Friday Featured Spotlight ~ BBNYA2024 Blog Tours: Finalists 12 & 11

 

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BBNYA2024 Blog Tour ~ 11th Place Finalist ~ The Half-Life Empire by Shami Stovall

Hacker Kita Yamasaki would do anything to escape the post-apocalyptic landscape that was the result of the Forever Winter. But for a normal person, the only options are the war-hungry nation-state of Ex Cathedra or the isolationist United California. Fortunately, Kita is anything but normal.

When she finds a faded brochure for the BC Oasis—an underground greenhouse capable of sheltering a quarter million people—she jumps at the opportunity, even going so far as to steal a fission battery the oasis requires to operate at full capacity. There’s just one problem . . . The battery belongs to the ruthless judges of Ex Cathedra.

Now Kita finds herself the target of a deadly chase. In her race to safety, she picks up three fellow travelers: Dallas; his mute daughter, Crouton; and Bishop, a junk hunter. But will they betray her and take the battery for themselves? Is one of them a member of the cultist Iron-Blooded who worship the few remaining alien invaders scattered across Earth’s wasteland?

Faced with certain death if they’re caught by the judges’ power-armored soldiers, Kita must put aside her suspicions and make a headlong dash for sanctuary—and the promise of a new life.

The Purveli

 

Parasites

 

Parasites is a YA science fiction, solarpunk exploration novel that takes place at the end of the universe, just as it slowly starts to contract in the ‘big crunch’. On the planet Lyra, humans evolved late, on a resource-poor world, in a resource-poor solar system. The Lyrans master space flight, only to discover that their nearest worlds have also been stripped of resources. The population begins to decline, until a scientist discovers a technology allowing people and vehicles to travel through ‘thinnings’ – patches of space linking universes.

Kael and Alessia are explorers, charting where the thinnings go and bringing valuable resources back to Lyra, trying desperately to extend the lifespan of their home world. Alessia’s father, Ben, set out two years ago to uncover another species’ reference to a ‘solution’ to the big crunch problem – but never returned. A chance discovery leads Kael and Alessia to a clue, prompting another expedition to see if they can avoid the mistakes of the past and help to unravel the mystery.

Kael, Alessia and their gruff bodyguard Basteel retrace Ben’s steps, seeking closure for Alessia, a solution for Lyra and together begin a voyage through wild, weird and wonderful planets.

Intraterrestrial

 *Book source ~ ARC. 

My review is voluntary and honest.

Intraterrestrial

Nicholas Conley

16 January 2018

Sci-Fi | YA

236 Pages

                                                                                    

Have Wormhole, Will Travel

*Book source ~ NetGalley

Have Wormhole Will Travel

Tony McFadden

1 November 2013

Sci-Fi

277 Pages

Monster Porn Monday

Erotica ~ Mature 18+

Curiosity Quills Tour ~ Untaken

*Book source ~ A review copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.

Title ~ Untaken

Author ~ J.E. Anckorn

Publisher ~ Curiosity Quills Press

Published ~ 23 March 2015

Genre ~ YA | Post-Apocalyptic

Pages ~ 260

Amazon | Amazon UK

Virtual Author Book Tour ~ Mission One of Auggie the Alien

Title ~ Mission One of Auggie the Alien

Author ~ Leah Spiegel & Megan Summers

Publisher ~ Leah Spiegel, Megan Summers

Published ~ 4 June 2013

Genre ~ Middle Grade/Sci-Fi/Humor

Amazon | B&N 

*Book source ~ Many thanks to the author for providing a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

My Rating ~ 4 bites and a nibble out of 5

Augustov ‘Auggie’ Litlickie is the first alien/human hybrid born. His father came to Earth to study it for possible colonization by his people and he fell in love with a human woman after rescuing her from an attack. Since they want to peacefully co-exist with humans and blend in, the Elders have decided that Auggie would be perfect for further research on whether that goal could be possible. So Auggie is sent to his mother's parents to live and attend North Franklin Elementary School as a fourth grader. Auggie’s mission has three parts: 1. be invited to a sleep over 2. be invited by more than one buddy to a social outing 3. be invited to a birthday party. Auggie is confident he can achieve his goals and return to the mother ship. However, living on Earth with humans is way more complicated than he figured.

Auggie tells the story in his log entries and his attempts to blend in are not very successful despite having taken a Human Studies class on the mother ship. His interpretations and missteps are often very humorous. Well-written with great characters, it may be a middle grade book, but don’t let that stop you from reading it if you happen to be just a tad older *cough like me cough* than middle grade. I recommend this to anyone who likes humor and a bit of sci-fi combined. 

Walking on Wednesday with Audios ~ Earth Unaware

Title ~ Earth Unaware

Series ~ The First Formic War, #1

Author ~ Orson Scott Card and Aaron Johnston

Narrator ~ Stefan Rudnicki

Publisher ~ Macmillan Audio

Published ~ 17 July 2012

Genre ~ Sci-Fi

My Rating ~ 4 bites out of 5

Earth’s denizens have been moving off Earth and onto mining ships to mine metals and minerals from asteroids out past Pluto.  The mining ship El Cavador has spotted something on their ‘eye’ or telescope that is approaching Earth’s system and fast. It could be a comet or some such thing, but since when does a comet slow as it approaches a system? That’s the worrying thing. However, when a corporate ship captained by Lem Jukes bumps them from their claim on an asteroid El Cavador forgets about the incoming object in their attempt to survive the damage to their ship. The destruction and death that is about to happen rests squarely on the corporate ship. If they hadn’t been greedy and bumped El Cavador then they would have had much more warning about the danger bearing down on them.

Meanwhile, back on Earth, Captain Wit O’Toole is recruiting for the multinational MOPs (Mobile Operations Police), taking only the best of the best. Their motto is “Train for any contingency.” After seeing some really good faked alien invasion footage on the internet, Wit decides that an alien invasion falls under ‘any contingency’, so he gets his men training. Let the First Formic War begin.

Guest reviewers today:

My 16-yr-old daughter A

My 14-yr-old son T

My 13-yr-old son K

This is the first time we’ve listened to an audio with more than one narrator and it’s a hit. Everyone loves the narration of this audiobook, but they especially love the narrator who does Wit’s voice (though he also does a few others).

Everyone also agrees that the beginning was slow and boring. They didn’t like all the whining Victor did about Alejandra having to go to another ship because they seemed to be getting a little to close for being cousins. However, once Lem bumps El Cavador the action picks up until the end.

Also in agreement is their opinion that Wit is an awesome character with mad skillz and that he was pretty smart and not crazy for training his men to fight an alien invasion. They can’t wait to see the MOPs kick some alien ass in the next book.

They believe Victor was pretty brave to take a quickship to Luna base. A & T said they aren’t ever leaving Earth (me either for that matter), but K said he’d go to outer space in a heartbeat. Well, he does love astronomy, so I shouldn’t be surprised. The 7 month trip in the quickship lead to the discussion of bone loss and zero gravity vs bone density and gravity. I hope I explained it right. We were in the car and I had no Google to consult. lol

All-in-all a great sci-fi book. The kids are looking forward to listening to Book 2, Earth Afire.

Time Turner Tuesday ~ Freedom's Ransom

Title ~ Freedom's Ransom

Series ~ Catteni, #4

Author ~ Anne McCaffrey

Publisher ~ Putnam

Published ~ 1 May 2002

Genre ~ Sci-Fi

*Book source ~ My home library.

My Rating ~ 4 bites

Having overthrown the Eosi overlords in Freedom’s Challenge, the survivors on Botany, Earth and all the other newly free planets must figure out a way to do more than survive. They need to thrive and in order to do that they need things that the Catteni have looted for the Eosi. Once again, Zainal steps into the breach and comes up with a plan to help all the planets. But is it too far of a reach?

Being free of the Eosi is only the first step and who knew what it would take to get Earth up and running again, not to mention finding what the people of Botany need in order to stay in communication with Earth, Catten and the other planets. I sure didn’t grasp the massive undertaking until Zainal, Kris and everyone else had to tackle it in this book. The clever way they go about it is ingenious and the fact that coffee has become a major form of payment says a lot for its caffeine addictive qualities. I personally can’t stand the stuff, but if it can addict the Catteni enough to use it as payment for much needed technological goods then have it I say. All of the bargaining and trading and rebuilding is endlessly interesting. And the idea of using Botany as a vacation planet has merit. All-in-all a great ending to a favorite series.

Walking on Wednesday with Audios ~ Star Trek: 2009 Movie Tie-In

Title ~ Star Trek

Author ~ Alan Dean Foster

Narrator ~ Zachary Quinto

Publisher ~ Simon & Schuster Audio

Published ~ 12 May 2009

Genre ~ Sci-Fi

*Book source ~ Purchased at Audible.com

Our Rating ~ 4 bites and a nibble out of 5

Space, the final frontier. Or is it? When an insane revenge-bound Romulan flies a war ship into not only Federation space, but into the past he breaks what might be the final final frontier…time. Nero’s heinous actions change the Federation’s past and everything, or just about everything, is new again in this reboot of the Star Trek franchise.

My guest reviewers for today are:

My 16-yr-old daughter A

My 14-yr-old son T

My 13-yr-old son K

My kids and I listened to this audio a few years after we saw the movie. So, while we saw the movie in 2009 and we do have the DVD it wasn’t fresh in our minds at the time of the listening.

Everyone agreed that the book was awesome, funny, action-packed and had more detail than the movie. Everyone also agreed that narrator Zachary Quinto was good and they liked when he did Spock’s voice best. Of course they would since he was the one portraying Spock in the movie. *rolls eyes*

A said that she enjoyed that the book had more detail than the movie while K said he didn’t care about the extra detail and T was neutral on the subject and asked if we were done yet. *sigh*

A stated she liked the book more than the movie, K liked the movie more than the book and T liked them both equally and said he was missing football on tv.

Is everyone getting an idea of what it’s like around here? lol

All-in-all the consensus is: This story is awesome as a book or movie.

Time Turner Tuesday ~ Freedom's Challenge

Title ~ Freedom's Challenge

Series ~ Catteni, #3

Author ~ Anne McCaffrey

Publisher ~ Putnam Books

Published ~ 1 May 1998

Genre ~ Sci-Fi

*Book source ~ My home library.

My Rating ~ 4 bites and a nibble out of 5 

The dropped survivors on Botany have come a long way from those first days when they had virtually nothing. They are living very well with many comforts of home and they are at the brink of ending the Eosi domination of several species and many planets and Kris Bjornson and Zainal are at the center of things. Making a good life on Botany isn’t enough for Zainal though. He intends to destroy the Eosi for enslaving his people for two thousand years and for enslaving other worlds as well. However, the final piece of the plan will only work at great sacrifice to himself. Will his plan work and, more importantly, will he survive it?

Once again I’m plunged into the fight for survival, the fight to free Earth, Botany and many other planets and how everyone works together for the greater good of the community. It’s an awesome ride. All of the pieces of the puzzle come together and if they do so a little too neatly I’m not going to argue. I love this series and I love watching how everyone handles their part of the Great Plan despite overwhelming odds. A fast-flowing plot, great writing and wonderful characters keep me engaged from beginning to end. Anne McCaffrey always has so much going on and yet manages to keep the books to a reasonable length. There’s just no way to summarize her stories without going on and on about everything that’s happening. All I can say is this; open to the first page and hang onto your britches. It's going to be a wild ride.

Friday Featured Spotlight ~ Sirens Call Publications

Sirens Call Publications fervently believes in the gift of a brilliant work of fiction and we're always on the lookout for great talent. If you can show us creativity, originality and a desire to share the stories you spin, then we want to help you succeed in the publishing world.

Sirens Call Publications has very few restrictions. We are open to publishing and promoting all genres and styles of fiction. If our submission guidelines are adhered to and your story leaps off the page and sings its song to our imaginations, then it may very well find a home at Sirens Call Publications. You weave the tale and we'll do all we can to make it a success.

We are open to submissions for novels, novellas, and single author collections all year round, as well as having open submission periods for themed anthologies at specific times. In addition, we publish The Sirens Call, a bi-monthly literary and artistic eZine.

Website | Facebook | Blog 

You can also find us on Twitter - @Sirens_Call, @CdnZmbiRytr, @Sotet_Angyal, and @GlorBobrowicz.

*Books source ~ Many thanks to Sirens Call Publications for providing review copies in exchange for honest reviews.

Title ~ Kin Ship

Series ~ Moustache on the Moon, #1

Author ~ D.K. Snape

Publisher ~ Sirens Call Publications

Published ~ 10 July 2013

Genre ~ YA/Sci-Fi

My Rating ~ 4 bites out of 5

One day a worm-like thing appeared in space giving the Man on the Moon a squiggly ‘stache, but no one on Earth could figure out what it was, where it came from or what its intentions were. For months speculation was rife and theories postulated until people started to lose interest when nothing happened. 15-year-old Marnie was daydreaming in class about the alien space worm when the principal and two strangers showed up. They said they were there to collect her and take her to her father. Since they had a signed paper and a call to her father confirmed the truth, off Marnie went to what she would soon find out was the greatest sci-fi adventure brought to life.

It’s been a long time since I’ve read a lot of Sci-Fi, but I don’t remember ever reading a story quite like this one. The unique take on aliens, humans and their development on Earth is very interesting and the characters are very likeable. However, even though Marnie is 15 and would technically be YA the writing in this book reads closer to middle grade. Even so, it’s a very enjoyable story. However, there is a cliff hanger at the end and I am left, well, hanging, wondering what will happen next to Marnie and all the others who are preparing to go out into the final frontier. If you like tales about aliens living on Earth then this is a good one to add to your shelf.

Title ~ Love 'n Lies

Series ~ Evermore Chronicles, #1

Author ~ Aspen deLainey

Publisher ~ Sirens Call Publications

Published ~ 9 July 2013

Genre ~ Paranormal

My Rating ~ 4 bites and a nibble out of 5

Leticia, or Letty to her friends, is a vampire in Calgary. She’s just woken from the year long slumber that all vampires must take every decade in order to rejuvenate and has the unpleasant surprise that she has put on some pounds. How ridiculous a thought that a vampire could gain weight, but her clothes don’t lie. So Letty does some internet searching of how to lose weight in a way that she could apply to a vampire, goes shopping for new duds then goes out to see what’s changed in the year she’s been asleep and to meet up with old friends. In the course of renewing acquaintances she talks with Lori who suggests that Letty get a cat to ease her loneliness. Letty agrees to at least look at the cat at the shelter and when she does she decides she’ll take him. However, when she gets him home he acts a bit un-catlike. When she falls in love with him and he turns into a human she finds out he was cursed with a spell by a bad wizard. However, by turning Justin back to human Letty is now the target of the nasty wizard and her comfy life is about to turn upside down.

I have to say how much I enjoyed this book. The creatures that inhabit this world are many and varied from vampires and shifters to the Fae and tons in between. They live alongside humans, going about their own lives and trying to stay out of the spotlight and instead of fighting with each other as in most stories, they all basically get along since their common goal is to fly below the human radar. The story is told from Letty’s POV, but it’s like she’s talking to you. Almost like reading her diary, but not. It’s a bit different than I’ve seen before and yet not a bad read. Other than being a bit too brief in description at certain times and Letty’s fascination with the idiot Justin was irritating for awhile, I have to say I really enjoyed it and had a hard time putting it down. The ending is left open for expansion on Letty’s training and what she’s capable of and I hope this series continues for some time. I look forward to getting in her head again.

Title ~ Gape

Author ~ Aiden Truss

Publisher ~ Sirens Call Publications

Published ~ 16 August 2013

Genre ~ Fantasy/Paranormal

My Rating ~ 3 bites and a nibble out of 5

Rose, a human, and Priest, a demon, are two unlikely companions, but Priest is having some sort of mid-life crisis even though he’s thousands of years old and Rose intrigues him. When she dies homeless in a shop doorway he takes her to his hideaway between places and that’s when things get really interesting.

I’m not sure exactly what I thought when I picked up this book, maybe an interesting new paranormal adventure or something along those lines. While it was that, it was also more. This is a book that is a bit beyond me in terms of philosophical and existential viewpoints and really big words that made me get out a dictionary, something I haven’t had to do in donkey’s years. Not necessarily a bad thing, but at this point in my life I just want to be entertained and not think too hard. This story made my head hurt at times. Now, don’t get me wrong, it’s very well-written and the main characters, for the most part, are complex and intriguing even if their actions are sometimes not so complex. And once I got past the heavy reading the underlying story is a suspenseful and often times humorous read. The ending is left a bit up in the air, but I would definitely read the next installment to see what happens to Rose and Priest. Though I’d take ibuprofen first, just in case of imminent headache. *winks*

Time Turner Tuesday ~ Freedom's Choice

Title ~ Freedom's Choice

Series ~ Catteni, #2

Author ~ Anne McCaffrey

Publisher ~ Putnam Books

Published ~ 1 January 1997

Genre ~ Sci-Fi

*Book source ~ My home library.

My Rating ~ 4 bites and a nibble out of 5

In Freedom’s Landing after Kris Bjornson, Zainal, Chuck Mitford and hundreds of others had been dropped on a distant planet to colonize it for the Catteni they discovered it was inhabited by automated machines farming the land. Taking apart the machines to create usable items for themselves they’ve made a pretty good life for themselves.

However, they want more and need to get out from under the Catteni’s thumb. With Zainal’s help they intend to strike back at the Catteni and in doing so strike at the Eosi who have controlled the Catteni for two thousand years. With some strategic planning and a lot of luck they intend to free the Catteni and Earth from Eosi domination.

This story picks up where Freedom’s Landing left off. A probe has been sent to the whoever farms Botany and Zainal has made it plain to the Emassi who came to retrieve him that he was dropped and he will stay. Since he has refused to return and face his duty, his brother must take his place and be subsumed by an Eosi Mentat. The towering hatred Lenvec feels for Zainal intrigues the Eosi named Ix and soon Ix is consumed with the curiosity about the  planet Botany and finding Zainal. Since it is quite unusual for an Eosi Mentat to become obsessed this behave starts to draw the attention of other Eosi.

In the meantime, the Botanists are setting up a three stage plan to free themselves from the Eosi and the Farmers of the planet help protect them from attack by encasing the planet in a protective Bubble after they have acquired a scout ship and a cargo ship. The Botantists are allowed to go in and out of the Bubble, but nothing else is allowed in. Since the Farmers live according to the ‘Do no harm.’ rule, the Bubble is the extent of their help.

There is so much going on in this book that it’s hard to know where to start. Zainal’s refusal to leave, Lenvec’s subsumption by Ix, exploring Botany, a visit by the Farmers, several more slave drops on Botany by the Catteni increasing their population by thousands, a raid on Barevi, building homes, having children, adding one more ship to the fleet and planning how to stop the Eosi make for a jam-packed book. Even with everything going on the story flows along smoothly and at a good clip. I love watching it all come together and look forward to the next book to see how it’s all going to play out.

Time Turner Tuesday ~ Freedom's Landing

Title ~ Freedom's Landing

Series ~ Catteni, #1

Author ~ Anne McCaffrey

Publisher ~ Ace/Putnam

Published ~ 24 May 1995

Genre ~ Sci-Fi

*Book source ~ My home library.

My Rating ~ 5 bites out of 5

Kris Bjornsen was going about her day at Denver University when the Catteni attacked Earth. Scooping up citizens by the thousands from 50 cities around the world the Catteni ships took their new slaves to Barevi, a planet used by the Catteni for R&R and a depot for their purloined goods from around the galaxy. Kris manages to escape her new ‘master’ and is hiding out in the wilds of Barevi when a chance encounter with Zainal, an Emassi (or high ranking Catteni), changes her life yet again. Gassed during a riot she and Zainal are dumped onto an empty world the Catteni have chosen for the aliens to colonize. Terrans make up the largest group, but there are also Deski, Rugarians, Turs and Ilginish. Fortunately for them, they have Zainal who knows a little bit about the initial survey of the planet. Unfortunately for Zainal, no one likes Catteni and there’s a large consensus to kill him. Chuck Mitford, a retired Marine, takes charge of the motley crew and makes a command decision to keep Zainal alive. For now. With only knives, hatchets, blankets and ration bars, they have to work together to survive on an alien planet.

I love, love, love this book. There’s something about survival books I really like and I think it’s because I put myself into that situation and wonder how well I’d do. But this isn’t just any old survival situation on Earth where you can hope to eventually find civilization. Cell phones, a grocery store, a bed, hot water, a toothbrush. Forget it. This is an alien planet. Completely unknown. What is safe to eat? What will kill me? Are there dangerous animals? Is there shelter? What kind of weather is to be expected and how long are the days? Or nights? Back to basics in a way that’s hard to do on Earth anymore.  

I’ve read this book (and the whole series) several times over the years and I’ve enjoyed it each and every time. So much to do and so much to explore with people and aliens who are strangers. The book mostly follows Kris as she survives on the planet they name Bounty and once again it kept me enthralled the whole time. The world is unique, the writing is wonderful and I love the characters. There is action, mystery, humor and even romance. All-in-all an excellent sci-fi adventure.