John Staughton, Senior Reviewer

A futuristic blur of sci-fi and dark fantasy, Outcasts, Book 3 in the Wardens Universe, by Jonathan Staten is a page-turning installment of this universe-jumping series. When a deadly enemy from the past unleashes a shadowy slaughter and a secret heist in the city of Sephria, the Augur-augmented Wardens of the Interstellar Space Association may be the only force that can stop their destructive plans. Elizabeth Stone will have to master her new abilities in the crucible of combat, and learn to trust her centuries-old comrades, or succumb to the wrath of a vengeful monster from another world. […]

A sarcastic and self-aware whodunit by Josh Harper, Additional Attendee is a smart, snarky, and satisfying high-rise mystery. A self-involved elder millennial named Paul is determined to catch his cheating wife in the act, but after finding a corpse, rather than a tryst, he ends up as a prime suspect in the suspected suitor’s murder. To complicate matters, Paul’s adulterous wife is missing, his lobby attendant crush is acting suspicious, and his tepid career as an actor makes it hard for the authorities to believe anything he says. Neurotic narration, gleefully cartoonish characters, and a twisting plot make this first […]

Encouraging a holistic synthesis of revolutionary ideas from the cutting-edge frontiers of modern research, The Tapestry of Science: A Multidisciplinary Review of Fundamental and Contemporary Topics by V.G. Kumar Das is a cross-sectional review of today’s most exciting fields, and a prophetic glimpse at essential and inevitable technologies to come. From timely subjects like potable water scarcity and zoonotic pandemics to renewable energy advancements and nanomaterial development, this is an accessible guide to high-level concepts delivered in an engaging and curiosity-sparking form, driven by an abiding sense of fascination with each topic. Unlike the droning pace of many textbooks, this […]

Introducing an elaborate new world of wicked queens, wyrms, and unlikely antiheroes, A Dragon of the Veil by Nick Snape is a classic genre escape that artfully mixes elements of arcanepunk and high fantasy. In a world where the entrenched forces of tradition and religion are being strengthened by ominously familiar science and technology, a Queen hopes to finally eliminate the bastions of Unbelievers with a devastating new weapon. A once-heroic washout of a warrior is given a final chance at heroism to save his realm and the dragons who call it home, only to find that loyalties and morality […]