Tag Archives: sci-fi

sunset

Book Review of Arshad Ahsanuddin’s Sunset (Pact Arcanum, #1)

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I grabbed Arshad Ahsanuddin’s Sunset (Pact Arcanum, #1) off of the KDP list.

Description from Goodreads:

By Day

Los Angeles, 2040. When the terrorist known as Medusa threatens to kill millions with a stolen nuclear bomb, Nick Jameson makes a fateful decision. He reveals himself on global television as a Daywalker – a vampire with a soul. To save Los Angeles, Nick exposes not only his own gifts but three separate cultures based on millennia-old magic.

By Night

The three metahuman races exist in careful balance, working to maintain a fragile peace. Nick and his fellow Daywalkers successfully master their natural bloodlust. The Sentinels, armed with both magic and steel, repress their warlike instincts. And even some Nightwalkers, normally their natural enemies, have deserted the Court of Shadows to join the triple alliance. Nick Jameson is deeply involved with two such Nightwalkers – handsome Lorcan and powerful Rory. Both men love Nick. But neither can protect the new Ambassador to Humanity from the events he has set in motion.

By the Sword

Jeremy Harkness was lured into Medusa’s service under false pretenses. A loner with no one and nothing to cling to, he was willing to die for his cause. But the night Medusa tried to obliterate Los Angeles, Jeremy met Nick Jameson, triggering the onset of his own psychic gifts. For Jeremy is the third race of metahuman, a Sentinel, born to kill the Nightwalkers with no quarter asked or offered. And neither Medusa nor the Court of Shadows will settle for peace when they can make war

Slightly spoilerish Review:

I don’t know that I’ve ever read anything quite like Ahsanuddin’s Sunset. It presents an extremely structured and well thought out metahuman society that lives alongside a future humanity. Honestly, I thought it was just a little too magically and scientifically advanced, but I was willing to suspend my disbelief for the sake of the fantasy. I’m so glad I did, because it was a lot of fun. I adored the characters. There was a lot of witty repartee that made me laugh, the fight scenes were tight and the adventure kept me on the edge of my seat.

What I find so unusual, however, is that I think it reads a lot like a series of interconnected vignettes. It’s not mind you, but with all of the temporal back and forth it feel that way…like watching the frames of a film go by slow enough to see each one. Snick, a new scene…snick, another one…snick, and another one. They all relate and move the story forward, but not in a smooth continuous flow. There are gaps between each one. This isn’t a criticism, just a comment on the stylised framework of the book. It works well, but is different. Once I was used to it I enjoyed it. I do think some of the characters’ depth is lost though. Important events are referred to, but as the story doesn’t cover a continuous stream from time A to time B they aren’t all relayed to the reader. Like the fact that Nick fought 47 duels to protect Jeremy and his honour, for example. It is discussed after the fact, but not shown. As a result I was really taken by surprise by Nick’s passionate desire to protect Jeremy. He had been off doing things that would have made that apparent, but the reader doesn’t know about it.

Similarly there are a number of details that make up the characters but are not particularly explored. A number of them appeared to have been quite famous in the humane world, but we don’t really know anything about that. Nick’s drug dependency could have been a big deal, but is glossed over. Prior to the events of this story Nick was apparently tortured horridly as well as suffered from a rare and extremely painful disorder that prompts him to seek out others of the same affliction. We know almost nothing of these things other than that they happened. Now, it’s a longish series, maybe some of this will be addressed in future books. I don’t know. But I was left wishing they had been been further explained. Of course, that would have made for a very long book.

All in all I really did enjoy it. It is well crafted (especially the world-building), entertaining, and enjoyable. What more could you ask for?

Hearing the Ankou's Cart

Book Review of J. Allan Anderson’s Hearing the Ankou’s Cart

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I picked up Hearing the Ankou’s Cart from the Amazon KDP list.

Description from Goodreads:
Is a second chance to live merely a second chance to die?

Pilot First Class Sybilla Koenraad believes so. During a disastrous rescue operation on Venus, she had been killed by the planet’s brutally hostile atmosphere, but Commander Galatin Forbes refused to let death keep her. Now her life has veered off onto a course she never chose, taking her to places she never thought of going. From her bizarre ‘captivity’ in a Russian dacha, to a frontier star system, and beyond to the farthest reach of Human exploration, she feels fate itself plotting to throw her back into death’s hungry grip. This time, however, she doubts even the resourceful and unconventional Commander Forbes will be able to save her.

For the message rings clear, over and over, within her nightmares turned strange by forces she does not understand: “Turn back from the star. Death awaits”.

Review:

Hearing the Ankou’s Cart is an awesome read if you like futuristic, space-based Sci-Fi. It is full of bright, full-blooded characters, human drama, Machiavellian corporate governments, mysterious enemies with questionable intents, and well thought out tech. I especially enjoyed this last aspect. It was easy to visualise how things worked. 

Galant’s puppy-dog style over protectiveness was only improved by his ceaseless bravery. My heart went out to him more times than I could count. I also share a bit of his fear/respect of Murphy and could readily relate to this facet of his personality. The last thing I want is for my life to get too interesting. This is actually a bit of a mantra in my household. 

Sybilla, on the other hand, often berated herself for cowardice I never saw. While she had almost no people skills she had enough courage and dogged determination to get things done…no matter how many times, or how badly she screwed them up the first time. I completely respect that. Her mangled English gave her a definite character trait, but it also left her feeling a little child-like. 

I did feel like the book wrapped up a little too quickly and left a little too much opening in the end. I could easily see there being a follow-up in some distant future, though it is certainly a stand alone book. I highly recommend it. 

I read it in ebook format and had a lot of trouble with the book itself. Roughly every third page (sometimes more frequently) it jumped to the end of the book or to some random future page. It was a lot like having someone constantly loosing your place for you. It got really frustrating. Unsure if the problem was with the book, Amazon, or my actual device I went to far as to cold boot my kindle and twice delete the book and downloaded it fresh from Amazon in an attempt to fix the problem. I never managed for revolve the issue. I just made a point to always know my page/location. This definitely detracted from the reading experience. But the fact that I persevered despite the challenge of constantly having to relocate my page speaks volumes for the quality of the story. I wanted to know what happened no matter what. I even went to far as to track down a prequel short story (Hellblazer) to garner a little more insight into the characters and story. 

Book Review of Marie Harte’s Tip of the Spear

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I grabbed Marie Harte‘s novel, Tip of the Spear from the Amazon KDP free list recently. Who wouldn’t want to read something called an Amazon Western? It could have been anything and I was intrigued from the get go.

Description from Goodreads:

After people polluted the planet beyond recognition, the sky rocks came and reduced the world to rubble. Yet mankind refused to die, and the world was reborn. Welcome to the New West, where the Nature Laws rule.

1. Procreation is necessary, not optional
2. Women are a precious commodity
3. Harm the earth, lose your life
4. If it can eat you, it will

Welcome to the New West, where the Nature Laws dictate who lives and dies by the way they treat the land, carnivorous horses and blood trees are accepted mutations courtesy of the sky rocks, and the Impact Zone separates the earth-friendly territories of the West from a more sophisticated, steam-powered East. Women are rare commodities, living in extended families with more than one husband, and children are a necessity in a world where sterility is often the norm, not the exception. Life is full of challenge, romance and adventure. Something one courageous, wounded Amazon will find out first-hand.

Thais (Tay-iss) lost her mother, her queen, and most of her tribe at the hands of brutal foreigners, all while she enjoyed a respite from duty. But the young Amazon with vengeance in her heart refuses to lose anything else. She’ll bring back the queen’s stolen crown or die trying. Life in the Territories has its perils: the Nature Laws, carnivorous beasts, and treacherous men who survived the Time of Dying. One man in particular, a warrior in his own right, has an odd effect on her senses. She comes to desire him, to trust him, and she doesn’t like it. Men are good for war and breeding, neither of which Thais has time for, not when she’s so close to finding those responsible for the crown’s theft. In the course of her quest, Thais finds much more than atonement for her troubled past, but a pure and lasting love, if only she has the courage to accept it.

Review:

I’m really torn about how I feel about this book. On one hand I really liked the story and the characters. Thais was strong and independent. I loved every one of the Dakota clan and the bad guys were all suitably evil in their own unique ways. I even appreciated the dystopian world building that Harte did. The environment was distorted and appropriately foreign, while still being geographically recognisable.

However, on the other hand, I had a really hard time actually reading the book. I’m not a prude and I like a smouldering sex scene as well as the next reader. Hell, that’s why I picked up a book by Harte in the first place. But while I get that this is a predominantly male, post-apocalyptic culture and language may have taken a resultant nose dive, the language in the book is really coarse. I mean like “I want to fuck you,” “fill you pussy,” “pound your cunt,” kind of crude (even when speaking to women who are apparently adored). What one likes or dislikes is, of course, an individual preference. For me this was not sexy, not sexy at all. It grated on my nerves endlessly that a strong Amazonian woman would allow herself to be spoken to in such a degrading manner, even if she didn’t really know any better.

Further, before reading the book, the synopsis’ rule number 2 (Women are a precious commodity.) made me think women might have a respected place in this society. That’s actually a large part of why I chose to read the book now instead of letting it rest in the TBR list. I was disappointed. They were almost exclusively raped, shared, or whored. Unfortunately rule number 1 (Procreation is necessary, not optional.) might better read, sex is necessary, not optional. Women really didn’t have a choice in the matter. Every single one of them felt like a sexual victim.

Now, there was plenty of sex to be had here, but there was plot too. So while I was uncomfortable with Hinto’s language and the treatment of women in general there was quite a lot I liked about this book too. Hinto, was pretty darned sexy (pending he kept his mouth shut). He was big, strong, talented, kind, honorable, and falling hard for the girl whose independence he respected (even as his actions sought to hobble her). His internal dialogue as he tried to come to terms with his own complicated feelings for Thais were the best part of the book, followed closely by his interactions with his family. I also liked Beast a lot. You wouldn’t expect a ‘horse’ to have much of a role to play, but he did.

There was a general theme of loyalty and the importance of honour and duty. This is something I always enjoy in a book. Tip of the Spear didn’t disappoint in this regard. Those who were honourable took their responsibilities seriously. How could you ever fault someone for that? This extended to the importance of bearing children. I liked that the men were all really excited about the thought of fostering offspring. Sexy daddies…yum. 

I wish the next book (Bite of the Blade) was out. I’d give it a read. Once I’ve walked away from the series, however, I seriously doubt I’ll ever remember to look for it again. Oh well, my loss I guess.