Summary: An interstellar craft is decelerating after its century-long voyage. Its destination is V538 Aurigae ?, a now-empty planet dominated by one gigantic megastructure, a conical mountain of such height that its summit is high above the atmosphere. The ship’s crew of five hope to discover how the long-departed builders made such a colossal thing, […]
Soft SciFi
Review: The Ferryman by Justin Cronin
Synopsis The archipelago of Prospera lies in the middle of a vast ocean. Created by a mythic genius known only as The Designer, Prospera exists in splendid isolation, forgetful of whichever untold horrors inspired its creation. Citizens of the main island enjoy fulfilling and privileged lives, attended to by the obliging support staff who live […]
The Diamond Device (Accidental Capers, 1) by M. H. Thaung
This is a review in conjunction with the 2023 Self Published Science Fiction Contest (SPSFC2 for short!) The Diamond Device is one of six semi-finalist that the judging team, Team Escapist, is reviewing as they seek a finalist to move forward in the competition. Synopsis After diamond power promises to replace steam, an unemployed labourer […]
Review: Have You Decided On Your Question by Lyndsey Croal
Synopsis If you could live your life over again, what would you ask to change? Something big? Something small? A single moment? Have you decided on your question? Zoe has. Tired of feeling alone and lost, Zoe seeks out an experimental virtual therapy experience from Alternative Reality Tech, which offers patients the opportunity to explore […]
Review: Light Bringer (Red Rising #6) by Pierce Brown
SPOILERS for the entire Red Rising series (besides Light Bringer) included below, even in the synopsis. Read at your own peril. Synopsis Pierce Brown’s New York Times bestselling Red Rising series continues in the thrilling sequel to Dark Age. “The measure of a man is not the fear he sows in his enemies. It is the hope he […]
Book Review: New Yesterday by Frasier Armitage
Synopsis Find your past. Save your future. What if you could change everything in your life you wish you’d done differently? Fix regret? Unlock the potential of your past? That’s what Adam Swann did in New Yesterday, a city where events in the present can alter history. He’s living the life of his dreams, yet he […]
Review: World Running Down by Al Hess
There’s a huge amount of love in this book. WRD was meant to be a palette cleanser for me in the all-you-can-eat buffet of space opera sci-fi out there at the moment but it shone as a wonderful book in its own right.
Review: Quantum Radio by AG Riddle
Synopsis At CERN, a scientist has just made an incredible discovery – a breakthrough that may answer the deepest questions about human existence. But what he’s found is far more dangerous than he ever imagined. Dr. Tyson Klein is a quantum physicist who has dedicated his entire life to his research. At CERN, he analyses […]
Review: The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Older
Synopsis On a remote, gas-wreathed outpost of a human colony on Jupiter, a man goes missing. The enigmatic Investigator Mossa follows his trail to Valdegeld, home to the colony’s erudite university — and Mossa’s former girlfriend, a scholar of Earth’s pre-collapse ecosystems. Pleiti has dedicated her research and her career to aiding the larger effort […]
Review: A Gamble of Gods (The Order of the Dragon #1) by Mitriel Faywood
Faywood blends so many different elements into A Gamble of Gods and it is quite unique compared to so many other books I’ve read in the SFF genres. There’s fantasy, romance, science fiction, and comedy facets that all work to make this something fresh.
Review: Light Years From Home by Mike Chen
Synopsis Every family has issues. Most can’t blame them on extraterrestrials. When Jakob Shao returns to Earth fifteen years after he was abducted by aliens, he’ll have to locate a device which could save not just the world, but the universe. Who better to help him than his estranged family and the two sisters whose […]
Review: Tales From Another Dimension by Robbie Sheerin
Synopsis How will HG Wells react when he wakes 200 years in the future on a strange planet, faced with a terrible truth? Two young brothers make a frightening discovery about their neighbours. Do robots secretly want to rule us all? A scientist goes to the extreme in order to change the future of mankind. […]