The Fifth Dimension, by Martin Vopenka Book Review

The Fifth Dimension, by Martin Vopenka, has been translated from it's original Czech. After my reading, I'm not sure The Fifth Dimension qualifies as speculative fiction. There really are no integral speculative elements, although there are some I would call metaphysical -- mainly questions and rambling observations about the nature of reality and time and existence. Not all that interesting to me, but that doesn't mean it won't be interesting to someone who might be more into a naval gazing nature-of-it-all type story where nothing really happens.

After answering an ad for a job and completing a rigorous assessment protocol, a Czech man named Jakub is selected -- after a long and involved series of tests -- as a test subject in an experiment being conducted by a mysterious American corporation. The experiment requires him to live a year entirely alone in the high Andes as a hermit, almost completely devoid of human contact. If he makes it through and doesn't violate any of the myriad rules regarding his isolation, he will be awarded with a sum of $200,000 dollars. In his current financial state, and out of a desire to provide for his family (a wife and two children)

The Fifth Dimension, by Martin Vopenka Book Review

A Murder of Mages, by Marshall Ryan Maresca - Book Review

A Murder of Mages is the first book in the Maradaine Constabulary series, although there was a previous book called The Thorn of Dentonhill that's set in the same city (with different characters and not dealing with the constabulary). I enjoyed that first book, so of course picked this up and read it right away.

The premise: Satrine's husband, who worked for the constabulary, is waylaid and beaten near to death. Unable to support herself and her children on the pittance the constabulary offers her now that her husband can no longer work, she fakes some papers and takes up a position as a constable in a different section of the city in hopes that no one will recognize her. She's partnered with Minox, an oddball but brilliant investigator who happens to be an untrained mage. The two are presented immediately with the ritual murder of a Circled mage. If they can't find out who's killing mages in the city, it may spark an all-out mage war between the Circles . . . which could spell the destruction of the entire city!

A Murder of Mages, by Marshall Ryan Maresca Book Review

Lock In, by John Scalzi - Book Review

This science fiction crime thriller is set in a really intriguing world with a fascinating premise.

Fifteen years from now, a new virus sweeps the globe. Most of those afflicted experience nothing worse than fever and headaches. A few suffer acute meningitis, creating the largest medical crisis in history. And 1 per cent find themselves 'locked in' -- fully awake and aware, but unable to move or respond to stimulus. It may not seem like a lot. But in the US alone that's 1.7 million people 'locked in'... including the President's wife and daughter.

Spurred by grief and the sheer magnitude of the suffering. America undertakes a massive scientific initiative. Nothing can fully restore the locked in, but two new technologies emerge to help. One is a virtual-reality environment, 'The Agora', where the locked in can interact with other humans. The second is the discovery that a few rare individuals have minds that are receptive to being controlled by others, allowing the locked in to occasionally use their bodies as if they were their own. This skill is quickly regulated, licensed, bonded and controlled. Nothing can go wrong. Certainly nobody would be tempted to misuse it, for murder, for political power, or worse...

Lock In, by John Scalzi Book Review

The Bone Clocks, by David Mitchell Book Review

Anyone who has spent any time on this site will know that I'm a huge fan of Mitchell -- Cloud Atlas is one of my all time favorite books. So would I enjoy this offering?


Run away, one drowsy summer's afternoon, with Holly Sykes: wayward teenager, broken-hearted rebel and unwitting pawn in a titanic, hidden conflict. Over six decades, the consequences of a moment's impulse unfold, drawing an ordinary woman into a world far beyond her imagining.

Right from the first page, I was drawn into this episodic narrative. Holly has run away after discovering her best friend in bed with her boyfriend. Though I was reading it on an autumn night, I was whisked away to the blistering heat as Holly has an emotional meltdown. And during this starting point, events unspool during that particular afternoon that go on having consequences for decades to come. The next five episodes that comprise the whole narrative all circle around that primary event, in one way or another as we also chart Holly's life. It's a difficult life. Being singled out doesn't make for an easy time of it. But Mitchell does what he does best -- provide a series of sharply written, beautifully crafted slices of action that allow us to join up the dots and provide the overarching narrative. My personal favorites are the first one -- 'A Hot Spell', 'The Wedding Bash' and the chilling final 'Sheep's Head'.

The Bone Clocks, by David Mitchell Book Review

Prisoner of the Horned Helmet, by James R. Silke, Frank Frazetta Book Review

Alright, before I start, I would like to point out that I have gone back to reread one of my all-time favorite books. Prisoner in the Horned Helmet is not just a superb novel, but it is also a cool project. World famous fantasy artist, Frank Frazetta, teamed up with James Silke to bring one of his most impressive paintings to life in a four book series, often called the Death Dealer series after the title of the painting, which inspired the concept.

I love the idea of art inspiring art. I have often based a story on a painting or a character in a role playing game on a new lead figure I had purchased. But this novel is not a lark or people trying to move into an area they are not ready for. This is a finely crafted novel on multiple levels. The story is strong and riveting. The characters are well crafted and intense. The villains match the heroes in intensity or perhaps surpass them. They in fact have a thing for villains and make them all seem horrid, dangerous, and unique. The writing is also tight and inspired. "He wore his sweat like an extra layer of armor—the night was as dark as a buried stick." Simple, but nice.

Prisoner of the Horned Helmet, by James R. Silke, Frank Frazetta Book Review

Reawakened, by Colleen Houck - Book Review

Okay I got another YA book, but at least it wasn't written in present tense. This one is written from a teen-aged girl's perspective. She is also beautiful and one of the richest girls on the planet. So yes, putting myself in her shoes felt a bit awkward, but Lily is a likable gal and her life of extreme luxury has not made her as pampered and annoying as it could have.

As the book begins, Lily's chief concern is her desire to follow her own path in life instead of the one being dictated by her overbearing parents. This quickly changes when she is on hand for the reawakening of an ancient mummy named Amon who is brought to life to save the Earth from the evil god of Chaos Seth.

Amon is young and handsome and you guessed it, she falls for him hard, although it does take a little while to get over his strange manner and magical feats. Soon, however, the 'honeymoon' is over as Lily becomes involved with life and death struggles that mix danger, travel, monsters, and magic.

Reawakened, by Colleen Houck Book Review

Seraphina, by Rachel Hartman - Book Review

I uploaded this book on the recommendation of awesome blogger, book fan and author Sara Letourneau, who said it was one of the best dragon series she'd read. Would I agree?

Four decades of peace have done little to ease the mistrust between humans and dragons in the kingdom of Goredd. Folding themselves into human shape, dragons attend court as ambassadors, and lend their rational, mathematical minds to universities as scholars and teachers. As the treaty's anniversary draws near, however, tensions are high. Seraphina Dombegh has reason to fear both sides. An unusually gifted musician, she joins the court just as a member of the royal family is murdered in suspiciously draconian fashion. Seraphina is drawn into the investigation, partnering with the captain of the Queen's Guard, the dangerously perceptive Prince Lucian Kiggs. While they begin to uncover hints of a sinister plot to destroy the peace, Seraphina struggles to protect her own secret, the secret behind her musical gift, one so terrible that its discovery could mean her very life.

Seraphina, by Rachel Hartman Book Review

The Art of Mad Max Fury Road, by Abbie Bernstein Book Review

I am not a professional art critic, but that is okay, because there is not much to criticize in this artistic exploration into the new Mad Max movie, Fury Road. What I do have going for me is a long lived appreciation for the Mad Max movies, or at least the first two. But enough about me, let's talk about this book of dystopian road warrior art.

George Miller spearheaded making the movie happen and also writes a great introduction to this work. The author Abbie Bernstein takes care of the rest of the prose and does an excellent job of doing so. They help set a stage and provide information that completes what the artwork delivers.

The Art of Mad Max Fury Road, by Abbie Bernstein Book Review

Breathe, by Sarah Crossan Book Review

I loved the cover on this YA dystopian science fiction book, so plucked it off the shelves hoping it was an engrossing read.

When oxygen levels plunge in a treeless world, a state lottery decides who will live inside the Pod. Everyone else will slowly suffocate. Years later society has divided into Premiums and Auxiliaries. Only Premiums can afford enough oxygen to live a normal life. Dissenters to the regime are ejected from the Pod.

Alina belongs to a rebel group and when one of her illegal expeditions to illegally harvest cuttings to grow trees ends in tragedy, her subsequent actions are set to uncover the shocking truth about the Pods.

This is a very interesting world. I really enjoyed the dynamic between the favored few who have sufficient oxygen to exercise -- and those who have to pace themselves because they are constantly coping on limited air. And when the twists come, it was initially quite a shock to discover exactly what was going on. The science is also secure on this one -- I liked the way Crossan has woven in established fact in order to make this plot point work. Nicely done.

Breathe, by Sarah Crossan Book Review

Eden, by Martin Roy Hill Book Review

It's a bit of a shock to find someone who can tell his story in 100 pages flat. Usually it's a trilogy at least. But Hill pulls it off.  Sequels are possible, but I liked it well enough to hope he doesn't. I think of Against the Fall of Night / The City and the Stars (and sequel), 2001:  A Space Odyssey (and sequels), and "With Folded Hands" (expanded into a novel, The Humanoids, with sequel), and hope he doesn't.

Eden is an Ancient Aliens and the Origins of Humanity story, which is not a spoiler, because Hill tells us this in a note at the beginning.  More points to him for not trying to use this used theme as a Big Reveal and Punch Line.

Eden is set in southern Iraq, "northeast of Basra", a "sun-scorched landscape" that is not many people's idea of Eden. Conditions have deteriorated since Adam and Eve. 

Eden, by Martin Roy Hill Book Review

The Shadow Throne, by Django Wexler - Book Review

The King of Vordan is dying, and his daughter, Raesinia, is destined to become the first Queen in centuries -- and a ripe target for the ambitious men who seek to control her. But politics knows no loyalties, especially for Duke Orlanko. He will bow his knee to no Queen. Freshly returned from their recent victories abroad, Colonel Janus, Marcus d'Ivoire and Winter Ihernglass must defeat the Duke using muskets, magic and every weapon at their command.

Wexler has been smart in completely changing the backdrop to this adventure, thus immediately giving it a different tone and feel. While the first book was set in a dry, desert country where our protagonists were the outsiders, this volume has them back home, grappling with palace politics.

The Shadow Throne, by Django Wexler Book Review

The Death House, by Sarah Pinborough Book Review

Looks like my streak of reviewing the best books ever in one year is continuing. I loved The Death House even if it is a Young Adult book. I will also throw this out there. I think it is the best young adult book I have ever read. In fact it is so good, parents might hold off on giving this one to their kids until they are a little older. Perhaps the 16+ range. Although I would have devoured it at age 13 myself. 

This novel revolves around Toby who, along with a few dozen other children has been sent to a cold island located off the shore of Great Britain. These children were removed from their families because they have a deadly disease that will eventually kill them. The author keeps the world and the disease vague and focuses more on the children and their lives.
The Death House, by Sarah Pinborough Book Review

Aurora: Eden, by Amanda Bridgeman Book Review

When I selected this book from the latest releases on Netgalley, I wasn't too concerned that this was Book 5 as I have a long and dishonorable tradition of crashing halfway into an established series while still enjoying the experience. However, with this particular book it was far more of an issue.

In the wake of the tragic events in Centralis, Captain Saul Harris stands with the weight of the world on his shoulders. With the truth of UNFASP revealed, he realizes that he must embrace his ancestry if he is to survive the coming onslaught. But how far will Harris go to protect the future? Will he sacrifice life as he knows it and become a Jumbo? Or can he face the future as a common man? Meanwhile Sergeant Carrie Welles has been left devastated by what has happened. Uncertain of the future ahead, and with her nemesis, Sharley, on the brink of control, she struggles to pick herself up. But she is left surprised when help comes from the unlikeliest of places. As her life veers off in a direction she never expected, Carrie soon understands that she is running a course with a destiny that lies far beyond her control.

Aurora: Eden, by Amanda Bridgeman Book Review

Human for a Day, edited by Martin H. Greenberg, Jennifer Brozek Book Review

The Mainspring of His Heart, the Shackles of His Soul by Ian Tregillis:  The anthology starts off with a steampunk story and tick tock automaton who, in cohoots with his human best friend, hopes to find the key that would free him from servitude and give him a soul.  All he has to do is escape the ship he works on while in New Amsterdam and find the Underground Railroad.  A cool, touching story to start of the anthology.

The Blade of His Plow by Jay Lake:  In this story, we get to see Longinus, cursed to live forever as punishment for his role in what happened that "one hot morning in Judaea."  He's drawn to battle and sees many horrific sights as penance before someone arrives and makes him mortal for a day, his punishment over.  An interesting take on Longinus and the many stories surrounding his name.

Human for a Day, edited by Martin H. Greenberg, Jennifer Brozek Book Review

Shadows, by Paula Weston Book Review

In response to the recent release of the final book in The Rephaim series, Netgalley offered reviewers a chance to read, Shadows, the start of the series. As I'd heard a fair amount about this YA Fantasy series, I took the opportunity to download it and judge for myself.

It's almost a year since Gaby Winters was in the car crash that killed her twin brother, Jude. Her body has healed in the sunshine of Pandanus Beach, but her grief is raw and constant. It doesn't help that every night in her dreams she kills demons and other hell-spawn. And then Rafa comes to town. Not only does he look exactly like the guy who's been appearing in Gaby's dreams—he claims a history with her brother that makes no sense. Gaby is forced to accept that what she thought she knew about herself and her life is only a shadow of the truth—and that the truth is more likely to be found in the shadows of her nightmares. Who is Rafa? Who are the Rephaim? And most importantly, who can she trust?

Shadows, by Paula Weston Book Review

The Flaxen Femme Fatale, by John Zakour Book Review

This is the sixth book in the series, and the fact that I'm still reading tells you something. The books are about "the last PI on Earth," set in a very tongue-in-cheek future with a definite old-style pulp/detective noir feel.

In this book, Zach, the last remaining private eye, is hired by the government to find and retrieve the "flaxen femme fatale," a genetically-engineered woman named Natasha. She's escaped from her training ground and the military fears her powers, which are extensive, and the fact that Natasha isn't really trained in how to control them. If she gets angry or annoyed or even peeved, her thoughts can kill. So Zach and his trusty holographic sidekick HARV (hardwired into his brain) and enthusiastic intelligent gun Gus head off to investigate and bring her back. 

But, of course, not everything is as it seems.

The Flaxen Femme Fatale, by John Zakour Book Review

The Iron Ghost, by Jen Williams Book Review

There was a time not so long ago when I'd open up an epic Fantasy tale half-expecting to abandon it before the end of the first chapter, as yet another turgid trek through a medieval landscape with a bunch of charmless Tolkien wannabes trudged across the pages. But that was before I encountered the passionate writing of Sophie E. Tallis, the vivid characters depicted by Sammy H.K. Smith, the intelligent plotting of Joanne Hall. And Jen Williams' The Copper Promise. So does this sequel sustain the high standard Williams set in her success debut?

After their defeat of the dragon-god Y'Ruen, the trio of mercenaries who call themselves the Black Feather Three find that demand for their services as swords for hire is high, and it's the lure of money (the copper promise) that entices them to the northern city of Skaldshollow, high in the mountains. They have been asked to retrieve a stolen artifact, but this relatively simple job takes on multiple levels of complication as our sell-swords find themselves embroiled in a war between the stone-crafting Skalds and their neighbors and rivals, the cold-blooded Narhl. They are fighting an ideological war for the very soul of the mountains, in a land steeped in ancient magic, while below the surface of the earth something even more ancient, more magical, and more evil, is stirring...

The Iron Ghost, by Jen Williams Book Review

The Rebel Within, by Lance Erlick Book Review

This is a dystopian near-future novel and the start of a series with at least one sequel.  It's told in present tense, which isn't my favorite.

Sometime in the early 21st century, either right-wingers tried to turn back the clock, or hard-core feminists staged a coup. Either way, the Second American Civil War resulted and was won by the hard-core with the help of mech warriors. These are like Heinlein's Starship Troopers, but all women. Space and the rest of Earth seem not to exist. 

Seventeen years later, men and boys have been forced from power, and from most areas by zoning commissions. They aren't wanted, but are hunted down and killed or imprisoned if they try to escape. Most of the United States is the Federal Union, though traditional society, more or less, holds out in the Outlands (Appalachia, the southwest border, possibly elsewhere). 

The Rebel Within, by Lance Erlick Book Review

Sexbot, by Patrick Quinlan Book Review

I'm not sure who came up with Sexbot for the title, but I think it does the book a disservice, as does the over-the-top cleavage-based cover. Not because I'm some sort of prude, but because it might lead potential customers to shy away, since it screams "erotica" to anyway who even glaces its way.

The problem that creates it two fold:

1. Anyone attracted to it by the lure of the title and cover is going to be disappointed. While there are some sexy bits, it's not as explicit as one might be led to think by the title and cover. Erotica it's not.

2. On the flip side, Anyone avoiding it for the same reason as above will miss out on a pretty good near-future action thriller. And that's too bad.

Martin and Susan are hotshot computer and artificial intelligence scientist working for Suncoast Cybernetics. In the course of their research to build an ever better and more human artificial intelligence (which their company uses to build realistic androids to sell as sexual companions), they stumble across a method that allows the "uploading" of a person's mind to a machine intelligence. This, combined with the ever advancing androids they are able to build, offers potential immortality... to those who can afford it of course.

Read the rest at SFReader.com: Sexbot, by Patrick Quinlan Book Review

Wool, by Hugh Howey | Science Fiction | SFReader.com Book Review

Like many others, I was intrigued to read about the success of this self-published author, who has managed to sell the print rights to the book to Random House for distribution around the world, while keeping the ebook rights himself. He started publishing this book in a series form through Kindle Publishing and as it steadily gained in popularity, it turned into the current trilogy -- Wool, Shift and Dust. It also accounts for the episodic structure of the book, which is divided into different sections from the different viewpoints of the protagonists.

In the ruined and hostile landscape, in a future few have been unlucky enough to survive, a community exists in a giant underground silo. Inside, men and women live an enclosed life full of rules and regulations. But some people choose not to conform. There are the people who dare to hope and dream. These are the dangerous ones. Jules is one of these people. She may well be the last.

So... a dystopian, science fiction thriller, fraught with tension where a tiny handful of the awkward squad begin to pose major problems for the status quo. Sounds familiar? And if you haven't already got there, a label on the front proclaims this THE NEXT HUNGER GAMES. Is this correct? Only up to a point. While superficially the two books seem to be covering the same ground, there are some crucial differences.

Wool, by Hugh Howey | Science Fiction | SFReader.com Book Review

Empress Game, by Ronda Mason | Science Fiction | SFReader.com Book Review

I had the pleasure of receiving the Empress Game, by Ronda Mason in the mail from Titan. Titan is quickly becoming my favorite publishing company. Not only do they publish books at a respectable rate, but their books are always inventive and they possess a high quality of authors in their line up.

I have to admit the book didn't capture me at once and I began to worry I had grabbed yet another book geared for the YA market. That being said, for any parents that might be reading this, Empress Game is probably okay for your kids to read. It is not even overly violent, despite the gladiatorial aspect of much of the novel. The fights, unlike many, so called, YA novels are not to the death here. They just beat each other up pretty good.

This book had a slow build. The reader goes from unsure how they feel about the characters to falling in love with them and really hoping Kayla and her friends can pull off the impossible feat they are attempting. Near the end I found it difficult to put down when climax after climax hits the reader. You think the book should be over, but the last hundred pages just build and build.

Empress Game, by Ronda Mason | Science Fiction | SFReader.com Book Review

In Search of Gods and Heroes, by Sammy H.K. Smith | Alternate History | SFReader.com Book Review

This is another Kristell Ink author -- I've been very impressed with the writing of authors Joanne Hall, see my review of Rider here and White Mountain written by Sophie E. Tallis, here, would this epic Fantasy offering reach the same high standard?

When a demon sneaks into the mortal world and murders an innocent girl to get to her sister Chaeli, all pretence of peace between the gods is shattered. For Chaeli is no ordinary mortal, she is a demi-goddess, in hiding for centuries, even from herself. But there are two divine brothers who may have fathered her, and the fate of Ibea rests on the source of her blood. Chaeli embarks on a journey that tests her heart, her courage, and her humanity. Her only guides are a man who died a thousand years ago in the Dragon Wars, a former assassin for the Underworld, and a changeling who prefers the form of a cat. And there you have part of the blurb.

As you may have gathered, this is a classical epic fantasy, complete with many of the themes and conventions you'd expect. The protagonist is pleasingly complex and the evident latent power she possesses but doesn't yet really understand or properly know was well handled. I also liked her edges. While she is harried and on the run, reliant on the kindness of strangers, it doesn't mean she is overly submissive or biddable -- or stridently, unbelievably stroppy either. It's a balance harder to achieve than Smith makes it look. In fact, the writing is accomplished and smooth.

In Search of Gods and Heroes, by Sammy H.K. Smith | Alternate History | SFReader.com Book Review

The Devil In Snakeskins, by Andy Henion | Mixed Genre | SFReader.com Book Review

The Devil in Snakeskins is a mashup of Wild West meets a Post-nuclear and Post-Plague Apocalyptic Future, and it's a fun and fast read. It's set in the Western part of what used to be California, many, many years into the future after a nuclear war and virulent plague wiped out most of humanity. While the nukes may be gone, some sort of plague lingers and still surfaces now and again, infecting and killing down anyone who contracts it. 

The people in this lawless far future apocalyptic landscape live in a simulacra of the Wild, Wild West. Six shooters, whore houses, and horses abound. The main character, known as the Professor, lives isolated in a small house in the middle of nowhere and surrounded by the books he's accumulated over the years. Unlike most of society, the Professor is an educated man -- self educated to be sure, but much more knowledgeable than the average citizen. 

The Devil In Snakeskins, by Andy Henion | Mixed Genre | SFReader.com Book Review

Children of Time, by Adrian Tchaikovsky | Science Fiction | SFReader.com Book Review

Tchaikovsky's fascinating insectile epic fantasy series Shadows of the Apt has made him a major name in Fantasy circles -- and rightly so. See my review of Empire in Black and Gold here. So when I encountered a book with his name on the cover featuring a spacescape, it was a no-brainer that I'd scoop it off the shelves. Would I enjoy it?

The last remnants of the human race left a dying Earth, desperate to find a new home among the stars. Following in the footsteps of their ancestors, they discover the greatest treasure of the past age -- a world terraformed and prepared for human life. But guarding it is its creator, Dr. Avrana Kern with a lethal array of weaponry, determined to fight off these refugees. For she has prepared this pristine world seeded with a very special nanovirus for a number of monkey species to be uplifted into what human beings should have turned into -- instead of the battling, acquisitive creatures who destroyed Earth...

That's the tweaked blurb -- unusually because I felt the book jacket version was rather a vanilla description of the really intriguing conflict Tchaikovsky posits in this generational ship odyssey. For Kern's plans go very awry and the species that actually becomes uplifted isn't Kern's monkeys, at all...

Read more at Children of Time, by Adrian Tchaikovsky | Science Fiction | SFReader.com Book Review

Vicious Grace, by M.L.N. Hanover | Dark Fantasy | SFReader.com Book Review

For those of you who are interested, M.L.N. Hanover is also the prolific and best-selling author Daniel Abraham of the Long Price quartet and is part of the writing duo responsible for producing The Expanse series as James S.A Corey, see my review of Leviathan Wakes. I also reviewed the first book in The Black Sun's Daughter, Unclean Spirits. So when I came across Vicious Grace nestling on the shelves, it was obvious I'd scoop it up and take it home.

Even if she routinely risks her life to destroy demonic parasites that prey on mortals, she now has friends, colleagues, a trusted lover and new-found confidence in the mission she inherited from her wealthy, mysterious uncle. Her next job might just rob her of all the above. At Grace Mrmorial Hospital in Chicago, something dark is stirring. Patiends are going missing and research subjects share the same sinister dreams. Jayné is primed to take on whatever is causing the nightmares -- but the greatest danger lies much, much closer to home.

Read more at Vicious Grace, by M.L.N. Hanover | Dark Fantasy | SFReader.com Book Review

SFReader Review of the Movie Ant-Man

Ant-Man? Yep. Ant-Man. I know, I know.. but Marvel hasn't turned out a stinker yet, right?

In 1989, scientist Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) resigns from S.H.I.E.L.D. after he learns about them trying to replicate his shrinking technology. Pym thinks the technology is too dangerous and decides to keep it secret. Flash ahead to present day. Pym's daughter Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) and Pym's former protege Darren Cross (Corey Stoll) now run the company Pym started, and Cross is close to duplicating Pym's shrinking technology.

Enter Scott Lang (Paul Rudd). Lang is an ex-thief fresh out of prison who's finding life on the outside harder than he anticipated. Unable to find a decent job, Lang falls in with some old associates and agrees to perform a burglary. Said burglary finds him in possession of Pym's old Ant-Man suit. Now the real adventure begins as Pym leverages Lang into his plan to stop Cross from selling the miniaturization technology to the highest bidder.

I left the theater feeling a mixture of two main thoughts. I enjoyed the movie. Great effects, lots of action, likable characters, funny wisecracks.. there a lot here to have fun with. But I also left thinking that the whole thing was sort of dumb. My issue wasn't with the concept that a man can shrink and control ants, but rather the inconsistent way the science is treated....

Read more at SFReader [Movie Review] Ant-Man

Take the Star Road, by Peter Grant | Science Fiction | SFReader.com Book Review

I wanted an enjoyable, entertaining read to while away a long train journey, so opened this up. Would it sufficiently draw me in and take me away from the over-enthusiastic air conditioning?

Nineteen-year-old Steve Maxwell just wants to get his feet on the star road to find a better homeworld. By facing down Lotus Tong thugs, he earns an opportunity to become a spacer apprentice on a merchant spaceship, leaving the corruption and crime of Earth behind. Sure, he needs to prove himself to an older, tight-knit crew, but how bad can it be if he keeps his head down and the decks clean? He never counted on the interstellar trade routes having their own problems, from local wars to plagues of pirates. Steve's left a world of troubles behind, only to find a galaxy of them ahead...

This coming of age book takes young Steve from his job as a busboy to managing to get a berth on a merchanter off Earth. I enjoyed the world and Steve's gritted determination to succeed no matter what. Grant clearly has spent a great deal of time fine-tuning his world, which mostly works well. While the writing style isn't particularly smooth and at times the dialogue clunks, there is nevertheless an engaging charm about this book that meant the obvious flaws in the writing was more than compensated by the conviction and energy Grant displays.

Read more at Take the Star Road, by Peter Grant | Science Fiction | SFReader.com Book Review

The Knight of Swords, by Michael Moorcock | Fantasy | SFReader.com Book Review

The Knight of Swords, by Michael Moorcock is a book that I actually have read before. Sometime during my early years of high school, I got my hands on it. In fact it was one of the first strings of books I read for pleasure and not because I had too for some school assignment.

I grew up with profound dyslexia. I had to attend special 'Learning Center' classes and was always years behind in writing and reading. What helped me overcome this limitation... well, Dungeons and Dragons. I loved the game and wanted to be as good a player as I could. So I figured one way to improve would be the read all the books Gary Gygax said helped influence his creation of the game. I started with Lord of the Rings (not an easy choice for a guy that can barely read). Then I moved on to Jack Vance. But then Elric filled my head with blood, chaos, and doom. I couldn't get enough, so I quickly moved on to another Eternal Champion series, Corum the Prince in the Scarlet Robe.

So when I received Titan's reprinting of these novels, part of me thought, I have read these before, I should focus more of this backlog of things I have not read. But then I thought, screw that, these books are beyond fantastic and it will give me an excuse to be able to enjoy them again. Boy, I like it when I make smart choices!

Read more at The Knight of Swords, by Michael Moorcock | Fantasy | SFReader.com Book Review

The Museum of Extraordinary Things, by Alice Hoffman | Dark Fantasy | SFReader.com Book Review

I saw the cover and read the first page, liked what I read, so scooped this offering off the shelves in an impulsive moment. Would I enjoy it?



New York City, 1911. Meet Coralie, circus girl, web-fingered mermaid, the shy, only daughter of Professor Sardie and raised in the bizarre surroundings of his Museum of Extraordinary Things. And meet Eddie Cohen, a handsome young immigrant who has run away from his painful past and his Orthodox family to become a photographer, documenting life on the teeming city streets. One night by the freezing waters of the Hudson River, Coralie stumbles across Eddie, who has become enmeshed in the case of a missing girl, and the fates of these two outcasts collide as they search for their own identities in tumultuous times.



And there you have the slightly tweaked blurb. This story is told in through the viewpoints, both first and third person, of the two main protagonists, Coralie and Eddie.

Hoffman has certainly done her homework and there is plenty of dense description of the early days of New York City as she pulls away from the immediacy of the first person viewpoints and into more a more panoramic, diffuse overview of their lives and the lives of those around them. However, I have to say that I found this switch from first into third person point of view for the same characters rather jarring and would have far preferred the immediacy and punch of the story if it had remained within the heads of the two fascinating characters caught up in this Gothic tale. Much of the initial creepiness and isolation was diluted by packing in quite so much of the historical detail in the third person viewpoint.

The Museum of Extraordinary Things, by Alice Hoffman | Dark Fantasy | SFReader.com Book Review

Pandora's Gun, by James Van Pelt | YA Science Fiction | SFReader.com Book Review

There's a special kind of garbage dump in the woods near Peter's school. He and his friend Dante have spent many hours sifting through the broken but interesting stuff. What's even more interesting is that the contents of the dump seem to change. Different things appear and disappear without any clue as to how and why it happens.

Lately though, Peter and Dante have drifted apart. They used to be inseparably, but now it seems as though Dante is more interested in having a good time with newer friends, and has even taken up some unsavory habits Peter disapproves of, the same things both of them swore they would never do. And Dante's incessant interest in and vocal observations about the opposite sex are getting tiresome.  

So this afternoon finds Peter alone at the dump, rooting through a newly appeared pile of refuse. Underneath a large metal panel, he comes across a black duffle bag. Inside the bag he finds several dozen bricks, made  of what looks to be plastic and laced with golden circuitry. He also find something that appears to be a gun, even though it's unlike any gun he's ever seen. It's oddly shaped, with a rounded mass where the barrel would normally be and a grip that looks as though it was made for six fingers.

Read more at Pandora's Gun, by James Van Pelt | YA Science Fiction | SFReader.com Book Review

Darwin's Watch, by Terry Pratchett | Fantasy | SFReader.com Book Review

This is not a novel. It is an overview of certain aspects of actual (more or less: read the book) science, directed against anti-evolutionists, but also against certain misapplications of mathematics and science.

The title is from a book, Natural Theology (1802), by William Paley. He describes a man walking across a heath (uncultivated area). He sees a rock, and may imagine that it has always been there. But if he sees a watch, he knows that watches have not always existed, therefore there must have been a watch Maker. This leads to what has since been tagged "intelligent design."

The authors [and I] do not agree with this. They note two very different uses of the word "theory." One is a misleading equivalence with "hypothesis," which is a question or statement proposed for testing, to see if it can be falsified, that is, proven to be false. The other is an idea about which considerable evidence has accumulated, which has not been falsified. It may not have been nailed down in all particulars, but a heavy preponderance of evidence says that it is true. 

Read more at Darwin's Watch, by Terry Pratchett | Fantasy | SFReader.com Book Review

Storm and Steel, by Jon Sprunk | Fantasy | SFReader.com Book Review

Storm and Steel, by Jon Sprunk, is part two of The Book of the Black Earth. Despite not having read part one, and despite having a somewhat slow start, once I got a few chapters into it, things picked up and the story gained enough inertia to start pulling me along.

There are two main stories here: that of the ex-slave Horace Delrosa, and the second of Jirom, a homosexual ex-gladiator and mercenary. Horace, the former slave, turns out to possess a very powerful and innate ability to work the magical energy of Sprunk's world, called zoanii. When Horace's ability reveals itself to the Queen and her advisers (in part one), he suddenly finds himself a member of Queen Byleth's court, and a powerful and unwelcome one at that. Also present in the court is Alrya, a Horace's love interest, with whom he struggles to establish the boundaries of their relationship based on his new status.

Read more at Storm and Steel, by Jon Sprunk | Fantasy | SFReader.com Book Review

Terminator Genisys - SFReader Movie review

I entered the theater to see Terminator Genisys with trepidation. I was disappointed with Max Max: Fury Road. Would the new Terminator movie run roughshod over my nostalgic memories as well?


I was there at the true genesis -- the first Terminator was released in October 1984 while I was a sophomore in college. Some friends and I gathered our meager funds (I think movie tickets were $3 at the time) and saw it at the local theater. Time travel, killer robots, an apocalyptic end of the world, who could ask for more?



Now that the statute of limitations has expired, I'll admit to stealing the movie poster out of the frame in front of the theater on the way out. It hung proudly in my dorm room until it caught the attention of an even bigger geek than myself. I'm ashamed now to say I traded it for two cases of Milwaukee's Best. It seemed like a good deal at the time....


So, 31 years later, it was with no small amount of sentimental longing or wistful affection that I settled into my seat to see the latest Terminator offering. Where does the time go?

Read more at Terminator Genisys - SFReader Movie review

Dragon Princess, by S. Andrew Swann | Fantasy | SFReader.com Book Review

This is the first book by S. Andrew Swann that I've read, continuing my attempt to read new-to-me authors this year. And it was a blast! Definitely a fun romp through fantasy tropes with a twist.

Premise: Frank Blackthorne is a not-so-great thief on the run after accidentally disrupting a virgin sacrifice to a Dark Lord. After rescuing the virgin, he finds himself in need of an escape from an entire kingdom. When a wizard approaches him with an offer to help save a princess from a dragon in exchange for the princess' hand in marriage, he's rightfully suspicious, but also out of options.

Of course, the rescue goes horribly wrong and suddenly he finds himself trapped in the princess' body and deposited in the middle of nowhere. Now he has to find his way back, find the wizard, and hopefully get his own body back!

Again, this is intended to be a fun, glorious romp through all of the fantasy tropes you've grown to love and it's exactly that. The twist, of course, is the body swapping, which S. Andrew Swann handles wonderfully.
Read more at Dragon Princess, by S. Andrew Swann | Fantasy | SFReader.com Book Review

The Red Queen, by Victoria Aveyard | Science Fiction | SFReader.com Book Review

I'd heard the buzz surrounding this book, so scooped it off the shelves as soon as I spotted it. Would it live up to all the excited hype?

Reds are commoners, ruled by a Silver elite in possession of god-like superpowers. And to Mare Barrow, a seventeen-year-old Red girl from the poverty-stricken Stilts, it seems like nothing will ever change. That is, until a twist of fate brings her before the Silver court. Here, surrounded by the people she hates the most, Mare discovers that despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly ability of her own. But will she survive in among her enemies?

I've tweaked the rather chatty blurb, because while the initial premise isn't particularly ground-breaking, what this book does have going for it are the constant twists and turns. Aveyard isn't afraid to take the plot and give it a thorough shaking every so often, so you suddenly find yourself in quite a different place from where you thought the narrative was going. Furthermore, she manages to accomplish the sudden twists with sufficient skill and smoothness that I didn't find it remotely annoying or jarring -- a trick that is harder to pull off than Aveyard makes it look.

Read more at The Red Queen, by Victoria Aveyard | Science Fiction | SFReader.com Book Review

The Gospel of Loki, by Joanne M. Harris | Fantasy | SFReader.com Book Review

Just a little back story on this one. Yep, I was feeling a little down because of a few things that were happening in my life. I had been away from where I was living for a bit. I came home and had a moment to myself and was able to check my mail. I had a few books lined up to read for reviews. As I opened the packages I had received over the last week, the Gospel of Loki greeted my eyes. I know this may seem a little much, but I took this as a sign or perhaps a direction.

Let me back up a little, and at the risk of creating a bias in regards to my review, I would to state that Loki and I go way back. I have embraced Chaos with if not a religious fervor, at least as a guiding point from everything from friendship to personal goals. Along with Chaos, I officially adopted Loki as a Patron in roughly 1992. I have promoted him, written spells for him, based characters off him, included my long running character, Elcore, who is Loki's son.

Read more at The Gospel of Loki, by Joanne M. Harris | Fantasy | SFReader.com Book Review

Fishbowl, by Matthew Glass | Fantasy | SFReader.com Book Review

This is a book rather difficult to pigeonhole. It is described by Amazon as contemporary, while one reviewer classified it as a lo-octane thriller, which would appeal to geeks. I think that pretty much nails it, except I think it has a wider appeal than the geeks among us. If you've ever seriously wondered where the internet is going to end up, then this book provides some interesting food for thought.

Gifted Ivy League student Andrei Koss hits upon an idea that promises to revolutionize social networking and move it on by a generation. Enlisting the help of his roommates, Ben Marks and Kevin Embley, he turns their dormitory into an operations base, where flashes of creative brilliance and all-night-coding sessions lead to the creation of Fishbowl. Within eight years they will turn a whim into a multi-billion-dollar empire; their creation will reach into every corner of the planet. But its immense power has many uses and everyone wants a piece of it...

Read more at Fishbowl, by Matthew Glass | Fantasy | SFReader.com Book Review

Elantris, by Brandon Sanderson | Fantasy | SFReader.com Book Review

In my continued quest to read books from authors I've never read before, I decided I should start on some of Brandon Sanderson's works. This is the first of his books and the first that I've read. And I can see why he's become popular.

Premise: The city of Elantris was the city of the gods--when random people were transformed into shining white near-immortals with the power to wield the magic called Dor, they were sent to the city to live out the life of gods. But something has gone wrong. Now, instead of becoming gods, those chosen are sent to the decaying city of Elantris and shunned and ridiculed, believed to be cursed.

Raoden, prince of Arelon, is struck from the curse and thrown into Elantris, where he discovers that the Elantrians are indeed cursed, their bodies dead, their pains never-ending. Sarene, princess of Teod, arrives in Kae outside the city of Elantris to marry Raoden, only to discover he has supposedly died. But she suspects something else has happened and she intends to find out what. Hrathen, high priest of Fjordell, arrives in Kae with one purpose: convert the entire country to his own religion . . . or see them destroyed. All three of them collide both inside and outside the walls of Elantris, each seeking to find what they have lost.

Read more at Elantris, by Brandon Sanderson | Fantasy | SFReader.com Book Review

Ex Machina - SFReader Movie Review

Ex Machina (2015) Rated R
Starring Domhnall Gleeson, Corey Johnson, Oscar Isaac, Alicia Vikander, Sonoya Mizuno
Directed by Neill Blomkamp
Reviewed by Dave Felts
Rating: (4/5)

Movies about Artificial Intelligence have been around a while. I'm not sure what the first one was, but in 1968, 2001: A Space Odyssey introduced HAL. The first movie that made an impression with me was WarGames in 1983. Then you've got the Terminator franchise, A.I., I, Robot, The Matrix, Her, and a whole host of others.

Most of these films have an already developed A.I. as the adversary with humans struggling to resist extinction at the hands of the machine intelligence. The genesis of that intelligence, for the most part, has already taken place, and now we're dealing with the aftermath. I can't recall any movie that actually looks at deciding whether or not the machine intelligence is actually intelligent and free thinking.

An that's what Ex Machina does. We're introduced to a machine intelligence, but is it really A.I.?

Read more at Maggie - SFReader Movie Review

Maggie - SFReader Movie Review

Maggie (2015) Rated PG-13
Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Abigail Breslin, Joely Richardson

Directed by Henry Hobson

Reviewed by Dave Felts

Rating: (2.5/5)

In this version of a post-apocalyptic zombie world, a virus called the necroambulist virus, has broken out in a deadly pandemic causes people to slowly necrotize while at the same time rendering them violent and hungry. The incubation period is typically a few weeks, so once a person is infected, they have plenty of time to contemplate their impending death, as do those around them. 

Maggie (Abigail Breslin) is a teenager who has been infected. After a certain point, an infected person is rounded up and put into quarantine. Naturally, her parents -- father Wade (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and step-mother Caroline (Joely Richardson) want to delay this as long as possible. Its easy to commiserate with loving parents who want to spend as much time with their terminally ill child as they can. But maybe loving parents aren't best ones to decide when she's too dangerous to keep free. 

Read more at Maggie - SFReader Discussion Forums

Queen of Nowhere, by Jaine Fenn | Fantasy | SFReader.com Book Review

This is the fifth book in this excellent series -- read my review of Principles of Angels here. So would it continue to be as gripping as the previous offerings?

The Sidhe look like us. They live amongst us. They have fearsome mental abilities and considerable physical resources at their disposal. And their biggest advantage? No one believes they exist. Almost no one. Bez is fighting a secret war against them. Always one step ahead, never lingering in one place, she's determined to bring them down. But she can't expose the Hidden Empire alone and when her only ally fails her she must accept help from an unexpected quarter. Just one misstep, one incorrect assumption, and her Sidhe trap -- her life's work -- could end in disaster. Worse, if Bez fails then humanity will be lost to the manipulative and deadly Sidhe...

As is apparent from the back cover blurb, this book veers away from the regular protagonists we have been following to date. Instead, solitary data-hacker genius Bez takes centre stage. I really enjoyed her spiky, paranoid personality as she tries to stay one step ahead from the authorities while fighting the Hidden Empire. Fenn pitches us right into the middle of the action from the beginning of the book, with the tension pinging off the page. Bez is not remotely cozy or particularly approachable and to make me care so much for her so quickly is a harder trick to pull off than Fenn makes it look.

Read more at Queen of Nowhere, by Jaine Fenn | Fantasy | SFReader.com Book Review

Half-Off Ragnarok, by Seanan McGuire | Dark Fantasy | SFReader.com Book Review

In this continuation of the "InCryptid" series by Seanan McGuire, we actually abandon the main character from the first two books (Verity) and focus on her brother, Alexander Price.  This certainly takes the series in a new direction.

The premise is that Alexander is "hiding" in plain sight as a reptile specialist at a zoo.  What he's really doing is investigating the feathered frog cryptids in the area, while hoping his basilisks decide to breed sometime this century.  Meanwhile, he's dealing with a potential relationship with Shelby, a visiting scientist from Australia who plays with lions for fun.

But then people start dying . . . by turning to stone.  Suddenly, the local cryptid community is at risk of exposure and he needs to figure out how to keep the Covenant from converging on the zoo for a purge, while simultaneously figuring out exactly what's going on with his girlfriend Shelby.

I like the fact that this book takes us from one main character to another in the Price family.  Focusing on one character in particular for an extended series can sometimes become . . . monotonous.  I think Seanan has done a good job of giving Alexander enough difference from Verity that it doesn't feel like "Verity in drag" here.

Read more at Halk-Off Ragnarok, by Seanan McGuire | Dark Fantasy | SFReader.com Book Review

White Mountain, by Sophie E. Tallis | Fantasy | SFReader.com Book Review

I loaded this book onto my Kindle after meeting Sophie at Bristolcon last year. But what with one thing and another, I hadn't managed to get around to reading it...

Amongst our modern world lies another, an archaic and hidden world of tradition, sorcery and magic. As dark demons awaken from our past, the last remaining wizards are being hunted and murdered by a changeling of terrifying strength. Attacked and drained of most of his powers, a dying sorcerer must race against time to save himself, and the fate of all, from an enemy intent on cleansing the planet of humanity... Darkness spreads as friendships, betrayals and horrifying truths await...


If you are looking for some modern twist on the classic epic Fantasy setup, this isn't it. Tallis gives us a straight Fantasy tale, complete with an evil mastermind who has been plotting the overthrow of the world for ages -- and now his plans have finally come to fruition. We have a stark demonstration of the power of said evil mastermind very early into the story. It was at this stage, I bonded with Marval and his grumpy dragon Gralen.

Read more at White Mountain, by Sophie E. Tallis | Fantasy | SFReader.com Book Review

Covenant's End, by Ari Marmell | Fantasy | SFReader.com Book Review

Covenant's End is the fourth and final book in the Widdershins Adventures by Ari Marmell.  These are young adult books, although I didn't know this when I bought the first book.  I can see why they're classified as YA, although I don't think that's a label they should necessarily be stuck with.  I enjoyed them all (even if I felt that one of them wasn't quite in line with the other three).

The premise of this final book is that Widdershins is returning to Davillon, after fleeing (and yes, she finally admits that she fled) and spending some time away from "home."  She thinks it's going to be grand coming home, meeting up with old friends, and picking up her life where she left off.  But while she's been gone, some of her old enemies have banded together and made a few unnatural allies, and they've been waiting for her return.  Even before she reaches the city, Widdernshins realizes that she isn't going to receive the homecoming she thought . . . and that her friends are in as much danger as she is.

This was a great final chapter in Widdershins' adventures.  She needed to return home again, not just because of the threads hinting of it in earlier books, but because she needed to face herself and what had happened to her in the city.  As Ari Marmell states himself, she needed to grow up.  She thought she'd left the city after a previous adventure because it would be safer for her friends, but she really simply fled.  Because of fear, because of the deaths of some of her friends, brought about by her own actions, and because she wasn't ready to face those emotions and that responsibility.  But after her time away (which is the book that I don't feel fits the general thread of the series; sort of an odd man out), she's had enough time to realize that she's been lying to herself about why she left and she's now ready to face the truth.

 Covenant's End, by Ari Marmell | Science Fiction | SFReader.com Book Review

Witch Week, by Diana Wynne Jones | Fantasy | SFReader.com Book Review

After reading Mars Evacuees, Frankie asked for 'another of your awesome books, Granny,' so I had to oblige with something special after a request like that. And came up with this...

Here is a world where witchcraft is utterly forbidden, yet where magic still seems to break out like measles -- all over the place! When a note, written in ordinary blue ballpoint, appears between two of the homework books Mr Crossley is marking, he is very upset.

It says: SOMEONE IN THIS CLASS IS A WITCH

Anyone could have written it, but the most awful thing is, the note might be true for Larwood House is a school for witch orphans. And the last thing Mr Crossley needs is a visit from the Divisional Inquisitor...

Read more at Witch Week, by Diana Wynne Jones | Fantasy | SFReader.com Book Review

People Live Still in Cashtown Corners, by Tony Burgess | Horror | SFReader.com Book Review

Wow, can you say, 'not what I was expecting?' Not that you ever really know what to expect with a Chi-zine publication. This Canadian based publisher is till one of my favorites and I love everything I've read of theirs, but I have to admit this with was on the lower end of their normally excellent bell curve.

Although they do not spell it out for you, this book is written from the point of view of a man that just snaps and decides to start killing people. I'm not too into anti-hero serial killers, but I have to say that I was surprised when he made his first kill. I did not know what type of book I was reading, but I caught on quick.

I work in mental health and I would have to say the author does a good job outlining this man's psychosis. He takes you into the unbalanced world of the killer, although, I guess my problem is, I never wanted to go there. If you like exploring evil and insanity though, this book will probably grab you.

Read more at People Live Still in Cashtown Corners, by Tony Burgess | Horror | SFReader.com Book Review

Pocket Apocalypse, by Seanan McGuire | Dark Fantasy | SFReader.com Book Review

This is the fourth book in Seanan McGuire's InCryptid series and the second in the series to focus on Alexander Price.  It was an interesting book because it took us out of the US and to Australia, although I still think Verity Price is the stronger character in this series.

The premise:  Shelby Tanner, Alexander's girlfriend, comes to Alexander to tell him that werewolves have popped up in Australia and her family needs his help, since he's dealt with werewolves before.  Alexander overcomes his fear of the creatures from his previous experience and agrees to travel to Australia to help eradicate the disease, which manifests like rabies and is passed on by fluid contact, usually through bites.  But once he arrives in Australia, he's uncertain about what might take him out first--the werewolves . . . or Shelby's family.

As usual, the writing is fluid and easy to read and the plot fairly light and straightforward.  This series relies more on the characters and the situation to draw the reader in and hold them.  Alexander Price is a fine character, although not as unique as Verity in her previous books.  But unlike the last book, I felt that Alexander was his own character here, rather than just a male version of Verity (as I felt in the last book).  I enjoyed this book more than Alexander's previous one.  More focus was on Shelby's family here, and they were unique in their own ways.  The sisters were far more entertaining than either Alexander or Shelby.

Read more at Pocket Apocalypse, by Seanan McGuire | Dark Fantasy | SFReader.com Book Review

Window Wall , Book 4 of the Glass Thorns series, by Melanie Rawn | Fantasy | SFReader.com Book Review

One of the best series I've read over the last couple of years is this one -- see my review of the first book Glass Thorns. Will this next slice about the magical theater company sustain the very high standard Rawn has set so far?

For nearly two years, Cade has been rejecting his Elsewhens, the Fae gift that grants him prescient glimpses of possible futures, by simply refusing to experience them. But the strain is driving a wedge between him and his theater troupe, Touchstone, and making him erratic on stage and off. It takes his best friend Mieka to force Cade into accepting the visions again, but when he does, he witnesses a terrible attack, though he cannot see who is responsible. Cade knows the future he sees can be changed, and when he finally discovers the truth behind the attack, he takes the knowledge to the only man in the Kingdom who can prevent it: his deadly enemy.

Once more, Rawn provides an engrossing, grown-up adventure. I love the fact that Cade and Mieka are now no longer the young, driven newbies desperate to prove themselves. Although being established stars provides its own challenges... Rawn gets right inside the skins of her two spiky, complicated characters and if you are looking for a simple escapist tale where everything is cut and dried, then this isn't it.

Read more at  Window Wall , Book 4 of the Glass Thorns series, by Melanie Rawn | Fantasy | SFReader.com Book Review

The Future Falls – Book 3 of The Enchantment Emporium, by Tanya Huff | Dark Fantasy | SFReader.com Book Review

My TBR pile has reached ridiculous proportions -- and I'm trying to get on top of it. Really. But there are a handful of books that immediately jump the queue as soon as I can get my hands on them -- and this quirky, unusual series is one of them. I knew I was reading something special several pages into the first book, The Enchantment Emporium -- see my review here. And as far as I'm concerned, it just keeps getting better. I love the Gale family and their twisty machinations...

When Charlotte Gale's aunt warns their magical family of an approaching asteroid, they scramble to keep humanity from going the way of the dinosaurs. Although between Charlie's complicated relationship with sorcerer Jack, her cousin Allie's hormones, the Courts having way too much fun at the end of days, and Jack's sudden desire to sacrifice himself for the good of the many, Charlie's fairly certain that the asteroid is the least of her problems. This could have so easily been an adrenaline junkie's dream with constant action-packed pages of chases... scary magical confrontations ending in blood and gore -- and it would have still been an engrossing read. But the cool, ironic tone of the blurb nicely echoes the emotional tenor of the books.


Read more at The Future Falls – Book 3 of The Enchantment Emporium, by Tanya Huff | Dark Fantasy | SFReader.com Book Review

Conan of the Isles, by L. Sprague de Camp, Lin Carter | Sword & Sorcery | SFReader.com Book Review

Conan of the Isles, by by L. Sprague de Camp, Lin Carter, was first published in 1968 and is the last book (book 12) of the "original" Conan  series. 

Conan has been ruling Aquilonia for some twenty years, and has consolidated his power and neutered his enemies. Aquilonia has flourished under his rule and Conan finds himself tired of the life of a king and nostalgic for his old days of adventuring. His wife Zenobia is dead, having passed in childbirth, and his oldest son, Conn, is now twenty years of age. 

When Aquilonia comes under attack from mysterious "red shadows", sorcerous apparitions that appear to be kidnapping his subject, Conan receives a vision from the mage Epemitreus who tells him he must abdicate his throne and head west, past the horizon, to an unknown land where descendants of Atlantic still ply elder sorceries. The hunger of the god the Atlanteans worships is growing and could eventually threaten to engulf the world. So Conan passes his crown to his son and begins his last recorded adventure.

Read more at Conan of the Isles, by L. Sprague de Camp, Lin Carter | Sword & Sorcery | SFReader.com Book Review

Are We Alone, by William J. O'Neal | Science Fiction | SFReader.com Book Review

Are We Alone by William J. O'Neal is a post-apocalyptic novel with a dash of science fiction thrown in.  O'Neal keeps things highly realistic and focuses on the micro picture and more likely to outline how the
character's dinner is being cooked over why the nukes were dropped onto the United States and have destroyed nearly all life. The story centers around three men and three women that have made it into a fallout
shelter only moments before bombs covered the world and create a radioactive nightmare.


The first third of the book and the first two years of narrative follow these six people as they bravely preserve through the hardships and tedium of living within a small fallout shelter with limited resources. Soon the convenient ratio of males to females fosters romance and all the couple marry.

Read more at Are We Alone, by William J. O'Neal | Science Fiction | SFReader.com Book Review

Project Alamanc - SFReader Movie Review

Project Almanac (2015) Rated PG-13
Starring Sofia Black D'Elia, Jonny Weston, Allen Evangelista, Sam Lerner, Virginia Gardner

Directed by Dean Israelite

Reviewed by Dave Felts

Rating: (2.5/5)

What would happen if five teenager managed to build a time machine? Nothing very original apparently. 

A high school nerd, David Raskin (Jonny Weston) dreams of going to MIT. He and his nerdy friend friends Quinn (Sam Lerner) and Adam (Allen Evangelista) are up to all sorts of nerdish hi-jinks, dutifully recorded by David's sister Christina (Virginia Gardner). 

David's father is dead (one or both parents being dead is practically a requirement in any sort of Young Adult offering) and while poking through some of his father's old project stuff in the attic (Dad was apparently a nerd as well) David and Christina discover an old video camera. 

Despite being in the attic for the last 8 years, the battery still holds a charge, so they fire it up to discover footage from David's 8th (or was it 9th) birthday party, the last time David ever saw his father. But wait! What's that in the mirror? Why it's David, present-day, seventeen year-old David, evidently an attendee to his own years-ago birthday. He also has an expression of near panic, which doesn't bode well....

Read more at Project Alamanc - SFReader Discussion Forums

Impulse, by Dave Bara | Science Fiction | SFReader.com Book Review

This is a debut novel and I always try to read new authors. I know how difficult it is to break onto the shelves. Also, it fits right in with my resolution to read authors I've never read before this year. This is a military sci-fi novel, so a little outside of my usual reading preferences. (I'm mostly into fantasy, although I do delve into sci-fi and mystery occasionally.)

The premise: Peter Cochrane has just graduated and expects to take on his role as an officer in the military on the spaceship Starbound, but receives the shocking news that someone has attacked the ship Impulse, killing his friend and one-time girlfriend. He's been reassigned to the Impulse, which after repairs is headed back to the system to find out exactly what happened and if it's a sign of the re-emergence of the old Imperial enemy. But Peter will have to deal with the vengeful captain of the Impulse while trying to discover the truth--is it Imperials . . . or is the enemy much closer to home?

I enjoyed the book. The military aspects feel genuine, although pushing a little bit into the "Star Trek" realm with some of the action. Peter steps outside the bounds for a few scenes and the punishment he receives is perhaps a little light considering what would have happened in a real military setting, although at least he did receive some type of punishment for disobeying orders, etc.

The science fiction elements--the lightships, the weapons and technology, even the political setting and history--are all believable, with limitations that are reasonable while still allowing for that feeling of future realism. It's not as smoothly thought out (or perhaps not as smoothly explained) as something like Jack Campbell's Lost Fleet setting, but all of the SF elements are there and they aren't stretching your suspension of disbelief. It's easy to settle yourself into this universe and to follow along with the action.

Read more at Impulse, by Dave Bara | Science Fiction | SFReader.com Book Review

Mad Max: Fury Road - SFReader Movie Review

I saw Max Max: Fury Road this past weekend. I wanted to like it. I have fond memories of my friends and I watching (and re-watching) The Road Warrior on VHS way back in the day. It was one of our go-to movies. When I heard they were going to make another, I was pretty stoked. Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron... nice. 

But, like Thomas Wolfe says, You can't go home again....

Did you know that the base of Maslow's hierarchy of needs pyramid is Physiological Needs? Wiki's definition is:

...the physical requirements for human survival. If these requirements are not met, the human body cannot function properly and will ultimately fail. Physiological needs are thought to be the most important; they should be met first. Air, water, and food are metabolic requirements for survival in all animals, including humans. 

OK, I hear you. This is supposed to be a movie review, so why am I talking about Maslow?

Bear with me. 

Read more at Mad Max: Fury Road - SFReader Movie Review

The Winter Family, by Clifford Jackman | Horror | SFReader.com Book Review

I know I just tossed out a 5 star review last month, but I had no other choice here. This book is a round house punch of awesome. It came out of nowhere and tackled me into the dirt. At first I worried that it might not be Speculative Fiction, because it has a strong western feel and is certainly in the camp of Historical Fiction however, due to its brutality, I think  am in well within my rights to label it horror. In fact if there are authors reading this review that would like to learn more about writing ruthless villains, they should pick up this book for that reason alone.

As mentioned, this book takes place in America's past and moved from the end of the civil war to just past the Wild West era. The thread follows a group of men that find that during the chaos of these unsure times they have the power to make their own rules and let's just say those rules rarely help anyone other than themselves. These are not men whose path anyone would wish to cross. If you did meet them, chances are you would not survive long enough for it to occur a second time.

Jackman grabs the idea of anti-heroes and takes it up about twenty notches.  The Winter family is the group of villains most fiction authors would be trying to get you to hate so you felt no mercy when the 'good guys' gunned them down.  This is set against a backdrop of corruption, betrayals, and severe drinking. Hedonism meets a violent Id and the walls go crashing down.

The Winter Family, by Clifford Jackman | Horror | SFReader.com Book Review

Grave Peril, by Jim Butcher | Dark Fantasy | SFReader.com Book Review

This is the third book in the Harry Dresden urban fantasy series and I still have a hard time seeing why this is so popular.  I'm much more of an epic fantasy reader, so maybe that's it.  In any case . . .

The premise is that the world of ghosts is in turmoil and Harry Dresden has been forced to investigate it because it's weakened the barrier between our world and theirs, making it easier for them to pass through and harass us all.  With he help of his friends, Harry discovers that many of the hauntings seem to be attached to him and a case of demonic summoning he helped resolve months ago.  Meanwhile, the vampires in the area seem to be manipulating Harry into a precarious position, with the ultimate intent of taking him out.  Not to mention that his fairy godmother is attempting to collect Harry's soul after he broke their previous bargain.  Can Harry solve the problems with the ghosts while keeping his soul as well as his head?

I liked the intent behind this story--the ghosts being riled up, crossing over and causing problems, with Harry at first just attempting to deal with them one by one, but then realizing there was a root problem he needed to solve or it was never going to end.  I was focused on this main plot and Harry's attempt to figure out exactly what was going on, further intrigued by the fact that someone appeared to be torturing some of Harry's friends and some of the ghosts with an interesting kind of spiritual barbed wire magic.  I would have been happy if the entire book had focused on just these aspects of the ghostly turmoil.

Read more at Grave Peril, by Jim Butcher | Dark Fantasy | SFReader.com Book Review

Angel Board, by Kristopher Rufty | Horror | SFReader.com Book Review

Angel Board, by Kristopher Rufty is a horror novel set in the southern United States. It takes place in modern times and focuses around David, a man who had recently attempted suicide.

After his failed attempt at taking his own life, David's mother gives him an Angel Board for Christmas. This board, much like the traditional Ouija board, is used to contact one's guardian angel. David quickly discovers that the board works only too well. He not only contacts his angel, but also finds out that she loves him deeply. In his weakened emotional state, she convinces him to start the process that would allow her to enter into his world.

However, her love is confused and her jealousy quickly leads to one murder after another, as his angel not only kills anyone she feels is mean to David, but the people that love him as well. Soon a race begins as David's former girlfriend tries to discover what is happening to the man she still loves and attempts to find people that can help her save him.

Read more at Angel Board, by Kristopher Rufty | Horror | SFReader.com Book Review

Avengers: Age of Ultron - SFReader Movie Review

I've really enjoyed the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movies over the past few years; seeing them with my teenage son and/or daughter makes them even more of a pleasure. Avengers: Age of Ultron is no exception. It has everything viewers have come to expect from an MCU movies and a summer blockbuster: large cast of characters, humor, danger, big fight scenes, villains, heroes... it's all there.

In reading some other reviews, I've seen come complaints that the combined universe is it's own worst enemy, in that it saps apprehension in that we already know, with a certainly, that none of the major characters is going to die. Thor: Ragnorak is already planned, as is Avengers: Infinity War and Captain America: Civil War. So we know without a doubt that these guys are safe an Ultron fails. 

But I think that approach comes from the perspective of someone who isn't a comic book fan. In comic books, no one ever dies. And even if they do, it was really just a clone, or a doppelganger, or a different body from another dimension. Comic book fans know that death is hardly the end-all for any characters.

Read more at Avengers: Age of Ultron - Movie Review

Raising Steam, by Terry Pratchett | Fantasy | SFReader.com Book Review

Dick Simnel is inspired, by his father being turned into a cloud of furnace parts, flying metal, and pink steam, to invent the locomotive. He names her Iron Girder. This being Discworld, she's a bit more than her earthly counterparts. She is self aware and will defend her existence, as a would be saboteur learns.

Remember the pink steam? Simnel manages not only  to avoid that, but to sell Sir Harry King on steam locomotives. King sells Lord Vetinari, who runs Ankh-Morpork, the big city on Discworld, and Vetinari appoints Moist von Lipwig (of Going Postal and other books) to ramrod the project. Vetinari want to go to Bonk Schmaltzberg to confer with the king of the trolls, without spending weeks on the trip.

Certain hardcases among the dwarfs don't like this, or anything not of dwarf tradition as they see it. So construction is underway on the big line, with a shorter one to Quirm (which resembles France as seen from England), to bring in fish. Yes, Ankh-Morpork is on a river, but  you really don't want to eat anything out of there.

Then there are the clacks towers (semaphore signaling system), and a lady named Adora Belle.

Read more at Raising Steam, by Terry Pratchett | Fantasy | SFReader.com Book Review

Touch, by Claire North | Horror | SFReader.com Book Review

I've been a major fan of this author during her incarnation as Kate Griffin, but I was blown away last year by her first Claire North book The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August, which is on the literary end of the fantasy genre and is simply remarkable -- see my review here. Would I find Touch as impressive?

He tried to take my life. Instead, I took his. It was a long time ago. I remember it was dark, and I didn't see my killer until it was too late. As I died, my hand touched his. That's when the first switch took place. Suddenly, I was looking through the eyes of my killer, and I was watching myself die. Now switching is easy. I can jump from body to body, have any life, be anyone. Some people touch lives. Others take them. I do both.

So there you have it. The premise is that there are a few individuals out there who can inhabit a body with a simple touch, skin on skin. And we're right alongside Kepler as he comes under a sudden, shocking attack. The book takes us on a tension-filled adventure as he struggles to discover exactly who is stalking him and why. It would be an intriguing page-turner if it was a straight thriller. But, this being North, it also becomes far more than that.

Read more at Touch, by Claire North | Horror | SFReader.com Book Review

Seeker, by Arwen Elys Dayton | Fantasy | SFReader.com Book Review

On the heels of ACID, I finished Seeker, another YA offering from Arwen Elys Dayton, released in February of this year (2015). It's interesting to me to compare the two -- they have so many similar elements -- but somehow Seeker manages to to rise above the cliche whereas I felt ACID did not. 

I suppose I owe a synopsis. Here's the official blurb:

The night Quin Kincaid takes her Oath, she will become what she has trained to be her entire life. She will become a Seeker. This is her legacy, and it is an honor. 

As a Seeker, Quin will fight beside her two closest companions, Shinobu and John, to protect the weak and the wronged. Together they will stand for light in a shadowy world. And she'll be with the boy she loves--who's also her best friend. 

But the night Quin takes her Oath, everything changes. Being a Seeker is not what she thought. Her family is not what she thought. Even the boy she loves is not who she thought. And now it's too late to walk away.

If you read my ACID review, you know I offered up a (tongue-in-cheek) checklist for writing successful young adult fiction. I'll run through that list here with Seeker, bearing in mind there are three "main" characters: Quin, Shinobu and John. One could also make the argument the Maud (another teenage girl) is also a notable character, though not as much of a player as the aforementioned three.

Read more at Seeker, by Arwen Elys Dayton | Fantasy | SFReader.com Book Review

Empire of Dust, by Jacey Bedford | Fantasy | SFReader.com Book Review

This is the debut novel of Jacey Bedford.

I always try to read debut novels ASAP, since I've been there and know what it's like to have a new book go out into the harsh, harsh world. This is the first of the Psi-Tech novels, and I'm looking forward to the next one.

The premise: Cara Carlinni is a psi-tech who's running from the Alphacorp corporation who technically owns her, since it funded the Telepath technology implanted in her head. Escaping is supposed to be impossible, but she's managed to elude those hunting her and keep the secrets she's stolen from Alphacorp safe . . . and to herself. But they've finally caught up to her, and only the intervention and help of Ben Benjamin, another psi-tech, a Navigator, who takes her to a new colony that supposed to go tech-free . . . and perfect place to hide. Or so they both think.

The main premise is great, and the idea of a future in which there are no governments, only megacorporations running everything, is shockingly easy to believe. And also heartbreaking. The world -- or should I say universe? -- is well thought out and the characters are engaging.  

Read more at Empire of Dust, by Jacey Bedford | Fantasy | SFReader.com Book Review

The Walking Dead: The Road to Woodbury, by Robert Kirkman, Jay Bonansinga | Zombies | SFReader.com Book Review

ublished in 2012, The Walking Dead: The Road to Woodbury, by Jay R. Bonansinga and Robert Kirkman, is a follow-up novel to The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor. Like its predecessor, it follows a group of survivors trying to stay alive in the post-apocalyptic zombie world of The Walking Dead. 

The Walking Dead: The Road to Woodbury, is told from the point of view of Lilly Caul, a fearful and anxiety-ridden young woman who trembles in fear at the slightest sound. Her character is developed as someone who's spent her life running from everything -- relationships, responsibility, you name it -- before and now after the zombie apocalypse.  

Like Rise of the Governor, The Road to Woodbury is written in present tense that takes a little getting used to. One of my complaints is what seems to be the authors' preferences for telling instead of showing. We are constantly reminded that Lilly is a fearful neurotic, Josh is a gentle giant hero, Bob is a feckless yet kind-hearted drunk, Meagan is a camp whore and pot-head.... etc. 

The book starts with our group being part of a larger group currently occupying a tent city located somewhere in Georgia. A series of unfortunate events results in Lilly being kicked out of the group. When this happens, the rest decide to go with her. Based on the way the camp was being run, I don't blame them.

Read more at The Walking Dead: The Road to Woodbury, by Robert Kirkman, Jay Bonansinga | Zombies | SFReader.com Book Review

The Sword and Its Servant, by Victor Salinas | Fantasy | SFReader.com Book Review

The Sword and Its Servant, by Victor Salinas, is another young adult book. How did I get sucked into reading another one, well... by the ages 15 and up warning label? Here I am thinking I might be reading a book a little on the spicy side, but nope, preteens in trouble. But I will say that Salinas takes the idea of trouble up a notch and the book becomes more of a pre-teen meets Hellraiser.

Most of the book, actually almost all of the book, focuses on some kids making a jail break. It also covers the POV of three of the arch-villains that rule over the Hunds, which is the evil race that has a great hate for humans. Lucky for the kids there is a hole in the cell that they are able to chip through. Once outside the cell, Salinas isn't scared of killing the kids off and the group quickly dies off and gets separated from each other.

The main human, a girl named Einsa, discovers a living sword. Here is where it gets more interesting. The cowering, inertia filled Einsa is now being guided by this living steel and it wants her to kill. I think Salinas does a good job displaying the reluctance a normal pre-teen girl would have against killing. However, would a girl being kept prisoner her while life who is seeing her friends die have this reluctance? This is not some cell phone using girl of today. Also, although I appreciated his care in displaying this character trait, I almost felt like pulling my hair and just yelling, "Swing the sword, you twit!"

The Sword and Its Servant, by Victor Salinas | Fantasy | SFReader.com Book Review

The Thorn of Dentonhill, by Marshall Ryan Maresca | Fantasy | SFReader.com Book Review

This is the debut novel from Marshall Ryan Maresca.  I try to read new authors--and in particular, debut novels--as much as possible and am trying to do so even more this year as a New Year's resolution.  This novel was a fun take on fantasy, mixing in some elements comic book flavor in terms of the storyline.

The premise:  Veranix is a student at the local university studying magic--the use of numina.  But secretly he's using his powers to hunt down and hound those in the surrounding area called Dentonhill who are dealing a drug called effitte.  The ringleader of the drug dealers in a man who killed Veranix's father and forced his mother to take so much of the drug that her mind is lost, her body lying with dozens of others who were overcome by the drug.  Veranix initially only intends to hurt the drug trade, but when he accidentally intercepts a deal involving a magic cloak and rope, everything changes . . .

As you can imagine, with a magic cloak and rope, the story takes on some comic book attributes--Batman, anyone?  Veranix sneaks out at night and fights against the drug dealers, trying to destroy as much effitte as he can.  Of course, initially his activities are minor nuisances, but with the cloak and rope to aid him, his attacks become much more troublesome to the ringleader and things escalate.  Not to mention that the items he's accidentally come by were intended for a group of mages that desperately want them back and will do anything to get them.  So the plot itself is very comic book-esque in nature . . . and the book itself takes on that tone.  If you start reading with that in mind--that this is simply going to be a fun ride--then you'll enjoy the book.

Read more at The Thorn of Dentonhill, by Marshall Ryan Maresca | Fantasy | SFReader.com Book Review