Book Review: Spacevault by G.W. Smith

Although this was an interesting idea, as a book, it wasn’t really for me. Set on world that’s doomed to perish because of an asteroid, Xel, the main character is destined to save it. Unfortunately there is also insta-love, and too little description for me to be able to follow all the different species of characters in the story. Basically, it wasn’t for me.

2/5 Stars 117 pages
Published January 21st 2012

The beginning of the story starts with a mass gathering of scientists. In the next fifty years, asteroid “Black Rock” is going to come and mess up their entire planet’s orbit by coming too close, dooming their home. They’ve been working on a solution, a way to teleport to a safe location, but nothing has really become of it because they would have to move their entire population. After ten years, they’re running out of options. So they’ve come up with a new idea, taking the world’s most intelligent people and children, giving them special schooling so they may go on to save their people. And Xel is one of those children.

Was he a child or was he a teen? Was he fully grown? These are some of the questions I have. How did he change his relationships with the other characters in the story so fast? Why were the children basically test dummies? There are just so many things I didn’t really understand, and I couldn’t really stay invested in the book.

I think that although I thought the book was confusing, not everyone will think that. It does have a great and unique scifi base to build off of. If you think you would enjoy it, check it out!

Thanks for reading. Hope you’re doing well and there’s no asteroids headed for our own planet!

Book Review: Ekleipsis by Tamel Wino

With a very interesting description, I got this book expecting something completely different. My bad! But what was inside, was a bunch of horrific stories about torture and violence, and one that goes a ton of different directions at once. Many different people, places, and things, the creepy cover is a perfect fit.

3/5 Stars 176 pages
Published December 18th 2020

Unfortunately, this review will be very short, because I’m not one for short story books. Though it was nice to break up the monotony of novels, I just have the hardest time paying attention to short story books. It really seemed like something I would like, but unfortunately it just wasn’t for me. I’m not sure how I missed it, seeing as it’s plastered all over the goodreads description, but I probably would have passed on it if I knew.

But it was still a good, fast pace book about different kinds of psychotic scenarios. I definitely recommend it to anyone looking for something creepy, with a collection of different stories in it, who’s mature enough to read them.

If you’d like to grab a copy, you can here!

Thanks for reading! Hope you’re doing well and staying away from anyone in this book.

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.ca and affiliated sites.

Review: The Devil Whispered by Shawn Starkweather

3/5 Stars 413 Pages (in paper) Published February 1st 2021 by Shawn Starkweather Publishing Company

Honestly as great as the plot and the characters were in this book, I had the hardest time getting immersed into it. For whatever reason, I still haven’t figured it out over five hundred pages later, I Just couldn’t keep my attention on this book. Whether that’s a me problem or a book problem I’m not sure, but I do have these good things to say about it. If you’re looking for an action packed cyberpunk mystery novel mixed with military personnel, robotic limbs and internal computers, and crazy body mods and just crazy tech in general, than this is definitely something you should look into checking out next.

At the beginning of this book we find out main character, Jacobi, hunting down a man for some kind of mob boss. He finds him surrounded by drugs and girls and easily apprehends him, and brings him back to his father. This is just the beginning though, because the favour he gets in return will really help him out later in the book. What’s really going on here, Jacobi learns after visiting his friend in jail after he has brutally murdered his wife, is that someone seems to be hunting down the members of his old army team. But why would someone do that? Their names and team were all under lock and key, not just anyone would be able to have that information. But his friend says it wasn’t his fault and that someone made him do it. How could someone just control another person like that? All these questions and more are all wrapped up by the end of the book.

Out of all the characters I think I like Risa and his other friend with the robotic limbs the most. I read another review that says this book seemed sexist, and while that opinion is valid, I really didn’t get that vibe from it. I would say the vibes I got from this book were more military James Bond with all the cyberpunk goodness and crazy tech we love that comes along with that genre. The world around the characters wasn’t explained in depth, and honestly neither were the characters themselves, and maybe that might be why I had trouble really getting into it. That being said, though, I did enjoy it, and I don’t think I lost any time while I was reading it. It just took me longer than usual to get through it because of those things.

Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko on Pexels.com

Overall, If you’re looking for something exciting and action packed, with lots of tech and storylines within the bigger storyline, than this might be something you want to check out next. I would say that anyone aged sixteen and up would be able to read this, there’s not really any explicit scenes, and what very little sexual scenes there actually are in this book, I counted two, they’re glossed over very quickly and don’t get too in depth with them other than saying yeah, they did this. Which I appreciated. I don’t think that this is one of those kinds of books. The plot twists were exciting and everything weaved together really nicely in the end. And I’m left wishing I had an internal computer or robotic limbs, or those cool night vision mods that turn your eyes all black.

If you’d like to grab a copy, you can do so here!

And if you’d like to follow the author on Twitter, you can here!

Thanks for reading! Hope you’re doing well and staying safe.

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.ca and affiliated sites.

Review: Mara’s Awakening (The Mara Files #1) by Leo Flynn

A very short novella, the first book in The Mara Files is set in a prison filled with a mismatched crowd of people and humanoids. Told in the third person viewpoint, we meet a very interesting woman with a robotic arm named Mara, who’s in her forties, and has been wrongly imprisoned for six years. And today’s the day that she gets out of solitary confinement. Who would have guessed that was the wrong move.

4/5 Stars 60 pages
Published March 31st 2021 by Leo Flynn

A warrior and a war hero, Mara is someone that everyone knows about, at least in the prison. But soon after being put into a group cell, she makes friends with her roommates, and learns that they have an escape plan. All too quickly the plan is put into action, and they’re on their way. With a beautiful cover and a very intriguing synopsis, this book is a whirlwind of action, and I enjoyed reading it. I’m interested in seeing what happens in the next installment, because it was very clear to me that this was just the beginning. I think this book would be perfect for someone looking for a short escape, but with a very interesting story. The only problem I had with it was that I had the feeling like I was missing something, but that wasn’t a big deal, and it was so short that it didn’t stop me from enjoying it. Check it out if you get the chance!

If you’d like to grab a copy, you can here!

And you can follow the author here!

Thanks for reading! Hope you’re doing well, and staying sane in your solitary confinement!

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.ca and affiliated sites.

Sleepless (Bird of Stone #1) by Tracey Ward Review

5/5 Stars 373 Pages
Published August 12th 2013

After a long break from reading and a depression spell, an amazing book like this was just what I needed. What seems like any other ordinary story of a girl and a boy is actually something beautiful and addicting. Dreams becoming reality, lives being torn apart and rebuilt, and at it’s heart, a story of love and two people finding each other no matter what. And it’s everything I could ever want it to be.

The story follows two people, a girl named Alexia with a sleeping disorder that causes her to slip, or basically teleport herself to wherever she’s dreaming about. After losing her parents, they didn’t die they just decided that they didn’t want her to be apart of their lives at just sixteen, she lives with her older sister who’s deathly worried about her when she wakes up some days to find her missing. Sometimes she’s only gone a night, but sometimes she’s gone for a week, stuck in some frightening city that she’s not familiar with, or even stuck out in the wilderness with nothing but what she’s worn to bed. Good thing she started strapping her phone and some cash to her leg.

Photo by Francesco Ungaro on Pexels.com

The other character is a boy named Nick, who’s come from a military family, and who’s not very close to his mother after deciding he wants to be apart of a very prestigious and important branch of the military, one that saves people and risks their own lives in the process. He’s going through the training for most of the story, but there’s also something different about him. He’s not able to feel fear. The only thing he’s really truly scared of is a nightmare that he has often, one that Alexia also has.

The two find themselves intertwined one day when Alex and her sister are in Florida for a mini vacation, and out of nowhere Nick pops up, clearly drowning from something, but he’s just appeared out of thin air. After that event, they begin to meet in their dreams more often than not, and start to bond. But everything goes even deeper when Alexia tries to dig deep into why she is the way she is, and it’s unlike anything the two could have ever expected.

Photo by James Wheeler on Pexels.com

This story is amazing and exciting and heartfelt. I really couldn’t get enough of it. It’s books like these that really make me want to read 24/7, and after finding out that this is actually a series, I can’t wait until I can get my hands on the next book. The characters are so lifelike despite their obvious differences from our real world, that you could almost believe that they’re real people. The story was gripping and everything I could have hoped for, and more. If you’re looking for something to pull you out of your normal book rut, then I highly recommend checking this out if you get the chance.

If you’d like to grab a copy, you can here, through my Amazon Associates link.

And if you’d like to keep up with the author, you can do so here on Twitter!

Thanks for reading! I hope you’re having a great day.

Independence (Two Democracies: Revolution 0.5) by Alasdair C. Shaw Review

Though this is a very short read, I think that it’s a perfect start to a series I’ve never read before. You ever have a hard time committing to a series because you don’t know anything about it? Me too. That’s why I chose this week to read three prequel novella’s and review them.

 

4/5 Stars 31 pages
Published May 28th 2017

The cover is very interesting looking and very busy, and not in a bad way. One very unique thing about this book, is that it shows two points of view: one of space ship Commander Johnson, and the other of the opposing AI contained on the other ship. The world they live in is intriguing, and I’d love to get to know more about it. This was a very easy book to read and to follow in general.

 

It begins with an accident, or maybe it was on purpose. Commander Johnson responds to it, though they probably shouldn’t be alive right now. After all, no Destroyer has ever fought a Hunter-Killer. But her ship did it, and they came out on the other side. Through the third person viewpoint, we’re able to see her, I guess it would be daily life.

 

On the other hand, the other point of view we get to see is in first person, through an AI just named Indie. He’s been, what I can only imagine is horribly inured and stranded. Little does he know, however, that his life is about to change completely, and unlock things he never thought possible. Doesn’t that make you want to check out the rest of the series? Because I definitely do.

 

The book is available here.

 

Here’s a link to the author’s Twitter, if you’d like to keep up with them.

Thanks for reading!

Decimation: A Dreamworld Short Story by Will O’Shire Review

Decimation: A Dreamworld Short Story by Will O’Shire 2/5 Stars 16 pages
Published November 27th 2018

Decimation is yet another very short, short story from Will O’shire, and this one just wasn’t for me. I’m not sure if it’s part of his other series, but this book was just very confusing and too short to really give me any information about anything. Following a character named Minos, we see them in first person as they first help a woman with her groceries, and then runs through the forest to maybe a caste or something? As an intense battle breaks out.

Though this book is filled with interesting creatures like dragons, goblins and yeti, it just wasn’t something that I loved reading. I couldn’t really get into it, and the story just jumped around too quickly in it’s short span. Though I did find a couple of the other short stories interesting, this just wasn’t one that will be my favourite.

The book is available here, and here’s a link to the author’s Twitter, if you’d like to keep up with him.

https://amzn.to/2JVRhiO

https://twitter.com/willoshire

Thanks for reading!

The Magician: A Dark Urban Fantasy Short Story (The Fae Awakening) by Will O’Shire Review

The Magician: A Dark Urban Fantasy Short Story (The Fae Awakening) by Will O’Shire 4/5 Stars 22 pages
Published January 16th 2019

In the next short story installment of “The Fae Awakening” series, this book follows a strange man made of smoke in third person. We meet Ethan, a real life magician, not one of those trick magicians, and we see him interact with the man. Out of all of the stories in this series, this is one of the ones I liked the most.

 

Though these are very quick, well under fifty pages each, I really got to see what the strange man was about in this book, and I didn’t feel sucked out of the story by the writing. I’m intrigued to see what happens in the next one I read, and I’m actually a little excited to check it out. If you like short, to the point, fantasy stories, than you should check this one out. I don’t think it matters if you read the short stories out of order, so you could pick this one up at any time.

 

The book is available here, and here’s a link to the author’s Twitter, if you’d like to keep up with him.

Thanks for reading!

The Forest Guardian: An Urban Fantasy (The Fae Awakening) by Will O’Shire Review

The Forest Guardian: An Urban Fantasy (The Fae Awakening) by Will O’Shire 4/5 Stars 23 pages
Published January 17th 2019

I have to say, I’ve liked this short story the most out of all of them so far. Leah is as the book title suggests, a forest guardian, and really takes care of everything inside. That is, until a group of hunters show up. But are they even really hunters?

 

With a beautiful cover, I was really able to get into the story a lot easier, and imagine the characters more than the others I’ve read in the same series. Leah’s day is told through the third person viewpoint, and I didn’t want to top reading it. I think if you haven’t been completely sucked into the other books in the series like me, you should try out this one. I hope to see more of her. At about thirty pages, this book is a fast read and it’s over before you want it to be.

 

The book is available here, and here’s a link to the author’s Twitter, if you’d like to keep up with him.

Thanks for reading!

The Denounced: Book 2 Shifting Horizons – The Making of Book 2 by SJ Sherwood

How quickly life can change is a cliché and it’s a cliché for a reason – it’s true.

If I take a step back, I self-published because I’d reached a point whereby I’d had enough of being rejected. It left me with two clear choices. I either called it a day and used my time to do something else or I continued to write under a different model.

While I debated my next journey in life, the idea for The Denounced came to me. I was suddenly overwhelmed with a desire to write it and once I had started it soon became clear one book wasn’t enough to tell Ned’s story. My trilogy was born. Knuckling down to write Book 1, A Grey Sun, was on reflection, relatively straight forward. I was buoyed by my idea. I was both excited and fascinated by the self-publishing world, which had become accessible predominately by Amazon’s KDP.

I was also single and had only myself to worry about. I was happy with where I was living. My day job was challenging but I could handle it, and I was aided by the fact that my commute was easy. Of course, the palm trees and the white sands and the blue seas would have been the ideal setting, but I had no complaints and London is a great city.

In short, I was teed up to go, and happy with life. I started and within 9-months A Grey Sun was out and I had crossed the line into being a published author. I couldn’t have been happier. There is always room to improve, but I was pleased with the end product and the reviews and sales were healthy. Even better, I was more prepared to start Book 2, Shifting Horizons, than I ever was with Book 1. But as is true for Ned and the main characters of Pod Fifteen, became true for me. Life is unpredictable. It can and does change in a heartbeat.

From my comfortable base the obstacles flew in. My mother passed away. Someone significant came back into my life. I had to change my day job and with it my commute tripled. I moved home. I discovered I was shortly to be a father to twins and I had the small task of organizing a wedding. My time became more than squeezed, I felt like I was permanently walking into a 100-mph headwind. Yet, I’d committed to finish not only Book 2, but the whole Denounced Series. I knuckled down and plugged away.

I was getting up earlier and pinching time where I could. Instead of 9-months it took 14-months, but Shifting Horizons was finished along with 30% of Book 3, the final instalment, Creaking Dawn. What I soon realized, the shortening of my time wasn’t the hinderance I thought but it had in fact forced me to concentrate in ways I hadn’t before. I was being more strategic in my approach, conscious of wasting energy and precious time, and the winner wasn’t me, but my readers.

I believe Shifting Horizons is better, sharper and more exciting than A Grey Sun. It will be my readers and my reviews that will tell me if this is true or not. But whatever the outcome, the decision to start this project was one of the best decisions I have made in my life. I have learnt something about myself at every step.

Picture from here

Like Ned, I had to deal with my frustrations. Like Ned, I had to continually step outside of my comfort zone. Like Ned, I found out who my friends were and my new actions revealed truths about them I didn’t’ know. Like Ned, I started to redefine what was important in my life and what wasn’t. Like Ned, the time pressure upped my pace, upped my action, making me feel more alive than I had in years.

As I wait for my first reviews, I wouldn’t change a single thing in the book, even the time it took to complete. And as much as I would have loved to have written it surrounded by white sands and azure seas, I have a sneaky suspicion that overcoming my obstacles under the grey clouds of London was a blessing. As Omar tells Ned in Shifting Horizons: our destiny is choice, not chance.