Category: Science Fiction (Page 2 of 3)

Dissolution by Lee S Hawke

July 12, 2016 / Kyle Wendy Skultety / 0 Comments

What would you sell yourself for?

Madeline knows. She’s spent the last eighteen years impatiently waiting for her Auctioning so she can sell herself to MERCE Solutions Limited for a hundred thousand credits. But when the Auctioneer fails to call her and two suits show up at her doorstep, Madeline discovers there are far worse bargains to be made.

So when your loved ones are in danger, there’s a bounty on your head and your entire city might turn out to be a lie… what would you sell yourself for?

Thanks to the author for this review copy! I had reviewed her other novel, DIVISION, so when she contacted me about this one, I immediately said yes. Hawke is a master of the dystopian genre, and this book is a wonderful, thrilling, well written bit of pleasure.

Madeline is a great protagonist: a girl coming to terms with the world around her, and losing her faith in things she believed were to be true. She is strong and capable, with a clear idea of what she wants from her life.

I loved the idea of the Auction – it almost seemed like a kinder, gentler version of Brave New World. As the corporations and their culture became clearer to me, I could easily imagine the future Hawke created. As in every dystopian novel, there must be the “others” – ones who shun the way of life and the rules. Madeline comes in contact with these, known as the corpless, after she makes her escape, leaving the door open for a sequel. She learns that what she was told about these others is false, and is unsure who to trust – after all, there is a large reward for her capture that would have someone set for life.

The only suggestion I would have for the author is to share more details about the corporations earlier in the book – it was a bit confusing to see the names like MERCE and PERCO and DRAYTH without grasping the concept that they were all separate entities with extremely limited job offerings.

Other than that, I’d like to give the author kudos for writing a YA/dystopian novel without including teen angst and romance. Sometimes the science just has to stand on its own without dragging a love interest in there. Madeline can convey all the social commentary she needs to on her own, without being a lovesick teen.

The chapter with the river really made an impact on me. The idea of a city poisoning the water supply with chemicals, whether intentional or accidentally (due to poor care of the natural resources) seems truly apocalyptic. The description of what Madeline sustained after her near drowning was intense and thought provoking.

Other futuristic details include food with no taste (unless your taste sensors are on) and the ubiquitous collar that all citizens wear. This collar is used for some nefarious purposes, as the reader will discover.

DISSOLUTION was one of my favorite books this year so far. It’s extremely well written, and more enjoyable than HUNGER GAMES. Madeline’s world is not as dark as the HG one, but pretty close.

I’m hoping that there will be a part two to this novella, so I can see what happens to Madeline, and learn the future of the corporations.

This book is a must read! Go get your copy [easyazon_link identifier=”B01DEGTLGK” locale=”US” nw=”y” tag=”gimmethatbook-20″]here[/easyazon_link].

2022 by Ken Kroes

April 27, 2016 / Kyle Wendy Skultety / 0 Comments

Using an uncanny ability to harvest information to predict the future, philanthropist Richard foresees a dark future for the human race. This future is exacerbated by the return of cold-war-like tensions, sophisticated terrorist organizations, and new controls on information flow.
He believes he knows what needs to be done to reverse the trend, but can it be achieved in time, even with the resources at his disposal? Should he turn to terrorism to make it work? And if he’s wrong, and his plan backfires, will it mean the end of most, or all, of the human race?

Thanks to the author for gifting me this review copy!

2022 is a fast paced, thought provoking read. Basically, the world is running out of resources and one man thinks he has the solution. His ideas have validity, but is there something more sinister going on under the surface?

The plot is easy to believe; we are experiencing this right now, with all the furor over greenhouse gas, oceans full of plastic, and food shortages. Also very believable is the giant organization that is monitoring and disseminating information–they appear to be benign, but that is also a concern lurking just below the surface.

As I read, I found nothing that would strain my credulity. I even believed that there would be hundreds of people willing to sign up to go live in one of the remote “villages” that was being constructed under the guise of saving the planet. I would liked to have seen more of the inner workings of the villages, but they were in the process of being built. I’d be interested to see how the Elders managed their people and if they would be as fair as they claimed they would be.

There are three strong women, Diane, Sue and Olivia, as main characters. Each of them have their own personality and foibles; I had to laugh about the idea of no makeup or coffee being a deal breaker for village living! There is also a professional killer who is, surprisingly, a woman. This adds an interesting twist to the story, as Hope (the killer) can befriend the other women and not tip her hand. She’s a true chameleon.

Richard, who wants the villages built for his own agenda, is a great characterization of a megalomaniacal genius. There is no problem that money can’t solve for him; but does he really want the planet saved? Or just saved on his terms? The twist at the ending sets up book two perfectly.

The best part about 2022 is how it makes you think. There is the obligatory population killing virus, and double crosses galore (and a few surprises), but I enjoyed reading about how the world is being affected, conveyed through normal plot advancement. The author takes this subject very seriously, and even provides a few appendixes at the end of the book, explaining his thought process.

Overall, the message comes through loud and clear without being too preachy. Anyone reading this will come away with more information that they didn’t even know was lacking in their mind, and hopefully, they will practice some of the suggestions put forth by Kroes. This truly is an issue that affects us all.

Want your own copy? You can pick it up [easyazon_link identifier=”B00UPUYUFG” locale=”US” nw=”y” tag=”gimmethatbook-20″]here[/easyazon_link].

Pale Highway by Nicholas Conley

March 8, 2016 / Kyle Wendy Skultety / 0 Comments

Gabriel Schist is spending his remaining years at Bright New Day, a nursing home. He once won the Nobel Prize for inventing a vaccine for AIDS. But now, he has Alzheimer’s, and his mind is slowly slipping away.

When one of the residents comes down with a horrific virus, Gabriel realizes that he is the only one who can find a cure. Encouraged by Victor, an odd stranger, he convinces the administrator to allow him to study the virus. Soon, reality begins to shift, and Gabriel’s hallucinations interfere with his work.

As the death count mounts, Gabriel is in a race against the clock and his own mind. Can he find a cure before his brain deteriorates past the point of no return?

Thanks to the author for gifting me this book in exchange for a review!

This book was suggested to me as a combination of science fiction, surreal fantasy, and a literary commentary on aging. I can confidently say it covers all these genres and more.

What struck me first was the author’s adeptness in bringing the reader into the mind of an Alzheimer’s sufferer. Gabriel Schist, the main character, is frustrated with his lack of ability to remember simple things and care for himself. The utter lack of dignity and sense of self is explained beautifully by Conley, with poignant episodes showing Schist how helpless and dependent he is. His painful legs, his incontinence (he tries to hide it out of embarrassment) and photographs with names underneath them (so he can remember who they are) illustrate what an insidious disease Alzheimer’s is. He has flashes of brilliance, followed by blank moments where he wonders where he is and what day it is. Schist calms himself during these episodes by reciting the Fibonacci sequence, something I found oddly endearing and apropos to his backstory as a Nobel Prize winner.

We learn more about the younger Schist through chapters that highlight his days before he got into the nursing home. He is a flawed man with a kind and generous, if not stubborn, nature. He persists in his field, immunology, and eventually discovers a cure for AIDS. Suddenly the residents in his nursing home become ill with a horrific virus and he takes it upon himself to find a cure.

This is where the book turns into science fiction and surreal fantasy. Talking slugs, mysterious new residents in the nursing home, and black vomit with creatures crawling out of it are the norm. Schist isn’t sure if he’s finally gone over the edge or not, and his kind and persistent personality demands that he try to save those who are suffering.

The old immunologist is a very sympathetic character. More than once he wishes for death to come and relieve his suffering. I couldn’t help but think of all the elderly in nursing homes, having the same thoughts, with no one to care for them or love them. The author has personal experience, having worked in a nursing home, and this is where he shines: showing younger people with healthy minds what it must be like to lose your sense of self and be betrayed by your mind.

As the talking slugs became more central to the story I cringed, hoping they were a hallucination. To me, it was a harsh transition from the familiarity of the nursing home. The final part of the story crashed full on into surrealness and wild action, with Schist willing to sacrifice his life to save the world. No spoilers here, as always – read the book!

Conley does an excellent job with elements from multiple genres, as I mentioned before. There is something for everyone in PALE HIGHWAY, and it will absolutely leave you with sadness and respect for those abandoned in nursing homes.

Curious about those talking slugs? Want to know why everyone was vomiting black stuff? You can pick up your copy of PALE HIGHWAY [easyazon_link identifier=”1940215536″ locale=”US” nw=”y” tag=”gimmethatbook-20″]here[/easyazon_link].

Next Stop: Nina by Robin Raven

February 23, 2016 / Kyle Wendy Skultety / 0 Comments

Nina never was one who felt comfortable in this world. As she struggles to cope with the pain of her present and past, the young girl’s life is changed through the beauty of art. When Nina grows up and winds up in over her head in a dark place, she finds herself somehow transported to another time when nothing is quite what it seems. She must fight the horrors of her past all over again. Along the way, she faces greater challenges than she imagined. This is a character-driven novel with a heroine who faces life, love, and overcoming suicidal depression on her own terms.

Many thanks to the author for providing me with this review copy!

NEXT STOP: NINA is a book that will touch your emotions and send you into high and low places. I cringed when I read about Nina’s childhood and how innocent she was, always trying to forgive her abusive father. She feels she is never good enough, pretty enough, or strong enough to continue living, and considers suicide.

As she prepares to leave this world forever, something happens, and she finds herself back at home, talking to her beloved brother. Nina’s mental age and her physical age and appearance are very different. Has she gone back in time? Is this a hallucination or a dream?

The story continues with Nina trying to change the events of her past (and more depressing details about her life are revealed). She realizes that some events are always meant to be, and while this is heart wrenching to her, she understands she can grow and become a better person. She turns to philanthropic gestures, trying to help others by volunteering her time and seeing the light within herself grow.

Her first sense of true happiness occurs when she befriends a girl in school that no one ever talked to, in her “past life”. They become best friends and share many years together, bringing Nina more happiness and confidence.

One of Nina’s lifelong dreams was to meet an artist whose painting made an impact on her during her darkest times. To her endless surprise, once she finally does meet him at an event, they hit it off and eventually fall in love. She self-sabotages the relationship and they break up. At this point I became frustrated with Nina, because her lack of confidence and poor communication was really the issue.

All of a sudden, we find Nina as a young girl again, realizing she has to live her life over yet again, experiencing all the tragedy and loss. Her interactions with others are different and things don’t go as they did during her first reincarnation. As she repeats things she develops a kind of Groundhog Day attitude towards herself, learning to accept things, and learning to change for the better.

Her interaction with Leonard (the artist) develops again in a slightly different way; and we can see the shift in each of the characters as more layers are added to the story. This is the main takeaway of NEXT STOP: NINA — growth and acceptance. Nina still shows lack of communication skills at times, which I suppose was integral in showing just how deeply depressed her character was; but the scenes where all was good between Nina and Leonard were tender and sweet.

As I mulled over the story I wondered if the “back in time” was really just a hallucination or something more sci-fi. There is a sort of explanation towards the 75% mark, but it is vague and unsatisfying, coming from a mostly undeveloped character that seems to be out of place. I wasn’t sure what to do with that part of the story, and eventually I shrugged and kept on reading to see how the latest incarnation of Nina and Len would turn out.

It is easy for the reader to feel the heartbreak of Nina’s world; as author Robin Raven illustrates that beautifully. Reading about the tragedy in her life the first time was awful, and reading about it again, even though you knew how it would turn out, was no less horrifying the second or third time.

This was a book with an unusual premise and a positive message. Read it for yourself to discover if love truly saves the day for Nina. You can get your own copy [easyazon_link identifier=”0692406298″ locale=”US” nw=”y” tag=”gimmethatbook-20″]here[/easyazon_link].

Q&A with Johan Twiss, author of I AM SLEEPLESS

February 9, 2016 / Kyle Wendy Skultety / 0 Comments

While the others slept, Aidan spent hours each night running sim after sim. Although he was only a twelve-year cadet, he had completed more simulations than any prime— ever.
“You are setting history,” General Estrago told him. “No one has ever made it to the current simulation you are attempting. The other Masters and I are eager to see what comes next.”
So was Aidan.
The planet Ethos is at war with a mysterious enemy known as the Splicers. Their only successful defense is the Prime Initiative. All newborns with the compatible genetic code are taken from their families and injected with the Prime Stimulus. Each child that survives the stimulus develops an extraordinary ability and is conscripted into the military for training.

After turning twelve, Aidan is moved to the upper-class at the Mount Fegorio training complex. His special gifts allow him unprecedented success in the virtual training simulations, advancing him further than any prime cadet in history. No one knows what lies after sim 299, not even Director Tuskin, the ruthless and reclusive ruler of their planet. But something, or someone, has been guiding Aidan there. If he can pass the final tests, he may discover the key to ending the Splicer War.

We had the honor of speaking with author Johan Twiss about his new book, I AM SLEEPLESS. In this post he answers a few questions about himself and his work.

Where did you get the idea for this book? (I AM SLEEPLESS: SIM 299)
Most of my book ideas come from dreams I have at night, which are a mashup of events that happen in my daily life combined with the books, shows and media I take in. So basically, my dreams are about me being a super hero and so are my books.

For I Am Sleepless, I had a dream about kids with super powers, but they had physical handicaps. Around that same time, I was also thinking a lot about how much I could accomplish in life if I never had to sleep. Mash those two ideas together and that’s where the idea for I Am Sleepless sprang from.

Will there be more books in the series? (I AM SLEEPLESS: SIM 299)
Yes, the series is a trilogy and I have two more books planned. Search for the Reader is next and The Splicer King is the final book.

What are you currently working on?
I’m currently working on a mini novella series titled 4 YEARS TRAPPED IN MY MIND PALACE. I’m about 3/4 through the first draft and have a release date of May 2016.

You can download the first 5 chapter sampler (remember it’s a first draft) at my website http://iamsleepless.weebly.com/4-years-trapped-in-my-mind-palace.html

4 YEARS TRAPPED IN MY MIND PALACE SYNOPSIS:
Diagnosed with a rare form of meningitis, eleven-year-old Aaron Greenburg is paralyzed from head-to-toe. He can’t move a muscle or any part of his body, including his eyes or his eyelids to blink. Although he is alive, his doctors believe he is brain dead and unaware of his surroundings. But Aaron is not brain dead. He is very much aware of everything, trapped in his own mind with no way to communicate with anyone, including his parents.

Placed in a rest home for full-time care, Aaron retreats into his mind to cope with his imprisonment. But after one year alone, Aaron receives a roommate in the form of an outspoken, old, Jewish jazz musician named Solomon. With the blanket diagnosis of dementia, everyone thinks Solomon is crazy, especially Aaron. But when Aaron talks to Solomon in his mind, carrying on the normal one-way conversations he has with all of his visitors, something strange and unexpected occurs.

If you had a superhuman ability, which one would you like?
Touch someone and take away their greed. Think of how much better this world would be if you could take away greed and selfishness. Say so long to wars, murder, broken families, etc…

Who is your favorite author?
Brandon Sanderson. I’ve been hooked to his books ever since I read his Mistborn series. I’m pretty sure I’ve read every book he’s published, some of them multiple times. The worlds he creates, the magic systems, and the intrigue/mysteries he has running in the background make amazing stories.

What do you do when you are not writing?
I love to play instruments and create music. I play/dabble in a number of instruments including guitar, bass, trombone, blues harmonica, piano and percussion. The best part is my kids are getting old enough that they are starting to make up songs on the piano and we have Family Jam Sessions. We also have Family Fight Nights. My oldest children take martial arts and we like to put on the sparring gear and go at it. The kids take turns coming at me two at a time, (even my 3-year old daughter), and they practice their strikes, kicks, blocks, etc… Basically, they get to hit dad and we have a lot of fun.

My wife and I also own and operate the online retail store www.playfullyeverafter.com. We sell toys, games, costumes and home décor items. It’s more than a full-time job, but luckily we have a handful of wonderful employees, (most of them family members), and we get to work from home. This gives me a little more flexibility to write.

When and why did you begin writing?
This writing journey started as I became more involved volunteering with Anti Human Trafficking non-profits. You can learn how I became involved in that work at my blog http://abolitionistjb.blogspot.com. As I researched, learned and met individuals who had been sold into slavery, I realized I wanted to tell these stories. But some of the stories are so raw and unnervingly sad that they are hard to read about and can send people into depression.

I’ve talked to some people who said they couldn’t handle how sad these tragedies made them and they didn’t want to learn anymore about it because it made them so depressed they couldn’t function.

So I set out with the goal to write a fictional story that gave the facts of human trafficking, showed you what was going on around the world, but gave hope through a hero, almost a super hero of sorts, that fought back. I wanted to make learning about these tragedies palpable to help spread awareness about what’s going on and what’s being done to combat modern slavery.

This became my first story, ABOLERE. Right now Abolere is a trunk novel. It was the first book and I learned a lot about writing in the process of creating the story, but it still needs some TLC to make it publishable. My goal is to finish it by Dec 2016. You can read the first chapter sampler on my website at http://iamsleepless.weebly.com/abolere.html.

What genre do you consider your book(s)?
This is tough because I have books planned for multiple genres including Science Fiction, Fantasy, Historical Fiction and Crime Fiction. I also have two non-fiction books I want to write.

That’s why I decided to create the pen name Johan Twiss. I plan to use the Johan Twiss pen name for all of my SciFi/Fantasy books and my real name, John Burger, for everything else.

The problem is I have a backlog of book ideas and I get more each week. My wife lovingly smiles and nods her head, sometimes rolls her eyes, every time I say, “So I had a dream last night and I’ve got this great idea for a book.” Maybe someday I will be a full-time writer and my writing will slowly catch up to my list of ideas.

Do you write an outline before you write?
Yes, but it’s very bare bones. I have a long list of book ideas that I let simmer in my mind. When one of them starts to combine enough “cool scenes” in my head, I move it to the outline stage. My outlines consist of a few bullet points, with very few details, and they are usually incomplete sentences. It’s basically a list of the scenes I’m excited to write about, put in order for the story to take place.

This is where my addiction to writing is fed. I love the discovery process of filling in the gaps and creating a story from these scenes. I’m always surprised and fascinated by the ideas that pop into my mind and exploring where those take the characters and plot. It gives me goosebumps. It’s the drug that keeps me writing.

Please fill in the blank:
Keep Calm and Eat Chocolate— unless you’re allergic, in which case I will eat your chocolate and mourn for you.

What advice would you have for writers?
As Dory says in Finding Nemo, “Just keep swimming, just keep swimming.” But in the case of writers it’s, “Just keep writing, just keep writing.” The more I write, the more I learn about writing. I have a couple of trunk novels that may never see the light of day, but I learned quite a bit from the discipline of writing them.

Tell us three things no one knows about you.
1. I play a mean blues harmonica, along with guitar, bass, piano, a variety of hand drums, and the trombone.
2. I once met the Yankee Hall of Famer Joe Dimaggio in a Martinez, California strip mall parking lot. I was an 8 year old kid and my dad pointed him out to me. So naturally, I went up to Jumping Joe as he unlocked his car and asked for his autograph with my dad’s softball mitt that I snagged out of the back of our minivan. The signed softball mitt was later stolen. There went my college fund.
3. I’m Batman- wait, I wasn’t supposed to tell you that.

What’s the best thing about being a writer?
Writing is an addiction for me, and it’s one that I wholeheartedly feed. I love the discovery process creating a story from scratch. I’m always surprised and fascinated by the ideas that pop into my mind and exploring where those take the characters and plot. It gives me goosebumps. It’s the drug that keeps me writing.

How do you deal with writer’s block?
Honestly, I have not experienced writer’s block yet. I’m sure I will at some point, but for now I have dozens of ideas for books and exciting scenes I want to write in my current works in progress. Right now I wonder if I will ever be able to write all the stories I want to tell.

We hope you enjoyed this Q&A session; now go out and buy his book! You can pick it up [easyazon_link identifier=”1517166330″ locale=”US” nw=”y” tag=”gimmethatbook-20″]here[/easyazon_link].

Daimones (Daimones Trilogy, Vol. 1) by Massimo Marino

October 13, 2015 / Kyle Wendy Skultety / 0 Comments

“Nothing prepared us for the last day.”

Death has swept away the lives of billions of people, but Dan and his family were spared. By whom, and why?
Surviving, to give meaning to their lives, and looking for other survivors lead Dan to discover the truth about the extermination of the human race.
The encounter with Laura, a young and sexy girl of Italian origin, raises ethical and moral questions that had never touched the Amentas family before.
Other survivors force Dan to confront his past to find answers to the many questions.
The past and the present come together and upset the fragile balance, physical and mental, which allowed the Amentas to find a new meaning to their existence.
Dan discovers his final role in a plan with a million years of roots, and survivors have to choose a future that has no past, or remain in a past with no future.

Many thanks to the author for gifting me this book in exchange for a review.

DAIMONES is unusual because it’s a thinking man’s science fiction story. The plot is familiar; aliens annhilating the population of Earth, save a few chosen ones. The difference here is that the main characters realize the implications of why it occurred and understand that they need to adapt.

Marino’s writing style is descriptive and puts you directly into the deserted world. Familiar landmarks such as the CERN building fall silent as they are devoid of human life. Nature slowly takes over, as weeds and animal life proliferate, even as Dan and his family despair of ever coming in contact with another human.

This strength is also his weakness. In Book One, most of the first half is taken up by more of the same: empty malls, stores, roads without traffic, and many conversations between the survivors about “why did this happen” and “what can we do”. I grew weary of the minimal action and navel gazing. Yes, it is an apocalyptic event, but the pace was quite slow until Laura was discovered and welcomed into the family. Perhaps Marino spent so much detail on the abandoned Earth because he really wanted to drive the point home of how it would be if everyone vanished. He firmly establishes the POV of the novel as a lonely, eerie, and hushed place to be. The world struck dumb is not an easy thing to imagine, especially if you live in a crowded area. As I read, I certainly felt the sense of alone-ness growing around me, as I simultaneously felt cut off from the planet yet annoyed that the book wasn’t moving forward fast enough for me.

When things do start happening, everything speeds up all at once. Dan and his wife encounter a moral dilemma, daughter Annah is going through her young adult years realizing she may never have someone to love, and Dan starts to experience vague “feelings” that they are not alone anymore. Annah’s plight resonated deeply with me; I can’t even imagine being a teen, cut off from friends and Facebook, wondering if the future holds anything promising. Excellent touch by the author!

The final section of the book is where Marino uses his alien characters to wax poetic about the future of the Earth and its population. One speech in particular is a kind of soapbox that will resonate with those who care about the prevalence of man’s hubris and over-reaching grasp. The cause of the mass kill off is explained, with the caveat that it can be prevented again with the proper actions. I liked how history was tied in with the narrative; it made it believeable and relevant.

DAIMONES is not a book to quickly read and put aside. The author wants to call attention to man’s actions and reactions, and the effects they have upon our life. Those readers who like a little brain stimulation with their sci-fi will have something to ponder as they get through this book.

Want your own copy? You can pick it up [easyazon_link identifier=”B0134E5Q0M” locale=”US” nw=”y” tag=”gimmethatbook-20″]here[/easyazon_link].

DIVISION: A collection of science fiction fairy tales by Lee S Hawke PLUS GIVEAWAY

May 5, 2015 / Kyle Wendy Skultety / 1 Comment

BEAUTY. GRIEF. MINDS. EVERYTHING IS DIVISIBLE.

From LEE S. HAWKE, author of The Changeling and the Sun (published by Ideomancer Speculative Fiction Magazine) comes DIVISION: A COLLECTION OF SCIENCE FICTION FAIRYTALES.
Featuring 7 original, fairytale-inspired science fiction short stories, this collection explores the division between mind, body, technology, and humanity in Hawke’s trademark haunting style.

Inside:
A chronically ill civilian discovers that his immune system may be the key to human survival.
A schoolgirl tries to escape her demons through levels of virtual reality.
A data analyst falls in love with a software coder during a forced government assignment.
A young boy is confronted with a horrifying truth about his constructed world.
A jaded medical technician rediscovers the meaning of beauty.
A girl scrambles to escape a horrifying alien invasion in a futuristic dystopia.
And a spaceship engineer struggles with the death of her only daughter.
Metaphysical and visionary, this collection of fantastic fiction combines humor, wonder, horror and humanity to create an enduring anthology of fairy tales for adults.

Thanks to Erica at Blind Mirror Publishing for offering me DIVISION in exchange for this honest review. Also, thanks for providing the three digital copies of the book that we’re giving away in the raffle below! Entering is easy, so you have no excuse not to do it.

[raw]a Rafflecopter giveaway[/raw]

Short stories are always good to read in between longer books, because they serve as a palate cleanser and give you things to think about in a small package. DIVISION was awesome to read because the sci-fi wasn’t overly technical; the stories were all basically dystopian and mostly believable; and there was just enough of an odd twist to make you take a breath and consider the possibilities of what you just read.

The twist is not always glaringly obvious–you need to read the story (or parts of it) over again to grasp what Hawke is saying. In the story about the boy trying to get beyond the giant gray Wall that surrounds his town, the descriptions of the road become more and more detailed, until you realize what, exactly, the road is made of. That’s when you get that chill in your heart and know you are dealing with a writer with talent. Short stories are hard to create–you have to have a hook, interesting characters, and a plot that wraps up just as things get going. Hawke has constructed some fine work here, for sure.

Perhaps my favorite one was the story about the forced interaction between the data analyst and the software coder. Appropriately dystopian and government controlled, I thought it would be a lot darker than it turned out to be–but still satisfying nonetheless. Maybe I liked it because it was the most benign one of them all. Remember what I said: odd twists and hints of darker things that sometimes lurk in the basement, or in the far reaches of our mind, where we don’t want to go.

If you like sci fi or dystopian work, you will enjoy DIVISION. All the stories have characters that you can sympathize with, and situations that will ring true. Excellent job by Lee S. Hawke on this collection, and I’d love to see more.

Want your own copy? You can pick it up [easyazon_link asin=”1925299015″ locale=”US” new_window=”default” nofollow=”default” tag=”gimmethatbook-20″ add_to_cart=”yes” cloaking=”default” localization=”yes” popups=”yes”]here[/easyazon_link].

Pilgrim by Terrence Atwood

April 9, 2015 / Kyle Wendy Skultety / 0 Comments

An exploratory probe is launched into space on a mission to investigate the possibility of extraterrestrial life. However, a cabal of military forces have covertly converted the probe into a weapon of mass destruction – arming it with a nuclear payload.
When the launch of the craft, code named PILGRIM, goes awry, the probe crashes back on Earth and begins carrying out its mission – eradicating all life. It’s up to Catherine Tennison, an intrepid NASA scientist, and Army Colonel Walt Macken to capture and disarm the probe before it brings about Armageddon.

Thanks to author Terrence Atwood for providing this review copy.

Weighing in at a quick 146 pages, this is a quick and easy read. The plot is promising, and the tension starts fairly quickly, when there is a failure during the launch. There is back stabbing, politics, and a murderous probe named PILGRIM, that immediately starts performing its mission as planned–except it didn’t land on the new planet as expected. PILGRIM landed back on Earth, and cannot be stopped.

There are portions of awkward dialogue plus some bad punctuation (most glaring is the use of capital letters and exclamation points to force home the point that this is WILD STUFF HAPPENING HERE!!). I also had to suspend my beliefs for a bit at times, that the military would acquiese to the demands of a NASA scientist (character Catherine Tennison). There are also a few too many narrow escapes by Tennison and her companion Colonel Walt Macken, to make things ring true.

However, I did enjoy the science and implications of the story itself, even if the writing could have been a little smoother. The images of the rogue probe rampaging across bucolic areas were done well, and the juxtaposition of nature and technology was appropriately jarring. The possibility of the military doing something like this isn’t that far fetched, and the conspiracy theorists would love this book. I’m sure.

I think the plot would make a good science fiction film. As I was reading, I could picture the action in my head. That alone means Atwood did his job: making the reader visualize and become one with the story.

The author had some good ideas–with a little more character development and better editing, PILGRIM would be a 5 star read. I’ll give it 3 and a half. Want your own copy? You can pick it up [easyazon_link identifier=”B00UC7NRJM” locale=”US” tag=”gimmethatbook-20″]here[/easyazon_link].

The Great Zoo Of China by Matthew Reilly

January 20, 2015 / Kyle Wendy Skultety / 0 Comments

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for this honest review.

What if you were invited to a special behind the scenes visit to a theme park greater than Disneyland? That’s exactly what happens in Matthew Reilly‘s latest novel, THE GREAT ZOO OF CHINA. Veterinarian and crocodile expert CJ Cameron gets invited to get a preview of the new Zoo of China–where the main attraction is genuine, living dragons.

Of course, these creatures are perfectly safe to interact with, and the safety measures are foolproof. Nothing could possibly go wrong…..

This book started out at a normal pace, and then jumped into overdrive, where it stayed until the last page. When CJ and her traveling companions started getting attacked by the dragons, it was like a roller coaster ride that kept on twisting, and twisting, and turning you upside down until you couldn’t catch your breath. There were so many narrow escapes and close calls I wondered if my heartbeat was ever going to go back to normal.

The comparison to JURASSIC PARK may be inevitable (and the author addresses that in the Q&A session at the back of the book), but it’s not exactly the same. Where the dinosaurs were meant to merely be watched, Reilly’s dragons were intended to be interacted with, and were trained to act as sideshow creatures, much as the dolphins at SeaWorld are. I thought the rebellion of the dragons against their training was a good impetus for the uprising, plus the hubris of the Chinese to make the rest of the world prostrate themselves in awe at their zoo added to the chaos. I think ZOO has way more action than PARK, and the choice of CJ as the main character was brilliant. There are not enough strong, smart, resourceful female characters in action novels, and she continually kicks major ass all the way through, without losing her femininity.

Reilly’s description of the park’s construction and the Chinese mindset are dead on. I could picture each dragon swooping down, hell bent on destruction, striking terror into the characters’ souls. The seeming inevitability of CJ’s fate, either by dragon or firing squad, kept me enthralled. With so much action and death surrounding the characters, the addition of Lucky, and her burgeoning companionship with CJ added a light and heartwarming juxtaposition to the nonstop action. CJ”s brother Hamish provides comic relief also, and the relationship between them is written well enough that it seems truly real.

I completely enjoyed this book and would love to see CJ as a recurring character in another novel. I’ll also be on the lookout for more of Reilly’s books.

Want your own copy? Click here.

Lightning Review! Joubin’s Head by Justin Key

January 9, 2015 / Michael Nail / 0 Comments

You can win a signed, limited-edition copy of Joubin’s Head through Hidden Clearing Books here!

In Joubin’s Head tries to pack a lot of story into a small space by suggesting rather than explaining critical details, and by using’s the character’s inner language rather than a narrator to advance the plot. The title character lies helplessly in a hospital bed as something progressively takes dominion over his mind. The true nature of the force that overcomes him is cleverly left up in the air. Is it an alien virus that spreads through the air and infects the mind? Perhaps it’s less sinister, and the entire story chronicles Joubin’s final hallucinations unto death.

The alien half of Joubin’s internal dialogue asks us to doubt what we mean when we say “I.” It makes him a spectator in his own mind, showing him his own memories and taking command of his body. If an alien force usurped access to all of your memories and knowledge, leaving you to be a mere spectator of your own life, are you sure that you would be able to tell? An alien virus designed to “live inside your life” could possibly live your life for you as you watched, without your guessing that you had lost control until the critical moment.

It must not be easy to open and close a narrative with a natural buildup and a satisfying ending in under 1500 words. Justin Key got that job done, though. I’m impressed enough to go check out some of his other work. Here’s a link to another short (but not as short) tale of his on Amazon: [easyazon_link asin=”B00OARG5UI” locale=”US” new_window=”yes” nofollow=”default” tag=”gimmethatbook-20″ add_to_cart=”yes” cloaking=”default” localization=”yes” popups=”yes”]Death’s Cafe: The Storm[/easyazon_link].