The Caloris Rim Project, by Glenn P. Mac Donald Book Review

The Caloris Rim Project, by Glenn P. Mac Donald, is a hit and miss military/space adventure containing all the requisite elements: the hero(s), the love interest, the corporate/government conspiracy, rogue military operatives, and interstellar war. Mac Donald gets a lot of things right, but just as often swings and misses. He delivers some great action scenes and inventive alien species, but his characters often seem cut from a broad and stereotypical cloth. That's not to say I didn't enjoy the book -- I did -- but I enjoyed parts of it a lot more than I enjoyed others. I was left feeling as though I'd just read a lot more words than the story needed to be told.

I had some problems keeping track with what was going on and why. About two-thirds of the way through, I sort of gave up on trying to figure out how the overall plot fit together and just followed along for the rest of the rise. It's as though there are two different books here. The story Mac Donald ended up finishing didn't feel like the same story he started. I think a good editor might have loped off the first third of the book and tightened up the rest, and it would have been better for it.

The Caloris Rim Project, by Glenn P. Mac Donald Book Review

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