Science Fiction Book Reviews

Children of the Empire by Lara Nance

Children of the Empire by Lara Nance

In Children of the Empire by Lara Nance, a brilliant new science fiction universe is introduced that’s packed with intrigue, betrayal, deception, and redemption.

The plot structure of the novel is reminiscent of many fantasy sagas, where multiple destinations and increasingly difficult challenges lie in the path of the bold adventurers’ end goal. In the case of this novel, the key figures of Min and Ruffian are familiar, but they’re perfectly crafted and supported by a growing cast of detailed and original figures.

Aside from the clever premise of this novel, the writing is engaging and fast-paced. However, the dialogue […]

Purgatorium by J.H. Carnathan

Purgatorium by J.H. CarnathanIn a snowbound city, a man lives anonymously, trapped in repetitive days that last only one hour and often end—or begin—with nightmares in J.H. Carnathan’s compelling Purgatorium.

When we first meet the protagonist, he doesn’t know his own name, seemingly unaware of the many limitations binding him. All around him are strange objects: an hourglass necklace, a coin, weapons, a child’s snow globe. Gradually, he begins to meet a cast of characters who have angelic names and carry playing cards. They give him a name and a card, apparently trying to jolt him from his icy purgatory and bring […]

2017-08-21T04:32:47+02:00August 21st, 2017|Categories: New Releases|Tags: |

Review: Brainwalker by Robyn Mundell & Stephan Lacast

★★★★ Brainwalker

“Getting inside someone’s head” tends to be a figurative idea, or turn of phrase, but in Brainwalker, the boundlessly creative new novel from Robyn Mundell and Stephan Lacast, the concept is taken quite literally. This fast-paced novel takes readers deep into the actual human brain – and beyond.

Bernard is a typical YA literature protagonist – an unusual teen with some personality quirks who is suddenly thrown into an extraordinary situation. For Bernard, that situation arises when his curiosity gets the best of him in his father’s lab, who happens to be a particle physicist. After fiddling like […]

Phobos Rising (Ephialtes Trilogy Book 2) by Gavin E. Parker

Phobos Rising (Ephialtes Trilogy Book 2)

Two centuries in the future, following Earth’s first attack on its Martian colony, both planets are struggling to maintain peace and find a way forward in the vast space between them. This is the foundation on which Phobos Rising is built, the second installation of the Ephialtes trilogy by Gavin E. Parker, and a worthy successor to the first book in the series, as well as the companion book of short stories.

Five years have passed since the first aggression, and that same growth is apparent in the writing style. There is more patience with the storytelling, and readers get […]

2017-08-03T07:52:12+02:00August 3rd, 2017|Categories: New Releases|Tags: |

Review: Taldra: #SciFi Adventures by Duane Simolke

★★★★ Taldra: #SciFi Adventures by Duane Simolke

Taldra: #SciFi Adventures by Duane Simolke is a highly-imaginative sci-fi adventure set in an alternate universe.

Geln, working in Hidden Services on Degranon, is being sent to the planet of Valchondria, which his people had infiltrated 50 years ago. On Valchondria, their people have found a doorway through time that leads back to when the prophet, Zaysha, first gave them The Book of Degranon. Valchrondria’s Leader has arranged for Geln to work with Dr. Taldra Lorfeltez, a young scientist who has developed a life support building that relies on new ways to gather core energies. It will be Geln’s […]

2017-09-13T15:16:29+02:00July 20th, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: |

An Obliquity (The Perihelion Book 2) by D.M. Wozniak

An Obliquity (The Perihelion Book 2) An Obliquity by D.M. Wozniak is the electrifying follow-up to The Perihelion, one of the more innovative literary dystopian sci-fi novels you’ll ever read.

In the first book, the world of 2069 is on the edge of the Perihelion, a phenomenon where the planet is closest to the sun. This is a world where people have hybrid animal DNA, who are at once more advanced and more vulnerable. An Obliquity takes place the next day after the Perihelion has occurred, following the lives of the same six intertwining characters, and has the same level of intensity and inventiveness as […]

2019-03-07T09:25:48+02:00July 19th, 2017|Categories: New Releases|Tags: |

Review: Nannion by Andreas Androutsellis-Theotokis

 Nannion

Everyone loves a cat story, and Nannion by Andreas Androutsellis-Theotokis  features the eponymous off-white street cat in a surprising science fiction tale of earth sciences and Greek history. Although not a story for children (Nannion, the cat’s namesake, was in fact a prostitute in Ancient Greece) there is a childlike quality to the narration that makes the cat’s relationship with Claire, a lonely and dying marine biologist working in the Aegean Sea around Athens and the island of Dioptra, cozy reading.

As the book goes on, other characters working in marine sciences come into the story. The team learns about […]

Meet the Unimaginables by Paul Slutsky

Meet the Unimaginables by Paul Slutsky Meet the Unimaginables by Paul Slutsky is a science fiction novel about the most fascinating of topics: interacting with life on other planets. A scientist named Alan Norton gets the chance of a lifetime to explore the universe as part of the Search for Life program, with each new life form and environment more unimaginable than the last, and he’s soon thrust into a role that could change the fate of the entire universe.

The greatest strength in this novel is Alan Norton himself; he’s something of a MacGyver – quick-thinking and endlessly resourceful. Really, you’d follow him anywhere because […]

2020-05-06T03:47:11+02:00May 16th, 2017|Categories: New Releases|Tags: |
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