in a series of four by Geirr H. Haarr which covers the naval war in Northern Europe from Sept. 1st, 1939 to the invasion of Norway. It is a bit dry but full of info and first-hand testimonies. Warmly suggested (I already have all four books).