Tag Archives: science fiction

Intergalactic Exterminators

Book Review: Intergalactic Exterminators, Inc, by Ash Bishop

I accepted a review copy of Intergalactic Exterminators, Inc. by Ash Bishop through Turn the Page Tours. It was also featured over on Sadie’s Spotlight.

intergalactic exterminators inc

Finding work is easy. Staying alive is a little bit harder.

When Russ Wesley finds an unusual artifact in his grandfather’s collection of rare antiquities, the last thing he expects is for it to draw the attention of a ferocious alien from a distant planet. Equally surprising is the adventurous team of intergalactic exterminators dispatched to deal with the alien threat. They’re a little wild, and a little reckless. Worse yet, they’re so impressed with Russ’s marksmanship that they insist he join their squad . . . whether he wants to or not.


my review

As is so often the case with books I neither love nor hate, I had mixed feelings about this book. It started off really strong. I was interested in the characters and the emerging plot—real what will happen next territory. Unfortunately, the book quickly lost that initial burst of energy.

Instead of Russ going to space and having the adventure I was hoping for, the book spends quite a lot of time diddling its thumbs with earth-side drama. Then, once he (and Nina) finally make it to space, there’s no single, coherent plot to follow. Instead, there’s a series of episodic mini-adventures that wash and repeat until the book ends…and I can see it picking right back up with more of the same, too.

intergalactic exterminatorsNow, the writing is pretty good, and I think Bishop managed to avoid some of the most common action-hero pitfalls. Not every female in the book threw herself at him, for example. (There was one moment I thought Bishop was going in that direction, and I got cranky about it. But I was given a reprieve from having to read another such scene, thankfully.)

All in all, I’ll call this a middle of the road (for me) read, with the caveat that I bet it will find it’s audience and do well.


Other Reviews:

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Book Review: Civil War, by TC Marti

I accepted a review copy of TC Marti‘s Civil War as part of its book tour with Love Book Tours.
Civil War cover

I was Culled at age five into the Bastille Military, the World of Rondure’s superpower…

…Having lived on-base for thirteen years, military life taught me two things: Mastery of the Smoke Element and to never apologize about using it on enemies

Now that I’m awaiting a sure death sentence for the crime of exposing Bastille’s true crimes, they’ve left me with no choice. When they try to extradite me, I will call upon my Sword of Smoke and escape this predicament, using every combat technique they taught me against them.

Then, I’ll take it upon myself to finish a mission I started years ago; to unplug the People of Bastille and let them know who the real enemy is: their home nation and its Capital City of Paramount.

As I go rogue, every authority figure with money, power, and influence in the Bastille Empire will want me dead. Thanks to them, I’m one of the most powerful Smoke Masters in the World of Rondure. And I’m ready to break the spell the people of my nation have lived under for over a century.

my review

*Sigh* If you’ve read very many of my reviews then you know that one of the things I complain about most frequently is picking up a book labeled as ‘Book 1’ and discovering that it’s actually a spin-off of another series and not really a first book. Civil War is just one more such book (the third series in its universe, as far as I can tell) and I was completely lost for darned near the whole book.

This makes reviewing it difficult. Because I’m not sure how much more of the plot, characters, world, etc I would have understood and been invested in (or not) if I had read the previous books. I can’t know, for example, if this book honestly just has really weak world-building (and erratic plotting)—it does—or if the author simply deemed it unnecessary because I’m just supposed to already know the world(s), factions, religions, even some of the characters, etc—I don’t. But as it stands, I didn’t enjoy my time with Civil War.

The writing is pedestrian but perfectly readable. The editing seems pretty clean. I like the cover. But beyond that, too much really hinges on the fact that I don’t think it stands alone, and I read it as a stand-alone.

I suppose this is an unconventional ‘review.’ But it’s the best I can do and stay remotely positive….neutral-ish.civil war photo


Other Reviews:

Civil War: Chronicles of Rondure: Book I

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Book Review – The Intra-Earth Chronicles: The Two Sisters, by Kara Jacobson

Last month The Intra-Earth Chronicles: The Two Sisters, by Kara Jacobson was featured over on Sadie’s Spotlight. Honestly, being Middle Grade I wouldn’t normally have chosen to feature it, but I just loved the cover so much I made an exception for it. I went through the same thought process when I chose to enter the giveaway to win a copy. And guess what, I did.

two sisters cover

In the year 2444, two noble sisters, Sasha (15) and Adrianne (11), have survived a nuclear fallout, only to be torn apart.

The ground splits open and Adrianne is thrown from her horse, plummeting into the ravine. Spurned on by the hope that Adrianne lives, Sasha embarks on a journey through the desert to face the ravine that claimed her only sister. Meanwhile, deep within the earth, Adrianne is running for her life. She took something that did not belong to her.

In The Intra-Earth Chronicles; Book I: The Two Sisters by Kara Jacobson we experience a fast-paced fantasy adventure woven within the earth, and the unshakeable bond between two sisters.

my review

I have to preface this review by saying that I don’t read a lot of children’s fantasy or middle grade books, now that my own children are a bit older. And I find them hard to review. Because, while I obviously know I can’t judge them by adult standards, it’s difficult to know where the line between ‘this is written age appropriately’ and ‘this is just awkwardly written’ sits.

In the most general terms, I enjoyed this. I liked the strong bond between the sisters, that the world is colorful and diverse, and the story-line. However, I also thought things progressed so quickly that it was often jarring and the dialogue was quite stilted. Also, while, I wasn’t looking for editing mistakes, I did notice a few. Notably a homophone (lay/lei) and an extra ‘a’ in a sentence on page one. But honestly, there weren’t enough to do more than mention it. I can’t imagine children will notice, after all.

All in all, I’d call this a middle of the road read for me, with the caveat that I’m not usually a MG reader/reviewer.

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Other Reviews:

https://ramblingmads.com/2022/04/20/blog-tour-the-intra-earth-chronicles-book-one-the-two-sisters-kara-jacobson/

https://daleydowning.wordpress.com/2022/04/22/blog-tour-the-intra-earth-chronicles-book-1-the-two-sisters/

The Two Sisters