Category Archives: Book Reviews

First Contact Complete, Next Contact Needed

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Having just finished reading Fluency by Jennifer Foehner Wells I am left with one question: When will the next book be published?

This SciFi book is a page turner that is peopled with such vibrant and lifelike characters that you find yourself drawn into the story right from the start and held into it until the end. Fluency is full of adventure, excitement, mystery, and revelations that are blended together in such an engaging style. The author teaches us something about humanity while introducing us to a broad galaxy! Here is an author worth following.

Read this book and you’ll be eagerly anticipating the next book just as I am!

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Staying Alive (On Mars)

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I just finished reading The Martian by Andy Weir and this is one of the most enjoyable books I’ve read in a while! The pacing is so intense, so well done that it is very difficult to set down. This is one that I recommend you get ahold of as quickly as you can and enjoy!

The story begins with an astronaut accidentally abandoned on Mars and presumed dead. From there it starts to build and leave you on the edge of your seat page after page.

This one is truly well worth your time. It’s available for Kindle right now for only three dollars. Get it from there, or a library, or a book store, but get it and enjoy!

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Horror meets SciFi meets Spy Fiction meets Mystery

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So let’s talk about how good The Southern Reach Trilogy is! Jeff Vandermeer created a great combination of mystery, SciFi, spy, and horror all rolled up into one story. Each book has its own feel and strong characters telling you a part of the story. The pacing is truly well done as it leaves you both expectant and frustrated all at once! One thing about trilogies like this one is that it can be difficult to end them well. I think the author did a great job of giving you the right amount of resolution and openness that leaves you both happy and able to imagine where the story would progress to. This is one trilogy I recommend. I think you’ll really enjoy it. I know I did!

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The Most Exciting Book I’ve Read This Year

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There are books that you read and move on from and never think of again. Then there are books that grab on to you and refuse to let you go. Red Rising by Pierce Brown won’t let go of me.
Red Rising has been the most exciting book I’ve read so far this year, and quite possibly will remain as such as 2014 progresses! The lead character speaks with such a strong voice that you’re drawn into his world completely and truly experience everything as he does.
Imagine toiling your life away in slave like conditions deep within a mine never to see the light of day, the only promise the future holds for you is an early death. But you work. You slave away because you and your people are the pioneers of humanity! You’re slaving away in the deep mines of Mars to help make it habitable so that humanity can escape a dying earth. Your life is miserable but you hold on because you’re fighting for the future if humanity.
Then imagine all of that is a lie. Humanity conquered Mars generations ago. Your people are slaving away not for a better future but so that your masters can enjoy their lives.
That is where Red Rising starts. From there you’ll find the book impossible to set down as it combines action, adventure, romance, philosophy, war, politics, and espionage all into what might stand as one of the most exciting books I’ve enjoyed in a long time.
Very much looking forward to the sequel as well as any other stories that Pierce Brown writes.

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Broken Harbor and Broken Hearts

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Just finished listening to Broken Harbor by Tana French and just like every Tana French book I’ve read so far I loved it. Absolutely loved it. She has a gift for breaking your heart but drawing you back in. Her storytelling abilities are through the roof.

Seriously though: her work is always filled with strong mysteries, believable characters, stories that draw you in, and depth. Such depth.

Tana French stands atop all of the mystery writers I’ve ever read. Her stories don’t just examine the mystery at hand. Her stories also delve deep within the characters themselves and in so doing the stories dig deep within the hearts of the readers.

If you like audio books at all I highly recommend her audiobooks because they always feature the best readers ever! Did I mention the Irish accents? Because: Irish Accents.

Charleston’s Ghosts Come Out To Play In Deadly Curiosities

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Deadly Curiosities by Gail Z Martin Published by Solaris Books
Release Date: 06/25/2014

Let me start by saying this book was awesome! Very engrossing right from the start! I’ve enjoyed every Gail Z Martin book I’ve read and Deadly Curiosities is no exception to this!

Cassidy (the protagonist) owns a very interesting antique shop in historic Charleston, South Carolina. I couldn’t be happier with the respect the author handle one of my favorite cities here in the South. Charleston is beautiful and she brings the city and its ghosts to life!

The antique store Cassidy runs is actually a front for her true business: that of identifying and eliminating dangerous supernatural objects with the help of her business partner Sorren: an ancient vampire.

The author peoples the book with interesting characters that she breathes life into. The care Gail Z Martin puts into even bringing animals to life (Cassidy’s dog Baxter is a show stealer!) causes this story to leap off the page and pull you in. She sets the perfect emotional stage for this Urban Fantasy with ghosts and shadows that appear just beyond your range of vision, and heroes that you want to be friends with.

RedStarReviews highly recommends this and all books by Gail Z Martin! There’s magic within her writing to bring stories to life and cause you to be pulled into those stories so deeply that you don’t notice time passing you by. Deadly Curiosities is well worth your time and I can’t wait for another chapter in this new series!

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Shooting At Myths: Fiefdom by Dan Abnett and Nik Vincent

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“Me, I was just shooting at myths.”

With these words near the opening of the book the story magically takes shape within your mind and you are hooked. The characters immediately bring you into their brutal kill or be killed world, and make you desire to belong to their singsong speaking pack.

The Aux, a bioengineered fighting force, are humanity’s last answer against THEM: a ruthless alien force attacking the Earth. The war was brought to a standstill due to the new Ice Age brought on by the devastation. During this Ice Age the Aux have allowed their enemies to become myths to laugh at.

But a few Aux know the myths are true….

I truly enjoyed this book! The singsong language of the Aux causes you to truly see the world through their eyes and engages you directly into the story. The pacing keeps you breathlessly turning the pages to see what happens next. This is a book I happily recommend and look forward to more by the authors! As the Aux would say:
This tale is a good tale truer and true.

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A Compelling Voice: Prince Of Thorns by Mark Lawrence

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Prince Of Thorns is Mark Lawrence’s first book of the Broken Empire Series.

Prince Jorg is a vicious man in a vicious world. He ceased being a boy when he survived a brutal attack on those himself & on those he loved. Twisted by those dark events he pursues his vengeance upon the whole world.

What is left of his humanity is a tortured and scarred thing, but that grants him such a compelling and powerful voice with which to tell his tale.

A well written an enjoyable story that leaves me looking forward to the next in the series.

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Consider Phelbas by Iain M Banks

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How have I neglected this author’s work for so long! Great start to The Culture Series. Well written SciFi from the 80’s that translates well through the decades. This book will be a good read a hundred years from now. The characters are well thought out and very human and the story has a realistic “anything can happen” feel to it.

The author manages to capture something very true to the human spirit within this work. Something many authors try to do and fail. This story will stay with you long after you’ve finished the book.

Well worth your time to read!

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Reign Of Ash A Strong And Intriguing Story

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Reign Of Ash is a strong story and a worthy sequel to Ice Forged. Gail Z Martin does a wonderful job of not just continuing the momentum of the series but also building upon it. The world she creates and the characters she peoples it with are believable and enjoyable. The concept of a post apocalyptic medieval society makes for a very intriguing story. I truly enjoyed reading this story and am eagerly awaiting the next book!