Tag Archives: Science Fiction

Book Review: Breeder: Arrow’s Flight Book #1 by Casey Hays

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Breeder: Arrow’s Flight Book #1 by Casey Hays

A Science Fiction/Dystopian Novel published by Whispering Pages, LLC (11/22/14)

Summary:

Kate lives in the only civilization left on earth, a small village where women rule the town and men are kept alive only as breeding stock to replenish the earth. Kate has been chosen as a breeder and she must fulfill her role in society, but on her birthday when she is led to the Pit for her first mating, she rebels. Kate never wanted to be a breeder, but in this society where Fate is all important, will she be able to break out and do what she wants or will she be forced to conform to society’s rules?

Keywords:

Breeding, Procreation, Dystopian, Female Run Society, Rebelling, Leadership, Fate, Destiny, Village, Isolation, Friendship, Council, Voice, Chosen, Disobedience, Punishment, Secrets

My Review:

Another dystopian novel. Another female heroine. Another enticing and excellent book that had me enthralled to the very end. Some parts may have rambled on a bit, but the story was so well written and held my attention from beginning to end.

Kate is an amazingly active and headstrong character who doesn’t let things happen to her, even though this is how Fate works. She refuses a role as a placid character. She is dynamic and stubborn and in this way, too, she is special. Any one of us could be Kate if we too followed our hearts and didn’t look the other way when injustice happened.

I loved Kate just a little bit more every time she interacted with a male and showed her strength, innocence, determination and humanity.

I look forward to more books, dystopian or otherwise, from this author.

This novel was published by Whispering Pages, LLC on November 22nd, 2014 and is available on Amazon here.

TL;DR Star Rating: 4.75

Links for more information:

Casey Hays Website

Goodreads

Book Review: The Cloud (The Marian Series #3) by Taylor Hohulin

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The Cloud by Taylor Hohulin

A Steampunk/Pirate Sci-Fi Novel published by Amazon Digital Services, Inc. (10/21/16)

Summary:

“Donovan Johns clearly preferred motivating his people to stick to Plan A by leaving them woefully unprepared for Plan B.” (Kindle Locations 1480-1481).

Ethan’s last hope lies in a three-way soul swap between the water dictator Donovon Johns, Duncan, and Ethan himself. All they have to do is go into the Cloud and get Duncan out of Ethan’s home dimension, use the blood from all three, and get someone to read from a book so powerful it corrupts. Easy, right? The Marian and its crew is committed to helping out Ethan, not just because he’s part of the crew now, but because they can change the face of the post-Bomb water scarce world for good.

Keywords:

Illegal Water Harvesting, Water Scarcity, Criminals, Soul swapping, Steampunk, Ship on Legs, Navigation, Well, Extraction, Water Police, Teenagers, Captain, Mercenaries, Trouble, Pirates, Post-Apocalyptic, Own Agenda, Death, Other World

My Review:

Excellent trilogy. Excellent ending. Excellent book. The Marian Trilogy is the best steampunkian series I’ve ever read. It’s well written and the plot makes sense on both the individual book level and as a series. There’s action, adventure, and tension. There’s depth, complexity and the characters are interesting and multi-faceted.

Every part of this story felt tight and well-edited. I never questioned a single scene or moment or piece of dialogue. I simply read the book (and the series) as a well-written story should be read: at the edge of my seat and without putting it down.

The evil HydroSystems and Donovon Johns were fleshed out and clever enough to give the Marian and its crew a run for its money. The good guys weren’t all good though – they were conflicted and sympathetic. And we finally get to see Duncan ‘in the soul’ with this final book! After so much hype about how great and motivating he is, even after abandoning his crew and a random soul to its own sordid fate, Duncan did live up to all that everyone thought he was. I very much enjoyed this book and the series and look forward to what Hohulin will write next!

I received a free copy of this novel.

This novel was published by Amazon Digital Services, Inc. on October 21st, 2016 and is available on Amazon here.

TL;DR Star Rating: 4.75

Links for more information:

Taylor Hohulin’s Website

Twitter

Goodreads

Book Review: The Fair & Foul (Project Gene Assist Book 1) by Allie Potts

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The Fair & Foul (Project Gene Assist Book 1) by Allie Potts

A Science Fiction/Fantasy Novel published by Axil Hammer Publishing (11/4/15)

Summary:

Juliane is a PHD scientist who wants to change the world with her algorithms. Everything she loves in life centers around her work and being recognized for what she’s done. When her career is everything to her, will she be able to set aside her pride to continue working on collaborative projects where she won’t get the credit she’s due?

Keywords:

Cyberpunk, Genetic Engineering, Female Main Character, Science and Technology, Technological Advances, Body Modification, Evolution, Progress, Vision, Future, Workaholic, Lack of Empathy, Romance, Love, Lust

My Review:

This novel reminded me of the dangers of advancing too fast as a species with technology, like the story in the Mind Space Series by David Moore. The Fair and the Foul reminded me a lot of the Mind Space Series due to its time jumps in the story to show the breadth of the technological advances.

The ending was a bit abrupt, but I was so glad all the hints were fully explained. I wouldn’t have understood what was really going on without the big ending reveal.

The way the technology was referenced was a bit over my head, but I really enjoyed its grounding in real technology and the fact that the scientists seemed to really know what they were talking about.

What gripped me most about this book was the depth of the relationships between the characters and the complexity of these relationships. Juliane’s constant struggles as a top female scientist in a male-driven environment were fascinating and unfortunately very true.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

This novel was published by Axil Hammer Publishing on November 4th, 2015 and is available on Amazon here.

TL;DR Star Rating: 3.50

Links for more information:

Allie Potts’ Website

Goodreads

Twitter

Book Review: The Heaviness of Knowing (The Conscious Dreamer Series Book 1) by Sharolyn G. Brown

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The Heaviness of Knowing (The Conscious Dreamer Series Book 1) by Sharolyn G. Brown

A Science Fiction Novel published by Sharolyn Brown (07/01/16)

Summary:

“Do not let your fear make you dumb to what you know is the truth.” (Kindle Location 796).

Roxal lives in the safety of a compound on Trebor, where her planet has been destroyed, but she has a chance to save the parallel world of Earth through Dream Travel. Roxal connects with an Earthan woman named Lauren in her dreams to influence her work so that Earth can be saved and not meet the same fate as Trebor.

These are all lies. Treboran Keepers want to take over Earth through influencing Earthens using Dream Travel and Roxal and Lauren are both very important cogs in this mission. When Roxal finds out and comes to terms with the lies, she agrees to help. Lauren will also have to come to terms that aliens are trying to use her to take over her world.

Keywords:

Dystopian, Totalitarian, Slaves, Gods, Strict, Order, Fighting, Earth, Alien, Pre-Invasion, Caste System, Parallel Universe, Microprocessor, Technology, Balance, Sleep Deprivation, Meditation, Therapy, Hypnosis, First Contact

My Review:

The first few chapters painted this book as an over -the-top totalitarian style dystopian novel where the caste system was very strict and the citizens were constantly monitored and lied to by the ruling class. The book went so far as to label the ruling caste as “gods” and to not allow the lower castes to even look at the “gods.” The lower castes submitted to everything the gods told them to without question, even going so far as to chant their acquiescence and acknowledgement of the gods’ power and their submission to them. Then Lauren’s story unfolded. Lauren is an unsuspected earthling and her narrative balanced out the typical dystopian society that Roxal lived in.

All the backstory was sandwiched into those beginning chapters in large info dumped chunks, slowing down the narrative, but the intrigue of the completely controlled society and the juxtaposition of Lauren and Roxal and the connection between the two women was enough to keep me turning pages. The author placed many little teases between all the info and I was willing to wait for the meat of the story to begin.

I loved the sign language for communication in the dystopian society and thought this was very clever.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the author and this is an honest review.

This novel was published by Sharolyn Brown on July 1st, 2016 and is available on Amazon here.

TL;DR Star Rating: 3.75

Links for more information:

Goodreads

Twitter

Sharolyn G. Brown’s Website

Book Review: Architects of Destiny (Cadicle #1): An Epic Space Opera Series by Amy Duboff

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Architects of Destiny (Cadicle #1): An Epic Space Opera Series by Amy Duboff

A Space Opera/Science Fiction Novel published by BDL Press (04/17/15)

Summary:

Cris Sietinen was born into privilege as the only heir to a High Dynasty, but all he wants is to be his own person. He sneaks off in the night and joins cargo ship Exler’s crew as navigator. What he sees opens his eyes and when the Tararian Selective Service invite him to train with them, he accepts. With newly discovered abilities in telekinesis, Cris, is the student with the most potential.

Keywords:

Space, Travel, Ship, Navigation, Technology, Telekinesis, Worlds, Dynasties, Privilege, Power, Learning, Priesthood, Heir, Romance, Love, Friendship, Training

My Review:

The first half of the book reveals very little about the main character or the plot. The book very well could have started when Cris begins his new training with the TSS, but I guess then there’d be no book because this novel is only 168 page to begin with.

There’s hardly any tension and barely any buildup to a climax or an ending. The romance has no tension and the entire relationship between Cris and Kate was fed to the reader in very few words until they were already in love and ready to get married. Where was the romance?

Sometimes the personal thoughts sprinkled throughout are too much and get in the way of the narrative – they pull the reader out of the story. At times, they feel like they are a crutch because the personal thoughts constantly tell us how Cris is feeling without letting the reader come to any of the conclusions for themselves.

When Cris joins the TSS there’s one paragraph that speeds through a description of his training and testing and that’s it. There are more examples of telling where the showing would be powerful and reveal much about the character.

This story should have been labeled a prologue to the series and cut down to a chapter to precede the real story. There is a lot of potential with the world the author pieced together and the political structure she set up, but overall her characters were shallow, the action nonexistent or random, and the romance breezed over.

This novel was published by BDL Press on April 17th, 2015 and is available on Amazon here.

TL;DR Star Rating: 3.25

Links for more information:

Amy Duboff’s Website

Goodreads

Twitter

Book Review: Ghost Hand (The PSS Chronicles #1) by Ripley Patton

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Ghost Hand (The PSS Chronicles #1) by Ripley Patton

A Speculative Fiction/Paranormal Novel published by Ripley Patton (11/28/12)

Summary:

“Don’t think about it. Solve the problem. Get yourself out.” (Page 86).
Olivia was born with a ghost hand. It’s rare to have PSS (a ghost body part), but Liv isn’t the only one. The ghost hand wasn’t that bad, if you didn’t mind being a freak in the middle of a small town, but after new kid Marcus shows up, the hand starts acting up. Olivia just wants to live her life, hide her hand as much as possible, but now she can’t. There are people after her who want to forcefully extract her PSS and if she wants to live she’ll have to team up with the new boy and his band of PSSers.

Keywords:

Rare, Ghost Hand, Power, Hunted, Freak, Not Normal Teenagers, Hiding, Escape, PSS, Research, Small Town, Gossip, Rumor, Distant Mother, Friendship, Leader, Strategy

My Review:

I loved the main character, Olivia. She might freak out, as any normal teen under these circumstances should and would, but she doesn’t let that stop her from trying to find a solution. She’s a girl of action. She’s a real superhero and a model main female character. She’s funny, snarky, and thinks fast on her feet. She never lets the situation get the better of her in the end. She may get bad things thrown at her left and right, but she’s always trying to think of a solution and doesn’t wallow in self-pity. She is the strong underdog you’ll love to root for.

I laughed out loud more than once! The dialogue between the teenagers is so realistic and the things they say are hilarious! I especially loved and laughed at the scene where Olivia eats some salted almonds.

I very much appreciate books where the genders of the main characters could have been flipped and the book would hold true the same way. Olivia isn’t overly feminized or put into a gender corner. There was a romantic element, yes, but Olivia could have been Marcus as easily as Marcus could have been Olivia. I like the way Patton wrote this book the way it is written because I loved Olivia as a strong female lead. Marcus was also a strong character and a strong person, but his role was not as large as Olivia’s. She was the protagonist of the story.

Thank you, Ripley Patton for giving us more than just the usual paranormal fare. I was intrigued and fascinated throughout the entire story with Olivia’s ghost hand and the whole concept of “PSS” and I didn’t even mind not getting a thorough explanation for how PSS came about. Sometimes things are just unknown. I loved how this PSS concept is fully developed in this book and the characters discover more about it at the same time as the reader, so we gain a full understanding (but not right away). I believe there’s more to PSS than we know about from the first book and I wholeheartedly await reading more about PSS and hopefully Olivia, Marcus and the gang of PSSers in book two and beyond.

The PSS Chronicles are currently available for FREE in epub and mobi when you sign up for Ripley’s Booklist, the author’s discount YA/NA ebook newsletter (similar to Bookbub but smaller and friendlier). You can sign up here now to get your FREE books: http://eepurl.com/bfMiy9

This novel was published by Ripley Patton on November 28th, 2012 and is available on Amazon here.

TL;DR Star Rating: 5.00

Links for more information:

Ripley Patton’s Website

Goodreads

Book Review: Mind: The Beginning (The Mind Series Book 1) by Jenn Nixon

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Mind: The Beginning (The Mind Series Book 1) by Jenn Nixon

A Science Fiction Novel published by Vamptasy Publishing (11/04/15)

Summary:

Dina Ranger is special, and just like her twin brother Duncan, she has telepathic abilities. Unlike her brother, she is more a loose cannon, moving away any time things get too heavy. Telepathy is kept under wraps, but sometimes Dina has to use her abilities. Eventually she comes back to her brother and his company of telepathic people because she is needed to help them solve an alien mystery. It isn’t just chance that has Dina involved in this case, and Dina will end up learning more about herself than she ever wanted. She will also meet Liam and their romance takes over.

 

Keywords:

Mind Powers, Psychic, Bad Guys, Aliens, Heritage, Ship, Romance, Sex, Twins, Multiple POV, Fighting, Chasing, Discovery, Government, Powers, Strong

 

My Review:

For a book marketed as a science fiction novel involving aliens and self-discovery, the book took a hot and heavy romantic turn about halfway through. The author left off her science fiction plot and relied heavily on the romance to intrigue the reader. I was not intrigued. I wanted the science fiction plot more than the romance between Liam and Dina and thought this romance took away from any science fiction elements in the book.

When the action started to pick up, it became too much. There wasn’t enough balance between action and romance and plot. It was all romance and all action after action after action sequence.

The concept of aliens and telepathy and truth about learning about Dina’s abilities were what grabbed me about this book, but the overwhelming head hopping, typos, and confusing mind talk and POV changes were hard to read. But if you like romance to be the main part of your sci-fi book, then you might like Mind: The Beginning. I, for one, will not read further in this series and was disappointed that it was classified as science fiction when it should have been marketed as a romance with sci-fi elements.

This novel was published by Vamptasy Publishing on November 4th, 2015 and is available on Amazon here.

TL;DR Star Rating: 2.50

Links for more information:

Jenn Nixon’s Website

Goodreads

Book Review: Bento Box (The Gray Hat series) (Volume 1) by Tina Shelton

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Bento Box (The Gray Hat series) (Volume 1) by Tina Shelton

A Sci-Fi Thriller published by Barely Salvageable Press (07/01/15)

Summary:

“How do you catch someone who’s riding inside of someone else?” (Kindle Location 2644).
Carnelia is stuck working for future Seattle’s version of the mafia. Her boss has the goods on her, literally. He has her body and she has to get it back when a job she’s forced to do for him goes South. She’s a body jumper, stealing people’s bodies to do all sorts of criminal/sordid things with them. But her last body jump isn’t going so well and now her new skin is under attack and she only has so long in this new body before her boss does something to her original body or the tech prohibits her from jumping back.

Keywords:

Body Jumper, Tech, Bad Boss, Cops, Crime, Evil, Power, Mind, Soul, Out of Body, Seattle, Running for Your Life, Mind Control, Thief, Mirror, Struggles, Mafia, Thugs, Escape

 

My Review:

I was overjoyed to find that this book was set in my ‘hometown’ Seattle, but this is a Seattle in 2291. It is a Seattle that’s twisted and yet still familiar. The tech is out of this world, or at least out of body. In a bit of irony/hilarity, the rain is no more a problem, read the book to find out why.

Everything about this story was well done, well written, down to the names of the characters and the small details about future Seattle.

The level of sci fi detail was a total mind spin – like Inception but instead of dreaming, the characters are body jumping. What a fun and thoroughly detailed concept brought to life by Tina Shelton.  I really enjoyed it.

Shelton even delves into the particulars of what it would be like for a petite woman to jump into a 7’2″ man’s body, but never takes this too far.

This novel was published by Barely Salvageable Press July 1st, 2015 and is available on Amazon here.

TL;DR Star Rating:4.75

Links for more information:

Goodreads

Tina Shelton’s Website

Twitter

Book Review: Firestar Released (Truestar Trilogy Book 1) by Lilly Wilson

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Firestar Released (Truestar Trilogy Book 1) by Lilly Wilson

A Science Fiction Novel published by Amazon Digital Services (11/03/2014)

Summary:

‘“Isolation in a necessity, when there is no one you can trust,” Lia retorted.’ (Page 129).

Lia has been a slave on General Oort’s slave ship for seven months, but she hasn’t lost hope, she is waiting to be chosen. She has been waiting until the moment when she will be taken from her 4×4 foot cage, but it isn’t Oort who chooses her, but a visiting captain, Border Relic. Lia had a plan, but after it was thwarted she must find a different way to get to General Oort to fulfill her goal of revenge. Border Relic is an intergalactic space peacekeeper and couldn’t just let Lia suffer when she clearly was not like the other slaves. Ultimately Relic gets caught up in her plans and her story and must choose to follow the rules or go with his gut.

 

Keywords:

Space, Travel, Slaves, Slave Ship, Captain, Queen, Space Peacekeepers, Scientific Advances, Loss, Struggle, Revenge, Resilience, Biding Time, Mission, Powerful Enemy

My Review:

I normally don’t pick up science fiction as it strays so far from reality, but Firestar Released had many realistic grounding elements to keep my interest. Though not all characters are “human” the main characters are enough human for them to seem completely relatable. Though technology has advanced to intergalactic space travel (necessitating a peacekeeper) the everyday technology is still familiar (or at least not everything familiar has been upgraded). There were science advancements and unbelievable changes, but Wilson does well in controlling how much she has changed between life now and life in the Truestar Trilogy.

The characters are relatable, even though their names may truly be science fantasy. I loved the names. Border Relic is the captain and I can totally imagine it being his name even while both parts indicate words known in English. Lia’s name is Ipoliamalandria, which can be pronounced if you think about it (and Border does say her name multiple times out loud).

Lia is a great character. She has a high resilience and a fixation on her revenge. Her growing feelings for Border don’t interfere with her personal goals. She is a determined woman and even though she might not be the greatest role model, the fact that she is determined makes her a worthy hero.

The story had romance, but the romantic element didn’t overpower the main story or personal character development.

The only character I wanted to see/know more about was General Oort. His cruelty was only seen through the eyes of others and his personal story might be interesting to read.

This novel was published by Amazon Digital Servies 11/03/2014 and is available on Amazon here.

TLDR Star Rating: 4.75

Links for more information:

Goodreads

Lilly Wilson’s Blog and Website

Book Review: The Duality Bridge (Singularity #2) (Singularity Series) (Volume 2) by Susan Kaye Quinn

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The Duality Bridge (Singularity #2) (Singularity Series) (Volume 2) by Susan Kaye Quinn

A YA Science Fiction Novel published through Createspace Independent Publishing Platform (8/17/15)

Summary:

There is a duality inside you, and the merging of those two sides is your calling, Eli. (Kindle Locations 2802-2803).

“It means that you represent the possibility of more in a world very carefully balanced on the idea that more does not exist.” (Kindle Locations 3855-3856).
Elija Brighton now knows who he is and what his purpose was to be according to the faction of Ascenders who wanted to know whether they had souls, but what he doesn’t know is how he’s supposed to be the bridge or answer this question. He’s the face of the Human Resistance and the one concept that will create chaos among Ascenders if he really is the ‘prophet’ people think he could be. He is important. He must discover himself, what he can do and answer their questions and his own before he is captured or killed or worse.

Keywords:

Teenagers, Humans, Ascenders, Machines, Bots, Legacy, Technology, Science, Soul, Art, Dance, Painting, Meditation, Love, Friendship, Opportunity, Rebels, Fighting Back, Captured, Betrayal

My Review:

Marcus gets more in this book. Where we thought of him as singularly focused on his own purpose and incapable of being helpful, now we see him as furthering a different set of goals for the greater good of Ascenders, not just himself.

Eli has really developed into the persona, the Bridge, the unlikely and unprepared hero with the superpower that gives the book out of this world action and out of this world adventure and tension. Eli was a bumbling legacy human in book one that slowly came to terms with who he was and what he could do and in book two he embraces himself and furthers his abilities, realizing he serves a greater purpose than simply living his own life. He is still Eli, but he is also enlightened and wise.

Kamali also came into her own in this book. Before she seemed to be a reactive character, thrust into situations and not able to make her own decisions. Now she chooses to help. Now she chooses to be with Eli. Now she is part of his world and the world of the rebellion and the great question and answer that Eli embodies.

The only person I would have liked to see more of is Cyrus, he kind of drops off the radar in this book, gets left behind for most of the action and is not focused on by the narrator except for fleeting comic relief and to remind us that he still exists.

This novel was published through Createspace Independent Publishing Platform on August 17th, 2015 and is available on Amazon here.

TL;DR Star Rating: 4.50

Links for more information:

Susan Kaye Quinn’s Website

Goodreads