RebeccasReads

Shadows and Fire

Having just finished reading “Shadows and Fire” by new author Jennifer Fales let me start off by saying it was an interesting read. Fales has a great writing style and the book’s characters and their dialogue are very believable which is extremely important since “Shadows and Fire” is definitely set in a Science Fiction / Fantasy world.

The premise of “Shadows and Fire” is this: more than a millennia has passed and mankind is no longer content to play “God” with our simple, common, household animals. Scientists and breeders have given up splicing animal genes together in an attempt to create that “better” housecat; that “cuter” puppy or that “faster” racehorse. Instead they have moved on to “bigger and better” or should I say “badder” even though that’s grammatically incorrect?

As evidenced in every century, wars have relentlessly raged and in an attempt to dominate those major and minor skirmishes mankind has created a hybrid species of man and beast. Using human and animal DNA the government attempted to create a better soldier; a perfect soldier. What they wound up getting wasn’t what they wanted, or expected, and as I read “Shadows and Fire” part of me idly wondered if the results would have been different had they had used human volunteers versus experimenting on those who were incarcerated but…I digress.

“Shadows and Fire” revolves around a tortured soul who has fought too long and lost too much and for what? These failed experiments were castoffs and branded “evil” by a church that Father Augustin later discovered would do anything, right or wrong, to get its way. “Shadows and Fire” also follows a set of twins, a brother and sister, who were born into this world as unwitting pawns of these failed attempts.

I’m not going to provide you with any more of this story; suffice it to say that “Shadows and Fire” is a fun read. My only complaint is that the book is a very short 108 pages. For someone who reads as fast as I do that only equals thirty minutes to get lost in a good book which honestly isn’t enough time! :)


Shadows and Fire
Jennifer Fales
Outskirts Press (2012)
ISBN 9781432778460
Reviewed by Charline Ratcliff for RebeccasReads (2/12)

Dark Solus: An Assassin’s Tale

The opening pages of “Dark Solus: An Assassin’s Tale” introduce us to Demon and Leynorr as they are trying to flee from the City of Duergar as a spell of animation has been put upon the area.  Stone gargoyles and others are beginning to become alive.  “Demon turned back to Leynorr as drops of fire fell all around them.  Leaning over, he held the slender half-elf in his scaled arms and placed a claw-like gauntlet on her abdomen.  ‘You carry our son,’ he said, gently rubbing in a circular motion on her stomach. ‘Your safety and his are all that matters.’” (p. 3)

Following this opening chapter the book fast-forwards to their son, Dark Solus’, childhood and how his parents are ruthlessly murdered and taken from him.  The being behind this execution is a wizard named Kalifen.  Dark is then trained as an assassin to return to the City of Duergar in an attempt to destroy them all to avenge the murder of his family.

The book is packed with action and is quite a fast paced read.  I think that much of the dialogue in the book would appeal to a younger generation of readers as well as the fact that the main character is a young boy.  The story is imaginative and flows well from start to finish.  The ending is most definitely left open for a sequel which I expect is in the works.    I recommend “Dark Solus: An Assassin’s Tale” for younger readers who enjoy fantasy, science fiction novels.


Dark Solus: An Assassin’s Tale
David Andrew Crawford
Strategic Book Group (2011)
ISBN 9781609113391
Reviewed by Kam Aures for RebeccasReads (11/11)

Wired

I just finished reading my copy of “Wired” by author Douglas E. Richards and…wow, what a riveting read! To sum up in one sentence or less…Richards is an amazing writer. “Wired” is an enjoyable yet gripping read that keeps you on the edge of your seat and the book’s characters practically jump out of the story and into your living room. Did I mention that Richards holds a master’s degree in molecular biology? I’ll be honest; having reviewed books by other authors who also hold degrees in the scientific field, I was initially concerned that “Wired” might be dry, long-winded and tedious. Needless to say, I was ecstatic to find that “Wired” was anything but boring and I was extremely impressed to find an author who could incorporate a subject like molecular biology into a fictional tale and wind up with a book as well-written and interesting as “Wired.” As an aside, even though this particular book is not labeled as science fiction, I do believe that Isaac Asimov himself would be complimentary about Richards’ subject and writing technique.

About the book… Kira Miller, one of the main characters in “Wired,” is a brilliant genetic engineer. And by brilliant I mean brilliant. She graduated from high-school at sixteen, received her BS in molecular biology at nineteen and then went on to obtain a Ph.D. in molecular neurobiology from Stanford at the tender age of twenty-three. Kira’s intentions in her field, and with her research, are initially for the betterment of mankind. She learns how to achieve short-term “savant-like” capabilities, and using herself as a test subject, she is able to temporarily increase her brain’s ability to think, reason, and create. However, this advancement is not without a price…

David Desh, the book’s other main character, has left the US Army’s Special Forces division after being forced to watch his team being brutally tortured and murdered while stationed in Iran. Not knowing what to do with himself after he retired; David joined an executive bodyguard service but gets recalled to duty for one final mission: find Kira Miller who has put together a bio-terror plot that threatens the entire planet.

I’m not going to give any more of the story away… If you want to know what happens then I suggest that you read the book – it’s definitely well worth it…

In closing I give “Wired” a five-star rating and place it in the “must read” category.

Wired
Douglas E. Richards
Paragon Press (2011)
ASIN: B005C4XVYG
Reviewed by Charline Ratcliff for RebeccasReads (9/11)

2nd Earth

So, here’s the premise for “2nd Earth;” co-written by Edward and Eunice Vought…

Good friends and Navy SEAL comrades, Jon and Tim are on leave and headed for home. They board the subway together and since both are extremely exhausted from their most recent search and rescue operation they fall into a deep sleep. When they awake seemingly hours later, although they know that’s not possible, they find that the subway car they are on is completely deserted. The train is stopped and Jon and Tim are left trying to figure out what they slept through. Is this particular train’s service done for the night and they somehow missed the all the activity? Has something on the car broken and they both slept through all the noise of its evacuation? Or has something much more sinister happened?

Intent on finding an answer to their current dilemma they step off the train and into a foggy and desolate world. As they walk through this murkiness they hear what sounds like a woman screaming. Jon and Tim’s protective instincts kick in and they hurriedly move in the direction of the sounds. What they see shocks them. A lone woman is chasing after three young men while four other men who look like hoodlums are chasing her. Needless to say the hoodlums don’t stand a chance against two trained Navy SEALS especially when they know they are defending a woman’s honor.

Jon and Tim save the young lady in question and give a stern lecture to the three men who were leaving her to fend for herself. Jon and Tim then find out that this isn’t the same world they fell asleep in and they now realize they must build a new life and possibly a new civilization.

As I stated in my caption “2nd Earth” has a decent plot but unfortunately the writing skills of the authors are mediocre at best. “2nd Earth” is a strange compilation of past and present tenses throughout its entirety and the story itself drags on for four hundred and seventy eight pages. (Yes, I read them all.) Truthfully this book would have had the same impact if it had been shaved down to a mere three hundred.

While I appreciate the author's need to explain almost every little minute thing; I think the Voughts need to understand that when you’re dealing with the rebuilding of an entire culture/civilization detailing everything out becomes…tedious to read. Not to mention that the good fortune of everyone was…extremely unbelievable at best. Anytime anything was needed it was miraculously and almost instantaneously found. Amazing! Especially since 20th century technology was also frequently found in a 1960’s setting…

In summary, not a terrible book to read so long as you can handle the poor grammatical structure and the many, many, many pages of explanation.

2nd Earth
Edward and Eunice Vought
Outskirts Press (2011)
ISBN 9781432767914
Reviewed by Charline Ratcliff for RebeccasReads (7/11)

Remnant: An Anthology

Roland Allnach’s “Remnant: An Anthology” is a collection of three different science fiction novellas:  “All the Fallen Angels,” Enemy, I Know You Not,” and “Remnant.”

“…there she stands, among the whispers of ruin, caught between so much anger and hurt and betrayal.  So dark, that night:  the whisper of the wind, the patter of the rain, the steam of humid air; it had the feel of dissolution, of tears and loss and futility.  And there she stands among it all, among the whispers, dehumanized, for what is her life- any life- but the lost murmur of whispers in the dark?

She was only nine.  I shot her anyway.”

So begins the first novella in the anthology, “All the Fallen Angels.”  This is the longest of the three stories at ninety-seven pages, but don’t let the short length fool you.  Each of the stories packs a big punch.  I enjoyed Allnach’s writing style, particularly in this first tale.  He doesn’t just lay out all of the information up front in his writing; he gradually divulges detail by detail until all of the pieces fit together and the story is complete.

I found it interesting that he chose his title story, “Remnant,” to put as the last story in the anthology.  “Remnant” focuses on the remaining survivors after a plague sweeps through.  Of the three works in the book this was my favorite, but it was also one of the shortest in length.  I wish it would have been longer as it was truly an intriguing story.  I would have loved to see a full length novel made out of this one story.

I believe that “Remnant: An Anthology” will appeal to those who enjoy science fiction novels, particularly military science fiction.  Allnach’s intelligent writing style is quite appealing and I expect we will see more from him in the future. 

Remnant: An Anthology
Roland Allnach
All Things That MatterPress (2010)
ISBN 9780984629701
Reviewed by Kam Aures for RebeccasReads (05/11)