Review: Hûw Steer's 'Ad Luna' brilliantly reimagines the first science fiction story

Title: Ad Luna

Author: Hûw Steer

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 424

Published: July 4 2020

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What Goodreads has to say:

The Moon is on the brink of war.

Alexander Dio, an officer of the Vulture Dragoons, flies in defense of the Lunar people against the monstrous armies of the Sun. He is ready for war - or at least he thinks he is.

But when Dio's patrol finds a crashed ship out in the Sea of Tranquility, his life is turned upside-down. Because the ship is not from the Moon, and its captain is unlike anyone he's ever known.

His name is Lucian, and he comes from the Earth.

Based on the ancient Greek story by Lucian of Samosata, this epic voyage of discovery goes back to the very beginning of science-fiction.

What I have to say:

Back in the second century AD, this Greek guy named Lucian of Samosata wrote an outlandish story about a trip to the moon. 

OK, so he wasn't just some Greek guy. He was a pretty cool dude who was also a scholar, politician, teacher, and first-class satirist.

He wrote A True History to poke fun at historians and travel-writers who would write "true," in-depth accounts of places they'd never visited. To one-up them, Lucian wrote a story about his voyage to mythical islands, the sun, moon, and stars. In doing so, he unwittingly created the first science fiction story.

Hûw Steer, author of The Blackbird and the Ghost, admits to wishing Lucian's book was a little longer. (It's only 53 pages). So, as you do, he wrote his own, longer version.

And folks. It. Is. Epic.

Imagine battles atop giant three-headed vultures, fire-creatures who live in the heart of the sun, and massive space spiders that spin new worlds, and you'll have a little bit of an idea how awesome Hûw Steer's imagination is. 

Couple that with engaging characters, weighty dilemmas, and a great prose style, and you might see why I enjoyed this book so much.

Let's be honest, though. I also liked it because it combined three of my all-time loves: classic lit, Greek stuff, and space. 

Our main character is Dio, a young lieutenant in the army of Lord Endymion, ruler of the moon. The enemy is Phaethon, ruler of the sun and its race of Solars. Both the Solars and the Lunars (Endymion's race of moon-dwellers) are bent on settling the Morning Star, and the result is a long-standing war between the two peoples. 

Things get more complicated when a guy named Lucian of Samosata (hey) shows up with a ship of earth-dwellers who've accidentally landed on the moon. Now, Dio has to balance fighting for his people with entertaining a group of alien tourists. 

From there, there's intense battles between the Solars and Lunars, a fiery prison located on the sun, and a lot of tense, life-or-death negotiating. It's a ride. (Like, one day I just camped out in my yard and read this book for several hours until I finished it, because I couldn't stop.)

I haven't actually read A True History (now on my to-read list), so I can't say how the two stack up or how faithful Ad Luna is to the original. It's certainly an interesting thought experiment to see things like centaurs, dryads (or something similar, anyway), and mythical spiders translated into the medium of space. 

It's equally intriguing to see how Greco-Roman hot button topics like slavery play out on alien planets, and it's fun to think about the mythical Endymion becoming Lord of the moon and leading a whole race of alien people when, according to the Greeks, he's just locked in eternal slumber.

In the end, I'll fall back on what Lucian tells Dio when the latter remarks that neither of their races will believe the stories they tell: 

"It does not matter. Whether a good story is true or not, it is still a good story."

Since this is a heck of a good story, I think Lucian of Samosata would approve.

Rating:

Until tomorrow.

A gritty sci-fi thriller: Review of 'Dust and Lightning' by Rebecca Crunden

Title: Dust and Lightning

Author: Rebecca Crunden

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 121

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What Goodreads has to say:

In the near future, humans have gone beyond simple space travel. By the year 4054, multiple solar systems are inhabited, and taking a spaceship is as commonplace as taking an aeroplane.

Unfortunately, not everything about the future is so advanced. The central planets, led by Earth, have risen high at the expense of cheap labour on distant worlds. Dissent is widespread and arrests are common. Sometimes prisoners are released; sometimes they disappear without a trace, sent to labour camps in other solar systems.

When Ames Emerys receives a letter telling him that his brother Callum has died en route to the remote planet of Kilnin, he takes the first ship he can off Earth, desperate for answers. But the secrets Ames uncovers prove far more dangerous than he could have imagined.

And trouble isn’t far behind. 

What I have to say:

Dust and Lightning was a fun read that kept me engaged and guessing right up to the end. The characters are sympathetic, the settings exciting, and the action non-stop. 

From the very first sentence, I was intrigued. A man stands on a platform waiting for a space shuttle to arrive. But he's a mysterious figure and it's obvious he's on his guard. He's ready to spring up and run at the first sight of danger--and he fully expects danger to follow him.

The man's name is Ames Emerys, and it turns out he's searching for his missing brother--someone who wouldn't hurt a fly but has somehow got on the tyrannical government's bad side and been arrested, deported, then declared dead. 

Aboard the space shuttle, Ames meets Violet--a lawyer who's surprisingly eager to stick it to the government and join him on a quest that will take them to unforgiving climates and strictly off-limit prisons. In other words, she's boss.

I really enjoyed the action and the world-building of this story. The pacing was relentless in a good way: hardly were the heroes out of one scrape when they found themselves in another, and every time they thought they were safe, government agents would descend on them again. 

There are also some cool sci-fi concepts in this story. Without giving any spoilers, I'll just say I'm definitely a fan of Stranger Things vibes. 

Having said all that, I'm handing out three trees for this story that was well-written and well-paced, but maybe could use a little more fleshing out and polishing. Or, it could just be that I tend to steer clear of stories this gritty and gory, and/or that at this point I'm just a little tired of futuristic dystopian stories that all feel like they run along the same basic plot lines. That's not a reflection on the author, it's just a matter of taste. (And to be fair, I was warned in advance about the gore and it really wasn't that terrible.)

Regardless, Dust and Lightning is a fun, action-packed read that I think fans of gritty sci-fi thrillers will appreciate.

Rating:

Until tomorrow.

Spellbinding short stories in 'Voyagers: The Third Ghost'

Title: Voyagers: The Third Ghost

Authors: 

Louise MacBeath Barbour 

Roland Clarke 

Bish Denham 

Rebecca M. Douglass

Sherry Ellis 

Katharina Gerlach 

Charles Kowalski 

Beth Anderson Schuck

Yvonne Ventresca

L.T. Ward

Genre: Short stories (historical fiction, fantasy, mystery)

Pages: 168 

Buy Voyagers: The Third Ghost

What Goodreads has to say:

Journey into the past…

Will the third ghost be found before fires take more lives? Can everyone be warned before Pompeii is buried again? What happens if a blizzard traps a family in East Germany? Will the Firebird help Soviet sisters outwit evil during WWII? And sneaking off to see the first aeroplane – what could go wrong?

Ten authors explore the past, sending their young protagonists on harrowing adventures. Featuring the talents of Yvonne Ventresca, Katharina Gerlach, Roland Clarke, Sherry Ellis, Rebecca M. Douglass, Bish Denham, Charles Kowalski, Louise MacBeath Barbour, Beth Anderson Schuck, and L.T. Ward.

Hand-picked by a panel of agents, authors, and editors, these ten tales will take readers on a voyage of wonder into history. Get ready for an exciting ride!

What I have to say:

What do slave ships, ghosts, time travel, Pompeii, WWII, aeroplanes, and the Iron Curtain have in common? 

They all appear in this absolutely fantastic collection of short stories by the Insecure Writer's Support Group. 

"Voyagers" is an appropriate title for this collection, since most of the stories involve a journey of some kind. A journey across the sea. A journey across the border. A journey back in time. A journey to the afterlife.

But they're not just physical journeys. These are journeys away from innocence, away from safety, toward understanding, toward acceptance, toward redemption.

The genres vary, but for the most part these are works of historical fiction. Thus, there's a story about a young boy traveling aboard a slave ship to meet his father, a story about a Ukrainian girl whose sister flies with the Night Witches (an all-female bomber regiment in WWII), and a story about a family who tries to cross the Iron Curtain to spend the holidays with family. 

But many of these stories have a little something else thrown in. Thus, there's a story about two travelers who encounter a Yamamba (a mythical Japanese creature) in the mountains, a story about a young orchardist who talks to trees, and a story about a boy in the 1980s who keeps seeing ghosts.

By turns intriguing, gripping, funny, and poignant--these are masterfully told stories by a first-rate group of writers. Their imaginative powers put me through the whole spectrum of emotions: 

• Shivers ("The Third Ghost", "Simon Grey and The Yamamba")
• Amusement ("The Ghosts of Pompeii," "Dare, Double Dare")
• Horror ("The Blind Ship")
• Awe ("Return to Cahokia")
• Joy ("The Orchard")
• Suspense ("A World of Trouble")
• Tears ("Feathered Fire," "Winter Days")

A shout-out to those last two, which I found unexpectedly moving--especially "Feathered Fire." The story of a Ukrainian girl reunited with her sister, interwoven with the Russian legend of The Firebird, was absolutely beautiful and a masterclass in storytelling.

And I can't resist a final shout-out to "Return to Cahokia." This story of the Native American weather gods returning to their summer home was unique and powerful in its imagery. I enjoyed reveling in the vivid, richly woven world the author has created.

In short, this is a great collection of short pieces that are fun to read but lend themselves to pondering. A hearty round of applause to all the authors who contributed to this spellbinding tapestry of stories.

Rating:

Until tomorrow.

The Bookish Hero - Anay Ayarovu's "STAZR The World of Z: The Dawn of Athir"

Title: STAZR The World of Z: The Dawn of Athir

Series: STAZR The World of Z

Author: Dr. Anay Ayarovu

Publisher: Stazr

Published: February 2020

Goodreads Blurb: A strange and mystical prophecy was found in the city of Treebarad. On a piece of parchment, old long-forgotten events come back to life, the memory of which was intentionally erased. A mysterious prophecy now gives hope to the twisted ruling race that the power they seek lies behind an ancient gate. On the reverse side of the oracle are coordinates to the location of the Chosen One.

Lael is an introverted and naive writer who grew up with a book in one hand and a quill in the other. All his life, he has lived in a peaceful solitude, reading and writing his short stories and dreaming big of one day becoming a prestigious author. To his surprise and delight he must now become savior of the Stazr people and take the journey to find answers that do not exist in books.

My Thoughts: This book is a mix of high fantasy and science fiction. The lore is pretty heavy stuff and never fully explained, so prepare to be confused. Ayarovu reveals information just enough to give things names, but not enough for the reader to be able to give a full definition. In this way Stazr is as alien and backward for the reader as it would be for an actual human visitor. Even days, hours, minutes and seconds, as well as other numbers, have different names, which requires the reader to learn new words and phrases. In this way the story is quite immersive. Let's move on to the characters.

Lael is the main character and (arguably) hero of the story. I didn't like him. I don't think I was supposed to. He comes into a world he knows little about and imposes his philosophies and ideas on people and situations he has never lived through or experienced in any way, shape or form. He let's "destiny" sweep him along because he figures it will be good as a story later. He relies mostly on harsh logic and societal customs to make choices instead of feeling his way, or even reasoning. For example, he easily straight up and personally murders several people in order to fulfill a prophecy he knows little about and hardly believes in, because it makes him look good to the higher circle that he badly wants to impress. There is no effort to find a way around killing, and hardly any remorse after. This man is broken, and would fit better among robots than feeling creatures. He firmly believes "lesser creatures" (different races) were created only to serve his, and should have no other aspirations or desires than to meet every demand of a Great. Lael disgusted me.

Kharis didn't seem much better. While he seemed to dream of slight changes, he still hardly questioned any authority or societal rules even though he felt it was deeply wrong. Because of his very slight deviation from the norm he is cast out and severely punished. This society is ruled by old men (because apparently there are no women of their race??) who detest communication or compromise. There is clearly a reason they are dying out - any free thinkers are almost immediately done away with. Also disgusting.

I wasn't a huge fan of the characters, but the plot was fine until the last chapter when everything suddenly got super sexual. In a weird vision about the beginnings of their planet (I think?) Lael and another Great are witness to a human couple having sex in a forest, and then green monsters ripping limbs off of humans and raping a woman after tearing off her arm and leg, and then ripping off her jaw. Yuck. The strange sexual turn seemed fairly out of place with the rest of the story, and was fairly graphic. Double yuck. (yuck yuck). In the end I'm pretty sure Lael got his heart ripped out by a green monster, but is still oddly alive, and the group is off to make more terrible decisions.

A Note - I am fully aware that I am not the target audience for this book based on my reaction to it. My review and rating are a culmination of my character, ideals, and beliefs, and should not be seen as ill will toward any author or creator. I would've given this 2/5 trees, but because of the yucky sexual stuff at the end I'm dropping a tree.

Rating: 1/5 trees

Dreams may be overrated, but 'Enemy of the Gods' is not

Title: Enemy of the Gods

Author: C. Hofsetz

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 376 

Buy Enemy of the Gods

What Goodreads has to say:

Unbeknownst to most humans, there is a place where our consciousness drifts when we sleep. An ancient alien race of self-proclaimed “gods” calls this realm Pangea. For millennia, they needed no intervention from us. Until now.

Oblivious to the world of dreams, neuroengineer Zeon is busy being in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. But when Pangea’s deceitful “gods” contact Zeon, he has no choice but to dive headfirst into their war—a war complicated by a band of human rebels led by the last person he’d ever expect.

If the war is lost, it’ll be the downfall of Pangea—and without a world to dream in, the entire human race will die with it.

What I have to say:

Um, a sequel to the absolutely riveting, mind-bending, all-around amazing debut novel Challenges of the Gods? Does this sound like something that will automatically get a five-star rating from me? The answer is yes.

OK, let me qualify that: no book "automatically" gets a five-star rating on here. But when I heard the long-awaited sequel to Challenges of the Gods was ready to hit bookshelves (or my Kindle, I guess), I was pretty sure I'd love it, just as I'd loved the first one.

And I was not wrong.

Everything I loved about Challenges of the Gods is back: an interplanetary struggle, apocalyptic battles in a manufactured dream-sphere, last-second surprises, and of course, a wry, sarcastic narrator who's both powerful and vulnerable.

From the first chapter, I was glad to be back in the competent hands of master storyteller C. Hofsetz. He knows what he's doing, people. Well, OK, I'm not sure any of us writers exactly know what we're doing, but those of us who are successful do a really good job making it look like we know what we're doing, and Hofsetz is amazing at this. 

The story starts in an intriguing place: our hero is stuck in a sophisticated if isolated prison and several missiles are heading straight for him. Yet in this high-stakes moment, the storytelling is so great that while I'm dying to know the outcome, I'm also laughing at Zeon's witty asides, self-deprecating humor, and really smart robo-cat named Harry. (Ask me later.)

That blend of humor and high-stakes intensity sets the tone perfectly for this story. I've heard it said that The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy sometimes errs on the side of humor at the expense of story. And while whether or not I agree with that is also a topic for another time, let's just say Enemy of the Gods walks a fine line between humor and plot--and the thing is, it never loses its balance.

(Look, you knew it was only a matter of time before I mentioned Hitchhiker's Guide, right? I mean, am I wearing my Zaphod Beeblebrox for President shirt as I type this? You decide....)

On top of that, our author has done in this book what some might consider self-sabotage: telling a story that contains multiple parallel worlds. This means some characters have not one, but two or more dopplegangers from different worlds--and they are all stuck in the same dream-sphere, battling each other. 

But hands together for Hofsetz, who presents this in a way that is not only not confusing, but very entertaining and surprisingly easy to follow. I absolutely loved a certain scene where two parallel characters (John and Jonathan) are absolutely thrilled to meet each other and immediately become best friends for life, while Zeon is left shaking his head. 

Speaking of characters, they are also great. Clearly, I'm biased in favor of Zeon, main character and narrator, as I absolutely love his narratorial voice, but there are strong characters all around. Jane, Zeon's love interest, is awesome, and Primavera--a little girl with crazy supernatural abilities--is fantastic. 

Words cannot express how fun, funny, and awesome this book is, but I might as well end this here because I don't know how much longer I can just gush about this story before my readers start to roll their eyes and tell me to move on.

Rating:

Until tomorrow.

A mystery in low gravity: Frozen Secrets by Myles Christensen

Title: Frozen Secrets

Author: Myles Christensen

Series: Europa Academy (Book 1)

Genre: MG Science Fiction / Mystery

Pages: 298

Buy Frozen Secrets

What Goodreads has to say:

He has trouble following the rules on Earth, but Jupiter’s moon could kill his curiosity for good…

Thirteen-year-old Max Parker is a grounded Earthling with the soul of a space explorer. So when he learns his family is relocating to Jupiter’s moon, Europa, he readily agrees to stay out of trouble. But his promise is soon forgotten, and his snooping lands him on a shuttle doomed for a fiery disintegration.

Convinced someone sabotaged the craft to cover up the theft he witnessed, Max digs into the incident. What else could they be hiding? Dodging a series of deadly accidents, he follows the clues to an abandoned outpost and discovers a secret that could blow the lid off a moon-wide conspiracy. Can he solve the mystery before his interplanetary escapade gets him killed?

What I have to say:

A mystery in space? Sign me up!

The climax is an Iditarod race across the frozen surface of Jupiter's moon?

Even better!

From page one, I knew this was going to be a fun, action packed book. 

It starts off with two kids trying to launch an antique jetpack that they rebuilt.

In Jonathan's (one of said kids) words: "The fuel lines might leak, the combustion chamber might explode, the nozzles might shear--" 

Any number of things could go wrong, and Max (the kid strapped to the jetpack) could very likely die.

But that doesn't put Max off one bit. He has a talent (problem?) for getting into life-threatening situations. And while the jetpack adventure comes just shy of proving fatal, don't worry, because it's very probably the least life-threatening situation he'll find himself in for the rest of the book.

Getting stuck in a sabotaged shuttle, getting sealed in an underground tunnel, getting stranded in the wilderness with low oxygen levels, getting caught in a crazy car chase, getting caught by enemy spies, nearly blowing himself up in a drilling rig, jumping off a precipice--these are all in a day's work for Max Parker: super secret spy.

OK, he's not a super secret spy, he's 13, and he's probably grounded for life at this point. But he wants to be a super secret spy.

And honestly, for a frequently grounded 13-year-old, he does pretty dang well.

Max is a fun character. And his supporting cast is fun, too--from his seriously awesome older sister to his diverse group of friends and the villainous members of the Xenium League. 

I especially like Max's friend Cameron, who gets pulled into the spy adventure reluctantly and isn't fond of taking risks. (He's a rock-solid friend, though.)

And what's any young teen mystery in space without a little awkward romance? YES. Bring it on.

Oh yeah, it's a mystery. That part is fun, too. It kept me guessing as to who was on the good guys list and who was on the bad guys list. 

Did I mention it's in space? While the book starts on Earth and has a brief sojourn there in the middle, most of the action takes place in the new Europa colony on Jupiter's moon. Europa City is an awe-inspiring place that speaks to the space-happy child in me. Also....

Zero gravity is awesome. 

So basically, picture trying to solve a mystery as a 13-year-old with the fate of humanity at stake and your friends and family in danger. Then picture doing it in low gravity, on a frozen moon. That's this book. You like?

I do. I had a lot of fun solving this mystery in space. 

Well, credit where credit's due. I didn't really solve it. 

That was Max Parker: super secret space spy.

Rating:

Until tomorrow.

Guest post from Luke Melia: author of 'Give Up the White Room'

Hello readers. 

Today we're sharing a guest post from Luke Melia, author of Give Up the White Room--a novel about a puzzle-solving young woman who struggles with agoraphobia and OCD.

Enjoy!

‘Talk me through the plan’
Portraying mental health in my novel Give Up the White Room  

Give Up the White Room is my first novel. Prior to publishing it in 2019, I had only written comic books, so a piece of long-form prose presented quite the challenge. On top of that, I chose to write about some difficult themes, as my protagonist Reya struggles with both agoraphobia and obsessive-compulsive disorder. 

I portray these mental health issues in writing through Reya’s first-person narrative. As the reader, you see events from her perspective and, through her inner monologue, get a sense of how she processes the world around her. Reya uses her natural gift for solving puzzles as a way to approach her mental health. 

This is where Ivan comes in. Ivan is an essential character in the novel, maybe as important as Reya herself – in a sense because he is Reya herself. Ivan doesn’t exist – he’s a therapist Reya consciously creates as a way to self-medicate. She sees her mental health issues as a puzzle, and Ivan is part of the solution.

When we first meet Reya, she and Ivan are working on a plan to build her confidence to a point where she can leave the house, walk to a local shop, buy milk and come home. This might sound like the simplest of tasks, but for someone suffering from extreme agoraphobia, it presents a monumental challenge.

‘Talk me through the plan’ is the second chapter of the novel and consists of a dense conversation between Reya and Ivan, during which I explore the meticulous extent to which she has to plan even the most basic activities. My aim was to give an insight into the depths of her mental illness and explore just how crippling agoraphobia and OCD can be. I was very conscious, though, that if I didn’t write it well it could easily come off as a boring slog in which a woman talks to herself for several pages about going to buy milk!

This chapter is so important to me as it shows how Reya thinks, how she plans, and how she perceives the world in a different way to most people. It’s key that the reader understands this early on so that later in the narrative the decisions she makes and the ways in which she approaches people all make sense.

Reya knows that Ivan isn’t real. She explains why she created him, and how it was a conscious decision to do so. From that moment on, I wanted the reader to see Ivan the same way that Reya does – as a separate entity. His purpose is to challenge Reya’s thought processes, so the two of them are able to look at the same situation from different perspectives. Reya’s is one of fear and emotion, whilst Ivan can take a colder, more methodical view.

As Reya’s therapist, Ivan insists on a level of professionalism in their relationship. However, he is the only ‘person’ with which Reya has conversed for the past six years due to her reclusive lifestyle – at times, their relationship slips into friendship, sometimes with Ivan even acting as something of a parental figure.

In establishing these elements of the story, hopefully I’ve written a chapter in which the two of them discussing the plan to go and buy milk is interesting, thought-provoking and an authentic but sensitive look at how Reya struggles with her illness.

Of course, this is only the beginning… when her plan goes awry, Reya retreats to the safety of her home, and that night when she sleeps discovers a boundless and magical place called the ‘shared Dreamspace’. There she can bring to life anything she imagines and has the opportunity for the first time in six years to talk to, connect and form relationships with a group of fascinating and eccentric individuals from around the world.

Reya and Ivan’s relationship grows increasingly strained as Reya becomes obsessed with this ‘White Room’, which Ivan does not believe exists… but if you want to know more about that, you’ll have to read the rest of the book!

Eager for more? Read Give up the White Room.

Happy reading,
Erin & Anna

I want furniture that rearranges itself: review of Daniel McMillan's Eve of Ascension

Title: Eve of Ascension

Series: The Fall of the Ascendancy (Book 1)

Author: Daniel McMillan

Genre: Science Fiction / Dystopian

Pages: 270

Buy Eve of Ascension

What Goodreads has to say:

LIFE IN THE ASCENDANCY WAS NOT ALL THAT IT APPEARED...

When an attempt at establishing a World Government seems destined to fail, the global elite seek refuge on a space station and crash an asteroid into the Earth to "bring the population down to a more manageable level".

Once the world was sufficiently healed from the Cataclysm, the elite reappeared and established The Ascendancy. They offered refuge in twelve new cities around the globe - all survivors had to do in exchange was give everything they could for the betterment of the government.

Baxter Clarke grew up in the city of Enswell, enjoying the highest comforts the Ascendancy provided thanks to his brilliant father's contributions.

But when Baxter discovers a connection that upsets the balance he has been familiar with all his life, he finds himself in a situation he never dreamed possible.

Now, with the fate of the Ascended attached to a device stolen from a government agency, he will have to run for his life and leave the city to save his people and rise to be the man he was meant to be.

What I have to say:

This book has fascinating concepts and super interesting characters. There's furniture that rearranges itself when you're having company over (like why have we not invented this yet in the real world, it would make life so much easier?) and makeup that adjusts automatically when the lighting changes or even better, when the person wearing it cries. (Seriously, we need this now, ok?)

The idea of an ascending order of cities is also interesting: most people start out in the outer cities, and as they advance socially, they're moved up into the inner cities. It can take generations for a family to move from one city to another, and if you screw up your chances, forget it.

Meanwhile, the Sylvans live outside the city, frustrating the Ascendancy (the central government) whenever they can, keeping hope of the resistance alive no matter the cost.

Right away, I was hooked: a rebel fighter was surrounded by deadly robots in a jungle, and his chances didn't look good. The story got off to a bang.

Then I was mesmerized by the two different spheres: the city-life of Baxter and his friends, plush with the latest technology and controlled by the government at every turn; and the rugged life of Raishann and her family, who live in much more humble circumstances but consider themselves free in a way the city people aren't. They even speak differently, using slang rather than highly polished, almost manneristic phrases.

So in the categories of freaking cool concepts, solid world-building, and really awesome, diverse characters (marry me, Laena), this book scores top marks.

But I had a problem with its style, and that kept me from giving it top marks all around. I'm a writer myself and a critic, so it could be that I just have a nitpicky disposition. I also enjoy thinking about how I would rewrite a book/play/movie to make it better. It's one of my favorite past-times.

If I were rewriting this book, I'd use a lot more active voice and follow the time-honored "show don't tell" rule. There were a lot of passages that read along the lines of: "Lila asked him what was on his mind and Baxter said that he wanted to go to the store, Lila agreed with him but pointed out that it was late, which caused Baxter to feel guilty and say they could go tomorrow."

Why tell us what the characters are saying? Why can't they just, like, say it?

Other times, we'd be told what a character was thinking when it would have been more effective to show us what they were thinking by the way they acted or by something they said.

I feel like this got in the way of character development and made it hard for us to get truly attached to the characters--which is sad because the author has put together a stellar cast here. There are some really interesting personalities and wide-ranging perspectives. So yeah.

At the end of the day, great story, fun characters, just needs some polishing up in the writing department. That's something that's easily overcome, and as the ideas and concepts are still super cool, I'm excited to see what this author gets up to next.

Rating:

Until tomorrow.

Erin gushes about C. Hofsetz' interplanetary spy thriller 'Challenges of the Gods'

Title: Challenges of the Gods

Author: C. Hofsetz

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 374 

[it'll seem like 20 cause you're gonna rush through this book and then be sad when it's over]

Buy Challenges of the Gods

What Goodreads has to say:

After Mike goes through a gut-wrenching betrayal by his fiancée, he finds himself in what he thinks might be the afterlife. But this is no heaven. The gods made a mistake and created another Earth in a parallel universe, putting both universes in peril. They need someone from his planet to destroy the alternate, and Mike is randomly selected for the job.

Trapped in an impossible choice, Mike accepts his mission and is returned to an Earth—and a body—so unlike his own. There, he meets Jane, who is—unbeknownst to him—the secret leader of an organization bent on tracking down Earth's saboteur. In the face of her passion for humanity, Mike's resolve falters. If Mike won't complete his mission, the gods will.

What I have to say:

When I heard about this book, I was dubious. The premise sounded… odd. But something made me pick it up anyway.

And for that I’m very glad because as soon as I started reading Challenges of the Gods, I fell in love.

Wait… I just realized the title is a wordplay thing. Cause like, the gods have challenges but also the gods assign challenges to the people in the book and… never mind. Let’s move on.

Turns out the premise is slightly misleading (*spoilers ahead—but like, spoilers you find out in the first two chapters*): the main character doesn’t die and go to heaven. At first, when he finds himself inexplicably in a strange alien landscape, he thinks he’s died and gone to heaven. The truth is much more complicated—and terrifying.

Our main character (and how much do I love that we don’t even find out his real name until near the end of the book? Yeah, you guessed, I love it a lot) has been sent to another realm, where he meets the messengers of the gods before heading to Earth on a mission: find a way to destroy the entire planet and everyone on it—or watch as his own planet is destroyed—with everyone on it. [Also, yeah "Mike" is his alias but not his real name.]

Because there’s another variable in this game: someone from Earth has been sent to our hero’s planet—and now he has to destroy Earth before his own planet gets wiped out.

As you can imagine, various complications arise. Not the least of which being our hero’s growing affection for the people of Earth, and his stark sense of morality (planetary genocide is a hard thing to sleep with at night).

Meanwhile, every night he returns to the realm of the messengers, where he engages in a series of war games against the people of Earth.

Oh yeah, no one on Earth knows who he really is, and he manages to assimilate very well into their team.

So it’s a bit like The Hunger Games meets The Night Manager meets Ender’s Game.

It’s also heck of good.

I was alternately fascinated, terrified, heartbroken, shocked, enraged, and relieved. But through it all, riveted.

Also, I laughed.

The narrator has a great sense of humor, and when he dryly points out the differences between his planet and our Earth, it’s funny in that (almost) Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy kind of way. You laugh, and then you think, wait, but why is it like that? 

Not only does it make you question stuff like the social customs we have on Earth, it makes you appreciate the way things are on this planet. Like, we have a moon and it’s beautiful. 

Do other planets have moons in their skies? What if we didn’t have the moon? Or what if it was too far away to see? Just another tiny star in the night sky? What if someone who’d never seen the moon before came to our planet and looked up at night. What would they think they were seeing?

It’s the differences as well as the commonalities between alien races of people that form the heart of this story. And maybe, at heart, it’s about connection—finding it, making it, or just looking for it. 

But that’s not the whole of the story. Challenges of the Gods is a thrilling page-turner. It’s an interplanetary spy drama with plenty of twists and turns, mysteries, moments you never saw coming, epic sci-fi battles, and romance. Also, a quick round of applause for awesome character development.

Before I wrap this up, can I mention how hard it is to end a good book? It’s hard for the reader. It’s hard for the writer. But let’s talk about the writer for a moment. And this isn’t just a problem for books. 

I’m sure everyone can think of some form of entertainment—movie, play, TV show, book, even a comedy sketch—that left you wanting more at the end. Maybe it was totally awesome all the way through, but then it ended and you went, “What?” Or maybe it ended and you sat there scratching your head for a minute, wondering why you didn’t feel satisfied. 

This book is not like that. Holy cow it has the most satisfying, beautiful, perfect eucatastrophe (Thanks, Tolkien) of an ending. 

Not only that, but it ends exactly when and where it needs to. I finished and thought, “There’s an author who knows how to end a book.”

(OK, my thoughts probably weren’t that well-formed. It was more along the lines of “wwwwwwwhhhhaaaa yeeeeessss oh yes woooooow.”)

And then I had to face the fact that it was over and yes, ending a good book is also hard for the reader.

So….............................................................................................sequel?

Rating:

Until tomorrow.

Guest post from the future: Jim Wolfe on finding inspiration for 'The Making of Heroes'

Hello, beautiful literate people. You give us hope for the future.

Speaking of which, today's guest post came to us through a wormhole in the space time continuum (or something like that).

Historical novelist Jim Wolfe hails from the distant future, and we'll let him tell you in his own words about the inspiration behind his book The Making of Heroes.

For a long time I’d been wanting to write about Abigail Eastwind. But where do you start, with such a well known figure? Already there are novels, biographies and more than one H-Box production.

So for many years I wrote, as it were, around her, chronicling the V-Cities in all their magnificent glory. But always somewhere, to the back of my mind, figures, characters, backstories, incidents and plots were forming and - gradually - becoming more and more insistent on being recognised and recorded.

One day, I skimmered to the massive ruins of V-CityB. As usual, a guide was conducting a tour, conjuring images of the past with a wave of its hand. Sometimes it would morph - as VFs are wont to do - into the characters it was speaking about. The small group - there were maybe six of us - trailed along the curving passageways while around us the events of over 500 years ago were brought into shimmering, 3D life.

I knew most of it of course, having already written extensively about this period. So I wandered off.

After a few turns and random changes of direction I found myself alone. The air was slightly stale, but not unpleasant.

And as I walked I could hear the quiet, distant echo of my footsteps. I could easily have been the only person to go this way for centuries.

I fell into a reverie. And from the entangling mists of thought, pulled remorselessly into a fictional reality, a powerful figure emerged.

Spiker Gomez, padding along at that steady trot that eats up the miles. Going home with snared rabbits. And above, far beyond the sky, the planets indifferently clicking into place.

I had the start of my story. And the other figures, some - like Spiker - fictional, others - like both Allegra and Abigail - historical fact, began to assemble and take shape, waiting to come on stage and make themselves known.

Heroes, villains and ordinary people all caught up in the great flux of a tumultuous time.

I had my book. I had three. An epic.

Of course they found me: a guide fizzed into being and announced the last Skimmer of the day was about to depart. Back in mundane reality, I returned to my Dome and began to write.

Hungry for more? Take a trip to the future and read The Making of Heroes.

Just remember, there's no time like the present to crack open a great book.

Happy reading,
Erin & Anna

Alligators, druids, and time travel, oh my! Review of 'Some Very Messy Medieval Magic' by C. Lee McKenzie

Title: Some Very Messy Medieval Magic
Series: The Adventures of Pete and Weasel #3
Author: C. Lee McKenzie
Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy / Time Travel 
Publisher: Dancing Lemur Press LLC
Buy: Amazon

What Goodreads has to say:

Pete’s stuck in medieval England!

Pete and his friend Weasel thought they’d closed the Time Lock. But a young page from medieval times, Peter of Bramwell, goes missing. His absence during a critical moment will forever alter history unless he’s found.

There’s only one solution - fledgling wizard Pete must take the page’s place. Accompanied by Weasel and Fanon, Pete’s alligator familiar, they travel to 1173 England.

But what if the page remains lost - will Pete know what to do when the critical moment arrives? Toss in a grumpy Fanon, the duke’s curious niece, a talking horse, and the Circle of Stones and Pete realizes he’s in over his young wizard head yet again...

What I have to say:

An alligator familiar? A woefully inept young wizard? An introverted best friend? A time-traveling author who may or may not have been turned into a horse for writing something nasty about the druids? 

There was nothing about C. Lee McKenzie's Some Very Messy Medieval Magic that I did not love, unless it was the fact that it eventually ended. 

I haven't read the first two books in the series (now I will) but I didn't feel lost at any point. The author does a great job summing everything up concisely and entertainingly, along the way dropping hints that make me want to go back and read those first two books.

Right from the start, this book was awesome. As soon as I read the first couple of paragraphs about a substitute teacher named "Dread Wraith" making life difficult for his middle school students, I knew I'd found a good thing. The tone is so entertaining and the two main characters are so lovable.

Pete and Weasel are two eighth graders who in many ways couldn't be more different: Weasel seems to know everything - Pete is pretty clueless and at any given time you can probably find him screwing things up. Weasel puts out a grumpy, leave me alone vibe - Pete can't understand why anyone wouldn't want a hug. For better or for worse, they're best friends. And I am so in love with their friendship dynamic. 

Also hallelujah, Weasel is an introvert! I want to see more introverted characters in fiction! Especially in YA and MG fiction. Especially in YA and MG fantasy and science fiction. So thank you, C. Lee McKenzie, for doing that.

This story also has a nice element of mystery, and that coupled with the fun voice and quick pace is what kept me reading. Plus, there are delicious touches of all the things that make up a great story: mysterious standing stones, a dark forest, ghosts on Halloween night, illusive castles, time travel disasters, and even a bit of old English politics. I mean really what is there not to love?

I'll stop rhapsodizing now and try to actually talk about the book.

Pete and Weasel have to go back to medieval England to fix a time inconsistency left over from Pete's great Time Lock disaster (one of the instances in which he screwed things up). Pete knows he has to save the young duke, but he doesn't know how, when, or what from. And to make things worse, it looks like there may be an assassin in their midst. 

Complicating matters still further is the fact that Weasel can't wear his glasses because glasses haven't been invented yet and he and Pete need to blend into medieval England, that Pete has no idea how to ride a horse or wield a sword, and that the druids keep interfering in everyone's affairs.

Also there's the fact that Pete's alligator familiar (?!) is 100% done with Pete after getting left in a smelly moat for several days, and the startling revelation that Pete's horse is definitely not what she seems. I can't - I just freaking love all of it. 

In short, if you're looking for a fun, engaging middle grade adventure that will make you laugh out loud but also keep you up at night reading, and if you like your novels sprinkled with an element of the supernatural and a bit of time travel, you really can't go wrong with Some Very Messy Medieval Magic. And don't let that title fool you - there is nothing messy about this book. It's pure perfection.

Rating:

Ah, what the heck? I'll give it five trees. YOLO.

Until tomorrow.

What do diet Coke, Andy Warhol, and aliens have in common? They're all in 'The Book of Ralph'

Title: The Book of Ralph
Author: Christopher Steinsvold
Genre: Science Fiction
Pages: 416
Publisher: Medallion Press
Buy: Amazon

What Goodreads has to say:

A message appears on the moon. It is legible from Earth, and almost no one knows how it was created. Markus West leads the government’s investigation to find the creator.

The message is simple and familiar. But those three words, written in blazing crimson letters on the lunar surface, will foster the strangest revolution humankind has ever endured, and make Markus West wish he was never involved.

The message is ‘Drink Diet Coke.’

When Coca-Cola denies responsibility, mass annoyance becomes worldwide indignation. And when his investigation confirms Coca-Cola’s innocence, Markus West becomes one of the most hated men on Earth.

Later, five miles above the White House, a cylinder is discovered floating in the night. It is 400 feet tall, 250 feet in diameter, and exactly resembles a can of Campbell’s Chicken Noodle soup. Nearly everyone thinks the cylinder is a promotional stunt gone wrong, just like the lunar advertisement. And this is exactly what the alien in the cylinder wants people to think.

Ralph, an eccentric extraterrestrial who’s been hiding on the moon, needs Markus’s help to personally deliver a dark warning to the White House. Ralph has a big heart, a fetish for Andy Warhol, and a dangerous plan to save the world.

2016 Silver Medal for the IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award in Science Fiction and Fantasy.

Top ten books of 2016, Our Book Reviews Online.

What I have to say:

I just realized the cover for The Book of Ralph looks like a can of Campbell's soup. I'm a little slow on the uptake, I guess, though to be fair I read this on kindle, so the cover was black and white and I didn't really look at it that often. Anyway, A+ design choice.

Here's my favorite line:

"In essence, the universe is an exquisitely efficient and maximally elegant, ego-crunching machine. That is what it does."

I read this shortly after experiencing an ego-crunch myself, so it felt very true.

The Book of Ralph is an extremely enjoyable, well-paced adventure peppered with sly humor that sometimes feels a little Douglas Adams-ish (that's a word, I just invented it). There's definitely an Adams feel behind the line quoted above. And other things, like the fact that the evil aliens happen to be from the planet Kardash and are thus "Kardashians" are reminiscent of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy humor.

But on the whole, The Book of Ralph steers clear of just being a tribute to Hitchhiker's Guide, or to any other work of science fiction, for that matter. It's fresh, original, and imaginative. In fact, it's set up in such a way that it kind of messes with your expectations.

The story begins when an inexplicable message appears on the moon during a solar eclipse. The message reads: "Drink Diet Coke." Markus - our protagonist - is hired to head up an investigation, ultimately finding that Coca-Cola was not behind the message. This makes him extremely unpopular.

So this is going to be a clever, comic sci-fi story, I'm thinking at this point. The writing is great: very clean in the sense that it reads easy and it's clever. I'm enjoying it vastly.

Fast forward a bit, and we have our first contact with an extraterrestrial. Ralph (the alien in question) is hilarious and adorable and I love everything about him. At this point, it's still a very funny story. But all that's about to change.

Through a series of disastrous events which none of the main characters could reasonably have foreseen, some prominent people die and it looks like the earth is going to be invaded by evil aliens (yes, these are the Kardashians).

Suddenly everything's dark and scary and we're faced with the threat of the end of civilization as we know it. Where the heck did this come from? Wasn't this supposed to be a cute, tongue-in-cheek story about an alien with an Andy Warhol fetish?

Not quite. Or rather, yes, it was supposed (air quotes) to be about that, but that was probably just a ploy to lull us into a false sense of security or something. At any rate, what we have on our hands now is a serious discussion of good and evil, hatred, envy, violence, the ego, and humanity.

We're still rooting for Ralph, but whereas before we were rooting for him to seize the day, upset the status quo, and possibly have sex with the president, now we're rooting for him to save the earth from imminent destruction without dying in the process.

It's well done, because the tone change doesn't feel jarring as you're reading. Or rather, it feels a little jarring in the way it would if you were hanging out with an adorable alien one minute, then facing the threat of total destruction from a hostile race of extraterrestrials the next. But that's just good storytelling.

There's also a lot to think about - Markus and Ralph have some pretty deep philosophical talks around the middle of the book, and those parts are also well done. In particular, my concepts of hate and envy have probably changed after hearing Ralph's explanations of the two feelings. I've also gained more insight into the ego and why it's actually a good thing that the universe keeps crunching mine.

Then, like most good science fiction stories, there's a plot twist. And of course there's a moment where the fate of humanity depends on the actions of the main characters, and someone has to make a sacrifice.

I'm enthusiastic about this book. I wanted to like it, and I did. The author does a great job portraying and developing his alien characters - well, mainly Ralph, since he's the only alien we really get close to. Ralph isn't just a guy from another planet who has two heads or is green or something; he's really, completely, alien. But, incredibly, he seems more human than any actual human. And you can connect with him on a level you can't with another human.

Still, when I finished this book, I was left wanting something more. It's not that the book wasn't well-written, because it was - clever and engaging and psychologically deep - I just didn't feel profoundly changed by it, and that's what I want out of a really good science fiction novel.

After reading over my review, I realize the book did change the way I think about certain concepts, and now I feel like I'm just being a jerk about this whole thing. It's a fun story. I enjoyed it. I loved Ralph, and I loved reading his book.

Also I'm going to give a disclaimer here letting you know that there's some swearing in this book, like mainly the F word. If you're like, why the heck do I need to know that, Erin? just ignore this. If you're like, thanks I don't want to read a book that has the F word in it, you're welcome.

Rating:

Until tomorrow.