Freestate California, by Wayne C. Grantham. (With a cool cover by Scott Bieser). Set in a near-future in which the U.S. Government up and went bankrupt and then went away, or at least nobody pays it any attention now that it is completely broke. The state of California is now an independent country, and to the South is the Freestate of California, Baha California, that is, which some billionaire up and bought from the President of Mexico when the fellow put it on the market to try and get Mexico out of a financial jam. The new owner established the Zero-Aggression Principle as the law of the land, and sat back and watched his new country become astoundingly rich and technologically advanced. (Flying Cars!)

California (which is just like it is today except way more so), later on up and declares war on the Freestate, needing to loot somebody in order to keep its welfare state going, don't you know. And much hilarity ensues. So to speak. Not that war is all that funny. Nor is the book (except for … well … California!)

I really enjoyed this one. (Sorry it took me so long to mention it, Wayne, I been absorbed in care-giving for my wife (she's slowly getting better I think)).

Fall, or, Dodge in Hell by Neal Stephenson. This is a big book, somewhat of a sequel to his Cryptonomicon, and Reamde. It is quite funny for a serious book, with satire sometimes so thick you could snap off a bit and take it home. The last third or so is an epic quest novel in the mode of Tolkien mixed with Sterne's Tristram Shandy, and Swift's Gulliver's Travels, not to mention Through the Looking- Glass. And it is very entertaining, especially if you like big books.

And if you haven't read Reamde, you should go do that right now. It is the best “thriller” ever—it makes those Ludlum Bourne books seem like the incoherent, slapped-together junk they are (and I read every damned one of them … that's some hours of my life I can't get back!). And while we are on Stephenson, I think his Anathem is the greatest Science Fiction novel ever written. And every time I re-read it, that impression grows. Stunning!

Middle Rages; Why the Battle for Medieval Studies Matters to America is a short book by Milo Yiannopoulos about the politically “correct” SJW/Antifa (i.e. slavers) attempt at destroying knowledge yet again. If we don't know history, we have already lost, and destroying history seems to be the obsession of these guys. Which means they actually understand something. Huh!

Delta-V by Daniel Suarez is just out. It is a clear-eyed enginering-look at those awkward problems in the physics of space exploration. Psychology and physiology too. Asteroid mining is its topic, and it is what we intellectual types call “really good!” If you haven't read Mr. Suarez, you should go now and do so. Start with his Kill Decision which has one of the scariest scenes I've ever read (because you can see it makes perfect sense that such a thing can and will happen). Follow with the two-book tale Daemon and Freedom™. The only word for these is WOW!

Killing Rhinos, by Herb Hughes was an unexpected gem. A story that takes place on an isolated prison planet in the far future. But things are not what they seem, and the story expands into a rather absorbing journey. It turns out that … no, you should read it to find out. You'll enjoy the journey.

The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History by John M. Barry. A report on the 1918 influenza epidemic which killed millions of people. Good survey of the state of medicine at that time, and the difficulty of getting the governments to do something—besides hold meetings and give out false “nothing to worry about, trust us!” messages to we the people. Some things never change, it seems. I must mention that it is kinda scary.

And many more, which I will tell you about some other time in the future (can't very well tell you in the past can I?). Until then stay deplorable, my friends!