We’re getting close to the start of the first ever Self-Published Science Fiction Competition aka. SPSFC we thought it would be a good time to introduce the FanFiAddict reviewer team! We’re thrilled to be a part of the inaugural competition and get our teeth into some self-published Sci-Fi!
Review: Fermi’s Progress: Dyson’s Fear (Fermi’s Progress #1) by Chris Farnell
Dyson’s Fear puts us on a brand new planet. A strange, inexplicable place brimming with intelligent life, and a city that floats on the river (which I’m fascinated by). Complete with its own religion and philosophies Chris has a flair for creating new worlds that are rich in culture. Honestly I could read a whole series set on this planet and still want to know more!
Review: Devolution: A Firsthand Account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre by Max Brooks
I read World War Z years ago and completely fell in love with it. The writing style, the story, the way it’s told, I just loved it. So when I saw that Max Brooks was coming out with Devolution I was stoked. Big Foot isn’t necessarily my favourite folklore creature but it’s also something I don’t come across often, so I was intrigued to see where this would go.
Review: The Book of Accidents by Chuck Wendig
The Book of Accidents isn’t the horror story you think it is. It’s bigger and better, and you’ll actually be able to sleep at night. Wendig hasn’t set out to scare you or give you nightmares. Instead he has crafted a sweeping epic that captures you and creeps you out. It’s impossible to put it down because you just want to know what happens next. It’s a masterclass in mixing genres with complex and intertwining stories that are all pulled together at the end. If you think you know where it is going, you’re probably wrong.
Review: Spec Ops Z by Gavin G. Smith
I generally tend to love zombie books because I’m such a huge fan of the genre. I am especially happy when it is more focussed on zombie/human conflict rather than the human/human conflict many books fall into. Therefore I was over the moon with Spec Ops Z. Not only is it very much about zombie/human conflict, and not only that, our main characters become zombies themselves. Thinking, intelligent zombies who hunger for human flesh but can control themselves. It’s a twist on a genre I love so much.
Review: The Gottingen Accident by James F. Mordechai
The Gottingen Accident is a novella that I absolutely flew through. Coming in at under 150 pages you get thrown into the action from page one.
Maths is not my strong suit, and it never has been. So starting a book that talks about Non-Euclidian Geometry had me a little worried, I had even googled the term before I started the book. Thankfully, you are in safe hands and I shouldn’t have worried at all. Over the course of the start of the book Mordechai finds ways to weave in the meaning, and demonstrates it without using overly-complicated explanations. Once you get to the weirder portions of the book you’ll be going right along with it. For me, I ended up picturing the Oldest House from Control (the super crazy sections) but with way less sharp edges.
Review: Vampires Never Get Old: Tales With a Fresh Bite edited by Zoradia Córdova and Natalie C. Parker
I debated for a little while the best way to review this book, it felt too general to just do a summary so I’m doing a bunch of mini reviews for the stories we get within this anthology. Overall, I enjoyed this, there are some stand-out stories and a few that have already faded from memory. I feel that this is the case with most anthologies and with the exception of V. E. Schwab the authors are all new to me! Don’t ask me how but that’s just how my reading has worked out.
Review: Seven Deaths of an Empire by G. R. Matthews
This book has all the makings of a great fantasy. Big battles, political intrigue and magic systems. But somehow it doesn’t get bogged down in all this. Matthews writes battle scenes with ease and with a grace that is hard to find elsewhere. I usually get a bit confused in battle scenes and just hope that at the end an overview is given of who beat who and who is still alive. However Matthews uses one of our characters to describe battles in a way that is easy to follow. You know what is happening, you can follow the beats and it just worked so well for me.
Review: Ten Low by Stark Holborn
This is a Sci-Fi set on a moon at the edge of the universe, where the reach of The Accord barely exists and lawlessness abounds. I loved reading a story about a backwater moon where the rest of the universe is clearly populated, if not entirely cared for. It gives the characters who live there a lot to fight for and not a lot to lose. The race across the landscape means you see farms where crops can’t grow, towns built like prison hulks, and shining fancy transport that is at odds with its surroundings. Somehow Holborn has taken this space-desert moon and filled it with life and with threats.
Review: Sistersong by Lucy Holland
I’m just saying please buy this book, please read it, please experience it and please feel everything it is going to give you. I was caught out by just how much emotional punch it has, and those last 100 pages are going to be a roller-coaster of emotion. I wanted to cry happy tears at the end. The kind of tears where your heart is broken, then fixed just enough that you feel almost happy again.