Science Fiction Book Reviews | Self-Publishing Review

Review: Ephaidria by Jim Grieco

★★★★ Ephaidria by Jim Grieco

Most fantasy or sci-fi novels center on a single “surreal” element, such as the presence of alien life, supernatural abilities, terrible dark forces or a bridge to the spiritual world. Ephaidria by Jim Grieco ambitiously tackles all of these concepts, and more, without stumbling over itself or trying to take on too much “strangeness.” From the very start, the novel is packed with mystery, rich descriptions and an unpredictable plot line that stretches the boundaries of readers’ imaginations.

The story starts off simply enough, with the gradual introduction of the four main characters, who are just beginning to discover […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2017-04-27T11:14:29+02:00April 27th, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Science Fiction Book Reviews, Young Adult Book Reviews|

Review: C Square by Paul Barone & Bear Kosik

★★★★

Imagining what the world will be like in the future is the core of science fiction writing, and while those possibilities are not always pleasant to face, they are always based – in part – on the direction our society is currently moving. In C Square, the world has certainly evolved beyond what we know now, but it is not so distant to be unbelievable. Authors Paul Barone and Bear Kosik delivers a thrilling story of genetic perfection.

Normal people are known as Organics in this world, while Chosen are those that have been partially genetically engineered with […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2017-05-19T11:18:37+02:00April 18th, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Science Fiction Book Reviews|

Alexandria (The Sword of Agrippa Book 2) by Gregory Ness

Alexandria by Greg Ness Roy and Renee are on the run. Two scientists whose revolutionary research threatened to change science forever became too much for the financial oligarchy of the United States. Continuing their work with sleep-viewing and dark energy research, the two attempt to piece together a puzzle they are woefully under-equipped to understand. Then an unexpected piece of a larger picture is found in the mind of a certain subject that will take the scientists to a whole new view of reality.

Alexandria, the second book of The Sword of Agrippa series by Gregory Ness, is a near-future sci-fi novella centered […]

James Grimsby2017-03-23T10:11:20+02:00March 22nd, 2017|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Fantasy Book Reviews, Science Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: P.O.VEE (The Chronicles of VEE Book 1) by Denis Jay Klein

★★★★★

There are many things we disagree about here on Earth, but the fact that we are in a period of rapid technological advancement isn’t one of them. Human beings are doing things every day that would have seemed like something out of far-flung science fiction fifty years ago.

In the cleverly titled P.O.Vee by Denis Jay Klein, readers are flash-forwarded two decades into the future, when android technology is beginning to find its footing, and the first real attempts at artificial intelligence are being fleshed out. Klein is a masterful storyteller who paints the future in completely believable terms, […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-04-29T12:16:52+02:00March 22nd, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Science Fiction Book Reviews|

Sometimes Fatal Events Have Occurred by John L. Sheppard

Sometimes Fatal Events Have Occurred by John L. Sheppard Sometimes Fatal Events Have Occurred by John L. Sheppard is an inventive literary science fiction novel – a prequel to his also-inventive Explosive Decompression. This novel takes place centuries earlier, and even earlier than the present – the 90s. Buzz, an artist, is dying from brain cancer, and he’s visited by a woman from the future who says she can cure his cancer; she doesn’t want him to die because she loves his art. She has the ability to project her mind into the past, and soon Buzz needs to time travel himself in order to save the art […]

Henry Baum2017-03-20T08:57:35+02:00March 20th, 2017|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Science Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: The Authority (The Charismatics Book 2) by Ashley R. Carlson

★★★★★ The Authority

In The Authority, the second book by Ashley R. Carlson in the Charismatics series, steampunk, science fiction and fantasy collide in an unforgettable adventure of magic, intrigue, destiny, and a potentially collapsing universe.

Picking up directly where the first book left off, readers find themselves amid the wreckage of the dirigible crash where Duchess Ambrose and her rag-tag bunch of compatriots are choosing what to do next. Each has a special skill set, a particular ability based on Charisma, ranging from the ability to fly, becoming invisible, affecting the mind of others, seeing past facades or creating fire, […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-04-12T14:17:18+02:00March 15th, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Fantasy Book Reviews, Science Fiction Book Reviews, Steampunk Book Reviews|

Review: Reverence by Joshua Aaron Landeros

Reverence by Joshua Aaron Landeros

Reverence by Joshua Aaron Landeros is a suspenseful work of dystopian science fiction about a not-too-distant future. In an action-packed novel that touches on many of the issues of the day, readers are dropped in the near future (2065), where a new empire has risen to power, the United Nation Republic, leading the world and dominating all who threaten their security with a cyborg army.

Will, the protagonist of the novel, is one of these enhanced cybernetic soldiers, and his incredible abilities are put on display before the end of the first chapter. The premise reveals itself in a very […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-02-11T08:42:33+02:00February 9th, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Dystopian Fiction Book Reviews, Science Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: Time is for Dragonflies and Angels by J.M. Erickson

★★★★

Time is for Dragonflies and Angels, the new book from sci fi author J.M. Erickson is a collection of short stories in the tradition of the classic science fiction writing compendiums, evoking well-loved writers such as Aldous Huxley and George Orwell, with clear influences from other giants of the genre as we go along.

This is more directly apparent in some stories over others, such as Neurogenesis which is a riff on the ending of Flowers for Algernon, or To See Behind Walls using The Secret Life of Walter Mitty as its key inspiration. It gives the […]