Umbra is science-fiction with a bit of everything: Exploring worlds, dogfights, politics, and a slow-burn romance.
Reviews
Review: Feral by Gemma Amor
Synopsis Meet Margot. She’s had enough. Review Margot is having a bit of a crisis. She’s got a good job, a sweet boyfriend, and a pretty good life. But none of that is really doing it, and what begins with small rebellions against societal expectations for how women present themselves, soon escalates into a full […]
Book Review: Centauri’s Shadow by Ross Garner
TL;DR Review: Great character work. A solid mystery driving the plot. A fascinating exploration of first contact and its ramifications. Synopsis: ‘Eight years ago they sent a single ship to test our defences. Now they’re building an armada.’ Cole grew up in the shadow of grief. Kyoko grew up in the shadow of war. Two […]
Review: Herald (Age Of The GodEater #1) by Rob J. Hayes
Synopsis A thousand years ago, humanity’s greatest heroes killed God. Across the land of Helesia, the iron grasp of the Godless Kings is failing. Demons stalk the deep forests, monsters break free of their prisons beneath the World Vein, and terrors of the old world rise again. Deep in the wintry village of Riverden, Renira […]
Review: Rotten Tommy by David Sodergren
Synopsis: “Keep the door locked night and day…” It’s been forty years since Becky Sharp’s mother vanished without a trace. Becky has given up all hope of finding her, until she makes a strange discovery that may hold the key to solving her mother’s disappearance. Three unmarked videotapes, hidden in the wall of her childhood […]
Review: Under the Lesser Moon (The Marked Son #1) by Shelly Campbell
Synopsis ‘Dragons once led our people across the wastelands, away from storms, and toward hunting grounds.’ That’s what the elders say, but eleven-year-old Akrist has squinted at empty skies his whole life. The dragons have abandoned them, and it’s Akrist’s fault. He’s cursed. Like every other firstborn son, he has inherited the sins of his […]
Review: The Warden (The Warden Series #1) by Daniel M. Ford
Synopsis A Recommended Reading List Pick for Locus and a Best Science Fiction & Fantasy Editors’ Pick for AmazonA Reactor Magazine Best of the Year Pick For fans who have always wanted their Twin Peaks to have some wizards, The Warden is a non-stop action adventure story from author Daniel M. Ford. There was a plan. She had the money, the connections, […]
Australian & New Zealand Author Showcase No 25 – Assaph Mehr
An idea squeezed into my head in 2023, after seeing so many of the book community gathering at conventions across the US and UK. And once my FOMO subsided, I got to thinking about who might be gathered together if we had similar conventions closer to home. Pending the master planning required to arrange a […]
Intro to Indie Horror + Representation
Similarly to my original Intro to Indie posts (which you can check out here: Fantasy, Horror, Sci-fi) this is an idea I’ve been brewing for months. Also feel free to check out my original Intro to Indie + Rep post for Fantasy here. Not just where to start with horror or underrated horrors, but horror from authors you […]
Review: Hammer and Crucible (Imperial Hammer #1) by Cameron Cooper
Synopsis: The interstellar array which links worlds together wakes to find it has enemies… The Fourth Carinad Empire stretches across hundreds of settled worlds and stellar cities, and thousands of light years. The Empire’s people and data are linked by a space-folding gates array controlled by the Emperor and his cohorts. When the array evolves […]
Review: Mother Death by Paul O’Neill
Synopsis: Dottie Matheson is a selfish mother who has been granted the supernatural power to resurrect her son, Harold, whenever he dies. He uses this ability to shock audiences around Scotland by killing himself on stage over and over again, attracting fame and fortune. As his Circus Nightmare act takes the world by storm, his […]
An Intro to Indie Fantasy + Representation
Similarly to my original Intro to Indie posts (which you can check out here: Fantasy, Horror, Sci-fi) this is an idea I’ve been brewing for months. Not just where to start with fantasy, or underrated fantasies, but fantasy from authors you may have never heard of, authors that may not look, sound, or think like […]