Tag Archives: bookreview

Careful Lest Ye Wake The Sleeping Giants

Leave a reply

Sleeping Giants by Slyvain Neuvel is a book you won’t want to sleep on! Ok so cheesy opening line to the review, but for real this SciFi is interesting!


There are two main things to discuss here: The Story and The Storytelling Method.

First the story: Pieces of an ancient statue are showing up around the world that appear to have been created and hidden long before humanity had the skill to craft such a wonder. A group of people are brought together to search for all the pieces and reconstruct them to discover what they are. However when you start messing with ancient things that have been hidden away you have to be careful of the repercussions. 


Next the Method: The author uses an interview/journal method to tell the tale. At first I thought this was just a way to move the story along quickly at the start and expected the traditional method of story telling to start soon after. It wasn’t just for the start, it really was for the entire story. This is fine as the author kept it interesting and intriguing. However it can become tiresome and resulted in me setting down this book at times to read a different and more traditionally told story. That said I think the author did well with the method and surprisingly kept the plot moving fairly quickly. 


I thought that this SciFi was very interesting and that the story has a lot of promise. The characters were well crafted and the differences in their personalities do shine through in the interviews. I will be picking up the sequel when it is written and I do think you would enjoy reading Sleeping Giants. 

A big THANK YOU to my wife for buying this book for me on my birthday! The cover caught her eye and I have to agree that this cover is stunning. 

First Contacts Can Be Difficult

Leave a reply

In April I came up with the idea of reading my first CJ Cherryh book, and as it was my first contact with her work I thought it would be clever to call it First Author Contact and to read her book about First Contact: Foreigner. I had seen and heard of Cherryh’s books for decades but I had never made time for them and decided it was finally time to change that!


The book started out fast and interestingly! A colony ship flung far off course into uncharted space, a crew sacrificing to save future generations of humanity, a battle of visions for the future, and ultimately an embarkation to a planet already populated by a relatively advanced civilization of aliens and first contact with them. All within the first forty pages. I was hooked. I was amazed. I was eager to dive into the rest of the story and then…. I was frustrated and bored. 


You see I had a very difficult time connected with the POV character chosen for the rest of the story. Bren is an intelligent and thoughtful human who is selected as the primary contact for the alien species on the planet. They call themselves Atevi and at first glance you might get an idea of Japanese culture combined with cats who think that assassination is perfectly acceptable as a political practice, but in truth that’s just the first impression. As you dig deeper you truly see something very rare: an alien culture in a SciFi book that is truly alien and difficult to comprehend. More on that later. Back to Bren. Bren is smart and capable yet very alone amongst the Atevi and is at their mercy. He is the target of assassination and an important piece in the Atevi political wars. He is forced to walk a difficult path trying to help create understanding between Human and Atevi while not being killed or creating a war based on misunderstanding. But his mind is frazzled and jumbled which makes the book difficult to comprehend. That confusion caused me to lose my enthusiasm for the book and set it behind me as I read other books. 


However this book stayed alive in the back of my mind. Other friends joined me in reading it and they had loved it. The concept was great. The aliens so alien. The desire to return and finish the book grew and grew and so I did. And I’m thankful I did. 


I found I could forgive Bren his jumbled frazzled mind since aliens were trying to assassinate him. I found his attempts to bridge the gulf between the species interesting and I found the second half of the book to be the best part of the story overall! I admit that I almost quit this book, but I’m glad I returned and I’m impressed enough that I’ll carry on in the series! CJ Cherryh did something so many try to do and few succeed: She created an alien species that has its own emotions, reactions, concepts, and methods. She didn’t just humanize them, she made the humans in the story (and the ones reading the book) have to struggle to communicate with and strive to comprehend them. She made them aliens, and she made words matter. I found this to be an excellent story and very well worth the time. 


And a special thanks to the cute puppy Lil Ms Piper for helping me to write this review! 

Like Fire From Heaven

Leave a reply

Children Of Fire by Drew Karpyshyn has an interesting premise. I should know as I’ve added the book to my to be read pile five times. Other commitments and scheduling kept separating me from this book so this time I didn’t just add it to the pile I picked it up and started it and I am glad that I did! 
The interesting premise is imagine a world in which the gods are dead or dying and their protective magic is dying alongside of them. That magic is all that stood between humanity and an ancient force that attempted to overthrow the gods and is angry at years of being banished from the mortal realm. What if that ancient force found a way to send parts of its essence through the barrier and implant its essence within four unborn children. Would those children of fire grow to become champions of the gods and fight off the ancient force? Or would they become its pawns and unleash it into the world?


This is the intriguing concept within this story, and what a story it is! Epic in nature, vast in scale, ambitious in its grasp, and overall very well done! The author introduces many POV Characters right from the start and continues to do so quite frequently for the first quarter of the book, but does it in such a way that it isn’t confusing and it actually adds to the story. The story itself hurtles forwards skipping years at a time as the characters grow and develop. The inevitable clash that you see building up doesn’t disappoint when delivered. This is a fast paced, well told, interesting story peopled with compelling characters who face repercussions to their choices. This is a story you rush to finish and then grab the sequel like I did. 

New Military SciFi To Add Next To Your Copy Of Starship Troopers

Leave a reply

Terms Of Enlistment by Marko Kloos  
Let me start by saying I liked this book so much I immediately got books two and three and the accompanying short stories. Yes I liked it that much. 

Y’all this is a great book! What a wonderful addition to SciFi and to my personal library! This author’s work came very highly recommended and it didn’t disappoint at all. 

Terms Of Enlistment follows the life of Andrew Grayson in the not to distant future. Andrew is coming of age in squalor and poverty and decides that with nothing left to lose he will try to enlist in the military. By doing this he gains the chance at a future IF he can make it through Basic Training and IF he can live through his five year service time. The future is not a peaceful time….

Andrew Grayson is a perfect POV character to see this future through. He’s smart, witty, tough, and he knows there is more to life than what he has experienced so far. The author does a good job of introducing us to the world of the book through his eyes, and we see our understanding of the world grow with his. 

Without spoiling the story I feel the author does a good job of showing in the background of the story the dire straits of a society overwhelmed with poverty, the difficulties facing the Service People trying to follow orders and operate in such a society, and the lengths that a government will go to cover up unpleasant situations. 

I have heard favorable comparisons to other works of Military SciFi such as Starship Troopers or Forever War and I can see why the comparisons are made. However I think that this is a work that stands on its own while sharing similar elements or concepts with these classics of the genre. With the quality of his opening book Marko Kloos has interjected his name into conversations of such great works. 

The action sequences are fast paced and intense. The overall book is a pageturner. The experience of reading it is fun. This is a book you should pick up and I am really looking forward to reading the sequels! 

Zombies And Knights? A Bright Star!

Leave a reply
RedStarReviews presents the second monthly installment of Stars In The Sky our hunt for independent books. In these reviews we are focusing on finding quality indie books and bringing them to your attention. 
This month our book selection was The Scourge by Roberto Calas which is a medieval zombie tale and quite enjoyable! 
The Scourge features three Knights who are making their way across a zombie filled England. Their mission is to rescue the wife of the leader of the three, and they’ll allow nothing to stand in their way. 
In a market saturated with zombie stories this is the first I’ve encountered set during this time in history and it works perfectly. The populace is already used to hardships and plagues and honestly a person in that time period might have stood a better chance than we would in our own time! 
The banter between the primary characters is excellent and keeps the story advancing at a fast pace. The author tries to be respectful of the settings and time the story is set within, and does a great job of telling a good story. The anguish and personal hell that Edward (the lead character) is going through while trying to reach his wife is exquisitely displayed as is his turmoil of seeing the country he has fought for and sworn to overrun by an endless enemy. You’ll find yourself caring about and invested in these characters. 
Our goal (as stated above) with Stars In The Sky is to find quality independent works and give them greater visibility. Last month the bar was set high with The Crown Of Stones: Magic Price and this month the level of quality has been maintained by The Scourge. Looking forward to reading and enjoying more by Roberto Calas!

Our Weekly Dark Horse Presents

Leave a reply

Dark Horse Presents Volume 1

  

This is the comic book that launched the greatest comic book anthology of my lifetime. Published in 1986 it started with a bang with its Black Cross cover and debut of both Black Cross and Concrete.
Black Cross by Chris Warner
Chris Warner was already an established name in comic books and was trying his hand at creator owned works. He wanted to explore various narrative structures available in comic books with this work. The world in which Black Cross is introduced is a brutal kill or be killed world. Within this first issue the stage is set for Black Cross to go from a special ops soldier to a rogue operative pitted against the world and the forces who trained him. A dangerous man with a conscience that is burning within him. Can’t wait to see where this goes!
  
Concrete by Paul Chadwick
This is an interesting story! Not just overall (man finds himself transformed into a nearly indestructible concrete being) but this specific installment! It deals not only with the topic of domestic abuse but also with the cost and hypocrisy of fame. Concrete finds not only are there things that matter more than money, he also learns the dangers of trusting strangers. 
  
Mindwalk by Randy Stradley and Randy Emberlin
Interesting! People with the ability to go into the minds of others! Yet as we well know with great power comes great responsibility and also great risk! Interesting concept. 
  

 

Brightner! by Paul Chadwick
In which Paul Chadwick explores the concept of fame and how best to use it. 

  
 

Presenting Dark Horse Presents! The Greatest Comic Book Anthology.

2 Replies

Dark Horse Presents is my favorite comic book anthology that I’ve read. It presented groundbreaking and revolutionary work through primarily creator owned stories. It was launched in 1986 and featured 157 issues by the time it finished in 2000. 

  

Since then Dark Horse Comics has revamped it and started it up again with some very quality work but my focus here is on this classic anthology. It was originally published it black and white and helped launch not only Dark Horse Comics itself but also several amazing comic book series too such as Sin City, Next Men, Concrete, Black Cross, and featured works by creators such as Andrew Vachss, Geoff Darrow, Mike Mignola, Frank Miller, John Byrne, Moebius, and so many others. It also featured the first Aliens Vs Predator storyline! 
This critically acclaimed series has long been a favorite of mine. I’ve found and collected issues 1-100 and I really want to read through it all. I also need encouragement to keep posting regularly to my website so I’ve decided to read and review one issue of Dark Horse Presents a week. This will give me a chance to enjoy this anthology with fresh eyes and to share it with you. Hopefully you might find yourself inspired to give it a read yourself! You’ll be glad you did. I’m really looking forward to this and hope you’ll enjoy this journey through Dark Horse Presents! 

An Irish Murder Mystery With A Twist! 

Leave a reply

RedStarReviews is happy to bring you a special guest review by FrenchFryWife

The Likeness by Tana French 

Tana French made a splash with her debut novel In the Woods, which circles two mysteries and ends with raising even more questions. It is the first in French’s multi book set, which is (awesomely) titled The Dublin Murder Squad Series. The Likeness picks up shortly after ITW and follows Cassie Maddox, a previous undercover detective who now works domestic violence. She is called to a crime scene that normally wouldn’t involve her unit because of a highly unusual find: the murder victim looks exactly like Cassie and has an ID card with her old undercover alias.

 

Realizing an amazing opportunity to (literally) walk in the victim’s shoes, Cassie’s former boss Frank Mackey convinces her to impersonate “Lexie Madison” in an attempt to solver her murder. The police claim that Lexie made a miraculous recovery at the hospital and doesn’t remember much from the evening of the attack. Cassie returns to the house shared by Lexie and her four roommates, a motley crew of grad students who are the main suspects. Cassie falls easily in step with her new lifestyle and begins digging through Lexie’s world to find information leading to her tragic death. It’s not long before the line between Cassie and “Lexie” blurs, putting the murder case and Cassie’s life in danger.

 

First off, you must know that it’s not required to read In the Woods before starting this book because all the major plot points are discussed. However, if you enjoy rich character development and back story, I highly recommend it. I really enjoyed The Likeness because it weaves through shady pasts and mind games. At first I found myself wondering which of the roommates were lying, but later found myself much more interested in why. The odd group of friends can seem at once fiercely loyal and inseparable. Then, like a light switch, they are guarded and vague with each other.

 

For a good portion of the story, there is much more psychological play than real action. It may seem slow for some readers but I liked falling down the rabbit hole with Cassie. The one true problem I had was suspending belief for the basic premise: the idea that a total stranger, no matter how talented, could replace another person so convincingly that even the people who saw her every day would not know.  Frank holds a boot camp of sorts and in just a few days, Cassie masters Lexie’s cadence, accent, laugh, and dry humor. To be fair, she falters a few times but Cassie recovers with quick thinking. To be more fair, my favorite movie is about a theme park with dinosaurs so I will not begin casting stones.

 

The Likeness is that special type of book where I was hungry to know the truth but didn’t want the story to end. I look forward to continuing French’s series and meeting more quirky, authentically Irish, and sometimes homicidal characters. If you are looking for a murder mystery with layers of psychological intrigue, I highly recommend The Likeness. 

  

A Bright Star, An Incredible Book

Leave a reply
For my first Stars In The Sky review highlighting independent authors and their works I selected The Crown Of Stones Magic Price by C.L. Schneider. I am thankful that I did. 
The characters are beautifully flawed and fully realized. The conversations are fluid and move the story along. The action is fast paced and well described. The magical system is understandable and interesting. The world is well constructed and rich with the unexplored vistas of ancient history that you desire in a first class fantasy novel. 
So you have all of the elements needed to weave together an enjoyable and engaging story, the question that remains: Is the author able to weave all of these elements together into a story that you want to read? 
The answer is an unhesitating yes. A resounding yes. I tip my hat to C.L. Schneider and say thank you for an excellent story and for setting so high of a bar for my search for quality independent stories. 
Ian Troy is a tortured and gifted soul. Blessed or possibly cursed with powerful magical abilities and a legacy of destruction and death. After spending years of his life trying to distance himself from who he is and what he has done he is brought face to face with these things and pushed beyond his limits to endure. He is one that can cause empires to rise and fall with his choices regardless of if he wants to be a part of it or not. 
You’ll find yourself enjoying the characters, hoping for the best while fearing what might come next. This story is a fine addition to any collection with its eye catching cover and name, and is a fantastic book to read. I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the storyline and anything more this author chooses to write! 
The Crown Of Stones Magic Price by C.L. Schneider is the first of the Stars In The Sky series of reviews, and it is a very bright star that is well worth your notice. Be on the lookout for my next independent author review in May!  

 

Stars In The Sky or The Hunt For Self Published Treasure

1 Reply
There are a LOT of independent authors out there nowadays with more joining their ranks all the time! The ease of self publishing these days has had a dramatic impact on the independent marketplace. The ability of the author to reach their audience has never been higher. 
That said: The amount of self published authors out there makes it more difficult to gain the attention of readers. The clamor of self marketing can create a white noise sensation that most readers would rather tune out than sift through. It is difficult being just another star in a night sky that is already full of stars. 
Yet in the midst of this modern self publishing boom you’ll find some marvelous gems and beautiful stories! A lot of talented authors choose to self publish so that they gain full creative control over their work, and that can be a thing of beauty when handled correctly. 
I want to use my platform as a book reviewer to place a spotlight on some of the self published works out there, and help them to break free from all of the clamor, and connect with their readership. My goals are to review one self published book a month and share my findings with y’all. I’m not taking submissions from authors at this time, just searching out stories that capture my interest. I do welcome any and all reviewers to join in the search with me! 
I hope y’all will find this journey as much fun as I will and if any of you would like to join in the fun I will be titling and hashtagging this adventure as: Stars In The Sky as there are many stars in the night sky and I’ll be bring attention to a few of the ones that shine brightly to me. Appropriate for a book review blog entitled RedStarReviews 😉 I’m very excited about this and looking forward to sharing my discoveries with y’all.