Angel Rising – Dirk Flinthart
Twelfth Planet Press, 2008
53 pages
RRP: AU$10
ISBN: 978-0-9804841-1-3

Reviewed by Liz Grzyb

Angel Rising is a novella set in the world of New Ceres, a human colony that has embraced the social rules of 17th Century Earth, and rejected or at least regulated all modern technologies. However, no prior knowledge of this world is necessary for enjoyment of Flinthart’s contribution to the New Ceres group story.

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Dead Witch Walking – Kim Harrison
Harper Collins, 2007
432 pages
RRP: AU$20.99
ISBN: 9780007236091

Reviewed by Liz Grzyb

Dead Witch Walking is the first in Kim Harrison’s prolific The Hollows series about Rachel Morgan, a witch (and bounty hunter) who lives in an alternate Cincinnati where vampires, ghosts and other interesting paranormal types roam. Rachel’s job is to apprehend paranormal criminals for Inderland Security; we first meet her as she is stalking a tax-evading leprechaun.

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Gladiatrix – Rhonda Roberts
HarperCollins, 2009
592 pages
RRPS: AU$20.99
ISBN: 9780732288556

Reviewed by Liz Grzyb

The first novel in the Timestalker series by Rhonda Roberts, Gladiatrix, is an intriguing and fast-paced novel that stands alone very well. It tells the story of Kannon, an Australian girl who has recently lost her foster mother, fighting to find out the truth about her birth. Kannon then discovers evidence to prove she is the daughter of the US Time Warden, Victoria Dupree, jut as Victoria goes missing on a mission to Ancient Rome. After uncovering a plot to kill Victoria, Kannon decides to follow her.

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Lord Sunday – Garth Nix
Allen & Unwin Children, 2010
324 pages
RRP: AU$15.99
ISBN: 9781741145915

Reviewed by Kate Smith

The Keys to the Kingdom series has been a thoroughly enjoyable read and the final part of the tale does not disappoint.  While the series is aimed at younger readers, adults will also be able to enjoy a diverting story if they allow themselves to read Lord Sunday for what it is and what it is meant to be – a well written and simple tale.  It is not absolutely necessary for someone to read the first six novels in order to understand events, however it is advised in order to understand why the different characters are motivated as they are.

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Simon Petrie

It had been known since the early 1950s that high levels of radiation could induce gigantism in certain species. But since most of the early cases had involved arthropods and poisonous lizards of, it has to be said, a rather aggressive disposition, the commercial implications of this line of research were not as obvious as they might otherwise have been.

“Nuclear Physics for Market Gardeners,” p. 126, by Hank Bremsstrahlung

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Chasing the Dragon – Justina Robson
Hachette Livre Gollancz, 2010
400 pages
RRP: AU$32.99
ISBN: 978-057-508562-6

Reviewed by Liz Grzyb

This is the fourth instalment in Justina Robson’s Quantum Gravity series. I enjoyed the first two, but missed #3, Going Under. When reading Chasing the Dragon, I noticed quite a few story arcs and characters that would be confusing to the new entrant to the series or if you missed one or more of the novels. If you enjoy a mix of SF and fantasy, cyberpunk mixed with magic and dragons, you’ll enjoy reading the whole series.

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Ambulances and Dreamers – Bel Schenk
Wakefield Press, 2008
82 pages
RRP: AU$19.95
ISBN: 978-1-86254-818-3

Reviewed by Lynne Keenan

Bel Schenk’s collection of poems Ambulances & Dreamers captures some truly insightful moments in life which explores to some extent, the angst of the human condition.  She is obviously well-travelled and draws on her experiences in far-off places to fuel her creativity. Her settings are urban and her often fragmentary style suits the themes she explores.

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Trent Jamieson

The Prosperity Act needed good people. Not everyone could handle the work. Not everyone could kill children.

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Patrick Hew

Hell to a violinist is the ticking of a metronome, the robotic, relentless and remorseless tick, beating out the time, beating the soul out of the music. And in every tick of the metronome, you can hear The Devil. Practising.

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Lets just say the last 4 months haven’t been ideal in the electronic land of ticon. First we were randomly trashed by the beige hats of hackerdom, then our webhost* deleted everything.

It’s a new year, and we’d like to put 2009 behind us, but not before graciously and gratefully acknowledging the efforts of those who contributed last year, many wonderful folk whose efforts sadly didn’t receive the attention they so richly deserved. We’re sorry, and will do our best to make sure it won’t happen again.

It’s going to be a busy few months at Ticonderoga. We’ve got a whole lot of great fiction and reviews to put up here at ticon4, as well as the expected publication of 3 new books. You’ll hear more about them shortly.

Please, grant us a little patience as we iron out a few teething issues, and take the time to have a look around at the wonders this site offers.

Many thanks!

* the web host was 3ix, thoroughly not recommended, and we’re no longer hosting through them.