Friday, January 25, 2019

Review of LOST SOLACE by Karl Drinkwater

<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36494785-lost-solace" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="Lost Solace" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1509249800m/36494785.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36494785-lost-solace">Lost Solace</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5766025.Karl_Drinkwater">Karl Drinkwater</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2688663038">5 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
As I read this book, I could not help but be reminded of two cautionary tales by Stephen King: "Sometimes They Come Back" and "Sometimes They Come Back Again."<br />I thought of these in terms of their titles, because LOST SOLACE is a captivating science fiction novel whose premise is just that: <br />Sometimes they come back.<br />In this case, "they" refers to missing spaceships, those who entered Null space and then never exited--or at least not in the known universe. Nobody knows where these ships went, where they are, or if they will ever return. Except sometimes they do return. Sometimes they are recoverable for salvage. Sometimes they don't return uninhabited.<br /><br />LOST SOLACE stars two delightfully strong female protagonists. One is human (Opal); one is AI (Clarissa). Clarissa herself is part of a ship Opal has acquired. The dialogues and interaction between these two is priceless: sometimes snarky, sometimes comforting, all times entertaining. Opal has just located a Lost Ship; unfortunately, said vessel is now trapped in the gravity well of a Neutron Star, so it is close to falling into oblivion, permanently lost. But Opal is determined to board it; this Lost Ship may carry what she's spent a lifetime searching. Now, she just has to board, search, and leave before this Lost Ship is lost forever, and Opal with it.
<br/><br/>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/7302570-cats-of-ulthar">View all my reviews</a>

Sunday, January 6, 2019

Review_METROFLOAT NEW YORK by William Quincy Belle

<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42903509-metrofloat-new-york" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="Metrofloat New York" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1542813244m/42903509.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42903509-metrofloat-new-york">Metrofloat New York</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13763754.William_Quincy_Belle">William Quincy Belle</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2660973068">5 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
If you love Dystopian science fiction of the near future, you'll love METROFLOAT NEW YORK. I did, and I'd like to see sequels, a series! In the future, cities float, a kilometer above the Earth. On the surface are Farm Settlements (FS), designed to provide agricultural needs for the floating urban environments, which of course house the wealthy upper classes. On the surface the masses are suffused with crime, poverty, and despair. Yet on Metrofloat New York, all is not sweetness, light, and wealthy expenditure. There is implacable death, inexplicable in its logic, but nevertheless sweeps like a juggernaut, taking life where it will, and for its own reasons.<br /><br />METROFLOAT NEW YORK is plausible, stimulating, and deeply-characterized, with suspense sufficient to keep the reader up all night.
<br/><br/>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/7302570-cats-of-ulthar">View all my reviews</a>

Review_SIGMA WAVE by J. C. Ryan

<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36463735-sigma-wave" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="Sigma Wave (Brainstorm #1)" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1508773614m/36463735.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36463735-sigma-wave">Sigma Wave</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8544571.J_C_Ryan">J.C. Ryan</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2660920324">5 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
Not often enough do I find books of this caliber! SIGMA WAVE, #1 in J. C. Ryan's BRAINSTORM series, is an electrifying bioengineering/neuroscience suspense tale. The premises are so plausible and near-future (perhaps even contemporary!) as to be vividly realistic. Of course I hope this kind of process is not occurring already, but one never knows, and certainly there is a plethora of events, situations, mind controls, and sociopathic researchers in this story to fuel multiple conspiracy theories. Imagine if Dr Victor Frankenstein could be transported to the 20th-21st century, with the sociopathy of Josef Mengele, and unlimited research funds and secrecy. That will give you a hint as to the enormous pressure involved in this story line, a plot which could really exist--soon (or even now). I cannot wait to read Book 2 in this extraordinary series!
<br/><br/>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/7302570-cats-of-ulthar">View all my reviews</a>

Wednesday, January 2, 2019

Review_DRAGON ASSASSIN: TWIN FURY by Arthur Slade

<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43020119-dragon-assassin" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="Dragon Assassin: Twin Fury" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1543578665m/43020119.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43020119-dragon-assassin">Dragon Assassin: Twin Fury</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/40823.Arthur_Slade">Arthur Slade</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2652698005">5 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
A knock-out reader's hook, a strongly willed female protagonist, and a Dragon! propel this initial episode of Arthur Slade's new DRAGON ASSASSIN dark fantasy series. Carmen and her twin brother were left as infants at the Assassins' mountaintop fortress. Growing up, they were enrolled in the Assassins' school and are about to graduate when the Emperor Prince, a child, is assassinated by poison. Killing children is barred by the Assassins' code of honor, but nonetheless, it has happened, and the Emperor is determined to tear the fortress apart to find the killer. On a search for a swan's egg to bring back in order to boost her less-than-perfect grades, Carmen discovers a captive Scythian dragon chained in a cave, and bonds with him. He is very intelligent; he reads! This is a series to get one's teeth (and wings and claws) into!
<br/><br/>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/7302570-cats-of-ulthar">View all my reviews</a>