Reading Archive: 2017
December
2 Stars to SHELF LIFE: ALL WE EVER HAD WAS TIME by Alan Sadowsky
Description
After spending nine long years trying to solve one of life’s greatest puzzles, geneticist Isaac Rothman is about ready to cash in his chips and admit that his theory can’t be proven. At least that’s what he thinks until his father unexpectedly shares a forty-year-old secret that just may put Isaac on the threshold of changing the definition of what it means to be human. What starts out as an ambitious exercise in decoding DNA markers soon becomes a more significant mystery, connecting a prominent genetics laboratory, a small software consulting company, two eminent historians, an untested U.S. President, and a recent discovery in the Yucatan rainforest. This is the remarkable chronicle of a unique group of people, unpredictably brought together and faced with choices and decisions they never imagined they would ever encounter. Looking beyond the science and the technology, their actions ultimately reveal the true essence of friendship, family, and selfless sacrifice.
Review
Even if it had stuck with the Mexico angle, it wouldn't have been anything new - we've seen the whole rich white scientists discover something in the jungle and get famous angle too often for it to be credible anymore anyway. But it went off on some very weird tangents into overarching aliens, whilst still managing to maintain the American supereminence of wiping out terrorism and drug use with an unimpeachable Lily-white US PODUS at the helm. To sum, a mishmash of nonsense.
3 Stars to The Autobiography of Jean-Luc Picard by David A. Goodman
Description
The Autobiography of Jean-Luc Picard tells the story of one of the most celebrated names in Starfleet history. His extraordinary life and career makes for dramatic reading: court martials, unrequited love, his capture and torture at the hand of the Cardassians, his assimilation with the Borg and countless other encounters as captain of the celebrated Starship Enterprise.
Review
This was quite a plodding sort of a book. Biography in general isn't my field, and although many events were touched upon, it is of course impossible to expect any amount of detail. I didn't really feel Picard was captured very authentically, and the editors notes just annoyed me.
1 Stars to JK Rowling Is A Wizard by Alex C. McDonald
Description
Harry Potter was and still is the book phenomenon of a generation. Avid fans, proudly named Potterheads, live all around the world and have fond memories of the joy HP has given them. Perhaps you are a fan? To a varying degree? Have you ever wished that the magic in Harry Potter was real? Wished that you had a wand that could wield magic? Me too. In a humorous take on Harry Potter fandom, Sean Morris recounts this untrue true story of his discovery of actual-magic! What amazes Sean the most is the unquestionable connection the magic has with Rowling’s mythical world! As the mystery unravels Sean and his friends are soon faced with the most bizarre question a Potterhead would face. Is JK an actual magical witch? If you enjoy nerd humor and are a self-declared fan of Harry Potter, you’ll enjoy this parody adventure about 3 childhood fans incredible discovery. Recommended for a mature audience.
Review
Did not enjoy. 2 too many prangs, not enough accuracy in Britishness, weird, weird fixations on harry Potter.
5 Stars to Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty
Description
A space adventure set on a lone ship where the clones of a murdered crew must find their murderer -- before they kill again. It was not common to awaken in a cloning vat streaked with drying blood. At least, Maria Arena had never experienced it. She had no memory of how she died. That was also new; before, when she had awakened as a new clone, her first memory was of how she died. Maria's vat was in the front of six vats, each one holding the clone of a crew member of the starship Dormire, each clone waiting for its previous incarnation to die so it could awaken. And Maria wasn't the only one to die recently...
Review
a very exciting story. Not so much for the whodoneit, but more because the complexity of the characters after living so long is tremendous and handled brilliantly. Of course, one does wonder as to the motive for the whole thing (age and money, would they always combine in ennui? A lot of people seem to think so). I haven't read any of this author before to my memory, but this one will stick in the head for a while to come. Fast-paced and with a lot of what it means to be Human, I really enjoyed it.
3 Stars to The Mammoth Book of Mindblowing SF by Mike Ashley
Description
This collection of 21 innovative and mind-blowing stories includes contributions from Sci-Fi pioneers such as Stephen Baxter, Robert Reed, J. G. Ballard, Arthur C. Clarke, Alastair Reynolds, and Geoffrey Landis. Contents: Out of the sun / Arthur C. Clarke -- The Pevatron rats / Stephen Baxter -- The edge of the map / Ian Creasey -- Cascade Point / Timothy Zahn -- A dance to strange musics / Gregory Benford -- Palindromic / Peter Crowther -- Castle in the sky / Robert Reed -- The hole in the hole / Terry Bisson -- Hotrider / Keith Brooke -- Mother grasshopper / Michael Swanwick -- Waves and smart magma / Paul Di Filippo -- The black hole passes / John Varley -- The peacock king / Ted White, Larry McCombs -- Bridge / James Blish -- Anhedonia / Adam Roberts -- Tiger burning / Alastair Reynolds -- The width of the world / Ian Watson -- Our lady of the sauropods / Robert Silverberg -- Into the Miranda Rift / G. David Nordley -- The rest is speculation / Eric Brown -- Vacuum states / Geoffrey A. Landis
Review
I don't actually have the copy with me, to tell you all which of the stories I noted to investigate further. Suffice it to say that several were marked for future exploration either to the works in which they are set or for other works b their authors I have yet to read.
3 Stars to CHRONOSCAPE: The future is flexible we can change it by Roger Ley
Description
A story of time travel and alternative history. Physicist, Martin Riley, has discovered a way to receive news stories from two weeks in the future, but the Government steps in and cloaks the technology in secrecy. Despite Riley’s warnings, politicians on both sides of the Atlantic make radical alterations to world events. The first temporal alteration saves Princess Diana, the next saves the Twin Towers, but ripples travel far ahead and disturb Earth's future civilisation. The Timestream must be re-aligned, but at what cost?
Review
Another one of these mushy future stories. It's obviously extremely hard to pin down the future with the realism and clarity of today, but I really do feel saddened when the future appears in this sort of novel and it's all narrow, vague and out-of-focus. There's oftentimes no depth to the proceedings. Of course, there's also the fact that the whole work is eventually - spoiler alert - retconed out of existence. But hey, it was a fun, light story.
3 Stars to My Troubles With Time by Benson Grayson
Description
What happens when a friendless physics professor in his mid-thirties, still a virgin, travels back to December 1941 in a time machine he has invented. His goal is to become a national hero by destroying the Japanese fleet which bombed Pearl harbor. Against all odds, he is succeeds. Instead of being hailed as a hero, he is arrested and sentenced to death by a U.S. Navy Court Martial for mistakenly attacking the Japanese vessels before they launched their attack. The time machine mysteriously vanishes and his claims to have invented it are ridiculed. The professor's escape from this fate is one of the most unusual and most humerous ever encountered in fiction. The book is written in a light style intended to leave the reader in as cheerful a state as possible when completing it. At the same time, it is carefully researched and adheres closely to actual historical events. The author has a Ph.M. degree in East European History from Columbia University and served as a Foreign Service Officer of the State Department and as a Senior Research Fellow at the National Defense University. His seven previously published books are non-fiction works on international affairs and history.
Review
Bizarro fiction has never really gotten on well with me, and this lacked both genuineness and coherence both. Any novel where the lubrication level of of one's penis is a scientific indicator can't be all bad though, and despite our professor not quite being emotionally on a level with the rest of us I found him hard to put down. So would i read more? Yes, without a doubt. Is it a story I can say had a lot of merit? Probably not...
3 Stars to The Invisible Plan by Nathan Bay
Description
A cursed ruby, an invisible cloak, and a sinister secret plot to eradicate gay people converge for the perfect storm in this wickedly dark science-fiction adventure. Peter Peartree is a young scientist who could use some stimulation in his life. He's feeling demoted in his job at a prestigious cancer research lab, and his relationship with his boyfriend is hanging on by a thread. But everything is about to change when he and his two best friends, Sabrina and Ernesto, discover a secret box buried in the shadowy bowels of the laboratory basement. Soon Peter finds himself engaged in a lethal game of hide-and-seek with a homophobic scientist who's drunk on power. The entire LGBT community of Nashville is at risk and only Peter can save the day. Will he be able to protect them before it's too late? Find out in The Invisible Plan, an exciting new gay sci-fi book from the wild and wonderful imagination of author Nathan Bay. Do you want to peek behind the curtain? It's always fun to try before you buy! Be sure to scroll up and click the Preview button under the cover image for a look into the thrilling new life of Peter Peartree. You can read a sample of the first chapter.
Review
If gay fiction is your cup of tea, then why not? But to me, the sexuality was overcompensating here, even though the work had satirical elements and the whole thrust of the story is about changing people's sexuality.
4 Stars to The Good Samaritan by John Marrs
Description
An ITW Thriller Award finalist. She’s a friendly voice on the phone. But can you trust her? The people who call End of the Line need hope. They need reassurance that life is worth living. But some are unlucky enough to get through to Laura. Laura doesn’t want them to hope. She wants them to die. Laura hasn’t had it she’s survived sickness and a difficult marriage only to find herself heading for forty, unsettled and angry. She doesn’t love talking to people worse off than she is. She craves it. But now someone’s on to her—Ryan, whose world falls apart when his pregnant wife ends her life, hand in hand with a stranger. Who was this man, and why did they choose to die together? The sinister truth is within Ryan’s grasp, but he has no idea of the desperate lengths Laura will go to… Because the best thing about being a Good Samaritan is that you can get away with murder. Revised This edition of The Good Samaritan includes editorial revisions.
Review
Getting inside people's heads isn't easy, but this is handled well here. I found a compelling narrator and a twisty, turny plot. Probably not one to come back to, but I'm glad I stopped bye.
4 Stars to MindWar by Douglas E. Richards
Description
Nick Hall returns in a riveting stand-alone thriller, set in a stunning future that is rapidly approaching. From the NY Times bestselling author whose books have been downloaded over a million times. Nick Hall has revolutionary electronics implanted in his brain that allow him to read minds--including thoughts, memories, and even intent. He can know the passwords, future strategies, and innermost secrets of anyone he chooses, making him the most formidable man alive. But his status as the only mind reader in the world is about to change . . . Soon Hall is fighting for his life as he races to stop an unimaginably despicable terror plot. But his problems are only beginning. Because when a member of his inner circle betrays him, and the secret to mind reading leaks out, he is forced to wage war against a merciless mind reader of nearly unequaled brilliance. One who will stop at nothing to kill Hall, his colleagues, and the woman he loves. And one who is intent on ushering in a dramatic transformation of the human species--even at the cost of billions of lives. Based on actual research on computer-assisted mind reading, MindWar is a roller-coaster ride of a thriller. One that raises a number of intriguing possibilities about a future that is just around the corner. "Richards is a tremendous new talent" (Stephen Coonts) who can "keep you turning the pages all night long" (Douglas Preston) "Richards is a worthy successor to Michael Crichton"(SF Book.com) Near Future Science Fiction Thrillers by Douglas E. Richards) WIRED (Wired 1) AMPED (Wired 2) MIND'S EYE (Nick Hall 1) BRAINWEB (Nick Hall 2) MINDWAR (Nick Hall 3) QUANTUM LENS SPLIT SECOND GAME CHANGER Kids Science Fiction Thrillers (9 and up, enjoyed by kids and adults alike) TRAPPED (Prometheus Project 1) CAPTURED (Prometheus Project 2) STRANDED (Prometheus Project 3) OUT OF THIS WORLD THE DEVIL'S SWORD
Review
I am sure I already read this last October but have no record of doing so here, so I reread. Wonderful stuff as usual, although a very, very annoying ending. He's normally pretty good about tying things up, so I really hope the next book in the series will come soon.
5 Stars to Artemis by Andy Weir
Description
Jazz Bashara is a criminal. Well, sort of. Life on Artemis, the first and only city on the moon, is tough if you're not a rich tourist or an eccentric billionaire. So smuggling in the occasional harmless bit of contraband barely counts, right? Not when you've got debts to pay and your job as a porter barely covers the rent. Everything changes when Jazz sees the chance to commit the perfect crime, with a reward too lucrative to turn down. But pulling off the impossible is just the start of her problems, as she learns that she's stepped square into a conspiracy for control of Artemis itself—and that now, her only chance at survival lies in a gambit even riskier than the first.
Review
I had flashes back to Places in the Darkness with this one, there was a lot of the lawless frontier going on in both. Inevitably as with Ready Player one and his next book Armada, people will compare this to The Martian. There are similarities, but I think people always go into these things expecting too much. Lightning rarely strikes twice. So without overly looking at Mars for a comparison I really got into this. Authentically narrated from a female perspective as best I can judge, this was fun, not too hard on the brain and generally exciting in all the right spots. go Andy, a solid entry, even without Mark's shoulders to launch from.
November
5 Stars to Losers in Space by John Barnes
Description
It is the year 2129 . . . and fame is all that matters Susan and her friends are celebutantes. Their lives are powered by media awareness, fed by engineered meals, and underscored by cynicism. Everyone has a rating; the more viewers who ID you, the better. So Susan and her almost-boyfriend Derlock cook up a surefire plan: the nine of them will visit a Mars-bound spaceship and stow away. Their survival will be a media sensation, boosting their ratings across the globe. There’s only one problem: Derlock is a sociopath. Breakneck narrative, pointed cultural commentary, warm heart, accurate science, a kickass heroine, and a ticking clock . . . who could ask for more?
Review
He grins. “I know a woman who falls for a partial derivative when I see one.” you know, this was actually rather superb? The potential ability and intellect of these kids, set in such a bleak future really comes to shine through. When I thought they were all just airheads and wasn't really expecting much of this story, I assumed it would just be an average read. But the first EVA just over half way through brought a tear to my eye and from then on, it was clear to me I was hooked and cared about what happened. SO that's a great sign right there. whilst I can't really get behind all the slang and moral torpidity and the medianess is extreme, this is still a brave, engaging work with a lot riding inside.
4 Stars to Terminal Alliance (Janitors of the Post-Apocalypse, #1) by Jim C. Hines
Description
When the Krakau came to Earth, they planned to invite humanity into a growing alliance of sentient species. This would have worked out better for all involved if they hadn’t arrived after a mutated plague wiped out half the planet, turned the rest into shambling, near-unstoppable animals, and basically destroyed human civilization. You know—your standard apocalypse. The Krakau’s first impulse was to turn their ships around and go home. After all, it’s hard to establish diplomatic relations with mindless savages who eat your diplomats. Their second impulse was to try to fix us. A century later, human beings might not be what they once were, but at least they’re no longer trying to eat everyone. Mostly. Marion “Mops” Adamopoulos is surprisingly bright (for a human). As a Lieutenant on the Earth Mercenary Corps Ship Pufferfish, she’s in charge of the Shipboard Hygiene and Sanitation team. When a bioweapon attack by an alien race wipes out the Krakau command crew and reverts the rest of the humans to their feral state, only Mops and her team are left with their minds intact. Escaping the attacking aliens—not to mention her shambling crewmates—is only the beginning. Sure, Mops and her assortment of space janitors and plumbers can clean the ship, but flying the damn thing is another matter. As they struggle to keep the Pufferfish functioning and find a cure for their crew, they stumble onto a conspiracy that could threaten the entire alliance. A conspiracy born from the truth of what happened on Earth all those years ago…
Review
Absolutely cracking, I really got into this and found it exciting and interesting both. it does seem as if there's a lot more to come in this world, I hope as with Jim's other series we see many more titles here.
5 Stars to Places in the Darkness by Christopher Brookmyre
Description
A propulsive science fiction tale of murder and memory, all set on a futuristic space station. Hundreds of miles above Earth, the space station Ciudad de Cielo - The City in the Sky - is a beacon of hope for humanity's expansion into the stars. But not everyone aboard shares such noble ideals. Bootlegging, booze, and prostitution form a lucrative underground economy for rival gangs, which the authorities are happy to turn a blind eye to until a disassembled corpse is found dancing in the micro-gravity. In charge of the murder investigation is Nikki "Fix" Freeman, who is not thrilled to have Alice Blake, an uptight government goody-two-shoes, riding shotgun. As the bodies pile up, and the partners are forced to question their own memories, Nikki and Alice begin to realize that gang warfare may not be the only cause for the violence.
Review
Absolutely enthralling. I loved the way our viewpoint jigged back to show things again but from a different point of view, and the dirty, nasty side of Humanity in space has always held a fascination. This is truly gritty, and delightfully incisive.
4 Stars to A Gift of Time by Jerry Merritt
Description
When Micajah Fenton discovers a crater in his front yard with a broken time glider in the bottom and a naked, virtual woman on his lawn, he delays his plans to kill himself. While helping repair the marooned time traveler’s glider, Cager realizes it can return him to his past to correct a mistake that had haunted him his entire life. As payment for his help, the virtual creature living in the circuitry of the marooned glider, sends Cager back in time as his ten-year-old self, knowing everything he’d known at eighty and gives him access to advanced equations of space and time. But living life over knowing the future isn’t as easy as Cager has anticipated. His every action alters the future he remembers until much of what he remembers never happened at all. And those changes work against him at every turn, preventing him correcting the most serious mistake of his life. Now he must use his advanced mathematical ability to build his own time machine to go back and try again. But he needs a fortune even to begin. Then he receives help from a strange, young woman with no history. While perfecting time travel, Cager and his new partner overcome enormous problems, even being hunted by dinosaurs in the Cretaceous. After that, though, things get really bizarre.
Review
I was reminded, by the end, of one of Heinlein's weirder transhumanic endings. An interesting yarn here with a lot of ethical intrigue ,it did captivate me, even if I can't quite bring myself to call it best in class.
3 Stars to Voyager by Carl Rackman
Description
Voyager One. A tiny probe hurtling through the void of outer space more than twelve billion miles from Earth, it is the remotest human object in existence. Callie Woolf, Voyager Project Manager at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, is stunned when the probe unexpectedly downloads a series of increasingly disturbing images. Within 24 hours, she is running for her life. Brad Barnes, a conflicted FBI agent assigned to the case, soon uncovers a deadly plot that could change the balance of power on Earth and bring the United States to its knees. He must fight for survival in a race against time to defeat the conspirators, and confront a potentially explosive reality: that mankind may not be alone in the universe. Voyager is an action-packed conspiracy thriller by Carl Rackman.
Review
Despite being a very enjoyable thriller, the title and description of the work leads you to believe there's a lot more to do with Voyager and any sort of science than there actually is. I felt a little cheated.
3 Stars to Say Cheese and Die! (Goosebumps, #4) by R.L. Stine
Description
Greg thinks there is something wrong with the old camera he found. The photos keep turning out . . . different. When Greg takes a picture of his father's brand-new car, it's wrecked in the photo. And then his dad crashes the car. It's like the camera can tell the future--or worse. Maybe it makes the future!
Review
It's been, quite literally, decades since I read one of these. In fact I don't think I've ever come across one in a format other than on paper before - and then, that was hard copy Braille. Nothing outstanding, of course as a kid this would've hooked me; I don't think it's one I ever read. I picked it up because of halloween of course. So I'm a bit late...
3 Stars to One by David Karp
Description
Professor Burden supposed himself to be a loyal citizen of the State. But at the Department of Internal Examination the inquisitors quickly detected in him the ultimate heretic - to be reclaimed or eliminated. In this intense and powerful story of the future David Karp poses the 'Can a man's whole identity be remoulded?' Half satirical, half haunting, his picture of the Benevolent State in action is rendered credible by masterly narrative and convincing its impact might be intolerable but for the final twist of hope.
Review
Whilst this hasn't lost any of its impact, I think it needs more than a casual flip through for the story. as a novel to enjoy, it didn't work, but as a shocking glimpse into an authoritarian, benevolent culture it was quite scary.
3 Stars to The Lazarus Conundrum (Tomes of the Dead) by Paul Starkey
Description
In a world where the dead routinely return to life, the most shocking mystery is when someone doesn’t. Detective Inspector Helen Ogilvy is called to the scene of a murder. A young woman named Trinity Brown has been shot in the chest, and she’s stayed dead. The potential end to the zombie affliction should be a huge positive, but for a future UK teetering on the brink of becoming a police state, a country where healthcare has never been so well funded because lower mortality rates equal fewer zombies, the truth behind Trinity Brown’s non-resurrection has the potential to cause chaos, which is why a shadowy Government figure has persuaded Helen’s boss to keep a lid on what’s happened, at least for the moment. Now Helen has two days to solve two mysteries. Who killed Trinity Brown, and why did she stay dead?
Review
Zombie fiction isn't my usual thing, but I enjoyed the deeper side of this - the impacts behind a world with zombies in, displayed some time on, is an interesting take. I didn't see the big reveal of course, duh - because in retrospect, yes - so points for that too. Well-penned and fascinatingly detailed.
October
4 Stars to Half Life (Russell's Attic #2) by S.L. Huang
Description
Cas Russell is back — and so is her deadly supermath. Cas may be an antisocial mercenary who uses her instant calculating skills to mow down enemies, but she’s trying hard to build up a handful of morals. So when she’s hired by an anguished father to rescue his kid from an evil tech conglomerate, it seems like the perfect job to use for ethics practice. Then she finds her client’s daughter . . . who is a robot. The researchers who own the ’bot will stop at nothing to get it back, but the kid’s just real enough for Cas to want to protect her — even though she knows she’s risking everything for a collection of metal and wires. But when the case blows up in her face, it plunges Cas into the crossfire of a massive, decades-long corporate espionage war. Cas knows logically that she isn’t saving a child. She’s stealing a piece of technology, one expensive and high-stakes enough that spiriting it away is going to get innocent people killed. But she has a distraught father on one hand and a robot programmed to act like a distraught daughter on the other, and she’s never been able to sit by when a kid is in trouble — even a fake one. Screw morals and ethics. All Cas wants to do is save one little girl.
Review
I had to reread book 1, of course, but having caught back up I really enjoyed this second kickass title. As antihero's go Russell's got some serious stuff going on in her head, but somehow it all works and fits neatly together. Bring on book 3!
5 Stars to Double Helix Omnibus (Star Trek) by Peter David
Description
Like a strand of mutating DNA, a deadly conspiracy winds its way through the Alpha Quadrant, even as it stretches across several years of Starfleet history. This special omnibus volume contains the entire bestselling saga-by some of Star Trek's most popular authors: Book One: Infection John Gregory Betancourt Deanna Troi's life is endangered by a mysterious plague that threatens to spread throughout the Federation and beyond! Book Two: Vectors Dean Wesley Smith & Kristine Kathryn Rusch On the Cardassian space station known as Terok Nor, Dr. Katherine Pulaski struggles to heal the planet Bajor! Book Three: Red Sector Diane Carey An elderly Dr. McCoy reunites with Ambassador Spock to save the Romulan royal family-and a new generation! Book Four: Quarantine John Vornholt Lieutenant Tom Riker joins forces with the outlaw Maquis to rescue a world in peril! Book Five: Double or Nothing Peter David Along with Captain Mackenzie Calhoun of the Starship Excalibur, Jean-Luc Picard tracks the deadly contagion to its source! Book Six: The First Virtue Michael Jan Friedman & Christie Golden Years before commanding the U.S.S. Enterprise™, a young Picard must prevent a war -- and witness the secret origin of a diabolical threat that would someday menace all he cares for!
Review
Of course I read the individual volumes making up this series in my teens and yes, I naturally reread them again for Goodreads. But never before have I come across an omnibus where I literally read them back to back without a transition, so I quite liked that. The first book, Infection, is a pretty standard depiction of an early TNG novel. There’s a good lot of Klingon in there and some Will and Deanna, but it very much has the feel of an early season work. Vectors, set on DS9 prior to its television debut, was a fascinating read originally because it took us away from the screen but showed us characters we already knew. It’s still quite an intriguing story, more so for the back story of Pulaski than anything else, although we do get quite a lot of Quark and his family and some of the simmering that’s trademark Kira and Odo. Starting my favoured arc is Red sector, which alongside Quarantine and Double or Nothing are probably my favourite Trek Trilogy.Carey’s done a superb job in capturing not only a young Starfleet Ensign’s insecurities here, but also his overwhelming awe for Spock and McCoy, which is of course endemic to their generation. We also see a new class of ship here doing some very interesting work, and get a look into the lower ranks (which really worked well onscreen with both TNG and Voyager). Quarantine takes advantage of the appearance of Tom Riker on The Next Generation whilst providing us another glimpse into events before they became televised. We follow Chakotay and his ragtag Maquis crew, Tuvok appears (of course), and we get a solid link between a TNG and DS9 episode into the bargain. Peter David’sDouble or Nothing was my introduction to Calhoun and the Excalibre, and whilst he brought the series to a shatteringly powerful and explosive end, his irreverence took a little getting used to. I do enjoy his style of writing, and if the first book was plodding and formulaic, the formula was here too, but somehow the excitement managed to carry on as well. And then after everything is all over, we go back with Friedman to the Stargazer, to see where it all began. Sadly Picard’s not really made much of here, but on the plus side we get a lot of Jack Crusher and Tuvok (again!) to add one more thread into this rich, complex tapestry of this interesting and overall very satisfying series.
2 Stars to Diary of a Robot (MachineGod, #1) by Gabriel Wolf
Description
Képzelje el, mi lenne, ha Ön egyik reggel arra ébredne, hogy semmit nem tud. A felismerés lenne egyetlen képessége. Ébredéskor felismeri, hogy felismer. Utána felismeri, hogy van létezés és hogy Ön is létezik. Ilyen apró lépésekkel tudna csak haladni a tudás ösvényén. Mindent az abszolút nulláról kellene elkezdenie. Képzelje el, milyen abszurd helyzeteket szülne az, ha semmiről nem tudná mi micsoda és mindent a nulláról kéne újra megtanulnia. Még az emberi test részeinek sem ismerné sem a nevét, sem funkciójukat. Azt sem tudná mivel egyen, mit egyen és egyáltalán hogyan kell enni! Mennyi ideig tartana Önnek az abszolút nulláról elérni ugyanarra a szintre, ahol most tart, amikor ezt az ismertetőt olvassa? Valószínűleg évtizedekig tartana! De ennek a történetnek a szereplője más, mint Ön. Ő is pontosan így ébredt, neki viszont van egy képessége, ami Önnek adott esetben nem lenne. Ezzel a képességgel az őt felhasználó/kihasználó emberek sem számoltak: Lehet, hogy a nulláról indul, de azt nem tudják milyen sebességgel képes tanulni. Mennyi idő alatt jut el e történet szereplője a nulláról egy gyerek szellemi szintjére? Vagy egy felnőttére, ha esetleg sokkal gyorsabban tanul az embereknél? Mi lesz akkor, ha tovább fejlődik, mint egy átlagos ember? Vagy tovább, mint bármilyen ember? Mivé válik majd akkor? Lehet majd még akkor irányítani? Kell-e egyáltalán? Barátunk lesz majd, vagy inkább az ellenségünk?
Review
Very enjoyable start, absolutely rubbish ending, and some amusingly strange uses of English in terms of dialogue. Not really a series I think I want to carry on with
4 Stars to Satellite by Nick Lake
Description
A teenage boy born in space makes his first trip to Earth. He’s going to a place he’s never been before: home. Moon 2 is a space station that orbits approximately 250 miles above Earth. It travels 17,500 miles an hour, making one full orbit every ninety minutes. It’s also the only home that fifteen-year-old Leo and two other teens have ever known. Born and raised on Moon 2, Leo and the twins, Orion and Libra, are finally old enough and strong enough to endure the dangerous trip to Earth. They’ve been “parented” by teams of astronauts since birth and have run countless drills to ready themselves for every conceivable difficulty they might face on the flight. But has anything really prepared them for life on terra firma? Because while the planet may be home to billions of people, living there is more treacherous than Leo and his friends could ever have imagined, and their very survival will mean defying impossible odds.
Review
Written from a young person's POV is well-warn now, but there was something raw and beautiful in the way it was done here. The story is different, I don't think I expected as much Humanity and beauty from it as the book jacket suggested. The writing wound me up, but I think that's because reading it with either a speech synthesizer or Braille display was irritating (ampersands and standalone u's stick out on both mediums). But that aside the adventure was fun, Leo's determination and general cleverness made the work shine.
4 Stars to Ironfoot (The Enchanter General, #1) by Dave Duncan
Description
Medieval magic, murder, and mayhem! It is 1164, and for a hundred years England has been ruled by the Normans. A young Saxon boy named Durwin, crippled by a childhood accident, had caught the eye of a Norman sage teaching at a rural school of magic. Realizing that the boy had promise, Durwin was made stable boy, and eventually allowed to attend classes. Now twenty, Durwin is proficient enough that he is assigned to teach, but the other sages refuse to promote him and he is hassled by the Norman juniors for his disability. But those troubles turn out to be the least of his worries when he manages to corrects errors in an ancient corrupted spell, which promptly prophesies murder. Sure enough, word soon reaches the school that one of the local count’s house sage has died, perhaps slain by black magic. Durwin is whisked away to the family’s castle, only to find that one death was only the beginning. The young sage quickly learns of a dizzying plot to assassinate King Henry. Dropped into the middle of the complex politics of England’s royal courts, can Durwin stop them in time?
Review
a delightful period work, with a large number of interesting tidbits about Durwin's future thrown at us to wet our appetites for future installments (2 of which are promised). The Saxon Norman background is well-sculpted, the youth of our protagonist deftly twitched into a typical student mold (a la Alfeo ) and both the blind and the Welsh get a mention, what's not to like!
3 Stars to The Daleth Effect by Harry Harrison
Description
A top Israeli scientist discovers something that will revolutionize travel both here and in space, and returns to his native Denmark for reasons revealed later in the book. Other nations (primarily cold war America and Soviet Union) try to acquire this technology, providing much of the tension and the climax of the novel.
Review
Not something to enjoy, this was actually quite a sad, dispiriting, negative glimpse at what power and politics and bullheadedness can do. Rather enjoyed the whole Danish thing.
3 Stars to Confessions of a Learner Parent: Parenting like a boss. (An inexperienced, slightly ineffectual boss.) by Sam Avery
Description
'I always wanted kids - but then again, I always wanted a loft conversion. Both are pretty easy to put off as they're very expensive and tend to wreck your house.'Stand-up comedian Sam Avery (aka the Learner Parent) started his award-winning blog when his twin boys were born. A million nappies, Peppa Pig episodes and a lot less sleep later, he shares all the lows, highs and hilarious in-betweens of his experiences of first-time parenthood in this, his highly anticipated first book. Sam's honest, messy and laugh-out-loud account of trying for a baby (which transpired to be babIES) and figuring out what to do with them once they arrived - right up to the toddler years of talking, walking and tantrum-ing - will have you crying with laughter between your own nappy changes and nursery runs.
Review
Made me chuckle in spots, and of course, almost everything in there (apart from the football and twins) is something I can relate to as a parent.
4 Stars to We See Everything by William Sutcliffe
Description
Alan ist passionierter Gamer. Sein Talent im Computerspielen hat ihm den Job seiner Träume eingebracht: Auf einer Militärbasis an einem geheimen Ort wird er als Drohnenpilot ausgebildet. Lex lebt im Streifen – im übervölkerten, von Bomben zerstörten und abgeriegelten Außenbezirk Londons. An die wachsamen, feindlichen Drohnen, die in der Luft über ihm sirren, hat Lex sich längst gewöhnt ... Diese beiden jungen Männer werden sich nie treffen, doch ihre Leben werden sich auf dramatische Weise kreuzen: Weil Alan gerade ein hochrangiges Ziel zum Abschuss zugewiesen wurde. Für Alan ist es #K622. Doch für Lex ist es sein Vater ...
Review
There was something sharply Human here, a real feeling of understanding just how and why things are working out for both our main characters. I can't say I was overly impressed with the lack of detail as to the why's and how things got to such a stage, because of course it would've been good to know - but the two very different lives are power enough to make this a shiningly solid glimpse into a disturbing future.
5 Stars to Warcross (Warcross, #1) by Marie Lu
Description
For the millions who log in every day, Warcross isn’t just a game—it’s a way of life. The obsession started ten years ago and its fan base now spans the globe, some eager to escape from reality and others hoping to make a profit. Struggling to make ends meet, teenage hacker Emika Chen works as a bounty hunter, tracking down Warcross players who bet on the game illegally. But the bounty hunting world is a competitive one, and survival has not been easy. To make some quick cash, Emika takes a risk and hacks into the opening game of the international Warcross Championships—only to accidentally glitch herself into the action and become an overnight sensation. Convinced she’s going to be arrested, Emika is shocked when instead she gets a call from the game’s creator, the elusive young billionaire Hideo Tanaka, with an irresistible offer. He needs a spy on the inside of this year’s tournament in order to uncover a security problem . . . and he wants Emika for the job. With no time to lose, Emika’s whisked off to Tokyo and thrust into a world of fame and fortune that she’s only dreamed of. But soon her investigation uncovers a sinister plot, with major consequences for the entire Warcross empire.
Review
Pulse-pounding exciting older YA. The twist at the end was delightful, even if it was a little foreshadowed, and the technology was just the sort of thing to keep a teen engaged. Strong female girls leading these things are fast becoming a trope, but it really works here and I will be keen to follow the fallout of this exciting, edgy thriller.
4 Stars to The Genius Plague by David Walton
Description
In this science fiction thriller, brothers are pitted against each other as a pandemic threatens to destabilize world governments by exerting a subtle mind control over survivors. Neil Johns has just started his dream job as a code breaker in the NSA when his brother, Paul, a mycologist, goes missing on a trip to collect samples in the Amazon jungle. Paul returns with a gap in his memory and a fungal infection that almost kills him. But once he recuperates, he has enhanced communication, memory, and pattern recognition. Meanwhile, something is happening in South America; others, like Paul, have also fallen ill and recovered with abilities they didn't have before. But that's not the only pattern--the survivors, from entire remote Brazilian tribes to American tourists, all seem to be working toward a common, and deadly, goal. Neil soon uncovers a secret and unexplained alliance between governments that have traditionally been enemies. Meanwhile Paul becomes increasingly secretive and erratic. Paul sees the fungus as the next stage of human evolution, while Neil is convinced that it is driving its human hosts to destruction. Brother must oppose brother on an increasingly fraught international stage, with the stakes: the free will of every human on earth. Can humanity use this force for good, or are we becoming the pawns of an utterly alien intelligence?
Review
I'd been looking forward to reading this for ages, and it took a sheer, physical effort to put it down at 1 in the morning to have enough sleep for work the following day. A fantastically-written adventure, with a terrifying - what is that, it's not an epigraph as such but it's pre-prologue - and a host of characters that just click and work. One of the best reads of the year so far, without a doubt.
3 Stars to Orbital Decay (The Afterblight Chronicles) by Malcolm F. Cross
Description
Before the Blight had a name – before the world died – there was a chance to stop the AB-Virus in its tracks. It almost worked. Astronaut Alvin Burrows holds the key: a literal Pandora’s box full of infected lab mice. But time is running out, and even orbit isn’t far enough to escape the pandemic. Burrows’ and his crewmates’ families are caught in quarantines on the ground, the death toll is rising, and maddened gangs are beginning their rampage. The International Space Station is a world all its own, two hundred and sixty miles above the Earth, circling the globe every ninety-two minutes, fifty-four seconds; a fragile metal shell in which six men and women are trapped in close confines for months at a time. And something more sinister than the plague is loose on Station. Something driving one of the astronauts to murder the crew, one by one...
Review
This was actually quite an enjoyable read. Tin-foil appeared 12 times, which pulls one from the story to focus on the wording rather than enjoying it, but if you can overlook that the story itself was quite interesting.
3 Stars to Doc Martin: Practice Makes Perfect by Sam North
Description
Doc Practice Makes Perfect [Paperback] North, Sam
Review
I was late to the television programme but now enjoy my hour of amusement whenever this is on air. Having not seen the earlier episodes this was a quick and diverting way of filling in some of the blanks.
September
5 Stars to Paradox Bound by Peter Clines
Description
Eli’s willing to admit it: he’s a little obsessed with the mysterious woman he met years ago. Okay, maybe a lot obsessed. But come on, how often do you meet someone who’s driving a hundred-year-old car, clad in Revolutionary-War era clothes, wielding an oddly modified flintlock rifle—someone who pauses just long enough to reveal strange things about you and your world before disappearing in a cloud of gunfire and a squeal of tires? So when the traveler finally reappears in his life, Eli is determined that this time he’s not going to let her go without getting some answers. But his determination soon leads him into a strange, dangerous world and a chase not just across the country but through a hundred years of history—with nothing less than America’s past, present, and future at stake.
Review
Totally enjoyed, start to finish. The first chapter - even the TOC - just sets the scene for a delightful, occasionally weird but never boring work. Not quite sure it's worth as much as the eBook is priced, that does seem high. I know authors need to be compensated and to be fair, having read it, I probably would've paid a bit more, paradoxically. But in terms of contrasts with the prices of other works it was up on the high end of the scale. Not so bad for me when I am a big fan of the author though. Please keep telling stories, Mr Clines.
4 Stars to Desperate Hours by David Mack
Description
An all-original novel based upon the explosive new series on CBS All Access Aboard the Starship Shenzhou, Lieutenant Michael Burnham, a human woman raised and educated among Vulcans, is promoted to acting first officer. But if she wants to keep the job, she must prove to Captain Philippa Georgiou that she deserves to have it. She gets her chance when the Shenzhou must protect a Federation colony that is under attack by an ancient alien vessel that has surfaced from the deepest fathoms of the planet's dark, uncharted sea. As the menace from this mysterious vessel grows stronger, Starfleet declares the colony expendable in the name of halting the threat. To save thousands of innocent lives, Burnham must infiltrate the alien ship. But to do so, she needs to face the truth of her troubled past, and seek the aid of a man she has tried to avoid her entire life--until now.
Review
So, having enjoyed the onscreen debut of Discovery tremendously I settled down to read this novel hoping for a good yarn. And it being Mack, of course that's exactly what I got. One does feel as if the introduction of too many officers in one paragraph might have not been such a good idea, and it is hard to match Mack's description of Nambue with his televised depiction, but apart from those small things the characterisations don't seem too bad. The plot is interesting, and of course it's fascinating to see some of the TOS stuff (namely the Enterprise and Spock) out of context. What's less clear are the implications of Burnham's introduction into Spock's upbringing. I don't know how much detail there is going to be on this in future episodes or novels, but of course it's far more palatable to canon if Sarek's raising of her was remote (either in time or in place) from Spock's. Retrofitting Burnham's presence into Spock's childhood is hard enough for fans to swallow and here at least on the page, we do hear from Spock himself that "She is a few years older than I am, so we rarely moved in the same social or academic circles". I have no problem with the retcon if it adds value - and there's plenty of material here, Mack shows a brilliant emotional disconnect between Spock and his parents with Burnham as something of a valve for those emotions. I did worry that any connection now between Burnham and Spock would devalue what Spock gained from Jean-Luc Picard at the end of Unification, over a hundred years on. Niggles, then: Why holograms? The Enterprise is classed as a newer ship than the Shenzhou. The Enterprise uses viewscreens for communiques, the Shenzhou holograms. Is this a TV thing - are screen images too antiquated? Next, does weapons technology really advance so quickly? According to the Star Trek Spaceflight Chronology, Phaser banks replace lasers for the Constitution class of starship by 2366. I know the Enterprise got hers early, but I thought it was post-Talos by more years than seem indicated here. maybe I'm wrong, it's a very fine point. Finally there's Burnum and saru's relationship. Onscreen they're depicted much less angrily towards each other. is there a hatchet burying in the coming year? I wouldn't say they worked well together onscreen, but certainly there's a depth of feeling on the page which I am very much looking forward to seeing developed. My nebulous concerns notwithstanding, it's great to see this as the first story in an exciting, new series of adventures. I would like to read a more fleshed-out version of the opening set of Discovery episodes, and then we'll have a whole new captain and crew to play with when we actually encounter the Discovery.
3 Stars to Politician (Bio of a Space Tyrant, #3) by Piers Anthony
Description
Political prisoner He awoke in a tiny lightless cell, groping for memory…memory that had been erased. Hope Hubris, Jupiter governor, progressive populist, warrior hero, and presidential candidate…a “mem-washed” tool of the enemy. And if his captors’ plan worked, Hope would destroy his own political career, leaving the fate of his planet in the hands of its corrupt presidential incumbent—Tocsin. But Hope Hubris had a destiny to fulfill. He had the cunning to discover code words that could reactivate his mind…the strength to resist addiction to their drugs…the power to win the support of his countrymen, and finally the courage to make an agonizing sacrifice that would ensure his planet's future and his own destiny… Tyrant of Jupiter
Review
Good start to this one, a narrative technique to keep the story coming that worked well, although not half confusing when you're falling asleep. probably the best of the whole lot apart from the first one.
3 Stars to Executive (Bio of a Space Tyrant, #4) by Piers Anthony
Description
Doomed to a madman’s hell He was shaping his times as no one before him dared, mercilessly scourging an entire planet of crime and corruption wherever he found them—and destroying anyone who stood in his way. Absolute dictator of the United States of Jupiter, Hope Hubris was destined to become the most hated and feared man of an era, a tyrant charged with countless heinous acts and sexual cruelties. Yet justice remained his fiercest passion. Now to insure his goals, Hope would assume an alternate identity and become a rebel—the brilliant leader in a revolution dedicated to his own overthrow. To fulfill his dreams he would sacrifice love…and plunge headlong into madness…
Review
It's not the sort of action I thought I'd be enjoying; the series seems to have flattened off a little here, but life is sometimes I suppose like that. Probably not a series I'll come to rereading again, but I'm glad I picked them up to finish them at last.
3 Stars to Statesman (Bio of a Space Tyrant, #5) by Piers Anthony
Description
This is the fifth in the series BIO OF A SPACE TYRANT, featuring the stages in the life of Hope Hubris, the Tyrant of Jupiter, and his beloved sister Spirit.
Review
Despite going a little metaphysical this was a well-rounded end to the saga for its time.
4 Stars to Renegades (Randoms, #3) by David Liss
Description
Science fiction super fan Zeke is back in action as he and his friends work to finally take down the evil Phands in this hilarious and exciting conclusion to the Randoms series. Zeke has returned to Earth and, as usual, nothing is going like he planned. The plan was: escape from Junup, rescue Director Ghli Wixxix and Captain Qwlessl, stop the Phands, and finally get Tamret to officially be his girlfriend. Instead, he gets stuck in an Earth facility for disobedient children, is stranded on an unknown and supposedly deserted planet with Villainic, of all beings, and Tamret kind of broke up with him. He’s not entirely sure. Nothing and no one is as it seems, and all Zeke knows is that he’s tired of the Phands trying to take over the galaxy. With Smelly gone and his friends scattered, though, it’s going to take a lot more than Zeke’s expert sci-fi knowledge to save them this time.
Review
Although I really enjoyed reading this as a great way to close the arc, I couldn't help but feel that the ending was a bit of a let down. Still, the humour and fun was there, and even if the story didn't end precisely in the way I'd have chosen, I can't say I haven't enjoyed the whole trilogy very much, especially the opener.
2 Stars to Naive Hope by Mike Hood
Description
On a whim, a 16 year old and a 7 year old set out on an impossible mission to save the world from a disease. As the world is hit by a disease that prevents women from reproducing, two boys with very different issues form a bond that will change their lives. Bud is a 16 year old social outcast, following his father's path to be a farmer. He has better relationships with animals than with people. He struggles with depression and self-doubt. Juan is a 7 year old, dark skinned, Latino boy who is interested in boys, but he doesn't even know yet about the repercussions he will encounter by telling people that. Bud and Juan agree on a whim to try to fix the fertility issue. As they work toward a solution for the next several years, their lives are drastically changed. And while democracies become less free, crime rates soar, and suicides become prevalent, their race to save humanity becomes more dire. Even if a solution can be found, will the world be worth saving?
Review
A depressingly weird bit of sophistry. Kudos to the pro-gay themes, but the end didn't really amount to anything. And as satisfying as that may be as an allegory, it doesn't work at the end of a novel.
3 Stars to Syncing Forward by W. Lawrence
Description
ISBN moved from less recent edition here
Review
Despite a soft and unsatisfactory ending, the idea here was interesting and kept me reading. Unfortunately I can't say that'll impel me to pick up more by this author but this one at least held my interest.
4 Stars to Copycat by Alex Lake
Description
Your stalker is everywhere. Your stalker knows everything. But the real problem is that your stalker is you. Sarah Havenant discovers–when an old friend points it out–that there are two Facebook profiles in her name. One, she recognizes: it is hers. The other, she has never seen. But everything in it is accurate. Recent photos of her and her friends, her and her husband, her and her kids. Even of her new kitchen. A photo taken inside her house. She is bemused, angry, and worried. Who was able to do this? Any why? But this, it soon turns out, is just the beginning. It is only now–almost as though someone has been watching, waiting for her to find the profile–that her problems really start…
Review
And again, Lake's holding nothing back with the introduction of the baddy. This felt a little more cohesive though, a little better in terms of style. I actually enjoyed reading the whole thing, and of course it's interesting to have a British author emulate the Americas for a change. Very much enjoyed this one.
4 Stars to All Rights Reserved (Word$, #1) by Gregory Scott Katsoulis
Description
Speth Jime is anxious to deliver her Last Day speech and celebrate her transition into adulthood. The moment she turns fifteen, Speth must pay for every word she speaks, for every nod, for every scream and even every gesture of affection. She’s been raised to know the consequences of falling into debt, and can’t begin to imagine the pain of having her eyes shocked for speaking words that she’s unable to afford. But when Speth’s friend Beecher commits suicide rather than work off his family’s crippling debt, she can’t express her shock and dismay without breaking her Last Day contract and sending her family into Collection. Rather than read her speech—rather than say anything at all—she closes her mouth and vows never to speak again, sparking a movement that threatens to destroy her, her family and the entire city around them.
Review
This was very, very solid YA. A gritty and frankly terrifying future with an innovative idea behind it. Echoes of Eoin Colfer in his darker, more serious moments.
5 Stars to A Legacy of Spies (George Smiley, #9) by John le Carré
Description
Peter Guillam, staunch colleague and disciple of George Smiley of the British Secret Service, otherwise known as the Circus, is living out his old age on the family farmstead on the south coast of Brittany when a letter from his old Service summons him to London. The reason? His Cold War past has come back to claim him. Intelligence operations that were once the toast of secret London, and involved such characters as Alec Leamas, Jim Prideaux, George Smiley and Peter Guillam himself, are to be scrutinized by a generation with no memory of the Cold War and no patience with its justifications. Interweaving past with present so that each may tell its own intense story, John le Carré has spun a single plot as ingenious and thrilling as the two predecessors on which it looks back: The Spy Who Came in from the Cold and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. In a story resonating with tension, humor and moral ambivalence, le Carré and his narrator Peter Guillam present the reader with a legacy of unforgettable characters old and new.
Review
How absolutely perfect, to see the twilight of these giants done so well. Lapidary is such a superlative term for Smiley, it fits like a glove doesn't it? And on drawing to a close, I felt such a powerful conglomerate of sadness, of wonder and awe and warn-down piece. The world has changed so much since the events rehashed here happened, and yet there's so much to take away from the things that were done and those that remained unsaid. Its a horrible world, a world where the narrow, comfortable view of Humanity as helping your fellow man one-on-one is subsumed to the greater good. But yes, to cap Smiley's story with this triumph is splendid. Don't read if you're not familiar with his exploits, though.
4 Stars to Artemis Begins by Eoin Colfer
Description
Book description to come.
Review
So it's national read a book day or something, and I'm in the midst of a tome that, statistically speaking, I cannot possibly finish before midnight tomorrow, never mind today. I wanted something short to read during a coffee break. I think four minutes, give or take a sip. Very entertaining, but of course I greatly enjoyed Artemis on audio tape all them years ago. Trouble is I want to read them again now!
August
4 Stars to After On: A Novel of Silicon Valley by Rob Reid
Description
The definitive novel of today’s Silicon Valley, After On flash-captures our cultural and technological moment with up-to-the-instant savvy. Matters of privacy and government intrusion, post-Tinder romance, nihilistic terrorism, artificial consciousness, synthetic biology, and much more are tackled with authority and brash playfulness by New York Times bestselling author Rob Reid. Meet Phluttr—a diabolically addictive new social network and a villainess, heroine, enemy, and/or bestie to millions. Phluttr has ingested every fact and message ever sent to, from, and about her innumerable users. Her capabilities astound her makers—and they don’t even know the tenth of it. But what’s the purpose of this stunning creation? Is it a front for something even darker and more powerful than the NSA? A bid to create a trillion-dollar market by becoming “The UberX of Sex”? Or a reckless experiment that could spawn the digital equivalent of a middle-school mean girl with enough charisma, dirt, and cunning to bend the entire planet to her will? Phluttr has it in her to become the greatest gossip, flirt, or matchmaker in history. Or she could cure cancer, bring back Seinfeld, then start a nuclear war. Whatever she does, it’s not up to us. But a motley band of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and engineers might be able to influence her. After On achieves the literary singularity—fusing speculative satire and astonishing reality into a sharp-witted, ferociously believable, IMAX-wide view of our digital age.
Review
So, yeah - over 2,700 exclamation marks are a bit of a turnoff. and some of the nebulosity and sheer randomness? It goes a tad far. But as a story, it's good. As a montage of the valley, it seems to work. As a pinhole analysis of Humanity, flaws and all, it's pretty damned hot. SO despite feeling frustrated on a pret-ty regular basis ... I liked it. I enjoyed it. I read it at odd hours of the morning when I couldn't sleep and found myself picking it up when I had plenty of other things that needed my attention.
4 Stars to The Escape Orbit by James White
Description
Cover Artist and Interior Jack GaughanSTRANDED ON A PLANET OF MONSTERSWhen the survivors of his starship were taken prisoner by the insect-creatures against whom Earth had fought a bitter war for nearly a century, Sector Marshal Warren expected to be impounded in a prison camp like those the EArthmen maintained. But the "Bugs" had a simpler method of dealing with prisoners--they dumped them on an uninhabited planet, without weapons or tools, and left them to fend for themsselves against the planet's environment and strange monsters. A "Bug" spaceship orbited above, guarding them.Escape was impossible, the "Bugs" told them--but it was absolutely necessary, for reasons Warren couldn't tell even his own men.
Review
Another White gem. Packed to the rafters with the baggage of its day, of course -but a quick and exciting story.
2 Stars to The Day the Earth Stood Still by Arthur R. Tofte
Description
A full-length version of the short story upon which the world-famous film was based. With photos from the movie.
Review
Without having seen the film this is quite typical vintage pulp. Stirred nothing inside sadly.
3 Stars to Terminal Event by Robert Vaughan
Description
An Antarctic research team discovers a perfectly machined gold canister, 2500 feet below the surface of the ice. There are strange, and unrecognizable markings on the canister. How did it get there, and where did it come from? It is sent back to a research center in the U.S. where it is opened in an environmentally controlled room. Inside are six human embryos, and even more shocking is the discovery that the embryos are viable. Should they be brought to term? Terminal Event tells the intriguing story of who the embryos are, where they came from, and how they spent 100 million years waiting to be discovered.
Review
Broadly enjoyable but this work falls afoul of the usual problem of referring to a different culture in familiar terms (why is a dog a dog, but a radio an audio receiver?) It's the little details that just slip under the skin and cause irritation. Not really a new concept by any stretch and the whole holographic projection thing was I think a stretch also, but I can't say that I didn't enjoy it.
3 Stars to Silent Child (Silent Child, #1) by Sarah A. Denzil
Description
In the summer of 2006, Emma Price watched helplessly as her six-year-old son's red coat was fished out of the River Ouse. It was the tragic story of the year - a little boy, Aiden, wandered away from school during a terrible flood, fell into the river, and drowned. His body was never recovered. Ten years later, Emma has finally rediscovered the joy in life. She's married, pregnant, and in control again... ... until Aiden returns. Too traumatized to speak, he raises endless questions and answers none. Only his body tells the story of his decade-long disappearance. The historic broken bones and injuries cast a mere glimpse into the horrors Aiden has experienced. Aiden never drowned. Aiden was taken. As Emma attempts to reconnect with her now teenage son, she must unmask the monster who took him away from her. But who, in their tiny village, could be capable of such a crime? It's Aiden who has the answers, but he cannot tell the unspeakable. This dark and disturbing psychological novel will appeal to fans of The Widow and The Butterfly Garden.
Review
Even though I didn't see the evildoer coming which would have ordinarily pushed this up to a 4, the constant nods to skin conditions and pregnancy to the point of overwhelming were a put-off, as were the slight americanisms which all served to take the Britishness out of the work. I should probably have stopped to note them as there were only a couple, but they were very jarring in such a quintessentially English work. Nonetheless an enjoyable read with an exciting climax.
4 Stars to A Calculated Magic by Robert Weinberg
Description
Journeying to Las Vegas on a quest for his master, Merlin the Magician, Jack Collins seeks out Old Man in the Mountain, a demon force that plans to unleash a deadly biological plague and can only be countered with advanced mathematics. Original.
Review
Bringing the story to a grand close with all the irreverence of the opener. what's not to like? A feel good, happy set of adventures.
3 Stars to Martians, Go Home by Fredric Brown
Description
THEY WERE GREEN THEY WERE LITTLE THEY WERE BALD AS BILLIARD BALLS AND THEY WERE EVERYWHERE Luke Devereaux was a science-fiction writer, holed up in a desert shack waiting for inspiration. He was the first man to see a Martian...but he wasn't the last! It was estimated that a billion of them had arrived, one to every three human beings on Earth—obnoxious green creatures who could be seen and heard, but not harmed and who probed private sex lives as shamelessly as they probed government secrets. No one knew why they had come. No one knew how to make them go away—except, perhaps, Luke Devereaux. Unfortunately Devereaux was going slightly bananas, so it wouldn't be easy. But for a science-fiction writer nothing was impossible...
Review
Good for gentle amusement and a light, little read, I must confess to putting it away and falling straight asleep without much reflection upon closing the thing.
5 Stars to A Logical Magician by Robert Weinberg
Description
When Jack Collins answers an ad asking for a young man with a background in mathematics and fantastic literature, he finds himself working for the legendary Merlin and battling an evil computer hacker who has summoned an ancient demon to terrorize Chicago
Review
I'm pretty sure it doesn't deserve 5 stars for the quality of the writing and characterisations, but alongside books like Wizard's Bane, The Reluctant Sorcerer and Off to be the Wizard I can't help but be thrown madly into these geeky, cute fantasy works.
5 Stars to Cumulus by Eliot Peper
Description
"Cumulus is your new favorite surveillance-fueled dystopian novel. It's a future we can all recognize--and one that we should all be genuinely afraid of." -Ars TechnicaIn the not-so-distant future, economic inequality and persistent surveillance push Oakland to the brink of civil war.Lilly Miyamoto is a passionate analog photographer striving to pursue an ever more distant dream. Huian Li is preeminent among the Silicon Valley elite as the founder and CEO of the pervasive tech giant Cumulus. Graham Chandler is a frustrated intelligence agent forging a new path through the halls of techno-utopian royalty. But when Huian rescues Lilly from a run-in with private security forces, it sets off a chain of events that will change their lives and the world.The adventure accelerates into a mad dash of political intrigue, relentless ambition, and questionable salvation. Will they survive to find themselves and mend a broken system?
Review
Giant kudos to Ramez Naam for sharing this absolutely fantastic headrush of a read, with chilling and profoundly disturbing overtones. It wasn't until about 2 thirds of the way in that my pulse started to truly pound and I began to panic at how little was left of the book, but the ending sat well with the rest of the work and it was actually a total joy to read start to finish. highly, highly recommended.
4 Stars to Biome (Biome, #1) by Ryan Galloway
Description
Tomorrow is the day. After months of tending the biomes, Lizzy will finally have the chance to step outside the colony and see the Martian surface for herself. Or at least, that's how things were supposed to go. But when she wakes for first expedition with a crippling headache, she finds that the previous week has started over. And no one seems to notice. The headache gets worse. Lizzy begins to remember things. Things that happened to other people. Like her best friend, or the boy who secretly falls in love with her week, after week, after week. As the memories become more vivid, Lizzy begins to realize that cadets have disappeared from their place inside the colony. A terrible secret is hidden within these gleaming walls. The doctors are not what they seem--and if they figure out what she knows, one thing is certain: Lizzy won't be the first to be forgotten.
- 1st Place Award Winner, 2017 Writer's Digest Self-Published E-Book Awards
- Silver Medalist, 2018 IPPY Awards
- 2nd Place Award Winner, 2017 Royal Dragonfly e-Book Awards
- Finalist, 2017 Next Generation Indie Book Awards
- Finalist, 2016 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards
- Recommended Review, Kirkus Reviews
Review
I felt a little lost at the outset of this one, the complete memory regain happened so quickly and details like the Oxygen tank slipped in early on to confuse me some and that's never a good feeling with YA. But the story managed to completely grab my attention and the idea is certainly cleverly picked out. I really want to read the sequel now, which I suppose is the best sort of indicator you could ask for.
3 Stars to Optical Delusion (Mail Order Massacres #2) by Hunter Shea
Description
OPEN YOUR EYES WITH “X-RAY” VISION! Put on a pair of “X-Ray” glasses and things will never look the same! These almost magical specs will make you the hit of the party! Astonishing three-dimensional X-Ray visions of what your friends—and girls—look like under their clothes! And all for just $1. THE MORE YOU WEAR THEM . . . Martin Blackstone punishes his son for wasting his allowance on a pair of flimsy cardboard sunglasses X-ray vision . . . yeah, right. Martin tries them on just for the hell of it—and all they do is give him a headache . . . . . . THE DEEPER YOU’LL SEE. Until he sees things he can’t possibly be seeing. Glimpses of things on the other side of a wall or beneath someone’s clothing. He wants to believe it’s just his overactive imagination but the “X-Ray” specs actually work. Then the fun novelty becomes a waking nightmare when the glasses burn into his face and he starts seeing horrifying apocalyptic visions no mortal man was ever meant to see. Images that alter his very personality—from a husband and father to a bloodthirsty homicidal maniac . . . Because sometimes you can see too much.
Review
well, there's something to be said for the slovenly, chauvinistic depiction of an alpha male, North America, circa 1980. But not much.
4 Stars to Redshift Rendezvous by John E. Stith
Description
Aboard a space ship, crew members are murdered one by one and First Officer Jason Kraft suspects that a band of mutineering pirates is determined to take over the ship
Review
Despite being a hard science fiction novel and confusing in some terms, it was actually a very gripping and appealing work. Difficult to believe it's almost 30 years old, it doesn't seem to have aged terribly much. I particularly liked the use of light in the climactic endgame, for which of course we had the groundwork laid, but it was still beautifully executed. Not a novel for the easily confused, but hardily enjoyed for the mind scientific.
July
3 Stars to The Asset by Shane Kuhn
Description
A private airport security contractor becomes a counterterrorism operative to prevent a terrorist attack in this “timely, edge-of-the-seat thriller” (Bookpage) from the author of the #1 internationally bestselling The Intern’s Handbook. Kennedy—a private airport security contractor—knows more about airports than the head of the TSA, and he feels more comfortable in his British Airways Club World flatbed seat than in his own home. Haunted by the memory of his sister’s death on 9/11, Kennedy takes his job and the protection of the American people very seriously. So when he’s kidnapped and recruited into a CIA ghost operation known as Red Carpet, he jumps at the opportunity to become a civilian asset working with a team of some of the CIA’s best counterterrorism analysts and spec ops soldiers as they race against the clock to stop the greatest terrorist threat the United States will ever face. With the same bold voice that earned him rave reviews for his previous novels, Shane Kuhn’s The Asset is an “exhilarating” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) read with an “ultimate twist that makes readers’ jaws drop” (Kirkus Reviews).
Review
Despite being rather depressingly predictable in terms of relationships, I enjoyed reading this. The action was interesting and the plot, although somewhat different to other works by the author, held me enough to finish.
3 Stars to The Lottery Winner by Pete Thorsen
Description
When Jake wins the lottery, it changes his life. And his life needs changing too as a somewhat screwed up veteran. He starts to get his head on straight and then the nation’s economy starts to crumble. As things get worse and worse, Jake tries to think of ways to stay ahead of the game. He has fought battles before; this one is just different. It is not his style to give up, and he is determined to go down fighting every inch of the way. As always in my stories, there is no foul language or explicit sex though there is some violence. My stories are only meant to provide an afternoon or evening of reading enjoyment.
Review
Nothing much happens here, we se a financial crisis and collapse through a very narrow window. An admirable attitude to the pursuit of ones happiness and way of life and well-enough written, but looking at the synopses of the author's other works at the back everything seems a little familiar already
5 Stars to Crux (Nexus, #2) by Ramez Naam
Description
Finalist for the 2014 Prometheus Award. Six months have passed since the release of Nexus 5. The world is a different, more dangerous place. In the United States, the terrorists – or freedom fighters – of the Post-Human Liberation Front use Nexus to turn men and women into human time bombs aimed at the President and his allies. In Washington DC, a government scientist, secretly addicted to Nexus, uncovers more than he wants to know about the forces behind the assassinations, and finds himself in a maze with no way out. In Thailand, Samantha Cataranes has found peace and contentment with a group of children born with Nexus in their brains. But when forces threaten to tear her new family apart, Sam will stop at absolutely nothing to protect the ones she holds dear. In Vietnam, Kade and Feng are on the run from bounty hunters seeking the price on Kade’s head, from the CIA, and from forces that want to use the back door Kade has built into Nexus 5. Kade knows he must stop the terrorists misusing Nexus before they ignite a global war between human and posthuman. But to do so, he’ll need to stay alive and ahead of his pursuers. And in Shanghai, a posthuman child named Ling Shu will go to dangerous and explosive lengths to free her uploaded mother from the grip of Chinese authorities. The first blows in the war between human and posthuman have been struck. The world will never be the same. File Under : Science Fiction [ Stage 2 | Terrorist or Freedom Fighter? | Mind Games | Upgrading… ]
Review
"Humanity had achieved what it had not through strength or claws or armor, not even through individual human intelligence, as impressive as that was. No, it was the ability of humans to coordinate, to work together, to produce ideas and solutions collectively that no individual mind ever could, that truly set them apart. Nexus was just one more step in that direction." This is a brilliant, explosive work. I enjoyed the first of these a great deal but, with the characters in place and the background set, Crux became a book I hated to put down. Kade is well and truly fighting for freedom, and his dilemmas are heartfelt and real all the way through. The depiction of the children is vivid and bold and terrifying, and Sam's struggles and combat is breathtaking and thrilling. I know the third book is also well and truly on the way and I eagerly await it!
4 Stars to Implant by F. Paul Wilson
Description
Young doctor Gina Panzella has known her boss, plastic surgeon Dr. Duncan Lathram, almost her entire life, and respects him deeply. Charming and brilliant, Duncan has invented a dissolving implant that allows incisions to heal without scarring. Duncan's artistry in the operation room is the salvationof Washington's biggest power players whenever they need touch-ups for C-Span. But there are a few things about Duncan that Gina can't quite figure out. Why did he trade vascular surgery for the more profitable but less vital plastic surgery, and why won't he accept his patients' medical insurance? What caused his daughter's death and the breakup of his marriage? Why do his tirades agains the new congressional medical ethics committee have such a bitter personal sting? And what is his connection to two committee members who died in accidents not long after Duncan operated on them? Soon Gina's curiosity about Duncanis replaced by suspicion and fear. With the help of Gerry Canney, a high school classmate now working for the FBI, Gina determines to find out what ruined Duncan's personal life and aroused his wrath against the congressmen. She find a man much more complex and mysterious than the sharp-tongued but kindhearted physician she though she knew. Then two more congressmen fall ill after Duncan's surgery. And Gina discovers another kind of implant in Duncan's arsenal. . . .
Review
very exciting, full of the milieu of the medic of course but with an almost enchantingly whimsical look back at the time it was published (mobile phones were new! imagine!). I utterly enjoyed the twists and turns, and of course, how can anyone be unhappy with the last sentence? Bravo.
4 Stars to Upload by Mark McClelland
Description
His criminal past catching up with him, a troubled young man seeks escape into digital utopia by uploading his consciousness into a computer -- just as first love casts his life in a new light. In this thrilling near-future science-fiction novel, Mark McClelland explores the immense potential of computer-based consciousness and the philosophical perils of simulated society. To escape the hacker crimes of his youth, Raymond Quan has worked out a brilliant but extremely risky scheme. Taking advantage of his position on the University of Michigan’s Human Mind Upload Project, he plans to upload his consciousness into a computer, but make it look like it failed. It will appear to others that he died, while he secretly whisks his uploaded mind off to a remote computer, to live out his life in a virtual world of his own creation, free from society and the far-reaching eye of the law. In the midst of all this, he works up the courage to reach out to Anya, an attractive and outgoing scientist on the upload research team, and much to his surprise he discovers the attraction is mutual. He finds himself entering the first meaningful relationship of his life, just as pressures force him to accelerate his already-dangerous upload plan. To make matters worse, the technology he intends to use has not yet been tested on humans — he would be the first person to make the jump to a pure-digital mind. "Upload" is ultimately a story of love and self-discovery, and the crucial role of connection-to-society in the ability of the individual to achieve fulfillment.
Review
Bending and twisting genres to suit, this was a creative, well-paced and very readable story. Things crazily intensified after virtualisation and I'm afraid I almost lost track of who was who, the ending, though well-formed in the sense of ending the story, left me a little bereft! Overall, a solid VR read. I'd come back for more.
3 Stars to Relentless (Tina Boyd #2) by Simon Kernick
Description
There is only one truth left in your world. They want you. And they want you dead — the new stand-alone thriller by crime-writing’s rising star. John Meron, a happily married father of two, who’s never been in trouble, receives a phone call that will change his life forever. His friend, Jack Calley, a high-flying city lawyer, is screaming down the phone for help. As Meron listens, Calley is murdered. His last words, spoken to his killer, are the first two lines of Meron’s address. Confused and terrified, Meron scoops up his children and hurries out of the house. Just in time. Within minutes a car pulls up outside and three men get out. It’s clear that they’re coming for him. He’s being hunted and he has no idea why. And with his wife missing, an unidentified corpse in her office, and the police after him for murder, his life’s about to get one hell of a lot worse. From the Hardcover edition.
Review
Cracking non-stop action, although I really couldn't find it in me to care about the characters very much. A very typical genre piece.
4 Stars to The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena
Description
You never know what's happening on the other side of the wall. Your neighbour told you that she didn't want your six-month-old daughter at the dinner party. Nothing personal, she just couldn't stand her crying. Your husband said it would be fine. After all, you only live next door. You'll have the baby monitor and you'll take it in turns to go back every half hour. Your daughter was sleeping when you checked on her last. But now, as you race up the stairs in your deathly quiet house, your worst fears are realized. She's gone. You've never had to call the police before. But now they're in your home, and who knows what they'll find there. What would you be capable of, when pushed past your limit?
Review
Kept the details coming, and even when things started to make a little sense I missed one of the key points. Nice, escapist, not really light beach reading but a comfortable enough effort within the genre. Creepy detective, a bit Ghoulish!
3 Stars to Alien Abduction by Irving Belateche
Description
WINNER, GLOBAL BOOK AWARDS 2022, SCIENCE FICTION"Gripping from start to finish. Captivating and entertaining. A fresh and original science fiction story. An irresistible mix of smart plotting, great characters, and compelling twists." -- Must Read Novels ReviewAliens are real—and that’s just the lucky break Eddie Hart needs. Eddie couldn't have lost his job at a worse time. His family has been hit with a medical emergency and his son's and daughter's college tuition is looming over him. He’s broke, too old to start over, and desperate—until he discovers an unexpected solution to his troubles. An extraterrestrial solution. Aliens are here, and they’re hiring.
Review
Started well, but the end was a let-down. The shifting viewpoints held the narrative aloft for a while but ultimately this story never manages to explain much.
4 Stars to Nick of Time by Julianne Q. Johnson
Description
Nick Callaghan's life has become an exhausting series of strange coincidences. Wherever he goes, Nick finds himself in a position to help others when they need it most. From foiling an armed stalker to grabbing a child in a broken roller-coaster car, Nick's life is constant chaos. He has no idea what sort of force could have turned him into the world's guardian angel, but he wants it to stop. There's only one person who knows what Irish legend he's fallen afoul of, but Grandmother isn't talking.
Review
not quite up there with Eoin Colfer in terms of imagination, but a light, not off-putting story.
5 Stars to How to Stop Time by Matt Haig
Description
Tom Hazard has just moved back his to London, his old home, to settle down and become a high school history teacher. And on his first day at school, he meets a captivating French teacher at his school who seems fascinated by him. But Tom has a dangerous secret. He may look like an ordinary 41-year-old, but owing to a rare condition, he's been alive for centuries. Tom has lived history—performing with Shakespeare, exploring the high seas with Captain Cook, and sharing cocktails with Fitzgerald. Now, he just wants an ordinary life. Unfortunately for Tom, the Albatross Society, the secretive group which protects people like Tom, has one rule: Never fall in love. As painful memories of his past and the erratic behavior of the Society's watchful leader threaten to derail his new life and romance, the one thing he can't have just happens to be the one thing that might save him. Tom will have to decide once and for all whether to remain stuck in the past, or finally begin living in the present. How to Stop Time tells a love story across the ages - and for the ages - about a man lost in time, the woman who could save him, and the lifetimes it can take to learn how to live. It is a bighearted, wildly original novel about losing and finding yourself, the inevitability of change, and how with enough time to learn, we just might find happiness.
Review
This book was… different. I enjoy time bending fiction because usually it’s a thriller, or adventure, or scientifically interesting. But here, even though it is scientifically interesting and there is – or at least has been – much adventure, there’s also an overwhelmingly satisfying feeling of Humanity, of rightness, of oneness about Estienne. His observations are profound, proving that Haig has lost nothing of his genius. You can perhaps see some of this novel as a travel memoir through time, although it is of course really a story of how love survives and clings and fights on. I have read some chick-lit, some geeky romantic fiction and some overblown, almost pornographic novels. I have never read anything like this. It’s going into the same box as Watson’s Eleven and Extence’s Alex Woods, Crossan’s Apple and Rain and Joyce’s Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. It has a solemn, potent reality all its own. Very much a book to come back to, to breathe in once again, to draw inspiration from and parallels with and to admire in all seasons, places, times and in almost every conceivable circumstance.
2 Stars to You by Austin Grossman
Description
When Russell joins Black Arts games, brainchild of two visionary designers who were once his closest friends, he reunites with an eccentric crew of nerds hacking the frontiers of both technology and entertainment. In part, he's finally given up chasing the conventional path that has always seemed just out of reach. But mostly, he needs to know what happened to Simon, his strangest and most gifted friend, who died under mysterious circumstances soon after Black Arts' breakout hit. As the company's revolutionary next-gen game is threatened by a software glitch, Russell finds himself in a race to save his job, Black Arts' legacy, and the people he has grown to care about. The deeper Russell digs, the more dangerous the glitch appears -- and soon, Russell comes to realize there's much more is at stake than just one software company's bottom line.
Review
Unfortunately I must say that I didn't enjoy this at all. I found it hard to get into character's heads - it really felt as if, without being an industry insider, one could gain much of an appreciation of this one.
4 Stars to Landfall by John McWilliams
Description
The clock is ticking—and the future may already be lost. When a space capsule believed lost in a catastrophic space station explosion is discovered intact in the frozen Canadian wilderness, FBI agents Lauren Madison and Ellis Cole are sent to investigate. Inside, they find strange technology, a sealed case—and a handwritten note that reads only: Your Move. Meanwhile, a deadly superbug begins to spread. Panic mounts. And the name tied to the capsule, Dr. Jan Lee—renegade astronaut, entrepreneur, and presumed terrorist—is thrust back into the spotlight. But Dr. Lee may not be a villain. His secret experiment in time-messaging could hold the key to stopping the virus… or triggering something far worse. As global powers race to recover the capsule and suppress the truth, Lauren and Ellis must decide how far they’ll go to protect what they’ve found—because whoever controls the past, controls the future. Landfall is a relentless sci-fi thriller that blends cutting-edge science, conspiracy, and human courage into a fast-paced, mind-bending ride.
Review
An excitingly fast-paced story with a great deal of intriguing and thought-provoking subtext. Chapter 25 was probably the best, but I enjoyed this one quite well.
June
4 Stars to Run Program by Scott Meyer
Description
What’s worse than a child with a magnifying glass, a garden full of ants, and a brilliant mind full of mischief? Try Al, a well-meaning but impish artificial intelligence with the mind of a six-year-old and a penchant for tantrums. Hope Takeda, a lab assistant charged with educating and socializing Al, soon discovers that day care is a lot more difficult when your kid is an evolving and easily frightened A.I. When Al manages to access the Internet and escape the lab days before his official unveiling, Hope and her team embark on a mission to contain him—before he causes any real trouble. Soon the NSA is on Al’s back, the US Army is fighting a brigade of mass-produced robots, and a wannabe cyberterrorist is looking to silence Al permanently. After months spent “raising” Al, Hope knows she’s running out of time—and she’s not sure she’ll be able to protect him. Will she manage to control the unruly A.I. and quell a global crisis, or will Al outsmart them once and for all?
Review
A fun, quick read. Not laugh out loud material maybe but certainly worth a few chuckles.
4 Stars to To Be A Cat by Matt Haig
Description
Barney Willow thinks life couldn't get any worse. He's weedy, with sticky-out ears. Horrible Gavin Needle loves tormenting him - Barney has no idea why. And headteacher-from-hell Miss Whipmire seems determined to make every second of Barney's existence a complete misery! Worst of all, Dad has been missing for almost a year, and there's no sign of him ever coming home. Barney just wants to escape. To find another life... Being a cat, for example. A quiet, lazy cat. Things would be so much easier - right? Barney's about to discover just how wrong he is. Because he's about to wake up as a cat - and not just any cat. Gavin Needle's cat... A fast, exciting story from the winner of the Gold Smarties Award, with illustrations from the brilliantly dark and mischievous Pete Williamson.
Review
Rather sadly, we've just had to surrender a kitten due to family allergies. We only had her a week but she made a big impact, so reading this was a painful exercise in spots! But I did enjoy the story and I know it's one my daughter will enjoy also when she's a bit older.
4 Stars to The Switch by Joseph Finder
Description
Michael Tanner is heading home from a business trip when he accidentally picks up the wrong laptop from security. What he doesn't know is that the owner is US Senator Susan Robbins, and her laptop contains top secret files that should never have been on there in the first place. And Senator Robbins is not the only one who wants the laptop back... Suddenly, Tanner is a hunted man. On the run, terrified for the safety of his family – he is in desperate need of a plan – but who can he trust?
Review
Quite exciting a read, not too sure how I feel about the ending though. A good find by Andre.
3 Stars to Behold the Man by Michael Moorcock
Description
Karl Glogauer is a disaffected modern professional casting about for meaning in a series of half-hearted relationships, a dead-end job, and a personal struggle. His questions of faith surrounding his father's run-of-the-mill Christianity and his mother's suppressed Judaism lead him to a bizarre obsession with the idea of the messiah. After the collapse of his latest affair and his introduction to a reclusive physics professor, Karl is given the opportunity to confront his obsession and take a journey that no man has taken before, and from which he knows he cannot return. Upon arriving in Palestine, A.D. 29, Glogauer finds that Jesus Christ is not the man that history and faith would like to believe, but that there is an opportunity for someone to change the course of history by making the ultimate sacrifice. First published in 1969, Behold the Man broke through science fiction's genre boundaries to create a poignant reflection on faith, disillusion and self-sacrifice. This is the classic novel that established the career of perhaps contemporary science fiction's most cerebral and innovative author.
Review
Interesting, in an evidently-paradoxical sort of a way. Lots of baggage in there, some of it a little deep for me.
4 Stars to All These Shiny Worlds II: The 2017 ImmerseOrDie Anthology (All These Shiny Worlds, #2) by Jefferson Smith
Description
Each year we hand-pick 50 of today's top indie authors and ask them to submit a story. Then we ask a team of ruthless judges to scour that ore and pick out the gems. The result is All These Shiny Worlds II: A world of today where cosplay and stagecraft are bright lights hiding dark shadows A world of tomorrow, where kitchen appliances fend for themselves and take solace in each other's arms, refugees from indifferent owners A world of little cogs in big machines, where the humble trash collector is the unsung hero of getting evil done A world of small magics and big hearts, where a little chaos can go a long, long way From the brutal curators at ImmerseOrDie.com comes another collection of indie short stories, each a distinct jewel forged in the fires of judgment, and all continuing to carry our one simple promise: Guaranteed not to suck.
Review
Each and every one of these was interesting. I don't often read short stories but occasionally they're a refreshing change. I'd look up novels from some of these authors without needing much persuasion.
3 Stars to Extracted (Extracted Trilogy, #1) by R.R. Haywood
Description
In 2061, a young scientist invents a time machine to fix a tragedy in his past. But his good intentions turn catastrophic when an early test reveals something unexpected: the end of the world. A desperate plan is formed. Recruit three heroes, ordinary humans capable of extraordinary things, and change the future. Safa Patel is an elite police officer, on duty when Downing Street comes under terrorist attack. As armed men storm through the breach, she dispatches them all. 'Mad' Harry Madden is a legend of the Second World War. Not only did he complete an impossible mission—to plant charges on a heavily defended submarine base—but he also escaped with his life. Ben Ryder is just an insurance investigator. But as a young man he witnessed a gang assaulting a woman and her child. He went to their rescue, and killed all five. Can these three heroes, extracted from their timelines at the point of death, save the world?
Review
The first 3 chapters were actually amazing, 5 star material. I felt as if the book lost its way, no progress was really made on the mission, just teamgathering. So that was a bit of a deflation, and then to have it end the way it did really made me wonder as to how worthwhile it will be to read book 2 because of course, we don't yet have book 3, so there'll be quite a wait I fancy before things start to happen. Good writing of course, great characterisation, but disappointing that nothing really happens other than the extraction, which on reflection is the whole point, given the novels title...
5 Stars to Triptych by J.M. Frey
Description
Kalp is a widower, burdened with an unimaginable grief, who escaped his dying world with nothing but his own life and a half-finished toy for a child that will now never be born. Gwen is a language expert covertly recruited for a United Nations plan to integrate a ship-full of alien refugees into life on earth. She becomes Kalp's teammate and lifeline. Basil is the engineer who lives with, and loves them, both but has no idea how to defend his new relationship against the ire and condemnation of a violently intolerant world. TRIPTYCH is a poignant, character-driven science-fiction story about tolerance, love, loss, and a desperate attempt to find connection in a world that no longer makes sense. * Part District 9. Part Lost in Translation. Part Stranger in a Strange Land. TRIPTYCH was nominated for two Lambda Literary Awards and named one of Publisher's Weekly's Best Books of the Year.
Review
“Blimey, my BlackBerry for a Flux Capacitor.” “And a swanky DeLorean.” Gwen grinned as if Basil hadn’t just babbled something totally incomprehensible about fruit. How absolutely, utterly, almost indescribably delicious a novel. I almost wept when reading the middle part having already read Before - knowing what was to happen made me want to burst into tears at every single one of Kalp's discoveries. "He wonders what life will be like when he’s run out of things to do for the first time, and hopes that the day when that occurs is far, far off." This book wormed itself into my heart. So beautiful yet tragic, it reminded me of a cross between Matt Haig and Becky Chambers. For a debut, it packs a punch and shines a light into parts of the world not oft lit. I want to read more by this author.
3 Stars to Mars Attacks: The Armageddon Directive by Dayton Ward
Description
Review
Exciting, with a great pulp feel. I'm sad to say the cards weren't part of my scene and I still have yet to see the movie, but hey, enjoyed this.
4 Stars to Starship Mine by Peter Cawdron
Description
James Patterson is a gay accountant living in Keyes, Oklahoma—deep in the Bible Belt—the religious heartland of America. He’s also the first person to make contact with an extraterrestrial intelligence seeking to understand our world, and that makes him the most important person on the planet!FIRST CONTACT is a series of stand-alone novels that explore humanity's first interaction with extraterrestrial life. This series is similar to BLACK MIRROR or THE TWILIGHT ZONE in that the series is based on a common theme rather than common characters. This allows these books to be read in any order. Technically, they're all first as they all deal with how we might initially respond to contact with aliens, exploring the social, political, religious, and scientific aspects of First Contact.
Review
Excellently written and very much enjoyed. But James Patterson? Couldn't we have had a less known name?
4 Stars to Hearts and Minds by Dayton Ward
Description
Captain Jean-Luc Picard returns in this electrifying thriller set in the Star Trek: The Next Generation universe! 2031: United States Air Force fighter jets shoot down an unidentified spacecraft and take its crew into custody. Soon, it’s learned that the ship is one of several dispatched across space by an alien species, the Eizand, to search for a new home before their own world becomes uninhabitable. Fearing extraterrestrial invasion, government and military agencies which for more than eighty years have operated in secret swing into action, charged with protecting humanity no matter the cost... 2386: Continuing their exploration of the Odyssean Pass, Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the Starship Enterprise discover what they at first believe is a previously uncharted world, with a civilization still recovering from the effects of global nuclear war. An astonishing priority message from Starfleet Command warns that there’s more to this planet than meets the eye, and Picard soon realizes that the mysteries of this world may well weave through centuries of undisclosed human history... ™, ®, & © 2016 CBS Studios, Inc. Star Trek and related marks are trademarks of CBS Studios, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Review
I really have come to enjoy these stories, even if the characters aren't quite onscreen favourites and if I've missed a lot of history. I am genuinely looking forward to reading old Picard, because his ending has to surely be absolutely spectacular. this story was great, filling in gaps and popping pieces into place with style and ease.
May
2 Stars to The Stone Man (The Stone Man, #1) by Luke Smitherd
Description
Nobody knew where it came from. Nobody knew why it came. When an eight feet tall man made of stone appears in the middle of a busy city centre one July afternoon, two-bit (and antisocial) reporter Andy Pointer assumes it's just a publicity stunt. Indeed, so does everyone else ... until the Stone Man begins to walk, heading silently through the wall of the nearest building, flattening it and killing several people inside as a result. As efforts by the local police - and soon, the government - to halt the Stone Man's inexorable progress prove futile, only three questions are on the watching world's lips: Where has it come from, where is it going, and what does it want? Andy is determined to be the first person to answer those questions; after all, he was there when it arrived. Surely the headaches and visions he's experiencing are proof of a mental connection to The Stone Man? Clearly his dreams of champagne and notoriety are all about to be fulfilled once he uncovers the truth ... and the scoop of a lifetime. In a pursuit that carries him the length of the country and the breadth of the Atlantic, Andy uncovers the jagged pieces of an increasingly terrifying puzzle. As the number of lives lost in the wake of the Stone Man reaches grim figures, the terrible results of Andy's blind determination force him to confront the savagery of human nature. When irresistible forces aren't met by immovable objects, how far is too far? Andy must discover the answer - and find out who he really is - in the shadow of the Stone Man.
Review
really good, all the way through. Loved the change of narrator toward the end even. But the ending. How pointless. How absolutely, totally, complete waste of my time reading pointless.
3 Stars to Earth Tactics Advance: Volume 1 (Earth Tactics Advance #1) by Scottie Futch
Description
An ordinary day in the life of Scott Keen suddenly turns tactical as the laws of physics are rewritten to force the world to adhere to an apocalyptic change in the very nature of existence. Those who manage to survive the first day of the new world must survive in the wake of a new reality, life lived as a turn-based tactical role playing game. Feel the horror, and revel in the humor, as battles take place one turn at a time. Can one man survive a world gone tactical? Will he ever understand the need for background music and strange announcer voices? It's your turn... to find out!
Review
The genre is fast becoming saturated, so the turn-by-turn nature of things was a welcome change. I can't say I was overly impressed, but equally there was nothing off-putting.
4 Stars to The Fall by Simon Clark
Description
When a group of tourists visits a Roman amphitheatre ringed by prehistoric stones, they move back in time two hours - but it doesn't stop there. Every few hours or days, they are returned to the theatre. Each time one of their number is found butchered on the altar stone. Where will it all end?
Review
The final battle scene toward the end was tremendously well-written and enjoyable, and the whole idea of the work was pretty good. The reason it's not got top marks? The ending. Do we not get anything more than that? And the prologue didn't really get explained either! Not a book to read unless you've got the sequel lined up. Is there one?
4 Stars to Killing Kate by Alex Lake
Description
A SERIAL KILLER IS STALKING YOUR HOME TOWN. HE HAS A TYPE: ALL HIS VICTIMS LOOK THE SAME. AND THEY ALL LOOK LIKE YOU. Kate returns from a post break-up holiday with her girlfriends to news of a serial killer in her home town – and his victims all look like her. It could, of course, be a simple coincidence. Or maybe not. She becomes convinced she is being watched, followed even. Is she next? And could her mild-mannered ex-boyfriend really be a deranged murderer? Or is the truth something far more sinister?
Review
Again, the killer was predictable very early on here - it's unlike me to be right twice in a row, but this author's style is fast becoming definitive. That aside, it was a thrilling and satisfying end all round, and I enjoyed the denouement (although a hint as to Andrea's vocation or access to key ingredients would've perhaps been useful. I look forward to more complex and variegated works from Lake in the future.
4 Stars to After Anna (Anna, #1) by Alex Lake
Description
Review
Despite it being very obvious to me who was behind the kidnapping early on, I enjoyed this book a great deal. The depiction of modern Britain is nicely drawn, and the class lines between the two women are vivid and of course very real. The end of the book accelerated well, and the interludes from the kidnappers POV, as in so many of this type of work, served well in this case to shine light on the perceived wrongs of society. The only thing left hanging for me was Simon, who seemed a little underexplored and didn’t really fit with the motif. And for all that I knew who it was, as I said? I still didn’t want to get out of bed, after finishing it, to go downstairs for a drink. Just in case someone was there with a hammer or a knife…
5 Stars to The Impossible Fortress by Jason Rekulak
Description
A dazzling debut novel—at once a charming romance and a moving coming-of-age story—about what happens when a fourteen-year old boy pretends to seduce a girl to steal a copy of Playboy but then discovers she is his computer-loving soulmate. Billy Marvin’s first love was a computer. Then he met Mary Zelinsky. Do you remember your first love? The Impossible Fortress begins with a magazine…The year is 1987 and Playboy has just published scandalous photographs of Vanna White, from the popular TV game show Wheel of Fortune. For three teenage boys—Billy, Alf, and Clark—who are desperately uneducated in the ways of women, the magazine is somewhat of a Holy Grail: priceless beyond measure and impossible to attain. So, they hatch a plan to steal it. The heist will be fraught with peril: a locked building, intrepid police officers, rusty fire escapes, leaps across rooftops, electronic alarm systems, and a hyperactive Shih Tzu named Arnold Schwarzenegger. Failed attempt after failed attempt leads them to a genius master plan—they’ll swipe the security code to Zelinsky’s convenience store by seducing the owner’s daughter, Mary Zelinsky. It becomes Billy’s mission to befriend her and get the information by any means necessary. But Mary isn’t your average teenage girl. She’s a computer loving, expert coder, already strides ahead of Billy in ability, with a wry sense of humor and a hidden, big heart. But what starts as a game to win Mary’s affection leaves Billy with a gut-wrenching choice: deceive the girl who may well be his first love or break a promise to his best friends.
Review
Major credit to Dave for digging this one up. A delightfully wistful work, slickly penned to capture tropes and signs of its time which is a life at once both nostalgic and extremely heartfelt. Rekulak Pays homage to Cline's ready Player One, which is still probably my best novel of that year, he writes "The success of Ernest Cline’s terrific Ready Player One definitely gave me the confidence to write about my own 1980s pop culture obsessions". It works here as it did there, and of course being set in its time rather than the future, we can immediately relate to Billy and his friends. So much of the book just worked - the little games that Mary leaves him, the fantastically tense robbery, and that perfectly-crafted awards ceremony to end the story so well. You almost find the hidden messages shooting home subliminally because the story unfolds with such cinematic yet deeply true realism that you're in it, totally at one with Billy and his feelings. I'm looking forward to much more from this author; it's clear his style of writing lends itself to my style of reading. What a fantastic, solidly amazing debut.
4 Stars to Version Control by Dexter Palmer
Description
Rebecca Wright has reclaimed her life, finding her way out of her grief and depression following a personal tragedy years ago. She spends her days working in customer support for the internet dating site where she first met her husband. But she has a strange, persistent sense that everything around her is somewhat off-kilter: she constantly feels as if she has walked into a room and forgotten what she intended to do there; on TV, the President seems to be the wrong person in the wrong place; her dreams are full of disquiet. Meanwhile, her husband's decade-long dedication to his invention, the causality violation device (which he would greatly prefer you not call a “time machine”) has effectively stalled his career and made him a laughingstock in the physics community. But he may be closer to success than either of them knows or can possibly imagine. Version Control is about a possible near future, but it’s also about the way we live now. It’s about smart phones and self-driving cars and what we believe about the people we meet on the Internet. It’s about a couple, Rebecca and Philip, who have experienced a tragedy, and about how they help — and fail to help — each other through it.
Review
So I'm giving a time travel story 5 stars. But, not for time travel. I dig this work for the splendid captivity of the Mellennial mindset, and the superlative diction and use of language by the scientists. As a time travel story I think I missed something in causality somewhere, but the way the words all fit together beautifully is superb. I loved this book, probably not for the reasons I'm supposed to, but it was brilliant all the same.
4 Stars to Nobody of Note by Richard Murphy
Description
Daniel Loman has had a very peculiar day. Not only is he being pursued by an extra-terrestrial robot, but he’s been whisked away to Cuba by the military and is in cahoots with the CIA. Jones is the cop whose desk Daniel's case lands on. The desk far away from his role as an LAPD homicide detective and the past he's trying to forget. Toby is the mysterious government official who either wants to help or get his hands on the tech. Daniel must keep running. But he can't run for ever and one day, surely, the robot will catch him.
Review
A neat idea, perhaps a little let down by the ending. Fun to read but probably not one to really retain
2 Stars to The Con Season by Adam Cesare
Description
Horror movie starlet Clarissa Lee is beautiful, internationally known, and...completely broke. To cap off years of questionable financial and personal decisions, Clarissa accepts an invitation to participate in a “fully immersive” fan convention. She arrives at an off-season summer camp and finds what was supposed to be a quick buck has become a real-life slasher movie. Deep in the woods of Kentucky with a supporting cast of B-level celebrities, Clarissa must fight to survive the deadly game that the con’s organizers have rigged against her. A demented, funny, bloody, and strangely-poignant horror novel from the acclaimed author of Tribesmen, Zero Lives Remaining, and Mercy House. “Cesare is poised to take the reins of the new generation. Looking for the new face of horror? This is it right here.”—Joe McKinney, Bram Stoker Award–winning author of The Dead Won’t Die and Dead City “[Cesare] has implemented a style that is highly cinematic, merciless in its execution and leaves you hanging on for dear life wondering what he'll do next.”— Horror Talk on Mercy House
Review
Mishmashy is the only real word to make of this book. It never really got anywhere to my mind.
4 Stars to Cold War in a Country Garden by Lindsay Gutteridge
Description
Mass paperback book.
Review
A clever story, I found myself enjoying it, despite a lot of the dated nature of the material. The concept was well-handled and the idea makes for pretty pictures.
2 Stars to Mason's Television by Jon Athan
Description
Mason Williams is not a normal 13-year-old teenager. He regularly gets in trouble at school. He doesn't mind getting beaten by his father. He enjoys extremely violent movies. He talks to his television—and his television talks back. With the advice from his television, Mason begins committing violent crimes against his peers in order to achieve infamy... Jon Athan, the author of A Family of Violence and The Abuse of Ashley Collins, brings you an uncompromising vision of human horror. This book contains scenes of graphic violence, disturbing themes, and some sexual references. Most of these scenes involve violence committed by and against minors. This book is not intended for those easily offended or appalled. Please enjoy at your own discretion.
Review
Well, this book didn't really work for me. The words "dome" and "reverse" appeared far too often and I didn't really feel much. Gratuitous violence hasn't really ever done it for me, so I guess I sholdn't be surprised.
3 Stars to Blister by Jeff Strand
Description
They call her Blister. She’s a hideously disfigured twenty-three year-old woman, living in a shed next to her father’s house, hidden away from the world. Jason Tray is a successful cartoonist, banished to his agent’s lakeside cabin for a few days of mandatory rest and relaxation. One night, while hanging out with a couple of the locals at a dive bar, he takes them up on their offer to go “see Blister,” having no idea what they’re talking about. He peeks through the window at the most nightmarish thing he’s ever seen. In the morning, he wakes up, hung over and regretful. He’s better than this. He needs to…apologize? From the Bram Stoker Award-nominated author of PRESSURE, DWELLER, and WOLF HUNT comes a tale of fiendish secrets, ghastly crimes, and human monsters.
Review
Nothing too out of the blue here, but equally nothing overly spectacular. It's a typical strandy freaky story without much to set it apart from the crowd.
5 Stars to Infinity Born by Douglas E. Richards
Description
A breathtaking near-future thriller. From the NY Times bestselling author whose books have been downloaded over a million times. When DARPA's billion-dollar program to create Artificial Superintelligence is sabotaged, US operative Cameron Carr is tasked with finding the culprit. He's been on high-stakes missions before, but this time the stakes are nothing less than the future of humanity. Because the race to evolve a superintelligent computer is on, and power players around the world will stop at nothing to get there first. In the right hands, Artificial Superintelligence could lift humanity to towering heights. But in the wrong hands, this technology could represent the greatest threat humanity has ever seen . . . Ripped from tomorrow's headlines, Infinity Born is a roller-coaster ride of a thriller that explores the deadly perils and mind-blowing possibilities that await the human race--including both extinction and immortality. As our phones and computers become ever smarter, Infinity Born takes an unblinking look at a technological tipping point that is just around the corner. One that will have a profound impact on the future course of human history. "Richards is a worthy successor to Michael Crichton." (SF Book.com) "Richards is a tremendous new talent" (Stephen Coonts) who can "keep you turning the pages all night long." (Douglas Preston) Near Future Science Fiction Thrillers by Douglas E. Richards WIRED (Wired 1) AMPED (Wired 2) MIND'S EYE (Nick Hall 1) BRAINWEB (Nick Hall 2) MIND WAR (Nick Hall 3) -- New in 2016 QUANTUM LENS SPLIT SECOND GAME CHANGER -- New in 2016 INFINITY BORN--New in 2017 Kids Science Fiction Thrillers (9 and up, enjoyed by kids and adults alike) TRAPPED (Prometheus Project 1) CAPTURED (Prometheus Project 2) STRANDED (Prometheus Project 3) THE DEVIL'S SWORD OUT OF THIS WORLD
Review
Fabulous, Richards is back. This book utterly and totally confused me at the outset, each chapter seemed to add a more befuddling piece of the puzzle until I was beginning to wonder how on earth everything would connect. But of course it did, without any sort of hitch. Everything tied-up neatly, questions answered, mysteries solved. Even though I utterly enjoyed the first chapter, I of course, knowing the style a little, suspected the problem. It wasn't hard to combine the words on the back cover with the visuals from the security cameras and come to the right conclusion, and so in that instance, I was prepared for some of the action. And yet things still kept me gripped and hooked until the very last page of fiction, and then I found that the author's notes and essay were just as exciting and interesting as the story.
April
4 Stars to Change Agent by Daniel Suarez
Description
New York Times bestselling author Daniel Suarez delivers an exhilarating sci-fi thriller exploring a potential future where CRISPR genetic editing allows the human species to control evolution itself. On a crowded train platform, Interpol agent Kenneth Durand feels the sting of a needle— and his transformation begins. . . . In 2045 Kenneth Durand leads Interpol’s most effective team against genetic crime, hunting down black market labs that perform "vanity edits" on human embryos for a price. These illegal procedures augment embryos in ways that are rapidly accelerating human evolution—preying on human-trafficking victims to experiment and advance their technology. With the worlds of genetic crime and human trafficking converging, Durand and his fellow Interpol agents discover that one figure looms behind it all: Marcus Demang Wyckes, leader of a powerful and sophisticated cartel known as the Huli jing. But the Huli jing have identified Durand, too. After being forcibly dosed with a radical new change agent, Durand wakes from a coma weeks later to find he’s been genetically transformed into someone else—his most wanted suspect: Wyckes. Now a fugitive, pursued through the genetic underworld by his former colleagues and the police, Durand is determined to restore his original DNA by locating the source of the mysterious—and highly valuable—change agent. But Durand hasn’t anticipated just how difficult locating his enemy will be. With the technology to genetically edit the living, Wyckes and his Huli jing could be anyone and everyone—and they have plans to undermine identity itself.
Review
Holding Suarez typical power of running wild with new technology, this was pretty good. It's a familiar trope, one man turned against everyone he knows by a technological happening, but it's handled well and shows some scary posssibilities in such a complex field (i.e. genetic tweaking) that I enjoyed it for the uniqueness.
4 Stars to Seven Short Science Fiction Stories by Harry Harrison
Description
This is a collection of seven fantastic and short science fiction stories by Harry Harrison. The stories include: 1) The Misplaced Battleship 2) Arm of the Law 3) Toy Shop 4) The Repairman 5) The K-Factor 6) Navy Day 7) The Velvet Glove
Review
stories 2, 4 and 7 stood out. Harrison's a prolific author, this is just a small snapshot.
4 Stars to Eroma by Piers Anthony
Description
In the futuristic multi-player Virtual Reality game of erotic romance (EROtic ROMAnce), sight, sound, and touch all work, and sexual climaxes are immediate and mutual. The audience of millions watches in 3D-TV every interaction, down to the most intimate and sometimes transparent detail. As players conquer difficult sexual tests, they are challenged to see what they are willing to do in order to win. Not for the sexually faint of heart.
Review
So the content isn't for everyone, but if you're up for it - well. It's signature in style and tone, and I must say I found it worth my time.
4 Stars to Quantum Space (Quantum #1) by Douglas Phillips
Description
A trillion neutrinos just passed through your body. You might want to buckle up... High above the windswept plains of Kazakhstan, three astronauts on board a Russian Soyuz capsule begin their reentry. A strange shimmer in the atmosphere, a blinding flash of light, and the capsule vanishes in a blink as though it never existed. On the ground, evidence points to a catastrophic failure, but a communications facility halfway around the world picks up a transmission that could be one of the astronauts. Tragedy averted, or merely delayed? A classified government project on the cutting edge of particle physics holds the clues, and with lives on the line, there is little time to waste. Daniel Rice is a government science investigator. Marie Kendrick is a NASA operations analyst. Together, they must track down the cause of the most bizarre event in the history of human spaceflight. They draw on scientific strengths as they plunge into the strange world of quantum physics, with impacts not only to the missing astronauts, but to the entire human race.
Review
This was actually quite good. Geting ones head around the concepts were a bit of a challenge of course, and I don't think I've seen anything remotely as hostile to China in a while (Robert Sawyer's WWW trilogy had some of this, but milder probably because of the larger audience). There is a bit of an All-american dream feel to it, and I must confess to feeling slightly uncomfortable with the whole "you're really good at this", I'm going to blow in your ear Daniel-Nala stuff because it was just a little forceful. I'm all for repressed sexuality coming out, but there are times and places, y'know. Will I read more? Yes, of course, the concepts are applied well and the idea is, if not unique, certainly hardly overworked yet.
3 Stars to Eye Candy by Ryan Schneider
Description
Hot new release! Premiere science fiction from the mind of Top 20 Amazon seller Ryan Schneider, award-winning author of The Go-Kids series. Imagine a world in which air pollution is a thing of the past, cheap renewable energy is commonplace, and robotics is a daily reality as ubiquitous as mobile phones are to us today. In the future people still go to work and to the gym and to the sports bar to watch Monday Night Football. They still take the kids to school and pick them up in the afternoon and have to figure out what's for dinner. And they still fall in love and dream of living happily ever after. Eye Candy is a story about all this and more. It is a story about what it means to be a human being, with characters so real you feel like you know them. In this near-future Los Angeles, roboticist Danny Olivaw finds himself on a blind date with a beautiful robopsychologist named Candy. But the next day, strange things begin to happen. Little do they know what fate has in store for them. Brilliantly conceived and executed with delicate precision, Eye Candy is a complex, endearing tale for mature readers that’s as fast-paced and uplifting as it is fun.
Review
Despite really enjoying this whilst reading it, it had far too much of the unresolved nonsensical nature of a drug-dreamed fanfic to be truly plausible. I enjoyed the Asimov homages of course, and the ethics and technology was intriguing, but as a whole I did feel the work let down slightly by a lack of cohesion, structure and sense.
5 Stars to The Island Deception (Gateways to Alissia, #2) by Dan Koboldt
Description
What happens in Las Vegas stays in Las Vegas. But what happens after you step through a portal to another world, well... For stage magician Quinn Bradley, he thought his time in Alissia was over. He'd done his job for the mysterious company CASE Global Enterprises, and now his name is finally on the marquee of one of the biggest Vegas casinos. And yet, for all the accolades, he definitely feels something is missing. He can create the most amazing illusions on Earth, but he's also tasted true power. Real magic. He misses it. Luckily--or not--CASE Global is not done with him, and they want him to go back. The first time, he was tasked with finding a missing researcher. Now, though, he has another Help take Richard Holt down. It's impossible to be in Vegas and not be a gambler. And while Quinn might not like his odds--a wyvern nearly ate him the last time he was in Alissia--if he plays his cards right, he might be able to aid his friends. He also might learn how to use real magic himself. Continuing the exciting adventures from The Rogue Retrieval, The Island Deception blends fun and mystery into a brilliant new fantasy from Dan Koboldt.
Review
Brilliant to revisit old friends and enjoy some time in this wonderful world. An abruptly worrying ending has left me wanting another one, though! Bring it on soon please!
4 Stars to With a Strange Device by Eric Frank Russell
Description
Richard Bransome, a metallurgist working in defence, once committed a vicious crime. Twenty years later the crime has come to light and now he must discover the truth. But is he a suspect? And how much do the police know? Or is there a powerful, hostile force gaining control of rational minds, the minds of those scientists who maintain the defence of a nation? A disturbing and uncanny reconstruction of the all-too-believable from a master of the science-fiction genre.
Review
An exciting story, and even if the ending was coming quite far in, it came well. You have to be of a mind to endure the writing, which has dated some, but it is golden and classic. Not so much of the humour as with Wasp, but worth the read.
3 Stars to The Wave at Hanging Rock (Sinister Coast Collection #1) by Gregg Dunnett
Description
The Wave at Hanging Rock is a powerful and intelligent thriller that will grip you from the first line, and keep you guessing till the very last page. Natalie, a young doctor, sees her perfect life shattered when her husband is lost at sea. Everyone believes it’s a tragic accident. But a mysterious phone call prompts her to think otherwise. She sets out on a search for the truth. Jesse, a schoolboy, is moved half way around the world when his father is blown up in a science experiment gone wrong. Two seemingly unconnected tales. But how they come together will have you turning the pages late into the night.
Review
I was kept reading, if not guessing. The ending really didn't hold much appeal, a clever narrative structure not quite strong enough to overcome the dismal nature of the work and its lack of inertia.
3 Stars to Seconds by David Ely
Description
What would you give up for a second chance? Antiochus Wilson is completely and utterly bored with his life, until he receives the call that changes everything. When the voice on the other end of the line promises him excitement, wealth, and happiness, he is more than a little intrigued. Arriving at a hastily scrawled address, Wilson discovers a mysterious and exclusive organization that offers its clients whole new lives . . . for a price. The organization arranges for a client's demise or disappearance and outfits each with a new body in which to begin again. But there's no turning back, and no room for second-guessing. When Wilson begins to question his new circumstances and pushes some very well-established boundaries a bit too far for the organization's comfort, his second chance may just be his last.
Review
vaguely enjoyable, but I didn't quite click with the milieu.
4 Stars to Like Nothing on Earth by Eric Frank Russell
Description
Una macchina di cui il suo stesso inventore non sa a che cosa serva... Un animale celebrato come amico dell'uomo e di cui nessuno aveva penetrato finora i sinistri disegni... Il mistero del diluvio universale finalmente svelato... Un'invasione da Riegel stroncata sui nascere... Un epico viaggio al di là delle ultime galassie, oltre gli inconcepibili confini dell'universo. Cinque inediti, magistrali racconti di un autore che conosce come pochi l'arte più difficile nel campo della quella di non deludere mai. Inoltre, in questo stesso numero, una nutritissima appendice in cui a un articolo di Asimov fanno corona altre ghiotte sorprese. I topi meccanici (The Mechanical Mice, 1941) L'amico dell'uomo (Into Your Tent I'll Creep, 1957) Niente di nuovo (Nothing New, 1955) Offesa al pudore (Exposure, 1950) L'ultima Thule (Ultima Thule, 1951) Copertina di Karel Thole
Review
"an error I must fix", I wrote on my lack of reading more of his works, wen I read my review of Wasp, the first (and only other) of EFr's titles I had. I really enjoyed this collection, too - almost every ending appealed and made me chuckle. Very much worthwhile if his style is to your liking.
March
4 Stars to Any Means Necessary (Luke Stone, #1) by Jack Mars
Description
When nuclear waste is stolen by jihadists in the middle of the night from an unguarded New York City hospital, the police, in a frantic race against time, call in the FBI. Luke Stone, head of an elite, secretive, department within the FBI, is the only man they can turn to. Luke realizes right away that the terrorists’ aim is to create a dirty bomb, that they seek a high-value target, and that they will hit it within 48 hours. A cat and mouse chase follows, pitting the world’s most savvy government agents versus its most sophisticated terrorists. As Agent Stone peels back layer after layer, he soon realizes he is up against a vast conspiracy, and that the target is even more high value than he could have imagined—leading all the way to the President of the United States. With Luke framed for the crime, his team threatened and his own family in danger, the stakes could not be higher. But as a former special forces commando, Luke has been in tough positions before, and he will not give up until he finds a way to stop them—using any means necessary. Twist follows twist as one man finds himself up against an army of obstacles and conspiracies, pushing even the limits of what he can handle, and culminating in a shocking climax. A political thriller with heart-pounding action, dramatic international settings, and non-stop suspense, Any Means Necessary marks the debut of an explosive new series that will leave you turning pages late into the night.
Review
Not really a book that you have to think about, but it did provide a few hours of mindless, action-packed whoopass on some bad guys. Very readable.
2 Stars to The Captains' Honor (Star Trek: The Next Generation #8) by David Dvorkin
Description
A series of vicious attacks by the M'Dok Empire has devastated the planet Tenara – bringing the USS Enterprise-D and another starship, the Centurion, to the planet's aid. The Centurion captain is Lucius Sejanus – a powerful, magnetic man who favors taking a far stronger stance against the M'Dok than Captain Picard. And as the conflict escalates, Sejanus's instincts seem to be correct… for it appears only extreme measures can stop the murderous raids on Tenara. Now the people of Tenara must decide which path they will follow – the way of peace, or the road to war. But unknown to any, one of the Centurion officers has made that decision for them – and plans to provoke a full-scale war between the Federation and the M'Dok Empire!
Review
There's a huge scene problem when Worf is in Picard's quarters and Data calls him to the bridge, can't see how that got missed in editing. The ending is absolutely ridiculous, and in fact the whole idea of the Magna Romans actually being allowed to run a ship like that in Starfleet is nonsensical in the extreme. Not one of the series best efforts.
4 Stars to Control (Star Trek: Section 31) by David Mack
Description
From the New York Times bestselling author David Mack comes an original, thrilling Section 31 novel set in the Star Trek: The Next Generation universe! No law…no conscience…no mercy. Amoral, shrouded in secrecy, and answering to no one, Section 31 is the mysterious covert operations division of Starfleet, a rogue shadow group pledged to defend the Federation at any cost. The discovery of a two-hundred-year-old secret gives Doctor Julian Bashir his best chance yet to expose and destroy the illegal spy organization. But his foes won’t go down without a fight, and his mission to protect the Federation he loves just end up triggering its destruction. Only one thing is for certain: this time, the price of victory will be paid with Bashir’s dearest blood.
Review
Of course I enjoyed it, hard not to! really nice to catch up with some old friends, too.
3 Stars to Locked in Time by Lois Duncan
Description
Nore Roberts didn't ask for a new life, but now that her mom is gone and her dad is newly married, she has to settle in at Shadow Grove, the old Civil War mansion her stepfamily calls home. When she meets her stepmother, Lisette, Nore is shocked by her youth and beauty that gives her chills- and a hint of something sinister. There's hope of becoming friends with her stepbrother and sister, until Nore realizes they're hiding something. When she begins to feel like the target of a deadly plan, Nore starts digging into her stepfamily's past. The skeletons in their closet are more real than she ever imagined. Can Nore expose her stepmother's dark secret before an old and evil magic swallows her up?
Review
Monica is, as I have mentioned before in my Lois's, entirely responsible for me gorging on these as a teen. This one scared me quite a lot when I was younger.
4 Stars to The Never Hero (Chronicles of Jonathan Tibbs, #1) by T. Ellery Hodges
Description
At the gates between worlds... In a war outside of time... He fights for us. Reclusive college student Jonathan Tibbs wakes in a pool of blood, not a scratch on him. His life is about to undergo a massive shift. A violent and merciless otherworldly enemy unleashes slaughter in the streets, calling out in a language only he understands. And it is seeking its challenger. In order to defeat the threat, Jonathan must become a temporal weapon... while remaining completely anonymous. Unfortunately, harnessing off-world powers has its own special challenges... The Never Hero is the first installment in The Chronicles of Jonathan Tibbs -- a mind-bending, genre crossing, action-adventure trilogy.
Review
A delightful twist on the nobody-to-hero trope because Jonathan is quite alone, mentally, at least as far as Humanity is concerned. Very intriguing angles for future works, and I must say I enjoyed. More to come!
3 Stars to The Infinity Code by Nick Harlow
Description
Area 51 meets the da Vinci Code in a sci-fi thriller. When underwater archaeologist Scott Parrish finds actual proof that aliens visited earth, he knows his cable television show is about to become appointment television. And his photographer, former TV reporter Temperance Logan, knows she has the story of a lifetime. Until members of the crew start selling the information. A shadow government wants to control it. A mercenary wants the technology. An unscrupulous television network wants an exclusive. And nothing is off the table. When Scott and Temperance find out the alien technology still works, it takes things to another level. Literally.
Review
serviceable light reading playing on familiar tropes. Nothing out of the ordinary, but not badly-penned.
5 Stars to Morning Star (Red Rising Saga, #3) by Pierce Brown
Description
Darrow would have lived in peace, but his enemies brought him war. The Gold overlords demanded his obedience, hanged his wife, and enslaved his people. But Darrow is determined to fight back. Risking everything to transform himself and breach Gold society, Darrow has battled to survive the cutthroat rivalries that breed Society’s mightiest warriors, climbed the ranks, and waited patiently to unleash the revolution that will tear the hierarchy apart from within. Finally, the time has come. But devotion to honor and hunger for vengeance run deep on both sides. Darrow and his comrades-in-arms face powerful enemies without scruple or mercy. Among them are some Darrow once considered friends. To win, Darrow will need to inspire those shackled in darkness to break their chains, unmake the world their cruel masters have built, and claim a destiny too long denied—and too glorious to surrender.
Review
A well-rounded, powerful end to the series. I read some reviews with people complaining about "more of the same" but surely by now that's par for the course? If you've got this far, you know what to expect, and I must say Brown didn't disappoint. With a widening away from our small rebel group to some implications for wider society, and the usual reversal of all potential traps and problems and plans, this was a solid, if not entirely unpredictable, end to the series executed very well indeed.
4 Stars to Call for the Dead (George Smiley, #1) by John le Carré
Description
John le Carré classic novels deftly navigate readers through the intricate shadow worlds of international espionage with unsurpassed skill and knowledge, and have earned him -- and his hero, British Secret Service Agent George Smiley, who is introduced in this, his first novel -- unprecedented worldwide acclaim. George Smiley had liked Samuel Fennan, and now Fennan was dead from an apparent suicide. But why? Fennan, a Foreign Office man, had been under investigation for alleged Communist Party activities, but Smiley had made it clear that the investigation -- little more than a routine security check -- was over and that the file on Fennan could be closed. The very next day, Fennan was found dead with a note by his body saying his career was finished and he couldn't go on. Smiley was puzzled...
Review
I absolutely got into this novel, it was gripping right from the get go. I did feel as if I was familiar with a somewhat later Smiley, a more warn and experienced operator who seemed to have turned completely away from the physical contact of operations, and perhaps here we see why. Everything impacted more, somehow, for knowing some of the mans future exploits. Similarly, Le Carré's narrative is less meandering, with undeniable characteristics of his in place but less wordy, somehow, without losing too much into the bargain. There seemed more story to the story, rather than exposition, and although he's never lost that great ability to throw you right into a scene's atmosphere, those happenings come more frequently with less ... twaddle, to use an abrupt term. The end did seem a little corny, but then as I already know, Smiley's life doesn't end here. Very glad I read this one. **** Reread, 18/03/2017 *** Now that we've had news of a new Smiely novel coming out in September, it's time to revisit these. the thing that stood out to me today is George's whit, that instinct and lifesaving awareness. It's also interesting how already, he's seeing the core of his service change - becoming more Bureaucratic, more governed I suppose. I don't know how well this ties into Smiley's own management of things in Honourable Schoolboy and Enderby's running of things later in Smiley's People, but we'll get to that in due course...
4 Stars to Golden Son (Red Rising Saga, #2) by Pierce Brown
Description
As a Red, Darrow grew up working the mines deep beneath the surface of Mars, enduring backbreaking labor while dreaming of the better future he was building for his descendants. But the Society he faithfully served was built on lies. Darrow’s kind have been betrayed and denied by their elitist masters, the Golds—and their only path to liberation is revolution. And so Darrow sacrifices himself in the name of the greater good for which Eo, his true love and inspiration, laid down her own life. He becomes a Gold, infiltrating their privileged realm so that he can destroy it from within. A lamb among wolves in a cruel world, Darrow finds friendship, respect, and even love—but also the wrath of powerful rivals. To wage and win the war that will change humankind’s destiny, Darrow must confront the treachery arrayed against him, overcome his all-too-human desire for retribution—and strive not for violent revolt but a hopeful rebirth. Though the road ahead is fraught with danger and deceit, Darrow must choose to follow Eo’s principles of love and justice to free his people. He must live for more.
Review
"Home isn’t where you’re from, it’s where you find light when all grows dark." another riveting installment of this story to be sure. we've come to expect a reversal in every tactical engagement and two tricks up every sleeve. Great writing.
5 Stars to Red Rising (Red Rising Saga, #1) by Pierce Brown
Description
Darrow is a Red, a member of the lowest caste in the color-coded society of the future. Like his fellow Reds, he works all day, believing that he and his people are making the surface of Mars livable for future generations. Yet he toils willingly, trusting that his blood and sweat will one day result in a better world for his children. But Darrow and his kind have been betrayed. Soon he discovers that humanity reached the surface generations ago. Vast cities and lush wilds spread across the planet. Darrow—and Reds like him—are nothing more than slaves to a decadent ruling class. Inspired by a longing for justice, and driven by the memory of lost love, Darrow sacrifices everything to infiltrate the legendary Institute, a proving ground for the dominant Gold caste, where the next generation of humanity’s overlords struggle for power. He will be forced to compete for his life and the very future of civilization against the best and most brutal of Society’s ruling class. There, he will stop at nothing to bring down his enemies . . . even if it means he has to become one of them to do so.
Review
This was breathtakingly good. I wish I'd stopped to note interesting bits, but I was so wrapped up and enjoying myself that I just ... didn't. Certainly with eyes on a big screen adaptation in the future, this is a hugely successful novel with damned good reason.
5 Stars to The Billion Dollar Heist by Ben Lovejoy
Description
A billion dollars in crisp, newly-printed bills – the sum transferred daily from the Bureau of Engraving and Print in the run-up to the launch of a new bill design. The BEP vault is the most secure in the world. No human being ever enters it: not even the President of the USA could gain access. Only pre-programmed robot vehicles pass through the 22-ton, 10-feet thick blast-proof door. The array of technology needed to unlock that door is utterly unparalleled. The transfer operation involves the most heavily- armed convoy ever seen, from M2 Bradleys on the ground to Apache attack helicopters and F-16 fighter jets overhead. Twelve squads of Marines provide close-order protection. Sullivan and her entirely unarmed team plan to steal the cash. All of it. Pritchard and Daniels are the Secret Service agents tasked with reviewing security arrangements to ensure that such a theft is utterly impossible. Only one team can succeed.
Review
This was a super story. I must confess to feeling things were getting a little formulaic, especially given the "will they, won't they" nature of every single activity. But that didn't really bother me too much, I found it quite enjoyable at times, and the marvelous delaying tactic toward the end made me chuckle. Rich with detail, modern in scope, perhaps a tad Apple-centric (we all know droids are easier to code for, but we must excuse Mr Lovejoy his Appleness). A thrilling story from end to end.
4 Stars to Cybership (The A.I. #1) by Vaughn Heppner
Description
The cybership came from deep space. It sent the signal. Now our computers are killing us, helping the enemy drive us into extinction. But some of us refuse to die. We fight back. We learn. Jon Hawkins revives from cryogenic sleep in a drifting SLN battleship. The crew is dead and the main computer has been destroyed. Jon is a soldier, the start of the resistance, the one man with the will to beat the alien death machines that have terminated a thousand races. This is our hour as we face the ultimate evil, the galactic destroyer of life.
Review
This had a powerful feel of the pulp era about it, the sort of thing you'd expect to come at you in a magazine on a regular basis. Even the name Vaughn Heppner sounds very age-of-scifi. The story isn't anything new, and I found myself a little drifty when it came to the arbiter and a lot of the history there. But the story gripped me and won out, and I ended it with no small sense of pleasure and enjoyment.
2 Stars to Escape from the Past: The Duke's Wrath by Annette Oppenlander
Description
"... will grip the reader'stotal attention from beginning to end. Very highly recommended for school and community library..." -Midwest Book Review "... an entertaining and fast-paced read that guarantees to thrill any young reader's/gamer's wish to be a hero in a faraway time." -Historical Novel Society When nerd and gamer, Max Anderson, tries out an experimental computer game, he doesn't realize he's playing the ultimate history game, time-traveling into the past...anywhere...anytime. Survival is optional. To return home he must decipher the game's rules and complete its missions--if he lives long enough. To fail means to stay in the past--forever. Now he's trapped in medieval Germany, unprepared and clueless. It is 1471 and he quickly learns that being an outcast may cost him his head. Especially after rescuing a beautiful peasant girl from a deadly infection and thus provoking sinister wannabe Duke Ott. Overnight he is dragged into a hornet's nest of feuding lords who will stop at nothing to bring down the conjuring stranger in their midst. Kids graduating from the Magic Tree House series and fans of time-travel and historical action/adventure will love this trilogy based on actual historical events, locations and people.
Review
There were a few English issues with this one, the work exuded rushed YA story where the plot didn't really connect very well. Some nice scenes, but I came away thinking the work really needed more polish.
3 Stars to Only the Truth by Adam Croft
Description
Review
A cleverly-told tale, although with a worrying police force (proof of one person's presence at a crime scene does not immediately disprove another's, even if he may deny it). If you can get over the gaping ending therefore, you'll find an almost bucolic read with a weirdly likeable protagonist.
5 Stars to Calculating God by Robert J. Sawyer
Description
An alien shuttle craft lands outside the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto. Out pops a six-legged, two-armed alien, who says, in perfect English, "Take me to a paleontologist." It seems that Earth, and the alien's home planet, and the home planet of another alien species traveling on the alien mother ship, all experienced the same five cataclysmic events at about the same time, including events exactly like the meteor that wiped out the dinosaurs. Both alien races believe this proves the existence of God: i.e. he's obviously been manipulating the evolution of life on each of these planets.
Review
Isn't in a truly fascinating thing? TO think. The me that first read this book isn't the me that I am now. what was going on in my life when I first read this book, I wonder? if you asked me when I'd read it, I couldn't have told you. Not remotely. Before I started using Goodreads of course - at a time when I spent a lot of time at my grandparents house, and years before I met my partner and went to college. I am confident that I only read this book once or twice. I feel fairly certain that this was the first or second of Sawyer's full-length novels I ever read, and therefore I'd have only read it at the most twice, as was my habit back then. Looking back at me then is hard, but the easiest things to swallow are the facts. it was the 24th of June 2003 when I last made an annotation in the electronic, text-file based copy of this book I would've by necessity used to read. That would've been removing the bookmark (can you believe I used to physically modify the content of the file to denote my current place? How barbaric!), before reading the last bit. The timestamp is almost 10 in the morning. Is that too early for the summer holidays? Surely so. It was a whole year before my GCSEs - I would have been 15 years and 6 months or so old. What else of the then me lingers in the me of now? Well, not much of that period, I must admit. I can remember the Human Genome Project being concluded, Iraq of course, and something about SARS. But as to what else I was doing for any of it? I really - impossibly can't say. I remember thrilling to it as a sci-fi story. Aliens! Visiting earth! spiriting people away to visit God! Crazy stuff. Of course, I still felt some of that today. I still don't believe in God, certainly not the benevolent custodian of Heaven. I must confess, a reread of this book in the now has truly made me question evolution, not at all in whether it has been happening, but in how things got started. Sawyer does posit some very interesting arguments about the properties of the universe, and those were totally over my teenage head. The scene where Tom says goodbye to Ricky didn't even register to me at that age. Today, reading it whilst my daughter slept metres away, brought a lump to my throat. Yet 13 years on, and 17 after publication it's still an incredibly gripping read not for what happens in the story perhaps, but for what people are thinking and feeling along the way. A true masterpiece of the genre, whatever age you read it at.
5 Stars to Foreigner (Quintaglio Ascension, #3) by Robert J. Sawyer
Description
In Far-Seer and Fossil Hunter , we met the Quintaglios, a race of intelligent dinosaurs from Earth and learned of the threat to their very existence. Now they must quickly advance from a culture equivalent to our Renaissance to the point where they can leave their planet. While the Quintaglios rush to develop space travel, the discovery of a second species of intelligent dinosaur rocks their most fundamental beliefs. Meanwhile, blind Afsan -- the dinosaurian Galileo -- undergoes the newfangled treatment of psychoanalysis, throwing everything he thought he knew about his violent people into a startling new light.
Review
A wonderful end to the series, Sawyer doesn't leave things dangling. A very condensed enlightenment, you might think - we've had discoveries in science, evolution, psychology and all sorts of fields in the space of a lifetime. I really enjoyed all 3 of these, and am very glad I finally got around to reading them.
February
4 Stars to Fossil Hunter (Quintaglio Ascension, #2) by Robert J. Sawyer
Description
Fossil Hunter is hard SF in the tradition of Larry Niven about a world inhabited by the Quintaglios, a dinosaurian species that has evolved a human level of intelligence and culture. Toroca, a Quintaglio geologist, is under attack for his controversial new theory of evolution. But the origins of his people turn out to be more complex than even he imagined, for he soon discovers the wreckage of an ancient starship -- a relic of the aliens who transplanted Earth's dinosaurs to this solar system. Now, Toroca must convince Emperor Dybo that evolution is true; otherwise, the territorial violence the Quintaglios inherited from their tyrannosaur ancestors will destroy the last survivors of Earth's prehistoric past.
Review
This is quite an interesting follow-on. Not only do we see more of the dynamic of these creatures development (much is made of their territorial instincts) and breeding practices, but we also get a look at the intelligence behind their evolution to begin with. It's not the sort of earth-shattering read Sawyer's done before (even if there is some chipping away at rocks) but it's spinning out a good, solid story with a profoundly interesting species, the like of which have rarely been done as well in the genre.
4 Stars to Far-Seer (Quintaglio Ascension, #1) by Robert J. Sawyer
Description
The Face of God is what every young saurian learns to call the immense, glowing object which fills the night sky on the far side of the world. Young Afsan is privileged, called to the distant Capital City to apprentice with Saleed the court astrologer. But when the time comes for Afsan to make his coming-of-age pilgrimage, to gaze upon the Face of God, his world is changed forever- for what he sees will test his faith... and may save his world from disaster!
Review
Going in, I wondered how absorbing a read this would be without any people to balance it out. The people in the Neanderthal Parallax, though very different, had interaction with people to breed familiarity. I was pleasantly engrossed, of course - the vast majority of Sawyer's writing can do that to a body. I'm very interested to see where this goes now, of course, and so I do have to persist.
3 Stars to Mr. Clear by Graham Stewart
Description
Free to go wherever he wants and do whatever he pleases, it would seem Ben lives in a world the rest of us only dream of. The reality is that his everyday existence is a nightmare. Why? Ben was born invisible. Hiding in plain sight his entire life, naked and alone, living in fear of what might happen if the forces he knows are out there searching ever discover him, tonight he will meet a man who says he was once just like him, and is in a position to grant him his greatest wish. The thing is, he’s going to need something in return. So against Ben’s better judgement, and the instincts that have kept him alive so well all these years, Ben enters into a bargain he has the distinct feeling he will soon regret.
Review
Not a badly written novel, but when everyone has an agenda and secrets, there's very little empathy one can build up. Enjoyable enough though, and by no means a blot on the genre of invisible people.
4 Stars to Snapshot by Brandon Sanderson
Description
Snapshot is a Science Fiction detective story following Anthony Davis, a cop assigned to Snapshot Duty. In this vivid world that author Brandon Sanderson has built, society can create a snapshot of a specific day in time. The experiences people have, the paths they follow—all of them are real again for a one day in the snapshot. All for the purposes of investigation by the court. Davis’s job as a cop on Snapshot Duty is straight forward. Sometimes he is tasked with finding where a criminal dumped a weapon. Sometimes he is tasked with documenting domestic disputes. Simple. Mundane. One day, in between two snapshot assignments, Davis decides to investigate the memory of a call that was mysteriously never logged at the precinct, and he makes a horrifying discovery. As in all many stories, Snapshot follows a wonderfully flawed character as he attempts to solve a horrific crime. Sanderson proves that no matter the genre, he is one of the most skilled storytellers in the business.
Review
Even in short form, Sanderson's able to draw distinct and unique characters. I can't admit to being surprised by the ending (if you're putting people into a fake world, how long before you see that coming?) but even knowing, in outline, how things were going down, it was a pretty captivating quick read.
5 Stars to The Dead Alone (Empires Lost #3) by Charles S. Jackson
Description
Please note: this is not the final novel in this series. At least two more are planned at this stage. South-East Asia: 1942 In just three years, the German Wehrmacht has conquered Europe, taken Britain and won a devastating victory in North Africa. As self-proclaimed rulers of an entire continent, the Nazis now stand secure in the belief that no threat remains on their Western frontier. In the Pacific and South-East Asia however, war looms closer than ever. Eager to establish their nation as a true global power, the Japanese government has for too long bowed down to German demands for peace with the United States in exchange for advanced technology. Armed with nuclear weapons supplied by splinter factions within the Nazis’ own ranks, the Japanese embark on a daring plan to knock the Americans out of the war before it has even begun. Returning from the disaster of North Africa, Hindsight are again thrown into the thick of the fray in a race to track down a German raider loaded with nuclear weapons, enroute to Tokyo, while from Northern Ireland, information comes to hand that Samuel Lowenstein still lives: a man who may yet hold the key to Hindsight’s mission and provide the means to finally return history to its original course. As war breaks out anew and they are caught in once more in its midst, Max Thorne and Eileen Donelson will be forced to make decisions that will affect the lives of millions and decide the course of history itself.
Review
Another gigantic, almost overpoweringly complicated book. I must confess that, for the first time since I began reading this fabulous series, I found myself wishing I'd taken comprehensive notes! But I suppose what was best for me was just to let it flow, enjoy the progression. There were some poignant, powerful moments - spine-tingling in their efficacy and worrying in the impact that they had on my psyche. Poor Donelson comes in for more than her fair share of pain in this one, and yet I still found myself hoping things between her and Thorne would keep ticking over - when they were both happy and playful they could take on the world. But of course, the world's kicking the shit out of each other at the moment: “Negative, Green-Leader… negative… Approaching aircraft are not Luftwaffe…”, what a scary transmission! But to be aboard the Kormoran, flying that Lightning II, to be poor Evan, or even Sergeant Langdale, technically at liberty but a prisoner of the situation and his orders. So, so many things going on, and I haven't even brought up any of the German officers individually yet; Ritter was superb of course, and - I can't spoil it - but I didn't see the ending coming, I knew it would involve Brandis obviously but the twist got me right between the eyes. What an absolute, incontestable joy to spend a week back with these familiar characters as their world continues to divulge its secrets on a path different to our own. These books are very much worth the price an I can't imagine the effort, dedication and involvement needed to produce such breathtakingly powerful and brilliant works. I'm very glad Mr jackson knows where the series is going, and equally glad I, as a thoroughly satisfied and happy reader, have this delight to come.
3 Stars to Dear Fatty by Dawn French
Description
Dawn French is one of the greatest comedy actresses of our time, with a career spanning nearly three decades and encompassing a vast and brilliant array of characters that would eventually establish her as a national treasure. She first appeared on the British entertainment scene as part of the groundbreaking alternative comedy group, the Comic Strip, which marked a radical departure from the more traditional comedy acts of the time. Later came the all-female Girls on Top with Jennifer Saunders, Ruby Wax and Tracy Ullman. Then, as part of the wildly successful duo, French and Saunders, Dawn helped create a repertoire of brilliantly observed recurring characters parodying popular culture and impersonating everything from Madonna and Harry Potter to The Exorcist. Dawn's more recent role in The Vicar of Dibley again has showcased not only her talent but also her ability to take a controversial issue and make it mainstream and funny. From her early years as an RAF child to her flat-sharing antics with Jennifer Saunders, from her outspoken views on sizeism to her marriage to Lenny Henry, Dear Fatty will chronicle the fascinating and hilarious rise of a complex, dynamic and unstoppable woman.
Review
Not being one of Dawn's contemporaries in either age or fame, I can't say that I really "got" a lot of this book. So much of it was raw and inside and personal that I felt, at times, a little as though I were reading very private diary entries rather than letters fit for the whole world to read. I laughed in spots (the panto at the end was very amusing), shed a tear (mostly during letters to Nick and her dad) and generally found myself feeling impressed at this lady's fortitude and power, as she rolls through life enjoying it as much as she can, giving of herself whilst having a jolly good time. Very much outside my comfort zone and not a book I'd normally read, but I am glad I did. I got this book as part of the RNIB Library's mystery book offering.
2 Stars to Killing Dylan (Freddie Winters Book 1) by Alastair Puddick
Description
Someone is trying to kill celebrated author Dylan St James. But who would want him dead? And why? And who the hell shoots someone with a harpoon, anyway? Disgruntled, failed crime writer, Freddie Winters, spends his days conning old ladies, setting up fake book signings, sneaking into literary festivals uninvited and lamenting his lack of success. When his old Friend, Dylan, turns to him for help, Freddie agrees to use his own limited detective skills to find out who’s behind the murder attempt. With a group of suspicious ex-wives, a jealous rival, a crazed stalker fan and an exploding postman to deal with, Freddie soon stumbles upon a catalogue of crazy behaviour and a truly bizarre motive for murder. But can he stop the killer before it’s too late?
Review
I enjoyed the plot, the atmosphere and so on. But Freddie was a complete and utter tosspot. I just se no need for it; nothing in his background, apart from a gigantic ego with a total lac of morality, served to explain wy he's just generally a good-for-nothing arsehole. If you need to write a pathetic main character just to keep the humour of your books going, you're probably working in the wrong genre. Freddie could've been a little naive, a tad clueless, maybe a little self-serving. But an absolute, total git? I mean it just didn't add anything or go anywhere. #Meh.
5 Stars to Portal of a Thousand Worlds by Dave Duncan
Description
Epic in scope and imagination, "The Portal of a Thousand Worlds" is a novel of love, murder, magic, treason, rebellion, and politics in nineteenth-century China. The portal opens once every thousandyears or so always with disastrous results and omens suggest it is due to open again. An inventive tale that seamlessly combines history and fantasy, Dave Duncan s newest tale is surely his best."
Review
A Delightful, exciting, intriguing story which bounces around a remarkably memorable cast of characters. I know I've been waiting for a while, but this met my expectations very nicely indeed. Without a doubt, I'll take it for a slower read at some point and bask in the unusual flavour of this most interesting of releases from an author who, let's face it, keeps churning out works of breathtaking variety.
5 Stars to iBoy by Kevin Brooks
Description
What can he do with his new powers — and what are they doing to him? Before the attack, Tom Harvey was just an average teen. But a head-on collision with high technology has turned him into an actualized App. Fragments of a shattered iPhone are embedded in his brain. And they're having an extraordinary effect on his every thought. Because now Tom knows, sees, and can do more than any normal boy ever could. But with his new powers comes a choice: To avenge Lucy, the girl he loves, will he hunt down the vicious gangsters who hurt her? Will he take the law into his own electric hands and exterminate them from the South London housing projects where, by fear and violence, they rule? Not even his mental search engine can predict the shocking outcome of iBoy's actions. A WiFi, WTF thriller by YA master Kevin Brooks. Link to movie site: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3171832/
Review
5 stars from me? Yes indeed, primarily because, like the oft-referenced and very good first Spider Man movie, this just gets it right. It's a feel-good, good-feelin' superhero story which beneath the surface has some good messages to address. I really, really wish British works could stop using words and phrases where we have perfectly acceptable alternatives (I'm lookin' at you, dumpsters), and of course, you really have to go in disbelief suspended to enjoy it. But bloody hell, I enjoyed it.
4 Stars to Allen, The Rogue AI by Leo Petracci
Description
Humanity cured cancer in 2063. Well, technically humanity didn’t do it. Their Artificial Intelligence did. And it’s not finished. This short story is accompanied by two other bonus short stories. (The Experiment; Two Pills)
Review
I enjoyed all of the stories here, the last least but certainly it was worth the read. I will buy a novel from this author if the synopsis grips me; the twists alone will be worth paying for.
5 Stars to Palace of Treason (Red Sparrow Trilogy, #2) by Jason Matthews
Description
From the bestselling, Edgar Award–winning author of the “terrifically good” (The New York Times) Red Sparrow, a compulsively readable new novel about star-crossed Russian agent Dominika Egorova and CIA's Nate Nash in a desperate race to the finish. Captain Dominika Egorova of the Russian Intelligence Service (SVR) has returned from the West to Moscow. She despises the men she serves, the oligarchs, and crooks, and thugs of Putin’s Russia. What no one knows is that Dominika is working for the CIA as Washington’s most sensitive penetration of SVR and the Kremlin.
Review
As exciting, tense and generally delectable as the first, the number of treasonous acts rockets and it is sometimes hard to call who's going to betray whom. I found it utterly readable, and even though it's occurred to me that the totality of this genre I read is very heavily westernised (it's always assumed we're the good guys, you know?) politics and real life aside this was a treasured, highly enjoyed read.
4 Stars to Time for Yesterday by A.C. Crispin
Description
Time in the galaxy has stopped running in its normal course. That can mean only one thing—the Guardian of Forever is malfunctioning. To save the universe, Starfleet Command reunites three of its most legendary figures—Admiral James T. Kirk, Spock of Vulcan, and Dr. Leonard McCoy—and sends them on a desperate mission to contact the Guardian, a journey that ultimately takes them 5,000 years into the past. They must find Spock's son Zar once again, and bring him back to their time to telepathically communicate with the Guardian. But Zar is enmeshed in troubles of his own, and soon Kirk, Spock, and McCoy find themselves in a desperate struggle to save both his and their world.
Review
I found myself enjoying this book, as much for the viewpoint of the characters, clearly forwarded from their five year mission, as anything else. Solidly written with the predictable, comforting Trek patina of the ocket books of the era, this was a solidly readable and memorable work.
4 Stars to Trolled by D.K. Bussell
Description
Seventeen-year-old student Nat Lawler doesn’t know her orc from her elf bow. She’s never swung a sword before, never ridden a unicorn, or fought a troll outside of the internet. And yet here she is, trapped in a fantasy world and tasked with defeating its evil queen, Drensila the Black. Thankfully, some of Nat’s roleplayer friends were thrown into the mix too, and join her on her epic quest. They’ve spent their lives preparing for this moment, but now it's time for action, because this fantasy just got real!
Review
Talking swords and trees? Get in! A shame about some of the americanisms, I suppose that's part of the world these days. Fun, quick, enjoyable reading.
4 Stars to Max and the Multiverse (Max and the Multiverse #1) by Zachry Wheeler
Description
Alternate Cover Edition for ASIN B01MYGHQC1 * Gold Medal Winner - Global Ebook Awards * Readers' Favorite® 5-Star Selection It's spring break and Max is stuck at home all by himself. Just the way he likes it. He games online, feasts on junk, and wonders why his cat can suddenly talk. Thanks to a bizarre mishap, Max has started shifting between parallel universes whenever he falls asleep. A curious affliction, and one that steadily erodes his sanity. Day after day, he awakes to a strange new reality and struggles to make sense of his surroundings. But then one day he awakes to a hyper-advanced version of Earth where humans have colonized space. Determined to fulfill a lifelong dream, Max and his cyborg cat venture into the black, only to entangle themselves in an intergalactic conflict.
Review
Yes, I read this and saw echoes of Douglas Adams, of David Liss, of Matthew Kadish. Delightfully fun, if not to be taken too seriously.
4 Stars to From Here to Nearly There (A Voyage in the Near Distance Book 1) by Alec Merta
Description
Nicholas Carver began his day in Yorkshire. He will end it aboard an interstellar super yacht. Before he leaves Earth, Carver must race across England in a desperate flight from police and aliens. The police want to arrest him. The aliens want to do something far worse. All Carver wants is to survive. Join Carver, an English mapmaker and surveyor, as he is caught in a tale of intrigue that spans the cosmos. Together with Allie, a mysterious girl who bursts into his life, Carver reluctantly sets out to solve the greatest mystery humanity has ever faced. His success or failure will spell the dawn of a golden age or the ultimate doom of mankind. By author Alec Merta, “From Here to Nearly There” is a novel that combines the best elements of a travelogue with those of a taut science-fiction thriller. By combining science with elements of real UFO and paranormal reports, Merta crafts a believable thriller that you will find hard to put down. “From Here to Nearly There” is the first book of “A Voyage in the Near Distance.” The series tells the tale of two planets that are linked by an ancient mystery. One planet is a blue orb that orbits an average yellow star. It teems with human civilization. The second planet is Earth.
Review
This was a splendid work with a charming, quaint Britishness about it. Things did fall in spots (the use of words like "bullshit" and "sure!" seemed to me a little out of place for your typical English gentleman) but overall, I really found myself cheering our narrator on and enjoying the story. next adventure please!
5 Stars to Red Sparrow (Red Sparrow Trilogy #1) by Jason Matthews
Description
An impossible to put down, highly commercial espionage thriller written by a CIA insider. In today’s Russia, dominated by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, state intelligence officer Dominika Egorova struggles to survive in the cast-iron bureaucracy of post-Soviet intelligence. Drafted against her will to become a “Sparrow,” a trained seductress in the service, Dominika is assigned to operate against Nathaniel Nash, a first-tour CIA officer who handles the CIA’s most sensitive penetration of Russian intelligence. The two young intelligence officers, trained in their respective spy schools, collide in a charged atmosphere of tradecraft, deception, and inevitably, a forbidden spiral of carnal attraction that threatens their careers and the security of America’s valuable mole in Moscow. Seeking revenge against her soulless masters, Dominika begins a fatal double life, recruited by the CIA to ferret out a high-level traitor in Washington; hunt down a Russian illegal buried deep in the U.S. military and, against all odds, to return to Moscow as the new-generation penetration of Putin’s intelligence service. Dominika and Nathaniel’s impossible love affair and twisted spy game come to a deadly conclusion in the shocking climax of this electrifying, up-to-the minute spy thriller.
Review
Wow! Thanks, Mat. What a find. Le Carre was right, the American brand of spycraft can be noisy and brash, but when combined with the Russians that makes for an explosive, thrilling, powerful mix. One of the best reads of the year, for sure.
5 Stars to Virtual Immortality by Matthew S. Cox
Description
Nina Duchenne walked away from a perfect life of wealth and ease to pursue a noble idea. Unfortunately, her hope of becoming a forensic investigator drowned in two years of mandatory street patrol. After one tragic night shatters her dream, she finds herself questioning the very nature of what it means to be alive. Joey Dillon lives at the edge of a perpetual adrenaline rush. A self-styled cyber cowboy that chases thrills wherever he can find them, he is unconcerned with what will happen twenty minutes into the future. Lured into a dangerous region of cyberspace, he soon has the government of Mars trying to kill him. After fleeing to Earth, he takes refuge in places society has forgotten. When two international agents threaten the security of West City, Nina gets command of the operation to stop them. Joey just wants to find his next meal. Voices from beyond the grave distract Nina from her pursuit, and send Joey on a mission to find out who is responsible. His suspicions lie grounded in reality while she hopes for something science cannot explain. The spies prove more elusive than expected, convincing her they have help from a master hacker. Joey falls square in her sights with the fate of the entire West City, as well as Nina’s humanity, at risk.
Review
This was one of those works which is ever so slightly bewildering, but then when you're sucked in and things start happening, you're glad you held with it. Very much enjoyed, will read more set here.
4 Stars to Headlong Flight by Dayton Ward
Description
Surveying a nebula as part of their continuing exploration of the previously uncharted "Odyssean Pass," Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the Starship Enterprise encounter a rogue planet. Life signs are detected on the barren world's surface, and then a garbled message is received: a partial warning to stay away at all costs. Determined to render assistance, Picard dispatches Commander Worf and an away team to investigate, but their shuttlecraft is forced to make an emergency landing on the surface – moments before all contact is lost and the planet completely disappears. Worf and his team learn that this mysterious world is locked into an unending succession of random jumps between dimensions, the result of an ambitious experiment gone awry. The Enterprise crewmembers and the alien scientists who created the technology behind this astonishing feat find themselves trapped, powerless to break the cycle. Meanwhile, as the planet continues to fade in and out of various planes of existence, other parties have now taken notice…
Review
I always feel a little sad when reading these, because I've missed so much of what's happened before. But it was really good to see some of the old crew again, and I got into this as much as I ever did any of the best TV episodes.
3 Stars to The Silent Voice: A Techno Thriller Novel by Christopher Hodder-Williams
Description
The Machines are taking control… ‘Both humanly and scientifically plausible. Read and be scared’ THE SUN Four men return to Earth from space. Barnes, Ullard, Hewitt, and Staffer have spent years orbiting Mars to collect data. But now they get to come home. Suddenly, the onboard computer directs them to a new landing path. The men are beginning to feel uneasy. They haven’t been in contact with another human at Mission Control for a long time... With no reserve fuel and tensions rising between the crew, they don’t question the new coordinates and safely touch down, back on Earth again. But there’s no welcoming party. No help. Nothing. The entire population seems caught by some mass delusion. The country is at war. Destruction reigns. But the crew sees nothing wrong and no one can tell them anything. What is going on? Pieces slowly start to fall into place. Pieces about computer-generated, Blake-level poetry, about radio waves and controlling frequencies, and about warnings that were given before the launch. Have computers taken over? Can the crew fight back and regain humanity’s control of itself? The Silent Voice is a gripping sci fi tale, examining the psychology of man as it butts up against the artificial intelligence of machine. Hodder-Williams mixes it all in an action-filled, cognitive thriller that asks the ultimate sci fi what happens when the computers take over? Praise for Christopher ‘It is fast-moving, at times almost bafflingly so, and has this author’s customary display of technical expertise.’ DAILY TELEGRAPH ‘Utterly credible and applicable to the whole community.' DAILY EXPRESS ‘Both humanly and scientifically plausible. Read and be scared’ THE SUN ‘Transfixed me throughout. It’s hard, fast, suspenseful …’ TRIBUNE ‘Horribly fascinating — and as disconcerting as LSD’ SUNDAY TIMES ‘Christopher Hodder-Williams writes science fiction in that too rare Wellsian sense of solidly worked-out fiction exploring solidly worked-out science.’ SUNDAY TELEGRAPH ‘One of those writers on whom critics have lavished almost every word of praise possible.’ RADIO TWO ‘… secures for its author a comfortable place among the best catastrophe writers — Verne, Wyndham and Wells.’ TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT ‘Scathing exposure of psycho-surgery … A novel with an acute contemporary theme.’ BOOKS AND BOOKMEN ‘Tortuous enough to send you round the Mobius twist …’ NEW STATESMAN ‘It's a gripping tale, well told, that holds you right to the end, and leaves you with the memory of its disturbing implications.’ BIRMINGHAM POST Christopher Hodder-Williams was an English writer, mainly of science fiction, but he wrote novels about aviation and espionage as well.
Review
I loved the quaint computing, but then I am a sucker for this sort of thing. Very retro.
4 Stars to The Buchanan Campaign (Federation War, #1) by Rick Shelley
Description
The peaceful farming planet of Buchanan is thrown into turmoil after a sonic boom and the disappearance of a planetary commissioner, and the unprotected colonists learn that they have been invaded by Federation troops. Reissue.
Review
Typical Rick, but I enjoyed it more than the other starter of his I tried and didn't find as fun. I'll be carrying on with these between other reads
January
3 Stars to Resolve (Lost Fagare Ship Book 1) by Edward Antrobus
Description
What would you do if you discovered an ancient starship buried in the foot of the Colorado Rockies?For Jim Bromley, the day started out like any other. Trying to scrounge up work and keep his crew from fighting each other seemed like all there was to life. But when they dig up a thousand-year-old starship, his life turns upside down. But interplanetary space ships don't come with instruction manuals. Even if they survive their first flight, it will bring the attention of enemies both old and new. Can Jim keep his crew together and humanity from becoming enslaved by a superior alien force? Resolve is the first book of the Lost Fagare Ship series, a fast-paced military space opera Buy Resolve to join the interplanetary adventure today!
Review
Lacking originality, plausibility and only showing glimmerings of readability, this was a very average read. I would like to hope that more than the story grows with future instalments.
2 Stars to Transference by R.D. Overby
Description
Beth is dying. Her father has been funding the science meant to give her a second chance at life, but they have encountered nothing but failure. Her time is quickly running out. Luckily, Dr. Eric Johnson has figured out what the problem is. They have only tried to save people who have already died; people who have donated their bodies to science. But it’s the not knowing that’s killing them—he’s sure of it. Beth is the answer. She knows about the procedure and is willing to undergo it while still alive. A new, cloned body, to replace her failing one. But there are risks that Eric decides to keep to himself. Risks worse than death. And Beth won’t know until it’s too late.
Review
unfortunately I didn't really click with any of the characters, and the medical aspects felt as if they were almost caricatures of more fulfilling works. Not really a title I enjoyed.
5 Stars to Empire Games (Empire Games, #1, Merchant Princes Universe, #7) by Charles Stross
Description
The year is 2020. It's seventeen years since the Revolution overthrew the last king of the New British Empire, and the newly-reconstituted North American Commonwealth is developing rapidly, on course to defeat the French and bring democracy to a troubled world. But Miriam Burgeson, commissioner in charge of the shadowy Ministry of Intertemporal Research and Intelligence—the paratime espionage agency tasked with catalyzing the Commonwealth's great leap forward--has a problem. For years, she's warned everyone: "The Americans are coming." Now their drones arrive in the middle of a succession crisis—the leader of the American Commonwealth is dying and the vultures are circling. In another timeline, the U.S. has recruited Rita, Miriam's estranged daughter, to spy across timelines and bring down any remaining world-walkers who might threaten national security. But her handlers are keeping information from her. Two nuclear superpowers are set on a collision course. Two increasingly desperate paratime espionage agencies are fumbling around in the dark, trying to find a solution to the first contact problem that doesn't result in a nuclear holocaust. And two women—a mother and her long-lost, adopted daughter—are about to find themselves on opposite sides of the confrontation.
Review
I found this exceptionally enjoyable, rightly riveting and crazily cool. I thought, having had the whole introductory universe x y and z statement that I'd get very confused, but i actually managed to keep the threads straight in my head and utterly enjoyed the work as a result. My only small gripe seemed to be the lack of consistency of dialogue and diction in Timeline 3, but even that's not such a huge thing when I consider just how many people we see living there aren't native. other than that, the whole story rocked along at an impressive pace and I eagerly await the next one.
5 Stars to Gilded Cage (Dark Gifts, #1) by Vic James
Description
In modern-day Britain, magic users control everything: wealth, politics, power—and you. If you’re not one of the ultimate one-percenters—the magical elite—you owe them ten years of service. Do those years when you’re old, and you’ll never get through them. Do them young, and you’ll never get over them. This is the darkly decadent world of Gilded Cage. In its glittering milieu move the all-powerful Jardines and the everyday Hadleys. The families have only one thing in common: Each has three children. But their destinies entwine when one family enters the service of the other. They will all discover whether any magic is more powerful than the human spirit. Have a quick ten years. . . .
Review
100% devourworthy, this was a stunningly well-written, exciting, engaging, beautifully British book. Alternate history, done well, can be really good. This is a fine, prime example.
5 Stars to Quantum Zero Sentinel (Quantum Chronicles, #1) by Scott Rhine
Description
The FBI gets a tip about the sale of quantum computers to criminals and spies. Due to a freak accident, Maia Long is forced undercover to catch the culprits. Then she stumbles upon the cornerstone of a new technology. Disruptive changes are coming, threatening the US economy and national security. The first thing her instructor taught her in quantum physics was that everything they’ve taught you before was a lie. As she follows the clues, nobody turns out to be who she expects them to be, not even herself.
Review
Holy Batman! This book was almost too fast for me. I mean literally - a few times I had to just stop and breathe. It scores very highly on badass points, because seriously, Maia is superb. I'm not really sure how much of the rest of the characters are hanging around or turning into other people or things, and to be honest nothing that happens in a follow-on novel would surprise me in the least. But, wow. A head rush of a read and no mistake, I almost feel as if I need to go straight back to the beginning and read it paragraph by paragraph more carefully, because there's so much to soak up.
3 Stars to Mark One (Midway, #1) by John Hindmarsh
Description
Nine men, ex-military, are on a mission to destroy a genetics laboratory and capture a genetically engineered specimen. They are supported by four rogue CIA agents, who have commandeered a test drone and a missile at a Marine base. The team attacks the genetics laboratory complex before dawn, during a raging blizzard. Within hours, seven of the men are dead, one is severely wounded and one barely escapes. The drone with its missile has been destroyed. The next morning the four rogue agents are found dead from carbon monoxide poisoning. Mark Midway does not know his real parents, nor where and when he was born. Two scientists adopted him when he was a young child and his home since has been a genetic research laboratory. After the attack, Mark flees the laboratory complex, seeking safety and somewhere he can call home. The FBI is on his case and a mysterious organization offers him its assistance. However, he is at risk. There are unknown killers chasing him and he needs to protect himself and his friends. He needs to survive.
Review
Had potential, but Mark is painted far too shallow to get behind. Guantanamo is dropped far too often, the Russians are thuggish and underdeveloped. Not a work with a bad start as such, but certainly one which could do with some deeper development.
3 Stars to Daredevil: The Man Without Fear by Greg Cox
Description
Matt Murdock, a lawyer who has been accidentally blinded, devotes his professional life to fighting for the people of New York, but at night he uses his heightened senses to become Daredevil, who brings his own brand of justice to Hell's Kitchen.
Review
Of course, it was cheesy, and of course it captured the movie quite well (Greg's a dab hand). Expect nothing more than that - Wrath of Khan this is not. Fun to read, fun to revisit the movie.
4 Stars to The World Walker (The World Walker, #1) by Ian W. Sainsbury
Description
Just outside Los Angeles, a prisoner hidden away for 70 years sits up, gets off the bed and disappears through a solid wall. In Australia, a magician impresses audiences by producing real elephants. Nobody realizes it's not an illusion. Across the world, individuals and ancient organizations with supernatural power suddenly detect the presence of something even they can't understand. At the center of it all, Seb Varden, a 32-year old musician with a secret in his past, slits his wrists, is shot dead and run over on the freeway. He's had better days. Seb is about to discover the universe is a far more complicated place than he'd ever imagined. ***Please note, this book can be read as a standalone, or as the first in a planned series developing elements and characters from The World Walker.
Review
With nothing new coming to the table (New Mexico and 1947 are watchwords of the genre) this nevertheless kept its head above the rest. Even the style of writing - those chapters flashing back on history - aren't new, but the whole work has a patina to it, and not just a superficial glossy layer either. I can't quite pin down what the author's doing because nothing is particularly original, and yet there's a more than the sum of its parts feel to the work, a tantalizing feeling that, if you keep reading, you'll unearth something a cut above the traditional alien conspiracy, teen superpower stories that litter the virtual bookshelves of the self-publishing markets. Confused? Yes. me too. But enjoyed? Absolutely.
4 Stars to Big Brother by Lionel Shriver
Description
For Pandora, cooking is a form of love. Alas, her husband, Fletcher, a self-employed high-end cabinetmaker, now spurns the “toxic” dishes that he’d savored through their courtship, and devotes hours each day to manic cycling. Then, when Pandora picks up her older brother Edison at the airport, she doesn’t recognize him. In the years since they’ve seen one another, the once slim, hip New York jazz pianist has gained hundreds of pounds. What happened? After Edison has more than overstayed his welcome, Fletcher delivers his wife an ultimatum: It’s him or me. Rich with Shriver’s distinctive wit and ferocious energy, Big Brother is about fat: an issue both social and excruciatingly personal. It asks just how much sacrifice we'll make to save single members of our families, and whether it's ever possible to save loved ones from themselves.
Review
“But what’s so great about being a perfectionist? You’re never happy. You do all this work, and then the stuff you’ve made just pisses you off.” I actually enjoyed this a great deal, even though I picked it up assuming Orwell had contributed to the title and was a bit confused when it turned out to be a big brother both in a familial and literal sense rather than a work dealing with the government or spying or something like that. it was interesting, particularly on the theme of siblings (of which I have 2 and my partner has 1, but there our similarities end). To me, my siblings are happenstance and hold no more tie to me than any strangers I might come into contact with through life generally. I'd give blood were we matches, bone marrow or a lung if they were dying, but I'd do that for anyone (unless they were a mass murderer or something unspeakable). To her, the connection of a brother goes far and beyond that; there's this ineffable, and yes sometimes enviable tie. Such is shown in this work, and that's what really sank it home for me.
4 Stars to Operation Hail Storm (Hail, #1) by Brett Arquette
Description
Marshall Hail was a husband, a father, a Physics Nobel prize winner and industrial billionaire. But when Hail's family was killed in a terrorist attack, he became a deadly predator and redirected his vast industrial assets toward one goal, removing every person on the FBI's Top 10 Terrorist list. With the help of his MIT colleagues, Hail designed and built a devastating arsenal of attack drones of all shapes and sizes that are flown by the nation's best young gamers. The world will come to realize that Marshall Hail possesses the capability of getting to anyone, anywhere, at any time, unleashing an operation so disturbing that the CIA has named it Operation Hail Storm.
Review
This was intriguingly handled; taking the distant warfare concept to a level rarely explored. A few proofing issues would probably have meant I gave it a higher rating, but the plot was solid, even if some of the characters were a little bland in spots. I will certainly read more, especially if we see a wider array of technologies or countermeasures coming into force.
5 Stars to Sleeping Giants (Themis Files, #1) by Sylvain Neuvel
Description
A girl named Rose is riding her new bike near home in Deadwood, South Dakota, when she falls through the earth. She wakes up at the bottom of a square-shaped hole, its walls glowing with intricate carvings. But the firemen who come to save her peer down upon something even stranger: a little girl in the palm of a giant metal hand. Seventeen years later, the mystery of the bizarre artifact remains unsolved - the object's origins, architects, and purpose unknown. But some can never stop searching for answers. Rose Franklin is now a highly trained physicist leading a top-secret team to crack the hand's code. And along with her colleagues, she is being interviewed by a nameless interrogator whose power and purview are as enigmatic as the relic they seek. What's clear is that Rose and her compatriots are on the edge of unravelling history's most perplexing discovery-and finally figuring out what it portends for humanity. But once the pieces of the puzzle are in place, will the result be an instrument of lasting peace or a weapon of mass destruction?
Review
Abso-spiffing-lutely brilliant. The narrative structure takes a bit of getting used to and I must admit that the assortment of people pulling strings makes one a little afraid, but the plot simply pulls you along and doesn't let go. totally enjoyed it start to finish.
3 Stars to The Student by Darin Niemann
Description
The Student is the origin story of a boy named Kayne. Follow Kayne as he goes from life on the streets as an orphan to a much better life as a healer's apprentice, though he struggles to fit in to his new place in society. Meeting with kings and nobles was not something he had expected. While learning his trade, he also discovers he has potential as a swordsman. When his world comes crashing down around him, he finds that knowing how to save a life... means knowing how to end one.
Review
With over flowery dialogue and a worrying focus on herbs for healing, this nonetheless presents an intriguing, if not entirely original, idea. The quality of the writing wasn't bad and the plot at least internally consistent, but I wasn't set on a path to more stories in a way some other authors have managed.
4 Stars to Apple Tree Yard by Louise Doughty
Description
Yvonne Carmichael sits in the witness box. The charge is murder. Before all of this, she was happily married, a successful scientist, a mother of two. Now she's a suspect, squirming under fluorescent lights and the penetrating gaze of the alleged accomplice who's sitting across from her, watching: a man who's also her lover. As Yvonne faces hostile questioning, she must piece together the story of her affair with this unnamed figure who has charmed and haunted her. This is a tale of sexual intrigue, ruthless urges, and danger, which has blindsided her from a seemingly innocuous angle. Here in the courtroom, everything hinges on one night in a dark alley called Apple Tree Yard.
Review
this one recommended by Steve, primarily due to its upcoming appearance on television. I found it compelling, despite having a female lead - the insightful comments on the relationships between the sexes, particularly in the light of parenting and fidelity, struck a chord. Legally it was nothing much, but I suppose the court case, whilst important, isn't the whole story.
4 Stars to Everything but the Squeal by John Scalzi
Description
Originally published in the anthology [|17332280] under the title “Utere Nihil Non Extra Quiritationem Suis” In the not-so-distant future, life is good... if you’re one of the lucky few to live in the new, ecologically-minded city-states that dot the landscape. Outside their walls, in the “wilds” -- the rotting suburbs and exurbs of America -- things have become rather more precarious. Benjamin Washington is a kid in New St. Louis, who is on the verge of getting the boot into the wilds if he doesn’t take a job. In a last-ditch effort, he takes the only gig available to Biological Systems Interface Management... which is to say, he’s about to become a high-tech pig farmer. It’s a letdown for Benjamin, who has always expected better things for himself. But then comes the day when New St. Louis is under attack, from without and within. The only person standing between attackers and their goal is one young pig farmer, who never even wanted to be there... but who now has to make a choice whether to co-operate with the intruders, or make a stand for his city.
Review
utterly enjoyed this, as is almost inevitable. A clever trick, too, having more authors set in the world, so I will have to go and track down the rest of the stories here. Solid writing, characters on point and a dash of the irreverence Scales good at.
4 Stars to Manhunt (Paul Richter, #6) by James Barrington
Description
Nobody is ever above suspicion in the 'wilderness of mirrors' that is the world of intelligence, but when a senior officer goes bad it still hurts. When that senior officer can't be identified, it hurts even more. Conventional detective work to unmask him is going to be too slow, and probably unreliable, so an alternative strategy has to be formulated. With the security of Britain's most secret computer system at stake, and trust a commodity in short supply, a deception operation is set in train to flush out the traitor. Paul Richter, an unemployed ex-Naval aviator, is the unwitting and ultimately expendable bait in the trap. But as the net closes around the traitor in France, a female Russian intelligence officer flees Moscow and the evidence she brings points the finger of suspicion in a very different direction. With time running out, and nobody he can trust, Richter finds himself battling against both the British security establishment and trained teams of Russian assassins with orders to kill both him and the woman he's trying to protect.
Review
I thought this was the first in the series, only to see now it's number 6? Not that I felt overly confused during the read; Paul seems to have a new job and I quite enjoyed the way he handled it! Of course, anything in this genre either treads its own path, or references the stalwarts along the way and this falls into the latter category. It seemed very forward in terms of language, and I'm not sure that's an altogether good thing, whilst taking technology back a step. Still, the action was neatly handled and I won't avoid future works if I come across them.
3 Stars to The Extra Ordinary Life of Frank Derrick, Age 81 by J.B. Morrison
Description
Frank Derrick is eighty-one. And he’s just been run over by a milk float. It was tough enough to fill the hours of the day when he was active. But now he’s broken his arm and fractured his foot, it looks set to be a very long few weeks ahead. Frank lives with his cat Bill (which made more sense before Ben died) in the typically British town of Fullwind-on-Sea. The Villages in Bloom competition is the topic of conversation amongst his neighbours but Frank has no interest in that. He watches DVDs, spends his money frivolously at the local charity shop and desperately tries to avoid the cold callers continuously knocking on his door. Emailing his daughter in America on the library computer and visiting his friend Smelly John used to be the highlights of his week. Now he can’t even do that. Then a breath of fresh air comes into his life in the form of Kelly Christmas, home help. With her little blue car and appalling parking, her cheerful resilience and ability to laugh at his jokes, Kelly changes Frank’s life. She reminds him that there is a big wide-world beyond the four walls of his flat and that adventures, however small, come to people of all ages. Frank and Kelly’s story is sad and funny, moving, familiar, uplifting. It is a small and perfect look at a life neither remarkable nor disastrous, but completely extraordinary nonetheless. For fans of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry this is a quirky, life affirming story that has enormous appeal. And it’s guaranteed to make you laugh.
Review
It's easy to say that this was a vairly typical idea, but then again, who knows how I'll feel about this when I'm 81? It poses a lot to think about and had a comfortable sort of a feeling to it, whilst nonetheless making the prospect of retirement quite worrying.