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Book Review: Free Souls (Mindjack Saga Book 3) by Susan Kaye Quinn

December 10, 2015 by rachelauthorbarnard in Book Review and tagged Mindjack Saga, Science Fiction, Susan Kaye Quinn, YA

Free Souls (Mindjack Saga Book 3) by Susan Kaye Quinn

A YA Science Fiction Novel published through Createspace Independent Publishing Platform (12/22/13)

Summary:

“Jackertown Code: no kill jacks, no stealing, no mental or physical assaults, no forced jackwork, no contracting to mindreaders, no unauthorized memory wipes, and no vigilante justice.” (Kindle Locations 7966-7970).

Kira didn’t want to be part of a clan or conspiracy. She just wanted to live her life, but mindjacker obsessed agent Kestrel and the human rights’ violations of the government have made that impossible. Kira also wants to keep her family safe and so joins the Jacker Freedom Alliance under the leadership of Julian, a powerful and different kind of mindjacker entirely. In Jackertown central they are gearing up for war, but when war comes to their door, will they be ready?

Keywords:

Abilities, Skill, Mindjacking, Future, Telepathy, Technology, School, Love, Friendship, Clan, Power, Special, Female Main Character, Mind Reader, Mind Control, Mind Powers, Paranormal Abilities, Hard Choices, Danger, Fighting

My Review:

There was more going on than anyone knew. Quinn closes all loose ties in this third and final book in the Minjack Saga Books. There were a few things I didn’t realize were going on that were explained in this book and everything was wrapped up nice and neat. The twist at the end creates the possibility of an entirely new trilogy based on this world.

It felt like Kira and her mindjacker rebels were always one step behind Kestral/the government and were never able to outsmart or outjack or out-action anyone. I would have liked to see them triumph in some way, instead of continually being on the defensive and being pushed back and back. Was there no way around the mind shields? I really wanted Kira and her super strong jacker buddies to figure this problem out, but they never had the time.

Overall I enjoyed the wrapup this final book presented and the concept and story in the series overall.

This novel was published through Createspace Independent Publishing Platform on December 22nd, 2013 and is available on Amazon here.

TL;DR Star Rating: 4.25

Links for more information:

Book Review: Closed Hearts (Mindjack Saga Book 2) by Susan Kaye Quinn

December 10, 2015 by rachelauthorbarnard in Book Review and tagged Mindjack Saga, Science Fiction, Susan Kaye Quinn, YA

Closed Hearts (Mindjack Saga Book 2) by Susan Kaye Quinn

A YA Science Fiction Novel published through Createspace Independent Publishing Platform (12/20/13)

Summary:

“Different isn’t a crime, you know.” (Kindle Locations 7202-7203).

After announcing herself and many others as mindjackers, Kira is hidden to the world no longer. Some of those that can only mind read are wary, scared, and prejudiced against the mindjackers. Some powerful politicians are attempting to take away the mindjackers’ rights as citizens, to lock them up and keep the general populace safe. Kira can’t live in hiding forever, either she will have to help the mindjackers in their political crusade for rights or in their physical war for freedom unless she’s discovered by the government first and they have more than just imprisonment in mind for mindjackers.

Keywords:

My Review:

As with most trilogies, I liked the first book (Open Minds) better, but Closed Hearts stuck with Kira and the story of jackers versus regular mind readers – with the government interfering in the middle. I like Kira’s story and wanted to watch her grow in her abilities and within her changing world. I wish more had happened with the love story in this second book. I also thought Kira was not as good a role model, leader and protagonist in this book. She became wishy-washy and an emotional mess. What I love about dystopian kick-butt female characters is their ability to rise above the world-in-the-toilet messe and be someone you root for that is amazing. Kira was less amazing in this book as she worked through consequences of her actions in book one and dealing with a world that thinks she and her fellow jackers are to be feared.

This second book also contained Julian, the leader of the rebels and I liked seeing different types of jackers. Kira is certainly not alone in her exceptional abilities. We also get to know more about Kira’s dad and his background working as a jacker.

The story of the mindjackers was still continued and it’s always exciting to watch the good guys versus the bad guys and to wonder how good the good guys really are…

This novel was published through Createspace Independent Publishing Platform on December 20th, 2013 and is available on Amazon here.

TL;DR Star Rating: 4.00

Links for more information:

Book Review: Open Minds (Mindjack Saga Book 1) by Susan Kaye Quinn

December 10, 2015 by rachelauthorbarnard in Book Review and tagged Mindjack Saga, Open Minds, Open Minds (Mindjack Saga Book 1), Science Fiction, Susan Kaye Quinn, YA

Open Minds (Mindjack Saga Book 1) by Susan Kaye Quinn

A YA Science Fiction Novel published through Createspace Independent Publishing Platform (12/20/13)

Summary:

“What good were crazy mind powers when they forced me to control or lie to the people I loved?”(Page 80).

“People like us don’t follow the rules, Kira,” he said. “People like us make them up.” (Pages 117-118).

In a world where everyone can read thoughts, at least after they’ve been through the change, which coincides with puberty, there are still those that are different and who don’t conform. Kira, is one of those. She is sixteen and can’t read thoughts at all. Nobody trusts a Zero. The only type of person people would trust less is a mind controller, aka mindjacker. When Kira finds out that instead of having no ability to mind read, she has a different special ability, her life will change forever. She isn’t the only one out there who isn’t a zero and isn’t a mind reader. The first person like her that she meets will steer her into a hidden world that is not a great influence and gives regular people good reasons to fear and hate them. What can Kira do now that she knows she’s different? But if nobody else knows that she’s a mindjacker, can she still live a normal life?

Keywords:

My Review:

Susan Kay Quinn’s futuristic societies are entirely fascinating and the Mindjack Saga Books are no exception. Reading thoughts is not a new idea but Quinn’s spin is interesting.

Though Quinn uses the stereotypical trope of the ‘different’ protagonist who can’t ‘do’ what others can do and then magically has the greatest ability of them all, Kira is not the most powerful. There are others like her, but in the beginning, she thinks she is alone in her powers. In a world where everyone is special, Kira doesn’t fit in and this is where most of the interesting story comes along. How different can you be before you are persecuted?

Throughout this book I wanted more from Raf and I wanted more from the love triangle that wasn’t much of a love triangle. The romance took a bit of a backseat to the action that overtook everything towards the middle of the book.

This novel was published through Createspace Independent Publishing Platform on December 20th, 2013 and is available on Amazon here.

TL;DR Star Rating: 4.50

Links for more information:

Book Review: Alpha by Taylor Hohulin

October 20, 2015 by rachelauthorbarnard in Book Review and tagged Alpha, Science Fiction, Taylor Hohulin

Alpha by Taylor Hohulin

A Sci-Fi Novel published by Amazon Digital Services, Inc. (6/17/15)

Summary:

“Everything about Alpha was an inhumanly perfect imitation of humanity.” (Page 48).

In Alpha by Taylor Hohulin, four characters come together to form a hilariously written story about how hard it is to build a military-ready robot and to get everyone to accept the idea of a robot military. The Doctor who builds the robots is all consumed with creating a robot that will be loyal to its military and fierce but not too threatening. The first robot he builds, his Alpha, is consumed with his heart’s desire and wants to love the doctor’s sister over anything else. Meat is the soldier with a chip on his shoulder, just forced into retirement from a military life and nothing to do but plot to destroy the very robot that threatens the careers of all future human soldiers. And finally there is the leader and CEO of the Planet Earth Military Forces who just wants to get back into action and be done with all the paperwork.

Keywords:

Robots, Fighting, Paperwork, CEO, Leader, Soldier, Love, Goals, Robotic Soldiers, Meetings, Killing Machines, Emotions, Intelligence, Feelings

My Review:

With robots the likes of Douglas Adams’ characters in Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, the book is full of little laugh moments. The way the story is written and the writing style itself will blow you away with its funny little insights into humanity and how people think and look at the world. Hohulin has built a hilarious world out of a mashup of what ifs in this book. What if a robot fell in love? What if a scientist wanted to create a military robot but kept failing? What if a former soldier didn’t want to retire?

Meat is your classic all brawns and no brain character but he isn’t pathetically dimwitted. He can reason out logical conclusions and utilize resources and go about trying to attain his goal. He is not stupid, he is just single-minded. All he wants is to be a soldier and if he can’t do that for the Planet Earth Military Defense, well then he will wage war against any who opposed him rejoining the military and any who newly oppose him. Meat was a fun character to laugh at with his strictly logical thinking and surface level.

I loved how the robots thought and how they were different in their personalities depending on how they were built and I was glad Hohulin decided to make Alpha the more prominent robot instead of spreading narrative thinly over all three robots. Alpha was the most interesting robot and the one with the most story to tell.

This novel was published by Amazon Digital Services, Inc. on June 17th, 2013 and is available on Amazon here.

TL;DR Star Rating: 4.25

Links for more information:

Taylor Hohulin’s Website

Book Review: The Secrets of Evelyn Taylor by Pauline C. Harris

October 15, 2015 by rachelauthorbarnard in Book Review and tagged Pauline C. Harris, Sci Fi and Fantasy, Science Fiction, The Secrets of Evelyn Taylor, YA

The Secrets of Evelyn Taylor by Pauline C. Harris

A YA Fantasy/Sci-Fi Novelette published by Amazon Digital Services (04/08/13)

Summary:

“Remember. Remember. Don’t forget. The words swirled through my mind. What did they mean? What were all these secrets? Greta, Ms. Ferguson, Sophie and Jill kept secrets from me. Even my mind kept secrets from me. Was there anyone or anything that could be honest with me?” (Kindle Locations 1081-1083).

Evelyn Taylor needs to remember. But what is she forgetting? There is a reason she is holed up in a house and kept in a perpetual eighth grade. There is a reason she is not allowed outside.

Keywords:

Speculative Fiction, Past Life, Erased Memory, Caretakers, Plants, Remembering, 14 Years Old, New Life, Curiosity, Young Writer

My Review:

I was greatly disappointed with this book, however, I didn’t realize it was written by a teenager. What does a thirteen year old know about writing? What does a thirteen year old know about the world? Pauline C. Harris knew enough to craft a fun, easy read, but she was missing some of the important elements to bring the book together and make it something great.

Harris keeps both the reader and the main character Evelyn in the dark about what is really going on. To begin, all the reader gets is a confused day to day randomness with hints at something bigger in the background. Harris keeps the meat of the story withheld too long and I think it would have been more interesting to have more of a clue of what was going on or to make this a short story and not try to make it a standalone novel. There is not enough of the story. There were too many characters introduced late in the story and not enough descriptions and personalities ascribed to them.

This novel was published by Amazon Digital Services April 8th, 2013 and is available on Amazon here.

TL;DR Star Rating: 3.25

Links for more information:

Pauline C. Harris’s Website and Blog

Book Review: Mechanical Trilogy by Pauline C. Harris

October 13, 2015 by rachelauthorbarnard in Book Review and tagged Dystopian, Pauline C. Harris, Sci Fi and Fantasy, Science Fiction, young adult

Mechanical Trilogy by Pauline C. Harris

Mechanical – A YA Fantasy/Sci-Fi Novelette published by Fire and Ice Young Adult Books (04/28/13)

Perfect – A YA Fantasy/Sci-Fi Novelette published by Fire and Ice Young Adult Books (07/27/13)

Flawed – A YA Fantasy/Sci-Fi Novelette published by Fire and Ice Young Adult Books (11/07/13)

My Review:

I am going to review the entire trilogy in one post as each book was not very long and the trilogy could have been one book in the first place. Also, I will not be posting full reviews to Amazon/Goodreads as I admire what the author is doing and thought her last book published was stellar (The Hourglass) and the fact that this trilogy was so poorly done shouldn’t count against her as an author or for her future works.

The Mechanical Trilogy was a disappointment to me as a reader but much more impressive when I took into consideration that the author (at the time) was only a teenager. This fact, however, doesn’t make the book better it just makes me consider the book differently. Perhaps knowing how young the author was would have been helpful to know before I read the books rather than after as I would have let a lot more things that weren’t so great slide.

The message Harris was conveying with her trilogy was a good one: nobody is perfect and it’s ok to be flawed. Her dystopian theme was neat, with robots vs. people as the main component. Where things fell apart was the lack of cohesion overall, the plot randomness without many plot points being supported, the obvious lack of an outline, the unreality of the technology and the decisions the characters made, the immaturity of the characters that were supposed to be “perfect” but had obvious lacks of intelligence and ability to think through situations clearly. The author never went very deep into any action. For instance, multiple times the rebel characters wanted to break into the institution and every time they were able to with the first idea they came up with. It wasn’t suspending disbelief but rather there was no reality to the actions and sequences.

I really wish the mechanized humans acted like the ‘perfect’ machines they were supposed to be, except in reality they were rather pathetic in their reasoning abilities and intelligence and understanding. Even normal humans are many times more clever than the ‘perfect’ mechanical characters Harris created. If the androids are so perfect, why do they keep making the most ridiculously stupid mistakes? Sure it moves the plot along, but it’s at odds with the concept Harris is trying to get across. Most of the time the characters just went along with everything, didn’t question things, didn’t think out the possibilities, and didn’t try to escape. Much of the second book was the group of rebels trying to escape from the institution creators and robots over and over. They were just reacting to the situation and not learning from any of their experiences.

The world they lived in never felt real. The author didn’t bring the far-fetched concept (perfecting humans by making them androids) into reality. She also never defined how her magic-like technology could even exist and there weren’t other examples of futuristic technology. Mechanical was isolated.

The writing itself displayed many amateur mistakes that popped out like using frequently the words, “just then,” “as I was,” and “suddenly.” Still, there was something that compelled me to read all three books (could be the short length of each one individually) and I wanted to stick it out for an author that truly amazed me with Hourglass. I recommend skipping this trilogy entirely and going straight to her truly finessed work.

This trilogy was published by Fire and Ice Young Adult Books and is available on Amazon here.

TL;DR Star Rating: 2.75

Links for more information:

Pauline C. Harris’s Website and Blog

Seattle Specific Saturdays: AFK Renton Multi-Author Event Must Read! Today!

October 10, 2015 by rachelauthorbarnard in Free Valley Publishing, Local Authors, Local Eats, Local Events, Seattle Specific Saturdays and tagged AFK Elixirs, AJ Downey, Bibi Rizer, fantasy, Gabrielle Prendergast, Jeffrey Cook, Lee French, Madison Keller, Romance, Science Fiction, Sechin Tower, Tina Shelton

I love finding new local authors and Jeffrey Cook has set up another great AFK event you simply must check out! For more information, see the flyer below or visit the event’s facebook page here.

Book Review: The Hunted (The Marian Series #2) by Taylor Hohulin

October 1, 2015 by rachelauthorbarnard in Book Review and tagged apocalypic, pirates, Science Fiction, Steampunk, Taylor Hohulin, The Hunted, The Marian

The Marian by Taylor Hohulin

A Steampunk/Pirate Sci-Fi Novel published by Amazon Digital Services, Inc. (8/17/15)

Summary:

Ethan Denby is still trapped in Duncan’s body: the former captain of the Marian, a ship full of illegal water harvesters. Now it is more imperative than ever for Ethan to swap out of Duncan’s body as the Other World is closer and closer to claiming his new body. It is harder than ever to find a solution as Ethan has nowhere else to turn after the Cloud Priestess screwed him over and he was forced to kill Jarvis in self-defense. It isn’t until one of the mercenary twins finds a book of the Cloud that Ethan’s hopes are revived. He might well be able to swap back into his former body and former life after all. The adventures take the Marian and her crew to more HydroSystem wells and through more dangers, as more than just the HydroSystem workers are out for their blood, now it seems the entire Empire is after the Marian’s crew to claim the price on their heads.

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:

The Hunted begins with a new character in the same world as the Marian. She is a mercenary. Her name is Scarlet and she has a story. When she is given the task of killing the Marian’s crew she hesitates. She is human. She has a moral conscience. Then again, she has taught herself to forget the faces of those she’s killed. What makes the Marian and her crew any different? It is not one bad man having her kill another bad man. The Marian steals from the rich to give to the poor and though they are one drop in the bucket against HydroSystems monopolization of the world’s remaining water, it is enough of a rebellion to give Scarlet pause in her murderous task.

Ah Scarlet. We lost one female only to gain another. Bonnie for Scarlet, a worthwile exchange, though I wonder what in fact happened to Bonnie and if we will ever find out. Why Bonnie, after all? Why not have someone else kidnapped in book one? Only because Hohulin gave her the most obstinate personality that she was the one who insisted on going with Ethan in the first place. She was the only one that could have been sacrificed at the time for the book to continue.

As Jackie puts it, nobody is trying to find Bonnie, they are only after Duncan and righting the soul swap that left Ethan out of his body and world. This creates great tension between Jackie and Ethan as Ethan is mostly to blame for allowing Bonnie to go to the Cloud and get captured.

Scarlet was one of my favorite additions to the Marian, she had such a great backstory and added much to the plot. She was conflicted but resolute. She was the strongest character. “She collected all the anger at being turned into a killer before she could turn into a woman, all the frustration at being given an identity she couldn’t control, and all the horror at having two fathers taken from her.” (Kindle Locations 3755-3757).

I love the idea of different types of mercenaries that Hohulin introduces and how he defines each type, giving more shape to the politics going on in this world and how everyone has their part to play. Kyle and Kale are given more definition within this context as well and I enjoyed seeing more to them than was revealed in book one.

The Players in the front describing all the characters was very helpful and I’m always glad when authors re-iterate who is who and what is most important.

The plot clicked into place, things from book one, small almost insignificant details were brought to life in book two. What a great continuation and I can’t wait for more from Taylor Hohulin.

This novel was published by Amazon Digital Services, Inc. on August 17th, 2015 and is available on Amazon here.

TL;DR Star Rating: 4.75

Links for more information:

Taylor Hohulin’s Website

Book Review: Spectre of Intention by Tonya Macalino

September 24, 2015 by rachelauthorbarnard in Book Review and tagged cerebral, Sci Fi and Fantasy, Science Fiction, Spectre of Intention, Tonya Macalino

Spectre of Intention by Tonya Macalino

A Cerebral Sci-Fi/Fantasy Novel published by Crystal Mosaic Books (12/10/2013)

Summary:

“…Kaitlin Osgood, Senior VP of Sales and Project Management for Countermeasures International. She was smart, she was competent, and she would find a way through this.” (Pages 61-62).

You might describe Kaitlin Osgood as having ‘two faces’ or being schizophrenic at times, but she has evolved to become Kaitlin, shedding her old life and self and personality as Ashley Porter. She is well into becoming a woman of business and success -as new and improved Kaitlin- when her current job leads to a run in with her old life and people she knew as Ashley. When her job and self are threatened, who will she turn to in order to get out of trouble – solid businesswoman and professional Kaitlin or street tough thief Ashley?

Keywords:

Two-sided, Female Main Character, Sci-Fi, Space Elevator, Security Team, Professionals, Criminals, Violence, Threats, Thief, Past Life, Friends, Lover, Rebuilding Oneself, Sensing Emotions, Talents, Secrets

My Review:

The moment the book begins, it is as if the reader has been dropped into the middle of the story and the author gives no backstory or catchup or narrative explanation. As a reader you must glean as much information as you can to figure out what is going on. To help, you can re-read the summary of the book, as it gives the most precise explanation for what and who the main character is.

This story operates on the principle of the untold story as the author does more showing then telling, leaving the reader to go, “what?” It is difficult to understand what is going on and what the characters are thinking. The reader is on the outside looking in, left to the whims of what is going on and what the characters are saying without narrative guidance or character thoughts to guide the reader. It is difficult to grasp what is going on, especially at first.

The author brings to life the story of ‘what if.’ What if you had the superpower of… What would you be like? How would you live? What could you do if you had that power? Kaitlin is blessed (or cursed as is always the questions) with one such power and this book explores a piece of her life when another part of it intrudes and tries to take over. For those who like Science Fantasy novels that skirt the edge of philosophical, you might like Spectre of Intention

This novel was published by Crystal Mosaic Books 12/10/2013 and is available on Amazon here.

TL;DR Star Rating: 3.50

Links for more information: