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