COSMOSIS by Rainer Rey

November 20, 2014

Click to purchase

 

Jace Kelton and Madison Marro meet while investigating the deaths of their respective fathers. Their parents were on a search for an unlimited supply of alternative fuels to replace the now dwindling supply of fossil fuels.

The search touches on mysteries of ancient peoples; the pyramids of Egypt, Easter Island, and the Bermuda Triangle. They are pursued by a force of Chinese warriors who have heard about the possibility of an alternative fuel and want it for their country.

Maddy and Jace in their search stumble upon a mysterious Interstellar force that probably placed the alternative energy source long ago and left it for humankind when they have reached a certain evolutionary stage. They also find a love between them that helps them to overcome the obstacles in their path to getting the source.

A fast moving novel, well done with a more than interesting thesis to keep the reader constantly involved in the action. A followup book is a possibility with further action in bringing the alternative power source to market.

11/14 Paul Lane

COSMOSIS by Rainer Rey. Turner (November 11, 2014). ISBN: 978-1620459928. 348p.

Comments Off on COSMOSIS by Rainer Rey | Book Reviews, Fiction, Sci-Fi/Fantasy | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

TWILIGHT’S LAST GLEAMING by John Michael Greer

November 14, 2014

Click to purchase

A book that is a glimpse into the near future of the United States. It is partially a brilliant novel involving both a military and political scenario, but also a glimpse into what may be the future of our country.

The opening indicates a United States that is rapidly running out of oil and oil reserves. Fracking didn’t have the future predicted for it, and other sources dried out. A huge oil reserve is discovered off the coast of Tanzania in Africa and the American president decides that this is the answer to the U.S.’s problems.

Under pretensions of obtaining desired regime change in Tanzania a military attack is ordered against that nation. Tanzania is allied with China, but the erroneous decision that China will not intervene allows the military incursion to proceed. Greer gives a very real description of the events of that attack, and the subsequent intervention of China.

The American army finds that many of it’s vaunted weapon systems are not as designed due to the necessity of kickbacks to Congressmen and Senators in order to get approval for those systems instead of better designs. The result of the war is a major defeat for the United States, and the first instance of an America having to surrender to an enemy. The cost of the war and the end results push the States into a series of revolts against the government and a national movement for secession by some of them from the Federal government.

This segment of the book describes what could be our future based on the political environment currently in practice where politicians are not patriots, but seek and keep office for personal gain only. While Greer is writing a novel, it certainly can be construed as a prediction of a down-sliding of our union based on current trends and the falling away of real patriotism among our citizens and government.

This is a book to read and ponder about and examine our future based on current events. There are central characters that interact and are involved in the action, but the force of the book and it’s message precludes the necessity of fleshing them out. They are people that would evolve in the scenario Greer paints and that suffices.

Very well done, and certainly a must read for readers thinking about what could happen over the next several years to a country that has allowed patriotism to become a dead issue.

11/14 Paul Lane

TWILIGHT’S LAST GLEAMING by John Michael Greer. Karnac Books (November 1, 2014). ISBN: 978-1782200352. 400p.

Comments Off on TWILIGHT’S LAST GLEAMING by John Michael Greer | Book Reviews, Crime Fiction, Fiction, Sci-Fi/Fantasy | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

THE UNDYING by Ethan Reid

November 2, 2014

Click to purchase this eBook

Best friends Jeanie and Ben have chosen the wrong time to visit the City of Lights.

They arrive in Paris on New Year’s Eve jet lagged but looking forward to experiencing everything the city has to offer. The following morning, hung over and not quite rested, Jeanie awakens to witness the building across from her window explode in a hailstorm of fire. Another American in their hotel believes they are experiencing a catastrophic world event in the making: fallout from some sort of asteroid or comet impact. He warns the two that this is only the beginning – that they should gather supplies and find a safe place to ride out what will come next.

As they make their way through the city, the friends quickly realize there’s another aspect to this disaster that their acquaintance didn’t mention. Whatever the impact was, it seems to have had an odd effect on the citizens of Paris. The survivors now find that they’re being hunted by creatures that very much resemble the walking dead.

Ethan Reid’s debut is one of the first releases from the new Simon451 imprint. It’s a nice blend of science fiction and horror that pits a heroine still reeling from the loss of her father against an army of zombies and the end of the world. In other words, it’s pretty darn fun.

The Undying does leave a lot of things in the air. What caused the actual event, what happened in South America, what’s next for Jeanie… fortunately the author’s blog does mention additional titles in the works.

Available as an ebook or audiobook only.

11/14 Becky LeJeune

THE UNDYING by Ethan Reid. Simon & Schuster/Simon451 (October 7, 2014). ASIN: B00K3NEEC4. File Size: 1870 KB.

Comments Off on THE UNDYING by Ethan Reid | Book Reviews, Fiction, Horror, Sci-Fi/Fantasy | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

THE ICE CAP AND THE RIFT by Marshall Chamberlain

October 27, 2014

Click to purchase for your Kindle

Ancestor Series Book 2

Chamberlain’s premise for the book is a fantastic one. Due to a comboquake that threatens three continents, a 15 mile rift tears into Iceland’s largest ice cap. Advanced satellite imagery shows a large cavern containing objects and structures that should not be there. John Henry Morgan head of the U.N’s Institute for the study of Unusual Phenomena (ISUP) and his team is sent into the area and finds that the cavern was occupied 180,000 years ago and contains a perfectly preserved high tech environment and a travel machine.

Unfortunately after this discovery Chamberlain turns the book into a plot by Islamic extremists working with China to steal the travel machine and the Americans to prevent this and than to recover it when it is stolen. Allusion is made to events in Belize occurring in the past and delineated in a previous book. Without having read the previous book the premise of a fabulous science adventure is obscured. There are two interludes in which action by an alien race is aimed at controlling events on earth surrounding the discoveries, but there is no clarity to these asides either.

The idea of discovering high tech remnants from a distant past possibly placed there by an alien civilization originating on a distant planet is a fascinating one. The book “The Mountain Place of Knowledge” by Chamberlain is book one in the series, and should be read by anyone looking to derive greater enjoyment from this one. Without that one, book three which is obviously planned will push the reader even further behind.

The portion of the chase by the U.S. to retrieve the stolen travel machine is well done and can satisfy a reader who is not that interested in the reason for that chase.

10/14 Paul Lane

THE ICE CAP AND THE RIFT by Marshall Chamberlain. The Grace Publishing Group; First edition (October 2, 2014). ASIN: B001EJODF4. 311p.

Comments Off on THE ICE CAP AND THE RIFT by Marshall Chamberlain | Book Reviews, Fiction, Sci-Fi/Fantasy | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

A VISION OF FIRE by Gillian Anderson & Jeff Rovin

October 20, 2014

Click to purchase

In the midst of heated negotiations, India’s UN ambassador narrowly escapes an assassination attempt. His daughter, who witnessed the event, isn’t so lucky. Physically the girl is fine, but mentally Maanik is suffering. At first the change is simply that of a happy and bubbly teen retreating into herself. Soon thereafter Maanik experiences episodes involving self-mutilation and begins speaking in tongues. Desperate to help their daughter but keep things under wraps, the girl’s parents reach out to Caitlin O’Hara, an expert in child psychology.

While a fellow doctor suggests Maanik is exhibiting signs of schizophrenia, Caitlin vehemently disagrees. Then reports of similar cases surface in Haiti and Iran. Rather than drug the teen into a quiet stupor, Caitlin vows to find the root of the problem, and as Maanik’s episodes intensify, she becomes more devoted to the case. What she discovers suggests that Maanik and the other two teens could be the beginning of a disturbing trend that defies scientific explanation.

I had pretty grand expectations of A Vision of Fire. Not only is it a return to sci-fi by one of the genre’s most-recognized faces (Gillian Anderson) it marked the launch of a brand new imprint at Simon and Schuster – Simon451.

Ultimately, Anderson and Jeff Rovin’s collaboration did live up to those expectations but it was something of a bumpy ride. The overarching story of the troubled teens was compelling enough but I found that Caitlin’s investigation of the phenomena did begin to drag somewhat. Fortunately, the big reveal was satisfying as both an explanation for Maanik’s attacks as well as a driving plot for the series.

The Global Explorers’ Club really wasn’t very adequately fleshed out but as this is just the first outing in a multi-part series I would hope they are to be the focus of subsequent titles.

Overall, A Vision of Fire was a satisfying start to what I hope will be an exciting series as a whole.

10/14 Becky LeJeune

A VISION OF FIRE by Gillian Anderson & Jeff Rovin. Simon & Schuster/ Simon451 (October 7, 2014). ISBN 978-1476776521. 304p.

Comments Off on A VISION OF FIRE by Gillian Anderson & Jeff Rovin | Book Reviews, Fiction, Sci-Fi/Fantasy | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

SHARKMAN by Steve Alten

October 17, 2014

Click to purchase

Steve Alten has written books about aberrations of nature as well as science fiction. For example, his first books were about attacks by giant sharks. ( The Meg series).

Sharkman is narrated in first person by the individual whose experiences delineate the events that are depicted in the novel. Kwan Wilson is the son of an American Admiral and Asian woman that met during time of war. His father was forced to marry the girl and take her to the U.S. when she became pregnant.

Kwan was a bright student and an athlete playing basketball for his high school. in one fateful night as he was driving his mother home he became distracted while texting, crashed the car, killing his mother and coming out of the accident as a paraplegic confined to a wheel chair. His father, who traveled quite a bit due to his job in the navy, sent him to live with his maternal grandmother in south Florida.

Depressed by his condition, Kwan jumps on an opportunity described by the principal of his new school about a laboratory in Miami working on shark stem cells as a possible treatment for both cancer and spinal injuries. He volunteers and gets himself assigned to the lab where he is in time to witness one of the first real breakthroughs in their work. Kwan decides to inject himself with the serum developed thinking that if it either helps him to walk again or kills him his problems will be solved.

Alten has become an expert on sharks and shark behavior and incorporates this knowledge into the book making it a fascinating read. Kwan is the principal character, and fleshed out very well, but we also meet a prospective love interest of his. Kwan’s father is not what he seems to be and his actions bring us to a rewarding ending, but does leave plenty of room for a followup book. Fast reading keeping the reader glued to the novel, and sure to welcome a followup by him or her.

10/14 Paul Lane

SHARKMAN by Steve Alten. Taylor Trade Publishing (October 7, 2014). ISBN 978-1630760199. 272p.

Comments Off on SHARKMAN by Steve Alten | Book Reviews, Fiction, Horror, Sci-Fi/Fantasy | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

IN A HANDFUL OF DUST by Mindy McGinnis

September 27, 2014

Click to purchase

After an outbreak of polio hits their small society, Lynn and Lucy strike out for California. Though Lynn has spent all of her life living in one spot, defending her little pond, she knows that Lucy needs more. Lucy needs people. Lucy needs hope. What Lucy doesn’t need is to be faced with the fear and animosity that falls on her after the cause of the outbreak is narrowed to either her or her boyfriend as a carrier.

Some say that after the Shortage parts of California were able to maintain some semblance of normalcy. The stories suggest that folks there were able to come up with a way of making ocean water drinkable. There they wouldn’t have to worry about harsh winters and the promise of limitless water means no more living or dying by their small pond.

The road will be long and the journey will be difficult, but together they’re willing to face the challenges ahead in hopes of a better future.

Mindy McGinnis does it again. This companion/sequel to Not a Drop to Drink returns readers to Lynn and her unforgiving waterless world, this time throwing Lynn and young Lucy into a cross-country journey that tests their limits. Fans of McGinnis’s debut will no doubt find this second outing equally satisfying (and harrowing.) but even if you’ve not yet read Not a Drop to Drink you can easily start with In a Handful of Dust.

McGinnis is definitely not afraid to put her characters in the thick of it or to expose her readers to some ick, so if you’re a more sensitive reader this might not be the best choice for your TBR. All I’ll say about that here is: Oh, Vegas.

09/14 Becky LeJeune

IN A HANDFUL OF DUST by Mindy McGinnis. Katherine Tegen Books (September 23, 2014)). ISBN 978-0062198532. 384p.

Comments Off on IN A HANDFUL OF DUST by Mindy McGinnis | Book Reviews, Fiction, Sci-Fi/Fantasy | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

SPARROW HILL ROAD by Seanan McGuire

September 23, 2014

Click to purchase

It was 1952 when Rose Marshall was killed on Sparrow Hill Road on her way to the prom. She was only sixteen. The circumstances of her death left her a hitcher, a ghost forced to roam the roads in search for rides.

The Phantom Prom Date who murders those who offer her a ride. The Ghost of Sparrow Hill Road whose date died alongside her. The Girl From the Diner who is an omen of bad things to come… for generations her story has been passed on, becoming twisted into a legend that barely resembles the once real story. But Rose herself isn’t a harbinger of doom. Instead, she can tell when an accident is on the horizon and can sometimes save someone who would otherwise die. In other cases, she helps those who have passed on get to their final destination.

In 2010 Seanan McGuire released a dozen Rose Marshall stories through the ezine The Edge of Propinquity. While the mag does still have a few stories in its archives, including McGuire’s “Good Girls Go To Heaven,” the rest have been collected here in the author’s latest release.

This is a story most readers probably know in one form or another, but McGuire expands it and gives it a depth that the word-of-mouth urban legend never could. What’s more, she’s placed the story smack dab in the middle of an urban fantasy world populated with some of the most unusual characters I’ve ever seen: routewitches, trainspotters, crossroads and dead highways, strigoi who don’t suck blood, and a bevy of ghosts ranging from the hitchhikers to maggy dhu (ghost dogs who collect souls).

Sparrow Hill Road is a ghost story, a love story, a horror story, and a story of the road.

09/14 Becky LeJeune

SPARROW HILL ROAD by Seanan McGuire. DAW Trade (May 6, 2014). ISBN 978-0756409616. 320p.

Comments Off on SPARROW HILL ROAD by Seanan McGuire | Book Reviews, Fiction, Sci-Fi/Fantasy | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

THE JEWEL by Amy Ewing

September 3, 2014

Click to purchase

In Violet Lasting’s world royalty have lost the ability to birth viable offspring. Amazingly, girls from the lowest levels of their society have shown a remarkable DNA strain that has become highly sought after. Testing is required for every girl and any that test positive immediately begin training for surrogacy. Violet is one of them and her time for auction has come.

Violet is purchased by the Duchess of the Lake, a member of one of the four founding families. For all intents and purposes, Violet Lasting is no more: she is now 197, a possession belonging to the Duchess. Her sole purpose is for the continuation of the Lake bloodline. The change is hard for Violet and as the realities of life as a surrogate become more clear, she realizes that her fate is more dangerous than she’d ever imagined. But things become even more difficult when Violet begins to fall in love with a boy who’s not meant for her.

Amy Ewing’s The Jewel does bear a marked resemblance to Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale. In spite of this, or perhaps because of it, I found I quite enjoyed it. The intrigue and the danger are darker than most dystopians because of the ramifications involved in using teenage girls as brood mares and the world itself is quite intricate.

The Jewel is the first in a projected trilogy and so there are the usual cliffhangers and unanswered questions. As an opening story, though, I was completely hooked and I can’t wait for the next book to come along.

9/14 Becky Lejeune

THE JEWEL by Amy Ewing. HarperTeen (September 2, 2014). ISBN 978-0062235794. 368p.

Comments Off on THE JEWEL by Amy Ewing | Book Reviews, Fiction, Sci-Fi/Fantasy | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

ANNIHILATION by Jeff VanderMeer

September 2, 2014

Click to purchase

The latest expedition of Area X is about to begin. The team – a psychologist, an anthropologist, a surveyor, and a biologist – are all tasked with keeping detailed journals of their experiences and their observances. Strange things have been known to happen at Area X and it’s important that everything is carefully documented, especially after what happened to the last team.

Annihilation is the first installment in Jeff VanderMeer’s Southern Reach trilogy. It’s a strange little book – and a dense one at that – that reads as the biologist’s journal of the expedition.

The reader very quickly realizes that the biologist isn’t necessarily trustworthy. Little is revealed about the previous events at Area X, mostly because the biologist is unaware of those details. She doesn’t know the true purpose of the expeditions or what happened to the eleventh team (hers is supposed to be the twelfth) even though she’s got a significant connection to the previous expedition.

All in all, Annihilation is a weird but undeniably intriguing read. It leaves the reader with more questions than answers, to be totally honest. Fortunately, book two, Authority, picks up immediately after Annihilation and book three, Acceptance, is out now in bookstores. This is definitely a series that lends itself well to binge reading if only so you can find out what’s really going on.

9/14 Becky Lejeune

ANNIHILATION by Jeff VanderMeer. FSG Originals; First Edition edition (February 4, 2014). ISBN 978-0374104092. 208p.

Comments Off on ANNIHILATION by Jeff VanderMeer | Book Reviews, Fiction, Sci-Fi/Fantasy | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

« Previous Entries
Next Entries »