Reprise Review: Every Wind of Change (Paths of Shadow Book 3) by Frank Tuttle

 

Genre: Epic Fantasy/Magic/Young Adult/Sci-Fi/Adventure

Description:

“Mage Meralda’s perilous airship journey across the vast Great Sea made her a hero.

Her discovery of the Arc may doom her world.

The Arc, a mysterious metal structure hanging ten thousand feet above the stormy Sea, is singing. Tasked by the King to decipher the Arc’s strange song, Meralda discovers plans for an outlandish machine hidden in the song’s mathematical lyrics.

With sharp-tongued vegetable familiar Mug at her side, Meralda embarks on an unexpected journey across the void. Together they face ravenous beasts, ancient engines, and the most diabolical creature of all – Meralda's own long-lost mother.

With nothing but her wits, her Sight, and her determination to return home and find a decent cup of coffee, Meralda vows to lead her tiny band to safety. But her long journey home also means facing an old sorrow, and a singularly unpleasant truth.

As monsters close in, can Meralda prevail where thousands before her failed and perished?”

Author:

“Frank Tuttle lives and writes in the perpetually humid wilderness of North Mississippi. Frank tried to be a proper Southern author and write about pickups and hound dogs, but trolls and magic kept creeping into his stories, so Frank is a fantasy author. Although hounds do make occasional appearances in his fiction.”

To learn more about Frank Tuttle you can check out his website and of course you may also friend Mr. Tuttle on Facebook.

Appraisal:

While this series, Paths of Shadow, has always had an element of steampunk and magic in its world, Every Wind of Change jumps into the realm of Sci-Fi after the “event.” Sorry, I got a little ahead of myself there. Meralda has been assigned, by the King of Tirlin, to decipher the sounds the mysterious Arc is emitting. He also bestows a pay raise and a promotion to Tirlin’s Secret Service. Her new boss is none other than Mrs. Primsbite. To put a cherry on top of it all, Meralda’s long-absent mother reappears and insists on insinuating herself, and her little dog too, into her daughter’s life again. Donchen attempts to arbitrate between mother and daughter, to Meralda’s dismay.

While Meralda is attempting to decipher the Arcs complicated song, King Yvin insists on seeing her results so far. Meralda has to oblige with an incomplete work. Unbeknownst to all, this exhibition initiates a standard tripping wheel transport protocol from the Arc bringing forth the “event” that hurls Meralda, Donchen, Mug, Meralda’s mother, and Mrs. Primsbite (Oh, and I mustn’t forget Nameless and Faceless in crow form as well.) into the embattled Hub of the Arc which is located in the void. Luckily our small band is befriended by an unusual robot named Skoof, who knows the Arc well and assists finding them a safe place to hide from giant carnivorous cockroaches, called Mags who are well aware of their arrival, before they can formulate a way home without magic.

The plot is cleverly crafted and engaging with twists and turns of the outlandish storyline, since they are all out of their element I found that fitting. The dialogues are intelligent, cunning, and witty. New characters are introduced who I hope to see more of in the next book. The scenery and surroundings are well described, which place the reader right beside the characters. The ending is epic and a lot more far-reaching than I was expecting. Meralda’s mother also gains a new larger pet, which fits her well. Readers will also be pleased that Mr. Reardon, mother’s ankle-biter, is still with her as well. Don’t miss this new addition to Meralda and Mug’s adventure.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Every Wind of Change is the third book in a planned four book series from Mr. Tuttle’s, Paths of Shadow. Each book stands alone. However I have enjoyed watching each character’s growth as the series continues. The first book of the series is All the Paths of Shadow, followed by All the Turns of Light.

Format/Typo Issues:

I did find a small number of proofing issues, nothing that threw me out of the story.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Approximate word count: 80-85,000 words

Review: The Lightning in the Collied Night by David Backman

 

Genre: Science Fiction

Description:

This novel is set mainly some 30 years into the future, moving further into the future towards the end. The nearness of the book’s future is germane. It enables the author to think critically about the state we’re in now, by extrapolating the state we will have got ourselves into in another 30 years. Said state is so dire that, when a possibility of taking a peek 100 years into the future presents itself, there are those who leap at the chance. That’s the first half of the book: hard SF.

The second half of the book takes a massive swerve from that path. Much of it is to do with a rather wonderful Hawai’ian philosophy: Ho o’ponopono, but there is more which I cannot talk about without dropping significant spoilers.

Author:

This is David Backman’s first novel, although he has hitherto written many fact-based publications. This shows in his confident prose. His first degree was in Mathematics and his career was in IT. When he retired he decided to turn his attention to this work, which had been nagging at his synapses for years. He has done much research to bring this book to publication, and it shows to good effect.

Appraisal:

The first half of this book is 5* quality. The hard SF is first class, the astrophysics plausible; the US politics which (of course) go hand in hand with top secret, high quality research such as is described, well explained; the state of the planet all-too plausible; the world very familiar to a present day readership. (Many of his sources are given at the end of the book: there are A Lot.) The story is fascinating, characterisation is good, plotting moves at a goodly clip.

Then the story takes, not one swerve, nor two, but three. The author describes these as ‘a couple of big twists’. This reviewer found it increasingly difficult to keep up with the twisters. Pace does not flag. It’s just that you may wonder, at times, if you’re still reading the same book.

I did get slightly frustrated by the author’s need to describe every character at first meeting, what they are wearing on that and all subsequent occasions, and what quotidian thing they may be doing while explaining how they’re going to save the world. The descriptions are pithy, but add them all up and it does become a bit ‘here we go again’. I know some readers like this kind of detail, and mundane action has its place, and once you’ve started you have to carry through.

I read and watch a lot of SF. And I didn’t find the timeline in this book (which is crucial) as easy to follow as I had expected. Signposts to when we currently are have to be sought (they are there, but using them gives rise to … you’ve guessed it … spoilers). I enjoyed the ‘Easter Eggs’ hidden (references to classic SF, written and filmic) in the book that I could ‘get’, but some of them remained opaque to me.

I picked this book for review from the title The Lightning in the Collied Night, which the author explains at the beginning is a quote from William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Collied? Not a word in everyday use. When I’d thought about it, I was sure it was basically the same word as colliery, and so it is. Although the dictionary defines it as ‘dirty’ rather than my own preference, which would be ‘black’. But I will put a small wager on you not coming across it again except in a coal-mining context ever again.

This novel is worth your time. It is a bit of a curate’s egg – but then, it is a first novel. It is certainly a 4* read overall. It is consistently interesting and its plot drives forward. It has much to say about the way we are, planetarily speaking, living waaay beyond our means. Because of those swerves I mention above, it doesn’t offer any solutions – but that would be a Big Ask which is still beyond our current governments and science communities. It does, however, offer Ho o’ponopono. And that’s just wonderful.

STOP PRESS: a second edition of this novel now supercedes this, first, edition.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

None in this ARC review copy

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: Judi Moore

Approximate word count: 80-85,000 words

Review: Doctor Alien, Three Tales by Rajnar Vajra

 Genre: Science Fiction

Description:

An alien species, the ‘Tsf’ has begun trading with Earth. They find single members of three other alien species adrift in space and bring them aboard their own space craft. The three appear to have no physical injuries, but perhaps some mental defect? The psychiatrist of the title is deputed to travel up to the Tsf ship and see what he can make of the aliens they have rescued. The three interlinked tales deal with what he finds when he gets there, how he helps the three aliens, and others. They also explore the problems that accrue when the Tsf reward him for his help.

Author:

Rajnar Vajra has been a regular and delightful voice in Analog magazine for many years. He also contributes to Tor.com (including their anthologies). One can only wonder why it has taken him so long to collect some of his stories together as he has done here.

Appraisal:

I have been an Analog subscriber (and also Asimov’s), and always enjoyed the stories enormously. It contains hard SF of a most satisfying kind. The only thing you might say against it is that you can still see its origins in the Fifties: it isn’t particularly ‘slipstream-y’ or modern. Things (often space ships or medical equipment) get built, alien races are interacted with, the way our lives might be in the future is explored. There is very often a clever twist at the end which makes the reader ask ‘why didn’t I think of that?’, or preen quietly if s/he did.

These three stories were originally published as long stories (possibly serialised) in Analog. They build up one upon another and have an internal chronology. If you enjoy hard SF you will enjoy these. There are intriguing puzzles to solve before the clever twists I refer to above (what is wrong with the aliens? Why does the Doctor keep assembling and disassembling the same robot?); there is an interesting take on life in the future; there are well-imagined, seriously weird aliens; and the stories are funny. What more could one ask for?

Perhaps an interesting introduction to the three stories such as that provided by Stanley Schmidt (editor of Analog 1978-2012)? That latter date is perhaps a clue to one of the few problemettes with these three tales: they were all written between 2009 and 2012. They stand up pretty well, considering the youngest of them is 10 years old. One always fears – especially with near future stories such as Vajra claims these to be – that they may quickly become a mere historical curiosity because the real world has moved in a direction one’s authorial brain did not foresee.

Technology hasn’t overtaken these stories, human nature hasn’t changed, answers to the fundamental questions of the universe are still being sought. Which is presumably why these particular stories were chosen for this project. Nevertheless, I hope Vajra issues some more recent tales in this format soon.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

I was working from an ARC, so cannot comment on the final accuracy of the book.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: Judi Moore

Approximate word count: 60-65,000 words

Reprise Review: Frayed (DarkTrench Shadow Book 1) by Kerry Nietz

 

Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Cyber Punk

Description:

“ThreadBare is a debugger. He’s property, one of the Imam’s vast pool of implanted servants. He lives in a smelly, greasy garage on the boundary of the battlefield known as Delusion. All he wants is to complete his tasks, exceed his rival BullHammer, and stay alive. Possibly get a promotion.

When an atypical chore brings Thread into contact with Sandfly and HardCandy, things get complicated. Day by day and task by task he struggles with the life he’s always known. Ideas plague him, brutality vexes him, and women distract him.

Then there’s the list of offline debuggers, those who’ve quietly disappeared. Through datamixes — dreamlike records of their lives — Thread tries to uncover the truth. Where did they go? What does it all mean? And what can one forgotten debugger do about it anyway?”

Author:

“Kerry Nietz is a refugee of the software industry. He spent more than a decade of his life flipping bits, first as one of the principal developers of the database product FoxPro for the now mythical Fox Software, and then as one of Bill Gates's minions at Microsoft. He is a husband, a father, a technophile and a movie buff. He is the author of several award-winning novels, including A Star Curiously Singing, Freeheads, and Amish Vampires in Space.”

Check out Mr.Nietz’s website or follow him on Facebook.

Appraisal:

I read and enjoyed Mr. Nietz’s A Star Curiously Singing. If you enjoy snappy cyberpunk writing, I definitely recommend that read. Frayed had a number of similarities in style and in the worldview, so I was looking forward to another trip to the author’s extraordinary hi-tech future world run by powerful Imams. I wasn’t disappointed.

Written in the first person of a debugger, DR23, nicknamed Threadbare, much of the story involves the internal struggles of this “implanted” human when he is faced with the actions of a ruling class of “freeheads” (humans without implants). They abuse their powerful positions to run roughshod over not only Sharia Law, but also human decency.

Exposed to their moral corruption, Threadbare is under constant threat from the internal “stops” programmed to prevent him (through pain) from even thinking about disobeying Sharia Law. An attractive concubine further tests his “stops,” and causes Threadbare to confront the hypocrisy of a system that he is programmed to obey.

Frayed is the first book in the Dark Trench Shadow series. The series premise of a secret project and a list of debuggers who have somehow broken free of their internal programming is foreshadowed throughout. My only complaint is the cliff-hanger ending that left me feeling that this installment hadn’t been cleanly finished in its own right.??

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Original review posted September 7, 2016.

Format/Typo Issues:

Very few.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: Pete Barber

Approximate word count: 80-85,000 words

Reprise Review: A Titan for Christmas by Aria Kane

Genre: Romance/Sci-Fi/Christmas

Description:

“When Jenna’s job as an engineer causes her to miss the last scheduled passenger flight home from the mining colony on Titan, she has to become creative to get home to Earth before Christmas. She learns that sometimes private cargo pilots will take on passengers, for the right price.

There is one small cargo ship, piloted by Grayson, that is getting ready to make the three day trip, but he doesn’t want any passengers. Jenna convinces Grayson to allow her aboard his ship so she can be home with her sisters on Christmas. When she learns what he is transporting is extremely dangerous and illegal she must decide whether to help him or turn him in to the authorities.”

Author:

Aria Kane is a recovering mechanical engineer and romance writer. She lives in sunny Florida with her fifty pound mutt who thinks he is a Chihuahua. This is her first book. Check out her website for a little bit of insight into this new Indie author, this made me laugh. “I’m a romance author, but this blog is about my life as a sex-positive, slightly-geeky, gender-role-despising, equal-rights-defending, independent city girl.”

Appraisal:

This novelette is a quick, light, enjoyable read. Jenna is a problem solver and I liked her character as well as Grayson’s. Her biggest problem at first is being on such a small cargo ship with a gorgeous pilot. Heat rises quickly and is sated nicely. Grayson is a nice guy who is stuck between a rock and a hard spot. As we learn his story, it is easy to sympathize with his moral dilemma. The story is told with plenty of dialogue; the plot is tight and flows well. Most of the story takes place on the cargo ship between the two main characters and neither is afraid to get their hands dirty in one way or another. I enjoyed the escape into their lives and I found the ending extremely satisfying.

Buy now from:    Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

This book contains adult situations that may not be suitable of young adults.

Added for Reprise Review: A Titan for Christmas by Aria Kane was a nominee in the Romance category for B&P 2013 Readers' Choice Awards. Original review ran November 23, 2012.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant errors.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Approximate word count: 10-15,000 words

Review: The Slant Six by Christopher F Cobb

Genre: Sci-fi

Description:

The Slant Six was a Semi-Finalist in the Florida Writer's Association Royal Palm Literary Awards, presumably in 2017.

The book blurb says “The year is 2252 and Loman Phin is in trouble. A washed-up channelship racer turned freelancer, he hits pay dirt with his latest mission: a fortune is on the line if he can transport forty-three kilograms of human skin to a remote villa on Pluto's moon, Nix. Little does he know his very life is at stake when he gets caught up in an ancient feud, chased by a space vampire, and forced into a death-race by the king of Ceres. Meanwhile, danger is always hot on his heels in the form of a massive space freighter out for Loman's blood. With just his wits, his friends, and his beat-up cruiser, the Slant Six, Loman sets out on the most dangerous adventure of his life.”

Author:

Christopher Cobb set out to be an actor. That didn’t go so well, so he returned to Florida, did a degree in Social Science and Ethnic Studies, and now works as a Marketing Specialist for the Palm Beach County Film and TV Commission. He lives in Jupiter, lucky man (work it out). He is published by Florida-based Darkwater Syndicate who say they are ‘the publishing company with a defense contractor’s name … We refuse to be mainstream. Our authors are not afraid to push boundaries and buck trends.” This is his second novel.

Appraisal:

The Slant Six is a dashing space opera which rushes headlong from disaster to disaster. There is hardly a space opera trope which hasn’t been lovingly plundered to add to the mayhem. Cobb’s language is a sort of space opera patois which I have never come across before. Most appropriate. The plot is derivative but the story is told with such immense energy it outstrips its well-known origins. Cobb is good with dialogue and action (his actor background stands him in good stead) and he keeps the whole crazy ride just about on course.

Death is not an absolute in this book. People are more or less dead at various points. They quite often don’t stay that way. Sadly, the people one wishes could become less dead are usually the people who are dead for good. The right things happen to the right people by the end, but the ending is not a happy one (although it is complicated). Stick with it.

As people often say about a book which is very visual, this would make a good film. It begs to be Spielberged. If you enjoyed Stars Wars I – III you will enjoy this.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Where to start! Almost every qualifier in the book is a bodily function. There is a lot of ‘wham bam thank you ma’am’ sex (without the thank you). There are some proper female characters, but most of the women in the book are described as whores and bitches most of the time. If that sort of thing doesn’t bother you, read on.

Format/Typo Issues: No significant issues

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: Judi Moore

Approximate word count: 95-100,000 words

Review: Every Wind of Change (Paths of Shadow Book 3) by Frank Tuttle

Genre: Epic Fantasy/Magic/Young Adult/Sci-Fi/Adventure

Description:

“Mage Meralda’s perilous airship journey across the vast Great Sea made her a hero.

Her discovery of the Arc may doom her world.

The Arc, a mysterious metal structure hanging ten thousand feet above the stormy Sea, is singing. Tasked by the King to decipher the Arc’s strange song, Meralda discovers plans for an outlandish machine hidden in the song’s mathematical lyrics.

With sharp-tongued vegetable familiar Mug at her side, Meralda embarks on an unexpected journey across the void. Together they face ravenous beasts, ancient engines, and the most diabolical creature of all – Meralda's own long-lost mother.

With nothing but her wits, her Sight, and her determination to return home and find a decent cup of coffee, Meralda vows to lead her tiny band to safety. But her long journey home also means facing an old sorrow, and a singularly unpleasant truth.

As monsters close in, can Meralda prevail where thousands before her failed and perished?”

Author:

“Frank Tuttle lives and writes in the perpetually humid wilderness of North Mississippi. Frank tried to be a proper Southern author and write about pickups and hound dogs, but trolls and magic kept creeping into his stories, so Frank is a fantasy author. Although hounds do make occasional appearances in his fiction.”

To learn more about Frank Tuttle you can check out his website and of course you may also friend Mr. Tuttle on Facebook.

Appraisal:

While this series, Paths of Shadow, has always had an element of steampunk and magic in its world, Every Wind of Change jumps into the realm of Sci-Fi after the “event.” Sorry, I got a little ahead of myself there. Meralda has been assigned, by the King of Tirlin, to decipher the sounds the mysterious Arc is emitting. He also bestows a pay raise and a promotion to Tirlin’s Secret Service. Her new boss is none other than Mrs. Primsbite. To put a cherry on top of it all, Meralda’s long-absent mother reappears and insists on insinuating herself, and her little dog too, into her daughter’s life again. Donchen attempts to arbitrate between mother and daughter, to Meralda’s dismay.

While Meralda is attempting to decipher the Arcs complicated song, King Yvin insists on seeing her results so far. Meralda has to oblige with an incomplete work. Unbeknownst to all, this exhibition initiates a standard tripping wheel transport protocol from the Arc bringing forth the “event” that hurls Meralda, Donchen, Mug, Meralda’s mother, and Mrs. Primsbite (Oh, and I mustn’t forget Nameless and Faceless in crow form as well.) into the embattled Hub of the Arc which is located in the void. Luckily our small band is befriended by an unusual robot named Skoof, who knows the Arc well and assists finding them a safe place to hide from giant carnivorous cockroaches, called Mags who are well aware of their arrival, before they can formulate a way home without magic.

The plot is cleverly crafted and engaging with twists and turns of the outlandish storyline, since they are all out of their element I found that fitting. The dialogues are intelligent, cunning, and witty. New characters are introduced who I hope to see more of in the next book. The scenery and surroundings are well described, which place the reader right beside the characters. The ending is epic and a lot more far-reaching than I was expecting. Meralda’s mother also gains a new larger pet, which fits her well. Readers will also be pleased that Mr. Reardon, mother’s ankle-biter, is still with her as well. Don’t miss this new addition to Meralda and Mug’s adventure.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

  

FYI:

Every Wind of Change is the third book in a planned four book series from Mr. Tuttle’s, Paths of Shadow. Each book stands alone. However I have enjoyed watching each character’s growth as the series continues. The first book of the series is All the Paths of Shadow, followed by All the Turns of Light.

Format/Typo Issues:

I did find a small number of proofing issues, nothing that threw me out of the story.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Approximate word count: 80-85,000 words

Reprise Review: Amish Vampires in Space by Kerry Nietz

Genre: Sci-fi

Description:

A planet settled by an Amish community is in imminent danger of being destroyed because its sun is about to go super nova. The Amish are rescued by a Guild transport ship. The story takes place on the ship as it voyages to the new Amish planet.

Author:

Kerry Nietz is a refugee of the software industry. He spent more than a decade of his life flipping bits, first as one of the principal developers of the database product FoxPro for the now mythical Fox Software, and then as one of Bill Gates's minions at Microsoft. He is a husband, a father, a technophile and a movie buff. He has one non-fiction book, a memoir entitled FoxTales: Behind the Scenes at Fox Software. His first novel, A Star Curiously Singing, was published in October of 2009.

To learn more check out Mr. Nietz’s website and Facebook page.

Appraisal:

Before I get to the story, which I enjoyed immensely, I have a few comments about the presentation: I would never in a million years read a book with such a cynical title. And as for the old saying—never judge a book by its cover, well that has probably never been truer. I don’t enjoy vampire stories, either. No. The only reason I selected this story was because I’ve read two of Mr. Nietz’s previous novels and enjoyed them both. There is a reason behind both the title and the cover. It’s explained by the publisher at the beginning of the book, and if you’re interested, you can read about it in the Amazon sample.

So, to the story: as the title implies, there are three threads to this novel.

Amish—the story begins with the Amish community, and the author achieves a brilliant piece of world building in this section. I was sucked in and enthralled with the characters and traditions on display.

Space. Yes, despite the title, this is a sci-fi novel, and the space ship (transporter) was fascinating—a second world successfully built by Mr. Nietz including the characters who ran the ship and a nicely nuanced love story to boot.

Vampires. Well, yes, but from a sci-fi perspective without the usual paranormal BS that annoys me like fingernail scratches on a chalkboard.

The threads were pulled together beautifully. The read was fast, the writing sharp and easy on the eye, the characters all worked and made sense. Tension was maintained right to the end. I can’t believe I’m typing this, but— I highly recommend Amish Vampires in Space.

Buy now from:    Amazon US    Amazon UK

FYI:

Added for Reprise Review: Amish Vampires in Space was a nominee in the Science Fiction category for B&P 2015 Readers' Choice Awards. Original review ran June 21, 2014

Format/Typo Issues:

None noted - Really clean writing.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: Pete Barber

Approximate word count: 135-140,000 words

MAYA: Symbiogenesis Book One by Pete Barber

Genre: Thriller/Sci-Fi/Contemporary Fiction

Description:

“Hours before doctors plan to switch off her premature daughter’s life-support systems, Lauren risks all and injects her baby with a stolen experimental drug. The last-resort treatment transforms Maya’s genetic fingerprint. While Lauren struggles to disguise the reason for her daughter’s miraculous recovery, Maya develops unique abilities that may signal a new, more hope-filled future for humankind, or perhaps sound its death knell.”

Author:

Born into a blue-collar family in Liverpool, England, Pete immigrated to the US in the early 90s and settled in North Carolina.

After surviving near-death experiences at ages six and eighteen, he led a haphazard life, putting bread on the table as a plumber, computer programmer, salesperson, marketing executive, hotel operator, real-estate developer, and llama farmer.

Pete writes fast-paced fiction that makes people think--what if?

Pete's debut thriller--NanoStrike--has over 150 5-STAR reviews on Amazon US. Love Poison, a suspenseful romance was published September 2014. When A Warrior Comes Home followed in March 2015. MAYA, November 2016... more to come!

Mr. Barber is also a Pal reviewer at BigAl’s Books and Pals, to learn more please visit his website or follow him on Facebook.

Appraisal:

Mr. Barber doesn’t waste any time setting up his characters and scenes. The players are all fully developed and well portrayed. I tried to hold off on how I felt about Lauren through most of the book. She has a lot to lose with the critical decisions she has to face time and time again throughout the story. I didn’t have any problem identifying with her character though. Lauren is intelligent and well centered while Margaret, Lauren’s mother, was a different story. I didn’t like her at all. Fact is, Margaret’s beliefs were a major plot twist in the story and I was sure I wouldn’t like where the story was headed. However, Mr. Barber’s intelligent writing style brought me around to the compassion of understanding and accepting things you can’t change about the people you love. Margaret isn’t a bad person, she was under a misperception and simple minded. Lauren understood this and added a balance in the way she handled her mother.

Maya is a suspenseful sci-fi that employs biogenetics with a spiritual edge. I found it easy to become engrossed in all the implications involved that then evolved into this stunningly inspiring tale. I had no problem suspending my disbelief to revel in the possibilities. There are several twists that complicate the plot, some were unexpected, others you could see coming. Despite that, this is a story that will play with your emotions and may cause you to question your own beliefs.

I appreciated the time jumps used in the story. Things could have easily bogged down with too many details that weren’t relevant to moving the story forward. I have no doubt that these time warps will be filled in with flash backs in future additions to the series. The ending is tense and shocking, but adds closure to an important story arc. It also gives us a peek at how Maya has matured over the years and gives us insight into her mindset. Neither suspense nor sci-fi are my normal genres, but I loved this compelling story and can’t wait to read more about Maya.

Buy now from:    Amazon US    Amazon UK

FYI:

MAYA is book one in the Symbiogenesis series.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant proofing issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Approximate word count: 70-75,000 words

Review: Against the Oaks of Bashan by Julia Starling

Today's review is the first from a new pal, Average Jeff.

Genre: Political/Sci-Fi

Description:

“In 1970s Buenos Aires, with the city under military occupation, people disappear at a terrifying rate. They are the desaparecidos, those who vanish forever.

Camouflaged by the ongoing crisis, someone abducts young adults for another goal. These desaparecidos are used to create a compliant, easily-manipulated population.

Lucas and Vera Freund are among those abducted. The young couple—both brilliant scientists—have stumbled onto a discovery that could change humanity forever. To shield their work from those who would abuse it, they’re willing to make the ultimate sacrifice. Years later, Frances Fons and Julian Haller meet in Zurich. They know nothing of the horrors that transpired in Argentina.”

Author:

The is Julia Starling's first book: Against the Oaks of Bashan. Starling “is a medical doctor and psychotherapist. Born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina, she spent five years in the UK finishing her clinical studies and then moved to California to complete her psychotherapy training. She currently lives in Northern New Mexico with her husband.”

Appraisal:

The Oaks of Bashan opens wonderfully, with an ingrown biblical ceremony of contrition, complete with gargoyle-like incantations. It fits neatly with the book’s title, the allusion to Bashan, a terrible battleground in the Book of Genesis that remains a terrible battleground today, the Golan Heights between Syria and Israel. And, to my delight, the next chapter of the Oaks leaped across time to land among the preparations for a sulfurous lawn party. Wonderful. But just as I reached for the petit fours, I stumbled over the first of many leaf piles of impassable adjectives.

The Oak’s descriptions got told and elaborated upon and tormented until they betrayed more than they revealed. “People marveled at her ability to create the most exquisitely delicate tastes, to tap into pleasures of times gone—and often speculated on the intriguing juxtaposition of the seemingly earthy predisposition, this almost peasant-like simplicity, with the perfumed air of French aristocracy that emanated from her indifferent, icy urban demeanor.”

And so on. What started with two moody chapters intimating an era of political horrors fell down the rabbit hole of melodrama. Where there was the appearance of story development, it clogged with flummery that failed to drive the story forward. No single scene gained purchase enough to mount the rungs on the ladder of suspense. Language substituted for action. Pronouns quailed for antecedents, and adjectives turned on each other with the noble aim of contrast but succumbed to conflict. “A peasant-like simplicity” crashed against “the perfumed air of French aristocracy,” which was then mugged by the chef’s “icy, urban demeanor.” Contrast? Yes. Laborious? Yes. Rule: No fifty-word sentence about a victimized wife whose foodie talents grow byzantine should go unedited.

Against the Oakes of Bashan had so much going for it when it began, but its trees never grew into a forest; maybe it was all those leaf piles. What was advertised as a tale of Argentina’s political horrors driven by the turbines of sci-fi doom has its possibilities. But the author’s work was felled by its own axe. Too bad. It all started so well.

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FYI:

The reader would do well to know some Spanish, or take classes. Where, in some works, the use of foreign terms piques a description, the use of Spanish nouns, possibly Argentine idioms, in this book, lost me.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ** Two Stars

Review by: Average Jeff

Word Count: 65-70,000 words

Review: Glory on Mars by Kate Rauner

Genre: Science Fiction

Description:

“There are eight settlers on Mars until the colony's psychologist walks out an airlock to die on the cold, airless sands. Emma and her crewmates, the next mission of settlers, launch from Spaceport America despite the tragedy and despite their own misgivings. They take a tabby kitten with them, as requested by the survivors on Mars, and hope to revive the shocked colony.”

Author:

“Kate Rauner (Hanover, New Mexico, USA) writes science fiction novels and science poetry and serves as a volunteer firefighter. Kate is a retired engineer and Cold War Warrior--she worked in America's nuclear weapons complex. Living on the edge of the Southwest’s Gila National Forest with her husband, cats, llamas, and dog, she’s well on her way to achieving her life-goal of becoming an eccentric old woman.”

Appraisal:

As a young man, I’d have jumped at the chance to sign up for a one-way ticket to Mars, so this book fitted right in my wheelhouse. I particularly enjoyed the opening chapters, which started at the Earth-side preparation station with potential travelers confined for two years in a modular habitat that simulated the conditions they would encounter on Mars. Better to discover claustrophobic tendencies and personality clashes before takeoff, right?

Once on Mars, though, the story meandered and got bogged down in the day-to-day minutia of the settlers. I understand that living in an artificially maintained environment on a planet with no atmosphere would involve a lot of chores and attention to detail, but the activities became repetitive in the extreme. So much so, that the plot and characters became secondary. Moments of tension were few and too easily resolved. Potential conflicts were hinted at, but not fully realized.

And the cat? Well the cat made it onto the book’s cover but didn’t have any significance. That red-herring niggled at me most of the way through.

IMO, assuming the technical details are accurate (and they seemed to be, which is all that really matters for disbelief suspension, right?), this could be turned into an engaging story if it underwent a content edit.

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FYI:

Clean copy, solid writing skills.

Format/Typo Issues:

None.

Rating: *** Three Stars

Reviewed by: Pete Barber

Approximate word count: 75-80,000 words