When author Matthew Samuels asked me if I wanted to read and review Dusk, I jumped at the opportunity. I had read and reviewed Parasites – the first book in The Navigators series – a couple of years ago, and I really enjoyed it. I thought the story was light and fun with interesting characters and settings. And, mostly, I liked Dusk for the exact same reasons.
Artificial Intelligence
Book Tour & Review: Daros by Dave Dobson
Synopsis High above Daros, sixteen-year-old Brecca Vereen prepares to unload a cargo of trade goods aboard her father’s ship, the Envy’s Price. Nellen Vereen shows her a mysterious artifact bound for a contact below, one that will earn them a lot of credits, and one that they definitely won’t be declaring to customs. Materializing out […]
Review: Shards of Earth (The Final Architects Trilogy #1) by Adrian Tchaikovsky
I’m a big Adrian Tchaikovsky fan. Children of Time is a modern classic and stands as my favorite sci-fi novel of all time while Cage of Souls is a vastly underrated and incredible novel. Tchaikovsky’s works are always incredibly innovative and creative. From Elder Race (a fun novella which mixes fantasy and sci-fi) to his Shadows of the Apt series (a fantasy book with insect type races which I need to read more of) there’s always some interesting worldbuilding and fascinating ideas going on – and Shards of the Earth is no exception.
Review: Lost Solace by Karl Drinkwater
Lost Solace is a semi-finalist in SPSFC and was assigned to FanFiAddict in the semi-finals.
Lost Solace starts in the middle of the action, at some point in the past Opal has stolen a ship and hacked the AI so it is helping her. The backstory to this gets revealed slowly over the course of the book and it’s so well woven into the narrative. We quickly find a lost ship and the story really goes from here.
Review: Six Gun Shuffle (Black Sun #2) by David Dixon
Synopsis: Snake and the boss have made a lot of enemies, but up until their trip to Yaeger, they’ve never had any beef with Michael Ver, the galaxy’s most bankable popstar-mainly because they hadn’t met him before. After the boss teaches Ver a lesson about the difference between looking tough and being tough, he finds […]
Review: Doors of Sleep (Journals of Zaxony Delatree #1) by Tim Pratt
A fun and unique ride in the life of Zaxony Delatree, a world hopper via the means of sleeping.
Review: The Memory Librarian and Other Stories of Dirty Computer by Janelle Monáe
To be blunt, I’m not a big reader of short story collections. It’s something that has been a sore spot in my reading history, and something I’ve wanted to amend—at some point. Maybe it’s just that I haven’t found the right collection, or there’s a part of me that connects much more deeply with a novel. But, when I was presented with the opportunity to read and review Janelle Monáe’s new sci-fi collection, The Memory Librarian and Other Stories of Dirty Computer, I was able to slip past whatever mental hurdle I had and dove right in. As a fan of Monáe’s music and amazing concept albums, it came as no surprise that the world and atmosphere of these five stories (which are actually more like novelette length) bleed off the page. While not all of the stories succeed, the interconnected nature of this rich world and its poignant themes makes this collection a worthwhile investment.
Review: Dark Theory (Dark Law #1) by Wick Welker
Synopsis A robot yearns to remember. A thief struggles to forget. A galaxy on the verge of chaos. On the fringe of a broken civilisation, a robot awakens with no memories and only one directive: find his creator. But in the village of Korthe, Beetro finds only radioactive pestilence, famine, and Miree — a tormented […]
Review: Aur Child by I.S. Lee
Synopsis Nordic noir meets hard science fiction in I.S. Lee’s deep, twisting Aur Child. Prepare to be lured into a multi-faceted, uncertain futurescape where the boundaries between right and wrong, good and evil, and heroes and villains are blurred by the complexities of their reality. When a fisherman unwittingly discovers clues about other people wielding […]
Review: Stars and Bones (Stars and Bones #1) by Gareth L. Powell
In the canon of modern space opera, Gareth L. Powell has stood out as one of the genre’s most accessible stalwarts. His work is consistently engaging and continues to improve book after book. With his latest novel, Stars and Bones, Powell kicks off a brand-new space opera series with a bang. Not only was this book a pure joy to read, gripping me from the get-go and never letting up until the final page, it was also full of relatable characters, clever humor and the relentless optimism of the human spirit. This book is unputdownable, popcorn sci-fi that explores big ideas with an equally big heart.
Review: 36 Streets by T. R. Napper
T. R. Napper’s debut novel 36 Streets is a rich, multi-layered thrill ride. On one hand, it delivers a slick, neon-soaked cyberpunk narrative, with a gruff anti-hero protagonist, tense action and near-future tech. But on the other, it’s a surprisingly thoughtful story, with nuanced explorations of family, identity and memory in the face of immense tragedy. Pair that with the living trauma of its Vietnamese setting (specifically its capital city Hanoi) and the result is a potent mix of futurism and the human condition.
Review: Dead Silence by S.A. Barnes
Dead Silence is author S.A. Barnes’ lates release (and the first under that name, though the author has a whole portfolio of titles – mostly YA – under the name Stacey Kade). I thought this was a really good read, and it is exactly as billed: it’s the Titanic in space but also murdery with a touch of reality TV.