7th Sigma by Steven Gould

If I remember correctly, Wildside was the first book of Gould's that I read, and I have been a fan ever since.

His latest book 7th Sigma is another truly enjoyable read, I would consider it a Young Adult or coming of age book, it is more of collection of short stories about Kim and his adventures than a true novel.

I really liked it, and I am long past young adult, I think readers from middle school age on up will like this book.  Assuming they like this general type of science fiction.

I stayed up all night to finish reading it the day I discovered it online.  Thank you Kindle!  I just love how when I discover a great book I can buy it and start reading instantly. 

I think this book is somewhat similar to the Serenity/Firefly series, in the sense that they are both really westerns with a science fiction setting.

In 7th Sigma the bugs prevent any metal from being used in their territory, so people are forced to use more primitive weapons made from wood and bone.  Or really sophisticated guns made from advanced ceramics, but only the government tends to have the advanced ceramic guns.

Everyone has to travel by foot or horseback in the bug infested region, even though the book is set in the near future United States.

If you like Serenity/Firefly there is a good chance you will like this book.

You can read a free sample at Tor titled "Bugs in the Arroyo".


Some trivia, Gould is a high level practitioner of Akido, and he portrays his art very accurately in his novels.

Though he has a rather fanciful perspective about unarmed martial artist vs armed opponents.  [I mention this because I review non fiction martial arts books on this blog.  You can learn a lot about Akido from Gould's books, but don't believe that even a skilled martial artist has much of a chance vs even a moderately trained armed opponent.]

If you would like even more good fiction with a lot of real Aikido, try Gould's novel Helm.

Check the right side of my Blog for link to Gould's blog.