Review: Dryad Vol. 1 by Kurtis J. Wiebe, & Justin Osterling

Filled with beautiful art depicting beautiful people, this book starts out with a nasty diaper change in the middle of a forest. Who could have guessed? Not me, that’s for sure. After a long hard journey, Yale and Morgan find themselves and their twins in a beautiful green village. But things can’t stay peaceful forever, can they? This story is a great tale of doing what you have to do to protect the ones you love.

4/5 Stars 144 pages
Published January 19th 2021 by Oni Press

After a class trip to a local ruin outside their peaceful town, Yale and Morgan’s twins can’t get them out of their heads. They just have a feeling about them, and they’re determined to figure out what exactly that feeling is. But after making it back to there, their group is viciously attacked and kidnapped by guards from the city that their parents escaped from with only their lives and the clothes on their back. And after the guards realize that one of the teens is missing, they go on a savage hunt for them through the town. But after finding them, they realize that they don’t just want the twins, they want Yale and Morgan as well. And this leads them to a forced adventure back into the city, where they’re left fighting for their families lives against soldiers.

This story was really fun to read. The art style is almost relaxing, even though it’s depicting a lot of fighting and monsters and even switches at one point to super futuristic tech in the city. It’s books like these that are getting me more and more into the fantasy side of things, and I’m glad I got the chance to check it out. I’d definitely recommend looking into it yourself, if you think it would be something you’d like. I’ll for sure keep an eye out for the second volume!

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

And if you’d like to keep up with one of the creators, you can here!

Thanks for reading! Hope you’re doing well and staying safe from scary city guards!

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Failsafe (Failsafe #1) by Anela Deen Review

5/5 Stars 200 pages
Published May 20th 2018 by Fine Fables Press

This book, unlike the last book, was something that was right up my alley, and something I knew I was going to love from the moment I started it. In a time where humans haven’t lived outside a computer for many, many generations, their world is claustrophobic and dangerous. Outside of their settlements live drones that shoot to kill on site, and although they can grow their own food, they can barely grow enough for everyone, especially now when the supplies have stopped being delivered.

 

Sol is different, however. Though she has epilepsy, she doesn’t let that stop her from changing the world that they know, and trying to save everyone she know, and more. She’s not afraid of going out into the Interspace, and her unique dreaming ability lets her know where and when the drones are going to be around, and where the supplies should be. But this comes with a cost to her health, both physical and mental.

 

Though she lives in a time where people aren’t able to chose their mates due to the very little genetic differences between everyone in their settlement, everything changes when she meets Echo one day while out on a supply run. Though he’s not like anyone she’s ever met, and she’s a little scared to trust him at first, he proves himself to be an

Photo by Markus Spiske on Pexels.com

amazing and very strong companion. The two will do whatever they need to do to change the world as they know it.

 

This book was exciting and interesting, and it was everything I wanted it to be and more. Though I wanted there to be a sequel, I think that it ended at such a place where I’m happy if there isn’t ever one. The characters and the story were both really easy to imagine and get sucked into, and though this doesn’t happen very often, I don’t have any questions or complaints or even thoughts leftover that I’m wondering about. In my eyes, this was a perfect book to get me out of my reading slump, and I think it’s something that I’d love to read again and again, that’s just how much I loved it.

 

If you love stories about young adults who want to change the world, no matter how different it is from out own, then you’re going to love this, and I hope you love it as much as I do. Definitely check it out if you get the chance, and it’ll make a beautiful addition to your collection! I’d love to check out other books by the author because of this one.

 

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

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

 

Thanks for reading! I’d love to chat in the comments if you have anything you’d like to talk about, this book or any other topic! Hope you have a good day, and stay safe!

 

**I’ve been informed by the author that there will in fact be a sequel!** Patiently awaiting that.

Scythe (Dimension Drift Prequels #1) Extended Version by Christina Bauer Review

When I saw that the book I had previously reviewed had an extended version, I kind of let out a big sigh. After all,

Scythe (Dimension Drift Prequels #1) Extended Version by Christina Bauer 5/5 Stars 140 pages
Published April 24th 2018 by Monster House Books LLC

why re-release a book with added content? Was it not finished before you put it out? However, reading this book, I realized that it’s not just an extended version, but a completely different version of the original novella, and one that I like a lot more than I thought I would. Basically the same story, just told in a better way.

 

Meimei Archer is breaking into a government warehouse. She and her mentally unstable mother live far off the grid, away from the people who want to put her down, and after already losing her sister, Luci, she’s not going to let that happen. Self sufficient, she’s an amazing hacker and inventor. She makes her money stealing and inventing, even though she’s just a teenager. However, this trip to the warehouse ends up a lot different than her usual trips, because after hacking into a robot, it tells her that her sister has recently visited it, and she’s working for the government.

 

This gives her hope that she’s still alive, and even though she gets caught by the guards and intimidated by some kind of creature called The Lacerator, she’s able to escape and make it home in time to finish her new gadget. Every night, however, she has visions and dreams about an alien boy named Thorne, who she’s never met before. Her dreams are informative and unsettling, but she’s convinced herself that they’re just dreams. But are they really?

 

I loved this version a lot more than the first one, because I got to know about the characters and the world they live in so much more. The original was so straightforward that I could almost see exactly what was going to happen, but this one had me guessing at every turn. I can’t wait to see what happens in the next novella, and the first novel.

 

I really enjoy the writing from the author, and I’ll continue to try and keep up to date with most of her series. They’re so different from each other, there’s no way that you could get bored trying to read them all. Definitely check out this book if you’re into a dystopian world with an alien twist, and a young genius behind the wheel.

 

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

Thanks for reading!

Aphrodite V Volume 1 by Matt Hawkins, Bryan Hill, & Jeff Spokes Review

Aphrodite V Volume 1 by Matt Hawkins, Bryan Hill, & Jeff Spokes 5/5 Stars 128 pages
Published December 18th 2018 by Image Comics

Looking for a graphic novel with a kick ass female killing machine? Then this is the book for you. Following a man

named Martin, he’s just trying to make Los Angeles a better place. A month ago, 2,500 people were lost in a suicide bomber attack. If he just could have implemented his technology to the building, and eventually the city, they could have detected the explosives before he even walked through the doors. But the Mayor won’t have that, because he doesn’t want to be the man to privatize law enforcement.

 

After the meeting, his partner tells him that she believes in him, but if he puts his faith in people, they’re going to let him down every time. A gunfight breaks out, and a strange and beautiful but dangerous woman saves his life. Her name is Aphrodite, and she’s a killing machine. Literally.

 

I loved the dark art in this, and how gruesome it was. The story and the art fit together so well and I was sucked in from the very beginning. Though this book is pretty short compared to others that I’ve read lately, I’m sure I’ll remember it for a long time. My favourite character, of course, Aphrodite. In her words, she’s a sentient artificially intelligent robot created by a global corporation bent on controlling the world, which is quite a mouthful. She was supposed to be “discarded” but escaped before they could do what they were going to do. I especially enjoyed getting to know her backstory.

 

Overall I really enjoyed reading this book, and if you like anything about technology going way farther than what we have right now, you’re going to love this too. Aphrodite is the perfect assassination weapon, but she’s also caring and important to the world. I’d love to get to know more of all the characters, and the story, if I got the chance. Definitely check it out. The book is available here, and here are links to the creator’s Twitter accounts if you’d like to keep up with them.

https://twitter.com/topcowmatt

https://twitter.com/bryanedwardhill?lang=en

 

Thanks for reading!

Killing Adam by Earik Beann Review

Killing Adam by Earik Beann 5/5 Stars 224 pages
Published January 1st 2019 by Profoundly One Publishing

The biggest change to human technology was an accident. It began with four patients strapped to tables, and it ended with a completely new person. That person was Adam, first of his kind, and he changed everything. Gone were the days of dangerous streets and traffic accidents, once an AI took over, of course. The implants changed everything, but what no one thought of was what about the people who couldn’t get them?

 

When you think of a dystopian novel, you usually think of the technology, the housing situation, and how people’s lives are changed by it, right? This book brings up a whole new subject that I never even thought of, and that is that not everyone is fit to get an electronic implant. Following Jimmy Mahoney, a man who is stuck on disability because he can’t operate in and with the city around him.

 

The book begins with Jimmy going to an Implant Disability Anonymous meeting, the only form of a social life that he gets to have. Unlike a lot of the other members, Jimmy has the most basic type of implant, because his brain can send but can’t receive the signals from the implant itself. He can open doors and take the bus as well as use the elevator, but aside from basic text chat, that’s all he can do, and is classified as disabled. He doesn’t feel disabled, but because of the world around him relying so heavily on technology, he’s helpless.

 

Today is different than other days, because there’s a new girl. Her name is Trixie, and she’s only interested in Jimmy. He feels uncomfortable being around her because he has a wife, though their relationship is stressed because she chooses to be offline only when her implant forces her to be. But he soon finds out that she’s not interested in him that way. She’s part of a group that can give him a different kind of implant, and hack it’s way online. He wants a normal life, and he wants his relationship with his wife back, but is he willing to take the risk?

 

I loved reading this book. The characters were really interesting, and even though I couldn’t tell you what they looked like, I felt really connected to them. The story is told in third person. Sometimes you can feel pulled away from the story if you’re not used to reading in this viewpoint, especially when things are moving quickly and the characters are switching around, but I didn’t have that problem with this book.

 

If I had to choose a favourite character, I would probably choose Trixie because she’s the most interesting out of all of them. Not only does she go through major heartache, but she’s able to bounce back in the best way and make everything better. Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book, and if you like futuristic technology and Artificial Intelligence mixed into a dystopian world, then this is the book for you.

 

The book is available here, and here’s a link to the author’s Twitter.

Thanks for reading!

The Malaise by David Turton Review

The Malaise by David Turton 5/5 Stars 304 pages
Published December 14th 2018 by Cosmic Egg Books

If you’re looking at the cover of “The Malaise”, and thinking, wow this looks interesting. You’re not wrong, and you better pick up a copy, especially if you like stories set mostly in the post apocalypse. That, and the cover will be a beautiful addition to your bookshelf, if you’re just looking at it because of the cover.

 

If you do get past the cover however, I’m sure most of you will, you’ll find a world set in 2038 a near future. A man named Rick Razor runs most of the technology in the world, and although he’s not really a people person and doesn’t do very many interviews, the first part of the book switches between interviews of him, and a man named Mike.

 

The world is still whole, and Rick Razor is trying to find a way to not only help turn third world countries into first world countries, but also fill the world with interesting and planet saving technology at the same time. Although privacy doesn’t exactly exist anymore, most people are more than willing to trade that for the interesting technology that he has to offer. That is, until a strange video is uploaded and quickly becomes viral, one of the most viewed videos in the world.

 

Mike is at work when it happens, giving a lecture to his class, and a student brings it up to him after. He says it’s really weird, but it made him feel hyped up, kind of like he was on drugs. But after watching it himself, Mike feels sick and depressed. He wonders if it’s because of his past drug use. Later that night however, everyone who felt hyped up by the video changes into a twitching, drooling, killer. He wakes up to find his beautiful wife trying to smother their new baby.

 

One thing I found interesting about this book was that not only did it show the world post apocalypse, but it showed before as well. The second part of the book takes place in 2054, as Mike and his daughter try to rebuild society. If you don’t like the third person viewpoint, you might not like this, but I hope the story would be enough to grab your attention away from that. My favourite character would probably have to be Zara, because she not only plays a big part in the story, but also because she’s very strong to have survived growing up in the apocalypse.

 

Overall I’m glad I read this book. I love stories set in the apocalypse, so I really hoped that I would enjoy this one. Not only were the characters really interesting to get to know, but I was really happy to get to see the world around them as well. I also loved the cult aspect of it. Definitely check it out if you have the chance, and you don’t mind a little bit of gore in your stories.

 

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!

Green Jay and Crow by D.J. Daniels Review

Green Jay and Crow by D.J. Daniels 3/5 Stars 384 pages
Published December 11th 2018 by Abaddon

Following two people, Green Jay/Eva and Crow/Brom, this story is about aliens, humants (part plant, part alien, part human people) and alternate realities. It has a beautiful cover and an intense description, and although the book is really unique in comparison to other books I’ve read lately, it just wasn’t my new favourite.

 

Crow/Brom is a delivery person. Usually, it’s something easy, though he never really knows for sure what he’s delivering. He has a friend named Mac/Blue Jay, who’s probably the smartest person he’s ever met. And the world they live in, though we don’t actually get to know a lot about it, is full of aliens they affectionately call tenties, that have the power to adapt to any situation.

 

Green Jay/Eva, is a double. That means she’s been printed from a 3D printer, a copy of a celebrity or someone like that, who will disintegrate after a few weeks of being alive. The only problem is, is that she hasn’t disintegrated. And the robots decided to help her escape.

 

The book switches between the two characters, though they don’t really have anything in common aside from being close with Mac/Blue Jay. That changes throughout the story. After obtaining a time locked package to deliver, Crow/Brom is torn through alternate realities. Eva claims that the package is hers, but he doesn’t believe her. The story moves on to a mystery when suddenly all the tenties disappear from the world.

 

Though I did like the plot of the book, I just couldn’t get into it. Usually I’m sucked right into the story, but for some reason that I’m still trying to figure out, It just couldn’t concentrate on it. Maybe this book wasn’t a perfect fit for me, but that doesn’t mean you won’t like it. It was really interesting, and it’s something I won’t forget about anytime soon. My favourite characters were probably the Tenties, just because they were so different from anything else in the story, and I also really enjoyed the time jumping part of it.

 

The book is available here, and here’s a link to the author’s Twitter.

Thanks for reading!

Scythe (Arc of a Scythe #1) by Neal Shusterman Review

Scythe (Arc of a Scythe #1) by Neal Shusterman 5/5 Stars 435 pages
Published November 28th 2017 by Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers 

“Scythe” is an extraordinary novel about a different kind of world than our own. Set far in the future, people have the technology to be pretty much immortal, but to keep everything balanced, people called Scythe’s are in charge of death. Not only the dead body part, but the actual killing itself. Everyone just excepts that that’s the price they have to pay, and most even bribe the Scythe’s with food and care for a chance at a year of guaranteed life.

 

Following two characters, Citra and Rowan, it begins when Citra’s mother lets in a Scythe. His name is Scythe Faraday, and he will one day play a huge part in both of the young teenager’s lives. It’s told in the third person viewpoint, and  this book really makes it shine. Though the world is much different than our own, it’s very easy to imagine and get sucked into. I couldn’t put it down.

 

While some people spend their time living their lives, some spend their time killing themselves over, and over again. That’s where Citra and Rowan’s lives were headed too, until Scythe Faraday first invites them out to nice places, and then takes them on as his apprentices. But as the book goes on, a mystery begins to form, and everything changes. If you’re like me, you won’t even realize how tense you’ll be until you try to stop reading.

 

Something I loved about this book was that it really showed both sides, good and bad, and kind of mixed them together at the same time. I think what this book really is about, is that life isn’t fair. Ever. Not now, not last week, not two hundred years in the future. Life isn’t fair, and what happens, happens. And I think that’s really important.

 

Overall I really loved getting into this book, and I can’t wait to see what happens next. It’s not every day you read a book about grim reapers and massive AI technology at the same time. I think that even if you don’t like young adult books, you’ll love this one. It makes me want to read more of the author’s books.

 

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!

Valiant by Merrie Destefano Review

Valiant by Merrie Destefano 4/5 Stars 304 pages
Published December 4th 2018 by Entangled: Teen

“Valiant” Is the newest book with a beautiful and bright cover from author Merrie Destefano, who’s known for books like Lost Girls, Fathom, Shade, and many others. Though I haven’t gotten to read any of her other books, after reading this one, I’m very interested in doing just that. If they’re anything like this one, I know I’ll like it.

 

The story is told in the first person view point of Sara, who is a girl who’s stumbled upon something bigger than her. The day the invasion happened, everyone was ecstatic. Maybe the aliens would be the ones to save the planet, because everyone knows that humans couldn’t. Facing a drought, a depression, and an energy crisis that couldn’t be saved by solar power in space, their last hope lies in a rocket called the Valiant, one that will shoot off onto another planet to mine, and make everyone rich while simulatiously saving the planet. What no one expected, however, was an alien invasion the second it was out of sight.

 

After seeing her little brother and friends die, Sara comes in contact with an alien named Aerithin, who’s part of a resistance within their race of silver and sparkly aliens. She time travels with him over ten times, trying to not only save her little brother, who the aliens seem to be obsessed with getting, and her friends, but fails every time. This book is about her last try.

 

I really enjoyed the world that was built around these characters, full of futuristic technology and the same things we know now, it’s in the distant future of 2037. Though everyone thinks she’s crazy, they trust her enough to help her out, on the off chance that she isn’t. Together her friends create a viral video to warn the planet of the invasion. I think my favourite character probably has to be Justin, and even though I don’t know him very well, I think it’s really interesting that he’s a genetic super soldier.

 

Overall I really enjoyed this book, but only gave it for stars because I feel like although it was packed full of action, not very much actually happened story wise. If you like books that mix new world technology with a slight dystopia, as well as time travel, then this is the book for you, and I’m sure you’ll love it. It’s available here, and here’s a link to the author’s Twitter if you’d like to keep up with her.

 

Thanks for reading!

Alt-Life by Thomas Cadène Review

Alt-Life by Thomas Cadène 4/5 Stars 184 pages
Published April 6th 2018 by Le Lombard and Europe Comics 

Ever wonder what the future holds for people in an augmented reality? If you read this book, you might have a better idea. Following Rene and Josiane, they are some of the first people to venture into the new world that has been created to escape reality. Anything is possible, you just have to think about it.

 

After climbing into a sort of bag that connects into them, they’re pushed into a completely simulated word. Though there aren’t other people in there yet, they’re happy to test everything out and escape from reality completely. It seems like an abandoned island, but like I said, anything is possible, and in a second after wanting more people there, they show up. You can have anything you want, you just have to accept that it isn’t reality, or you might run into some problems.

 

The reason I couldn’t give this book a full five stars, is because I had a really hard time reading the writing. Though it did get easier as it went on, I just couldn’t get every word, and that was kind of frustrating. I liked the story, but the reviews that other people have left, painted a very different picture than the actual story did. What I’m trying to say is, don’t judge a book purely from reviews. If it seems like something you’d like, definitely check it out. The art was very interesting and a lot different than other books I’ve read lately, but if you’re not into nudity you might not like this book, because it’s full of it.

 

Overall I enjoyed reading this and getting to know the characters. Check it out if you like futuristic worlds with insane technology, but also people dealing with their very real feelings in a very fake world. The book is available here, and here’s a link to the creator’s Twitter.

Thanks for reading!