Paw Prints of the Gods is truly excellent science fiction. The author has not only created a unique and riveting tale, but has also set it in a seamless future world complete in all its details. The scientific details of this world are impressive, at least to me. Ravana, who I first met in Hollow Moon, book one in this series, has gone missing, and when her father finds out, he gathers his team around him, makes hasty repairs to his old ship and flies off to find her. Meanwhile, she escapes captivity and meets a woman who agrees to help her get back to the archaeological dig she'd been working on. The planet she's on is a little like Dune and is populated in one area with giant spiders, other than that, there's just the archaeologist's dig and an abandoned scientific research centre, both under plastic domes to protect from the toxic atmosphere. The archaeologists have uncovered something that looks like an alien temple, and a shady religious sect wants to take control of it. They … [Read more...]
Wonderful Jungeon imagery: Lost in Thought by Simon Townley
Title: Lost in Thought. Author: Simon Townley Genre: Sci fi/fantasy/ metaphysical fiction I loved this book, reminiscent of the movie Inception in that it is about a group of people who enter another person's brain to retrieve some information and wake him from a coma. The man, a scientist called Richard, has discovered that the man backing the development of his project, a machine for entering peoples' brains wants to sell it for use as a weapon, whereas Richard has developed it for gaming and medical applications. The machine has the problem that some who go into someone else's mind return dead, crazy or in a coma. He has just discovered the algorithm that will make the machine safe and usable in a commercial sense, but in light of the new information he doesn't a want to share it with Dubois, the financial backer. Dubois decides to steal it. He breaks into Richard's house, but Richard catches him in the act. A scuffle ensues and Richard ends up bashed over the head and in a … [Read more...]
Sci/fi fantasy romance review: Caught in Amber by Cathy Pegau
Title: Caught in Amber Author: Cathy Pegau Publisher: Carina Press Genre: Sci/fi fantasy romance Caught in Amber is a sci/fi, urban fantasy style romance that makes a powerful statement about drug addiction and the drug trade in general. For me, this sets it apart from many others of the genre. It gives it a depth that is often lacking in popular fiction. At the same time, it has everything you would expect from the genre, passion, action, a courageous heroine, a gorgeous hero and a life or death climax. If you're not into sci/ fi or fantasy don't let that put you off, because if you took away the high tech and the fact that the story is set on another planet in a future time this would be contemporary romance with a strong storyline. The drug in question is called Amber, but it could be heroin, or any other highly addictive drug. Sasha is a reformed addict, eight months out of a correctional facility. She has a correctional services monitoring chip in her neck and has to … [Read more...]
Review: The Mad Scientist’s Daughter by Cassandra Rose Clarke
Title: The Mad Scientist's Daughter Author: Cassandra Rose Clarke Publisher: Angry Robot Genre: Sci Fi & Fantasy My Review The mad scientists Daughter is the most extreme story of unrequited love that I have ever read. The idea is a good one, set in a future where androids are a reality, it raises the question of what makes something 'human' enough to deserve rights. At what point does using androids become slavery? We're talking about machines with sentience here and the one in this story has more sentience than most. Caterina grows up with Finn. When he first arrives at her house, she's senses something different about him and decides that he must be a ghost. Only when she is much older does she realise that he is an android. He becomes her tutor and she falls in love with him. Of course there are a lot of problems associated with that, not least of which is that Cat doesn't admit it to herself and when she finally does, she tells herself that he can't feel, a … [Read more...]
Review: Stellarnet Prince by J.L. Hilton
Title: Stellarnet Prince Author: J.L. Hilton Publisher: Carina Press Genre: Sci Fi, romance I loved this story. It’s what I call gutsy—popular fiction with real bite. The causes of conflict in this futuristic world are the same as those that caused all the horrors of human history—prejudice, greed and fear. Hilton’s story shows us that no matter where in the universe we are and no matter how different the races involved, peace will never come to those motivated by those three passions. Genny’s love for the two Glin, Duin and Belloc is inspirational in its clarity. This is no angst-filled love triangle as we usually see such things written. There is no jealousy or having to choose between them. Instead, according to Glin customs, since they see no reason why one person can’t love more than one other, we have a three way marriage, a sharing that makes our jealousies and narrow view of love look backward. I loved all three of the main characters, each strongly drawn and complex. … [Read more...]
Review: Dumpiter by David Fletcher
Title: Dumpiter Author: David Fletcher Publisher: Troubador Publishing / Matador Genre: Sci Fi & Fantasy Dumpiter is a humorous science fiction/fantasy novel reminiscent of David Moresses's Warden Series and Jonathon Gould's Magnus Opum. As in those novels we have a naive hero with a good heart but little else in the way of heroic skills. Through a series of events he manages to blunder his way into the right place at the right time, and with an unlikely band of friends save the day. In this instance, our hero is an ex accountant names Renton, who sets off on a new occupation in the field of body paint with the hope of gaining more self confidence and a better chance at encounters of the amorous kind. On a trip to purchase body paint for a film, he stumbles upon a very nasty plot, the details of which we only discover as the story progresses. This mystery keeps the story ticking along as does the delightful cast of characters and he often absurd situations our hero finds … [Read more...]
Review: Alternity by Mari Mancusi
Title: Alternity Author: Mari Mancusi Publisher: NLA Digital Liaison Platform LLC Genre:Young adult, post-apocolyptic/ dystopian/ sci fi. My review Alternity is an excellent, tightly-written, action-packed, science fiction romance with an intriguing twist on reality that is a little reminiscent of that in The Matrix. I enjoyed it a great deal, and the story held me so thoroughly that I read it in one afternoon and evening. Skye is your normal sort of New York dwelling teenager, except for her rather too vivid nightmares. The world of her dreams, post-apocolyptic subterranean Terrra, is a dismal place, (thought author Mancusi manages to infuse some light into it through the beautiful character of Dawn and simple scenes where the Dark Siders show their resilience). It’s no wonder that those on Terra who can afford it want to travel to earth where they can sit in the sunshine without dying from radiation poisoning. Skye knows nothing about Terra until she finds herself there, … [Read more...]
Review: Osiris by E. J. Swift
Title: Osiris Author: E. J. Swift Publisher: Night Shade Books Genre: post-apocalyptic science fiction This is a well written book with rich imagery. What I liked most about it was the setting. Imagine a city of glass towers rising from the ocean, linked by high bridges, and with boats plying the waterways at their base. Synopsis Rising high above the frigid waters, the ocean city of Osiris has been cut off from the land since the Great Storm 50 years ago. Most believe that Osiris is the last city on Earth. Adelaide is the black-sheep granddaughter of the city’s Architect. A jaded socialite, she wants little to do with her powerful relatives — until her troubled twin brother disappears mysteriously. Vikram, a third-generation storm refugee, sees his own people dying of cold and starvation. He hopes to use Adelaide to bring about much-needed reforms — but who is using whom? As another brutal winter brings Osiris closer to riot and revolution, two very different people attempt to … [Read more...]
Review: ‘Zero Gravity Outcasts’ by Kay Keppler
Title: Zero Gravity Outcasts Author: Kay Keppler, Publisher: Carina Press Category: Science Fiction & Fantasy This highly entertaining novella is an excellent alternative to watching a movie, or for when the fare on TV is just too awful to contemplate. If this was a movie, the whole family would be watching it. Even though it’s from Carina Press, it has only the merest hint of romance and it quite suitable for teens as well as adults. After Minka Shokat was falsely branded a traitor and kicked out of Central Command five years ago, she bought an old space ship, refitted it with some unique technology and now uses it to run a cargo carrying service as far from Central Command as she can. She likes being her own boss and flying across the galaxy with her crewmates Anjali and Tex who are also her best friends. When this story begins Anjali, against Minka’s desires, has accepted a job transporting cargo for Central Command. When she finds out that the “cargo" is the very general … [Read more...]
Interview with Emily Devenport, author of Spirits of Glory.
Today I have an interview with one Emily Devenport, of the wonderful authors who have a book listed on the Awesome Indies site. Pop on over and take a look at my post on her site Have the courage to write what you want. Emily Devenport has been published under three pen names in the U.S., the U.K., Italy, and Israel. Her novels are Shade, Larissa, Scorpianne, EggHeads, The Kronos Condition, GodHeads, Broken Time (which was nominated for the Philip K. Dick award), Belarus, Enemies, and (exclusively in ebook) The Night Shifters, Spirits Of Glory, and Pale Lady. Tell me about your book. What is it about? A very scary thing happens to the colonists on the world of Jigsaw: one morning the people in the North wake up and the people in the South are gone. The cities where they lived stand silent and empty, and the highway that led to them has been shattered, as if someone picked it up and cracked it like a whip. Everyone is pretty sure the gods of the South are responsible … [Read more...]
