John Staughton, Senior Reviewer

Tasked with recovering their surviving kin still scattered across the solar system, two eternally bound heroes are back in the midst of cosmic chaos in Hachi + Araine: Nightmares by Michael G. Hurston. With a pregnant lover on the edge of death awaiting their return, Hachi and her golem partner must find their unawakened brethren in a breakneck race against time. From facing down corporate overlords on Jupiter to pulling off Trojan horse heists on a Martian moon, their solar system-spanning hunt for the remaining Tau-born warriors could be the difference between utter destruction and the salvation of two universes. […]

Thousands of years in the future, a legendary warrior named Hachi and her symbiotic-linked golem awaken from cryo-sleep into a darker age in Hachi + Araine: Awake by Michael G. Hurston, the first book in The Dream Series. After returning to Earth, she discovers the shocking legacy of her universe-jumping ancestors and a treasure map through space that leads her and a resourceful companion into a blistering adventure across the stars. Dodging cosmic slavers, exploring taboo desires, and overcoming the guilt of her own past, Hachi must find a way to forgive herself and fulfill her original mission, even […]

The elite warriors of Alpha Team are tasked to unravel the maniacal scheme of a vengeful villain seeking to compromise the global food supply in Operation Cavolo by E.S. Benton, the second installment of The Silent Codename series. Careening from one explosive scene and clever bit of investigating to the next, the Alpha squad faces a deadly countdown to disaster, while internal strife and old secrets threaten their unity. With rapid-fire plot twists and a labyrinth of motives and betrayals, Benton’s adrenaline-fueled story is equally visceral and relentless. Part black ops spy thriller and part procedural military drama, this action-heavy […]

An anti-heroine battling accusations of treachery while fighting for her home makes The Assays of Ata by K.I.S. a striking introduction to a new fantasy series. Ata is a magically-abled spy for Pandia, but bringing about the fall of Cinnae, her nation’s sworn enemy, means executing a desperately tangled plot and navigating unexpected allies, murderous motives, veiled threats, and kingdom-shaking betrayals. From multilayered military maneuverings and palace intrigue to fantastical scheming and the visceral awakening of ancient powers, this first book of The Chronicles of Áitarbith series is an impressively elaborate and carefully crafted work of epic fantasy, with a […]