2018_CAN YOU READ A SERIES?_Challenge

April Challenge

My choice is the quartet, WITCHING SAVANNAH, by J. D. Horn. I own the first three, and I will get the fourth via Kindle Unlimited. In fact, #1-3 will be checkoffs on 2 other challenges: 2018 Blogger Shame, and 2018 Bookish Resolutions.

THE LINE #1

THE SOURCE #2

THE VOID #3

JILO #4

GOODREADS Shelf

Changing in midstream, I am instead reading Books 1-6 of the Liv Bergen Mystery Series By Sandra Brannan.

Book 1: IN THE BELLY OF JONAH, read April 20-21 See my review HERE

Book 2: LOT'S RETURN TO SODOM, read April 22 See my review HERE

Book 3: WIDOWS MIGHT see my review HERE

Book 4: NOAH'S RAINY DAY

see my review HERE

Book 5: SOLOMON'S WHISPER

See my review HERE

Book 6: JACOB'S DESCENT See my review HERE

Challenge COMPLETED April 21-29

Review: A PLACE FOR PLUTO

A Place for Pluto by Stef Wade
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: A PLACE FOR PLUTO

Totally delightful, with lovely, friendly, illustrations, and gentle text guiding children as Pluto is first stripped of his planetary status and then wanders the galaxy, accompanied by his five moons, as he determines his new identity. Is Pluto a comet? An asteroid? A meteoroid? Follow along as this former planet finds a home. (As a Pluto purist, I really enjoyed this story.)

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Review of A STITCH IN SPACE by Christopher Lansdown

A Stitch in Space by Christopher Lansdown
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Review of A STITCH IN SPACE by Christopher Lansdown

Priest in Space? Sounds like an unusual premise...not so much when one considers that since the 4th century A.D., priests (and monks, and brothers) have been travelling to the far-flung outposts of this planet, bringing their faith and philosophies. So why, in the future, should it be at all unusual for priests to travel into space, to serve on new space colonies, perhaps to act as chaplains on space vessels?

This premise gives author Christopher Lansdown the opportunity to present Father Xristopher Guerin, a highly intelligent, vastly-read, devoted priest, who is traveling to the colony of Xanadu to replace the current priest who is in his 90's. Through Fr. Guerin, the author riffs on philosophy, religion, faith, and metaphysics, classic science fiction tropes, and explores the multitude of human emotions, seen here in the microcosm of a space-faring cargo vessel traveling to a distant colony.

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NIGHT FALL by Simon Green

Night Fall by Simon R. Green
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: NIGHT FALL by Simon R. Green
(Secret Histories #12)

Author Simon Green brings to a conclusion his Secret Histories and the alternate dimension of London known as the Nightside. Where good and evil are not white and black but infinite shades of gray, where literally anything imaginable is available and so is the unimaginable, where anyone can lose wallet, life, soul: this is the Nghtside. Suddenly it's boundaries expand, so the Droods, the extended and extensive ancient clan sworn to protect Humanity, leaps into the fray. The results are disastrous, but the pace is unrelentingly riveting. I'm sorry to see the Nightside move offstage--but Mr. Green sure did it up right. An amazing finale.


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PROJECT ATLANTIS by Brandon Ellis_Review

Project Atlantis by Brandon Ellis
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: PROJECT ATLANTIS by Brandon Ellis
(ASCENDANT CHRONICLES BOOK 1)

Thrillers need to start with a strong reader's hook; PROJECT ATLANTIS zooms into space with powerful impact, riveting readers to the page. As a born conspiracy theorist, I reveled in the multiple layers of conspiracy riddled throughout the plot, cheering on several characters, wishing others would just disappear. PROJECT ATLANTIS is meta-sci fi thriller--so much is delved into: astrophysics, space travel, space battle, the Solar System, aliens, geology, Atlantis, Pyramids...The author has a wide-ranging imagination and a thirst for research and knowledge (rather like protagonist Kaden Jaxx) and he delights to share it with readers. Now, on to Book 2!


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MY HUNGRY FRIEND by Daniel Barnett_Review

Review: MY HUNGRY FRIEND by Daniel Barnett Literally I devoured this novella in one evening (and "devoured" is apropos here). This is my third read by Mr. Barnett {the first was THE SAFE, the second LONGREAVE} and once again, I found my mind and horizons incredibly stretched. (Again, "horizons" is apropos.) I was not fond of the protagonist (though I did appreciate his literate mother and her highly intelligent and perceptive caregiver). I just found dentist Mike one who took the easy road way too often (and was quite a bit a spoiled brat). But the protagonist wasn't my focus in the story. Although he did undergo a character arc (devolution, then evolution), what fired my imagination was the truly Lovecraftian overlay. {It is not true that as a Lovecraft devotee I find Mythos anywhere.} The overlay world that Mr. Barnett illustrates is wildly imaginative and highly creative, and deserves a wild audience. If you like the imaginative ponderings of author Tim Meyer, do snatch up MY HUNGRY FRIEND.

SHOGGOTH by Byron Craft_Review

Shoggoth by Byron Craft
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Review: SHOGGOTH by Byron Craft

For a Lovecraft devotee such as myself, to discover a new Mythos author is sheer delight. SHOGGOTH is my first reading of Byron Craft. I perhaps chose SHOGGOTH to read first, because I spent January invested in rereads (and listening) of Lovecraft' s "At the Mountains of Madness," in which those bizarre creations, the Shoggoth, figure so prominently.

In this novel, the setting is not the frozen wilds of early 20th century Antarctica, but the U.S. Naval Weapons Center at China Lake, California. Deep in the Mojave Desert are petroglyphs tens of thousands of years old, inexplicable hieroglyphs, and impossible monsters. For the history and science we learn in school missed out on a lot, including Elder Gods.

SHOGGOTH strongly resonates with HPL' s "At the Mountains of Madness" and "The Shadow Out of Time," with the latter's explication of a long-term "Walk-In" experience caused by a race of Elder Gods (regardless of the effect on the human recipient). Mr. Croft also strums one of Lovecraft' s most cherished themes: when science and philosophy's driving quest for knowledge meets that which humanity is not meant to discover, something's gonna break (usually sanity).

I had a totally enjoyable time reading SHOGGOTH. In fact, I found myself envying the characters their exploration of hidden prehistory and their Lovecraftian encounters.


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